Unit 4 AP Gov - legislative

What is the reelection rate in the senate?

80%

What is the reelection rate in the house?

90%

Can bills be introduced in either house?

Bills can be introduced in either house, except for revenue bills (House only).

What occurs on the House floor?

Discharge petition

If Presidential candidates don't get a majority vote who chooses the President and how does this happen?

Each state gets 1 vote, and they decide president

Joint Committee

composed of members from both houses for similar temporary purposes.

attitudinal voting

correlates with playing role of trustee (liz cheny voting to impeach trump even though its against her district of wyomings beliefs)

The senate is naturally .....

decentralized

malapportionment

districts within a state have unequal sizes

Who is the minority whip in the senate?

John Thune

Who is the minority leader in the house?

Kevin McCarthy

Budget and Impoundment and Control Act

Make congress more fiscally responsible, two budget committees for each house

Effects of Miller v. Johnson, 1995

Race may not be the primary factor in drawing district lines

Who is the majority whip in the senate?

Richard Durbin

What is the most important role of the speaker of the house?

Speaker assigns bill to committee in HR

Who is the majority leader in the house?

Steny Hoyer

Census

measure of population and demographics, conducted every 10 years

organizational voting

voting with the same ideologies as the group of people you represent (ie. AOC supporting liberal views)

Where do most bills originate?

the executive branch

Filibuster

unlimited debate to help halt action on a particular bill

Committee of the Whole

used by House to act more informally, more quickly, and with less of a quorum (only 100). The purpose of the Committee of the Whole is to amend and debate. Once the bill is approved by the Committee it goes back to the house.

Delegate Role

voting in the way their constituents would want them to, regardless of their own opinions (Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padillo voting to impeach Trump)

redistricting

when the lines of a district are redrawn for congressional or census related purposes

Earmark

"hidden" congressional provision that directs the federal government to fund specific projects or exempts specific people or groups from paying specific federal taxes or fees.

Christmas Tree Bills

"lots of presents" a bill that attracts many, often unrelated, floor amendments

Effects of Baker v Carr, 1962

"one man, one vote" principle applied to state legislative districts to correct the overrepresentation of rural areas.

What happens to incur a Discharge petition?

(requires 218 signatures and a house vote) can be used when a bill is bottled up in committee. It is rarely successful a couple dozen out of 800 attempts. (Ex. BCRA +FECA)

Size - Senate

- 100 members: statewide elections - more informal body - fewer rules - more equality

Qualifications - House of Representatives

- 25 years old - citizen for 7 years - resident of state

Qualifications - Senate

- 30 years old - citizenship for 9 years - residency in state

Terms of Office - Senate

- 6 years terms - 1/3 up for reelection every 2 years

What is the role of the Majority Whip/Minority Whip?

- Assistant floor leaders - Inform party leaders on the "mood" of the House. - Keep nose count on important votes - Persuade party members to vote with party

What are the implied powers of Congress?

- Based upon elastic clause. Necessary and Proper Clause - Strict v. loose constructionist approaches. Ex. Commerce Clause

Why is congress considered unethical ?

- Campaign Contributions - Lobbying Influences

What is the role of the President Pro Tempore?

- Ceremonial job—a most senior member from the majority party - Presides in absence of V.P. - Third in line of presidency after Speaker

Disadvantages of the seniority system

- Conservative/status quo bias - Rural bias-Incumbency Factor

Advantages of seniority system

- Experience - Stability - Expertise - Reduces infighting among those who would be rivals for chairmen.

What were the intentions of founders?

- Fear of excessive power - Fear of mob rule - Concern about the representation in Congress - Belief that Congress would be the dominant branch

Decentralization of the House 1910

- In 1910, the House revolted against "Uncle Joe:" -Speaker was stripped of the right to make committee assignments. - The Speaker was stripped of the right to appoint committee chairmen. - Speaker stripped of position as Rules Chairman. - Power in the House thus began to be decentralized Individual members had more leeway to vote as they pleased without fear of repercussions from the Speaker. Rules Committee continued to exercise a strong influence. The Power of committee chairmen rose: - Setting committee agenda. - Determining which bills to report out. - Heavy influence over the content of bills. - Development of seniority system to select committee chairmen instead of having the Speaker select them.

