AP Gov Chapter 11 Study Guide

What did Artemus Wood say about serving in Congress?

"it's easy to see why a man goes to the poorhouse or the penitentiary. It's because he can't help it. But why he should voluntarily go live in Washington is beyond my comprehension."

What makes serving in Congress so hard, especially when it seems like a glamorous job?

-14 hour days spent going from one meeting to the next -constantly traveling between Washington and other states -lacking time for reflection or exchange of ideas -constantly fundraising -feeling they are making little difference in the country

How is congress not representative of regular American interests? What evidence is there to suggest that Congress does listen to the American people? What do critics say about Congress being too representative? What do defenders say about the effectiveness of Congress?

-Congress's members are an American elite and they choose their own members -Congress does try to listen to the people, as the votes of the public affect who is in Congress and what they discuss -They say Congress is incapable of taking decisive action to deal with difficult problems, and government spends too much because they are protecting the interests of too many people -Defenders say that Congress's decentralization means there is no oligarchy to prevent legislature from taking comprehensive action

What are the three staff agencies in Congress and what does each do?

-Congressional Research Service- provides members with polls, studies, and information -Government Accountability Office- helps Congress perform its oversight functions by reviewing activities of the executive branch -Congressional Budget Office- analyzes the president's budget and makes projections about the economy

Give three reasons why there are NOT more women in Congress.

-Few of them become major party nominees for office because they are less ambitious about running, especially when they have children -More perceptive to their odds of winning than men

List 5 key points from the section "The Committees at Work: Legislation".

-Most bills go first to a standing committee and then to a subcommittee, where they frequently are killed off -The House and Senate usually only consider bills that obtain a favorable committee report. -Most important output of a committee is the marked-up version of the bill -Committee continues to serve as floor managers for the bill even after it is introduced to the full house -Conference committees may have to produce a compromise between House and Senate

Who is the most important leader in the House? Why is the Speaker two heartbeats away from the presidency? What party does the speaker come from? List the 4 powers the Speaker has today. What are the informal powers of the Speaker?

-Speaker of the House -second in line for the presidency, behind vice president -majority party in the House -4 powers of the Speaker: -preside over sessions -control over assigning bills to committees -make committee assignments -appoint party's legislative leaders -Informal power is being the spokesperson for the party when the president is of the other party

Define the four types of committees.

-Standing committee- handle bills in different policy areas -Joint committee- exist in a few policy areas, made of both House and Senate -Conference committee- formed when House and Senate pass different versions of the same bill -Select committee- specific focus and can be temporary or permanent

List five characteristics of the House that make it somewhat unique from the Senate.

-four times as large as the Senate -more centralized and hierarchical -party loyalty is more common in the House -leaders in the House do more than leaders in the Senate -first-term House members are more likely to not be heard

List the steps of how a bill becomes a law.

-introduced in either house -hearings are held where people from both sides speak, and the bill is hotly debated -any changes to the bill are proposed -a vote is taken, and if it passes, it is sent to the other house to be approved there as well -if they do not agree, a conference committee is formed to make a compromise -if it passes through both houses, it goes to the president, who can sign or veto it

What is the filibuster? Is the power of the filibuster absolute? What profound questions does the filibuster raise? What happened in 2013 with regard to filibusters? Is this change good or bad? Why is the filibuster in place?

-it is a strategy used in the Senate where opponents of a piece of legislation use their right to unlimited debate to prevent the Senate from ever voting on a bill -Power is not absolute, as senators can vote for cloture on debate -Raises questions about democracy because as few as one person can stop the majority -in 2013, the number of votes required to end a filibuster changed from 2/3 to a simple majority -This keeps the filibuster from becoming too powerful -It is in place because it gives senators the ability to defend their interests

What are the constraints on legislative oversight discussed in the text?

-little incentive to carefully monitor an agency, so Congress sometimes overlooks problems until it is too late to solve them -fragmentation of committee jurisdictions, which keeps Congress from taking a comprehensive view of complex issue areas -majority party largely determines if and when a committee will hold hearings

List and explain three reasons why incumbents are defeated.

-major scandal or corruption -boundaries of the districts change -major political change across the US

Explain fully the advantages of incumbency that the text gives.

-more name recognition and advertising -credit claiming for achievements during their office -likely to face weak opponents -don't have to spend as much money -people already understand their positions and party

List three glamorous aspects of the job of Congressman.

-power in the country -salary of $174,000 -generous retirement and health benefits

Describe the three ways a Congressman can represent his/her constituency when it comes to voting on policy.

-trustee- using their best judgement to make policy in the interests of the people -instructed delegate- mirroring the preferences of the constituents -Politico- combining both of these

How many people are in Congress? House? Senate?

535 members of Congress- 100 in the Senate, 435 in House

What are caucuses? How are caucuses like/different from interest groups?

A caucus is a group of members of Congress who share a common interest. They are similar to interest groups in this way, except they are composed only of members of Congress rather than lobbyists trying to communicate to lobbyists.

What is a bicameral legislature? Why are we a bicameral legislature? How is the number of representatives determined?

A legislature divided into two houses. We have it because of the Connecticut Compromise, where in the Senate, all states have the same representation, but in the House, the number of representatives per state is determined by population.

How many assistants do Congressmen have? Senators? List all the things congressional staff do.

Average representative has 17 assistants and the average senator has 41. They answer mail, communicate to voters, and help solve problems.

Why is it good that the committee system in Congress is decentralized?