What are the expressed powers of Congress ?

- Levy taxes - Borrow Money - Regulate foreign, interstate, Indian commerce. - Establish naturalization and bankruptcy laws. - Coin money. - Establish weights and measures. - Punish counterfeiters. - Establish post offices. - Grant copyrights and patents. - Create courts inferior to Supreme Court. - Define and punish piracy. - Declare war. - Raise and support an army and navy. Article 1 Section 9: Power of the purse or the power to spend

Floor Action in the Senate

- No rules limiting debate - Hold - Unanimous Consent - Senator—such as time agreements, list of specified amendments, to increase power of the leader. The purpose is to increase efficiency. Senators' remarks need not be relevant. Senate only allows filibusters. These esp. effective at end of term of Congress. Can be ended by 3/5 vote of cloture. Also there is double tracking which means the Senate temporarily shovels the bill to the side. - Similar Committee action as found in the House of Representatives (II. B) - No Committee of the Whole - Amendments need not be germane. ("riders") Thus, "Christmas tree" bills with many riders are the result. - Bills passed in the house can go right to the floor of the Senate without first going to committee. - Parliamentary system for debate

What is the role of the Majority Leader/Minority Leader?

- Partisan positions chosen by party members - Floor leaders and legislative strategists.

Processes of Comittees

- Pass or report out - Kill - Amend ("markup session") or to revise the bill - Pigeonhole: most frequent fate of bill - Sent to subcommittee - Hearings

What are the powers denied to Congress?

- Passing ex post facto laws. - Passing bills of attainder - Suspending writs of habeas corpus except in cases of rebellion or invasion.

Decentralization in 1970s

- Power of individual members over committee chairmen rose: more input from individual members, less tyrannical rule by chairmen. - Number of subcommittees increased. - Power of subcommittee chairmen increased, and the influence of committee chairmen decreased - Number of staffers increased Attack on the seniority system and removal of some chairmen from their positions.

What is role of the VP in the Senate?

- President of Senate - Presides over Senate Votes in case of ties. - Ceremonial Job

What is the role of the Speaker of the House?

- Presides over the House. - Appoints select and conference committees. - Appoints Rules Committee members and its chairman - Assigns bill to committees - Second in line for presidency after V.P. - Informal powers, e.g. using the media - Speaker is picked by the entire House

How does party membership influence members of congress?

- predictor of congressional voting—party unity scores are quite strong. Party affiliation is a particularly strong influence on economic and social welfare issues, and less of an influence on foreign policy and civil liberties issues.

What are the institutional powers of Congress? (checks & balances)

- Senate ratifies treaties with 2/3 vote - Senate approves presidential appointments with a majority vote - House votes for impeachment (majority vote needed), Senate tries impeachment cases (2/3 vote needed to convict). - House elects President if no electoral majority, Senate elects V.P. - Proposal of constitutional amendments with 2/3 vote in both houses. - Each can seat, unseat, and punish own members.

Powers of chairmen

- Setting committee agenda - Hiring staff. - Membership of subcommittees - Jurisdiction of subcommittee

1889-1910: Period of strong centralization

- Speaker of the House Thomas Reed exercised strong powers: Made committee assignments Appointed committee chairmen Refused to allow stalling tactics Chaired the Rules Committee - After Reed resigned, Joseph ("Uncle Joe") Cannon became Speaker and continued the system of centralization with strong power vested in his office.

Conditions of a centralized House.

- Strong central leadership with authority over rank and file membership - Restrictions on debate - Few opportunities for stalling tactics - Minimal committee interference - A streamlined legislative process - Opportunity to conduct business with minimal public scrutiny

Effects of gerrymandering

- The party in power STAYS in power. - "Safe" seats are created for incumbents, leading to further difficulties for challengers—> polarization of Congress - Strangely-shaped districts. - "Majority-minority" districts created by racial gerrymandering prompted

What is the role of the Majority Leader of the Senate?

- True leader in Senate - Recognized first for all debates. - True leader of majority party - Influences committee assignments of senators. - Influences Senate agenda, along with Minority Leader - Informal powers, e.g., of using the media

Methods of voting

- Voice Vote—Yea or Nay (Not recorded) - Division vote—Standing (Not recorded) - Teller Vote—Members pass two tellers (Yea or Nay) recorded (only in the House) - Roll-Call Vote—Yea or Nay votes - Electronic (only in the House)

Conditions of a decentralized House?

- Weak central leadership. - Few restrictions on debate - Numerous opportunities for stalling tactics. - Powerful committee influence - Complicated legislative process - Close public scrutiny

How can Interest groups/lobbies/PACs influence members of congress?

- campaign contributions - "report cards" - targeting - providing information - testifying before - committees - paying for "junkets" - political cues

Size - House of Representatives

- determined by Congress - 435 delegates - members are elected by districts - # of reps per state based on population - recently, the south and west hold most seats because the pop has increased in those areas significantly

Pros of term limits

- eliminates incumbency - changes status quo - more competition

Why is congress considered inefficient?

- excessively spread out power. - difficult to get things done. - Proponents of a bill need many victories, but opponents need only one.

Cons of term limits

- experience is essential - familiarity with process

Why is the senate naturally decentralized?

- fewer members - less rules - no leadership like the speaker

What strategies can congressional staff use to influence members of congress?

- filter information the members receive - filter access to members - helping to set committee agenda - making recommendations on legislation - helping to write legislation

New Ethical Rules for Congress (110th Congress)

- lawmakers can't accept gifts, travel and lodging paid for by lobbyists. - Extend from one to two years the time a former member must wait before he can engage in lobbying activities. - Deny pensions to lawmakers convicted of serious crimes. - Require more reporting by lobbyists on their activities. - Require public disclosure of those home-state projects. - Require senators hitching rides on private jets to pay full charter rates rather than the current practice of paying the far cheaper equivalent of a first class ticket. - Require reporting by lobbyists who obtain small donations from clients and then "bundle" them into larger contributions to politicians. - Prevent spouses of sitting members from lobbying.

Why is Congress considered unrepresentative?

- local interests > national interest. This helps to - must place state and local interests over national interest in order to get reelected. - Congress is a club for white, male, middle-aged, Protestant lawyers. - seniority system - Unequal representation - senate

Compensation of Congress

- members set their own salaries - about 174k salary - perks: staff, travel allowance, privilege, insurance - retirement around 51k - legislative immunity - cannot be arrested/detained while going to or from a session of congress

effects of decentralization

- more efficient - more participation - ex house of reps

Membership of Congress

- over representation of older white upper middle class protestant men - recently, more minorities have come into power

standing committees

- permanent committees of Congress - both legislative and oversight powers - Iron Triangle

Appropriations committee

- spending bills. - Authorization bill allows for money to be spent - appropriation bill provides the actual funding for the program house + senate house has more power

Conference Committee

- temporary committee - new committee for each bill that makes it through a vote - members vary

The terms of Congress

- term lasts two years - begin on Jan 2ns/3rd of odd years (2021-22 is the 117th term) - ends in the beginning December

Foreign Relations

- treaty ratification - ambassador confirmation provisions in Const.

Terms of Office - House of Representatives

- two years (entire body reelected) - more rules - leadership has power - more formal than the senate - no limit to term

Cloture

3/5 vote to close a debate

Unanimous Consent

A unanimous consent request is generally a process provision to a bill proposed by the majority leader or any other

What are the Advantages of incumbency?

A. Franking privilege. B. Staffers. C. Patronage. D. Name Recognition E. Casework F.Money, esp. from PACs

When do bill die?

ALL BILLS DIE WHEN CONGRESS ADJOURNS IN SEPTEMBER EVERY OTHER YEAR.

Pocket Veto

After 10 days of sending the bill to the President, the bill automatically becomes law.however, within that ten-day period, Congress adjourns (not recesses), the bill is pocket-vetoed

Hold

An Informal practice by which a senator informs his or her floor leader that he or she does not wish a particular bill or other measure to reach the floor for consideration. Backed by the threat of a filibuster.

How does the president influence members of congress?

Can reward or punish members, particularly those within his party. He can campaign for or against members, he can attend or not attend members' fund raisers, he can speak out for or against members, and he can use his "electronic throne" to gain leverage.

What are the pros and cons of centralization in the House?

Centralization would allow Congress to act quickly and decisively but at the expense of individual members and the constituents whom they represent.

Who is the majority Leader in the senate?

Chuck Schumer

Who assigns committees?

Committee on Committees (R) or the Steering and Policy Committee (D)

Conference Committee Action

Comprised of members from both houses (generally led by the committees involved), a temporary conference committee reconciles different House-Senate versions of a bill, and then sends it back to each house for a vote. Yet another "third house of Congress." *****President has the most influence.

How can congress override a veto?

Congress can override a veto with 2/3 vote in both houses.

How is Logrolling, Pork-barreling, and Christmas tree bills countered?

Congress gave president Clinton a line item veto which he signed into law. However, this was struck-down as a violation of separation of powers—in effect, use of the line item veto would have enabled the president to legislate, a function reserved only for Congress—June 1998.

Congressional Accountability Act 1995

Congress is not exempt of employment laws. Recent revelations regarding sexual harassment. Allows non-disclosure of sexual assault/harassment and settlements paid for by the taxpayers.

CBO

Congressional Budget Office, provides an independent analysis of the President's budget

What are the pros and cons of decentralization in the House?

Decentralization would protect and enhance the interests of individual members and their constituents, but would prevent Congress from acting quickly and decisively.

Effects of Leagues of United Latin American Citizen v. Perry 2006

Hispanic population being cracked in West Texas is unconstitutional and Lines can be redrawn within 10-year period pending on each State.

sequester

If Congress was unable to reach the yearly deficit reduction target figure, across-the-board budget cuts were to automatically kick in

Who is the majority whip of the house?

Jim Clyburn

Who is the minority leader in the senate?

Mitch McConnell

Who is the Speaker of the House?

Nancy Pelosi

What part of government does the CBO check?

OMB

OMB

Office of Management ad Budget, Agencies prepare their estimates of budget needs and present them to OMB

What happens during a rules committee?

Once out of committee the Bill is placed on the calendar and then sent to the Rules Committee. Rule Committee functions: - "Traffic cop": sets legislative calendar. - Issues open rule that allows amendments to a bill or closed rule that prohibits such amendments (esp. on tax bills). Restrictive rule permits some amendments but restricts others. Restrictive and closed rule is growing. - Establishes rules on floor debate. Time limits.

Where did Gerrymandering originate?

Origin of the term: from 19th century Mass. Governor Elbridge Gerry, who drew district lines himself. Some of his districts had such strange shapes that they looked like salamanders, prompting one way to instead refer to them as "gerrymanders."

What are the two "legal" methods in which the party in power can get a majority of seats in the House?

Packing and Cracking

Who is the President Pro Tempore?

Patrick Leahy

Who is the minority whip in the house?

Steve Scalise

Who is the only person allowed to preside in the executive and legislative branch?

The VP, Kamala Harris

Can campaign contributions influence members of congress?

The evidence here is mixed. However, if contributions do affect congressional voting, they probably have the greatest effect on narrow issues that are not well-known or publicized.

Nuclear Option

The procedure in which the Senate can override a standing rule by a simple majority, rather than the two-thirds supermajority normally required to amend Senate rules. It can be invoked by the Senate Majority Leader raising a point of order that contravenes a standing rule.

Discretionary Authority

When congress writes laws in a broadly-worded and vague way so that it is open to interpretation

What is the seniority system?

Whichever party control the house of rep is going to have more members on each committee.

Can Congressional Caucuses influence members of congress? Give some examples of caucuses.

Yes they can. black caucus, Hispanic caucus, blue collar caucus, women's caucus

Iron triangles (also known as sub-governments, issue networks, policy networks)

a congressional committee, the related federal agency, and the impacted interest groups. For example, on the issue of airline deregulation, an iron triangle might consist of Public Works and Transportation Committee, the FAA, and numerous interest groups such as the Air Transport Assn, mechanics' union, pilots' union, etc.

bully pulpit

a conspicuous position that provides an opportunity to speak out and be listened to. This term was coined by United States President Theodore Roosevelt, who referred to his office as a "bully pulpit", by which he meant a terrific platform from which to advocate an agenda. President Trump used social media as a way to advocate his agenda.

Politico role

a hybrid of the delegate and trustee role (mixed views state - swing state, Ohio, Florida, etc.)

Meat Grinder

a metaphor for the legislative process. Riders help the legislation make it through the meat grinder.

What is legislative immunity?

a representative or senator cannot be personally liable for laws that they passed

Selection Committee

appointed by house limited, temporary purpose, e.g., to study an issue or to conduct an investigation

What percent of bills become laws?

around 10% actually become a law

What was the answer for the founders concerns?

bicameral legislature

Packing

drawing the district lines in such a way as to concentrate the opposing party in a few districts, thus preserving a majority of seats for itself

Cracking

drawing the district lines in such a way as to disperse the opposing party throughout the state and thus dilute the party's strength in order to preserve a majority of seats for the majority party

What is adjournment?

end of a term; date must be agreed upon by both houses; normally would end at the beginning of December

Joint Resolution

essentially a bill requiring the president's signature unless it is a Constitutional Amendment always in Joint Resolution format.

Reciprocity

exchange of favors

Logrolling

exchange of votes among members

Lame duck

final period of the presidency where the President has less influence because of a pending election

rules committee

house set legislative calendar rules for debate

Racial gerrymandering

manipulating district lines to decrease the voting power of minorities

gerrymandering

manipulation of the redrawing of boundaries to favor the party in power of the state legislature

trustee role

member of congress who votes on behalf of their people instead of doing what they want (liz cheny voting to impeach trump even though its against her district of wyomings beliefs)

What must happen before a bill reaches the floor?

pass through a committee

Simple Resolution

passed by either the House or the Senate— established the rules of operation No Presidential Signature

Pork Barreling

placing local interest ahead of national interest

Effects of Shaw v. Reno, 1993

prohibition of of racial gerrymandering/packing

Explain the connection between diffusion of power and the process in which bills are passed.

proponents need many victories, but opponents need only one. This was the intent of the Founders: to create a cautious and deliberate process

Representational Voting

representing the ideals and beliefs of the people who voted for you (Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padillo voting to impeach Trump)

Effects of Wesberry v. Sanders, 1964

same effects as Baker v Carr, "one man, one vote" principle applied, but also applied to the house of reps.

How are chairmen selected ?

secret ballot in party caucuses at the beginning of the term

Concurrent Resolution

settle housekeeping and procedural matters that affect both houses

ways + means committee

tax bills house

finance committee

tax bills senate less power than house

Veto

the bill in full can be overridden by 2/3 vote in each house

What sets up the budget requests for the bureaucracy each year?

the budget they were granted the year before

What are the consequences of filibusters?

the media is going to make it clear that a filibuster is term-52happening, so ur reasoning and beliefs better be valid otherwise you will have a negative image to the public.

reapportionment

the redistribution of 435 seats in the House on the basis of changes in state populations, every 10 years based on Constitutional regulations

In what key way does the media influence members of congress?

through its "watchdog" role

What is line - item vetoing and do President's have the power to enact it ?

when you only veto certain section of the bill, but not the whole thing NO the president must sign the bill or veto it in its entirety