Because the committee system is decentralized, it is open to the appeals of a wide range of interests. If it were more centralized, some interests might be constrained.

Explain how members of Congress have competing responsibilities.

Because the number of representatives and senators interested in oversight have increased, many Congress members have competing responsibilities, and there are few payoffs to carefully watching a government agency.

Define casework and pork barrel.

Casework- activities of members of Congress that help constituents as individuals Pork barrel- federal projects, grants, and contracts available to state and local governments, businesses, colleges, and other institutions.

List 3 examples of caucuses.

Caucus for Women's Issues Sunbelt Caucus Republican Study Committee

What title has the President been given by political scientists that would appall the framers?

Chief legislator, which would appall the Framers and their idea of separation of powers

What do committee staff do?

Committee staff organize hearings, research legislative options, draft committee reports on bills, write legislation, and keep tabs on the activities of the executive branch.

What are earmarks and what role did they play in the "Big Dig" in Boston?

Earmarks are legislative provisions that direct approved funds to be spent on specific projects or specific exemptions from taxes or mandated fees. The Big Dig was an extremely expensive highway project in Boston where the pork barrel and earmarks were used for the money.

What is the formal legislative job of the Vice President? What is the informal role of the Vice President with respect to the Senate?

Formal job of VP is to serve as president of the Senate. However, they rarely have to vote on matters, but they do represent the president's views to senators.

What groups are underrepresented in Congress?

Hispanics, African-Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and women

What is the House Rules Committee? What is the Hastert Rule?

House Rules Committee reviews bills coming from the House committees before they go to the full house. Hastert Rule holds that Republicans will not allow the House to vote on a bill unless it has the support of the majority of the Republican caucus.

What are the qualifications for serving in the House and Senate?

House- 25 years old, American citizen for 7 years, resident of the state that you represent Senate- 30 years old, American citizen for 9 years, resident of the state that you represent

Do you favor term limits? Explain.

I think that term limits would be good because incumbents can usually win every election, and it is important to get new people into Congress every once in a while. The term should not be too short, but limits could be a good thing.

Explain why, with an example, how party leadership has not been strong in recent times.

In recent years, party leadership has not been strong because of the lack of party agreement. Because the Republicans in the House were so large and diverse, Speaker John Boehner had to resign.

What are incumbents? What do most decide about running again? What happens most of the time in the primary election to incumbents?

Incumbents already hold office. Most of them decide to run for reelection, and they almost always win their party's primary.

Explain how one's background both affects their work in Congress and how their background does not affect their work in Congress.

It affects what they value and what policies they are likely to pursue. However, some people can still speak for the groups that they are not a member of.

What does figure 11.1 reveal?

It shows that incumbents are elected between 80 to 95% of the time. It is important to win the primary because this makes it easier to win the general election.

What makes the leadership role in Congress difficult? Why are the leaders not always able to move their troops?

Leaders have trouble leading in Congress because the houses are so decentralized, and the leaders must be responsive to their parties.

What are the two main goals of Congressional party leaders?

Making policy and maintaining a majority.

In detail, explain why the average member of Congress does not represent the "average" American.

Members of Congress are typically far more elite than the average American. They come from occupations with high salaries and high statuses in society, such as lawyers, businesspeople, or other jobs in politics.

Explain the ways someone gets on a committee.

New members to Congress join committees by communicating their committee preferences to their party's congressional leaders just after their election. Parties try to grant their members' committee preferences whenever possible.

What is legislative oversight? Give 2 examples of legislative oversight.

Process of monitoring executive branch and its administration of policies. This includes issues with the Department of Health about Medicare or complains from states regarding environmental protection regulations.

What profession has the most in Congress? Why is this not surprising?

Public service and politics, and law. Not surprising because people in politics have the goal to get into Congress, and people are likely to vote for those with experience in politics.

How do incumbent Senators do? What is it about running for the Senate that makes it harder than the House for incumbent Senators?

Senators find it more difficult to be successfully reelected than representatives in the House. Senators represent entire states rather than Congressional districts, so they provide a larger base for opposition. Senators have less personal contact with their constituencies and receive more coverage in the media, meaning they are more likely to be held accountable for controversial issues. Senators tend to draw more skilled and visible challengers.

Who is the speaker's partisan ally? What is this person responsible for?

Speaker's partisan ally is the majority leader, who schedules bills and rounds up votes on behalf of the party's position on legislation.

What did the framers envision about the Senate? What sort of powers does the Senate possess that reflects the view the framers had toward the Senate? How are Senators different from House members?

The Framers wanted the Senate to protect elite interests rather than those of the masses. So, they gave the Senate the power to ratify treaties, confirm presidential nominations, and try impeached officials. The Senate is less disciplined and centralized, and they are more equal in power than representatives are.

Explain why the parties have become more polarized over the last 30 years.

The increased ideological differences between parties comes from increasingly divergent electoral coalitions. Members of Congress try to align themselves with their party members rather than the average general public. Party loyalty has increased, so the relationship between ideology and voting has become stronger.

According to text, what is the most difficult role for a Congressman? Why is being a generalist so hard when it comes to policymaking?

The role of policymaker is the most difficult. Politicians are generalists and generalists do not have advanced knowledge on issues, it is difficult to make specialized decisions on issues.

How are open seats and turnover in the membership related?

There is an open seat whenever an incumbent decides not to run for reelection. This is when turnover in the membership of Congress is most likely to happen.

What do committee chairs do?

They are the most important influencers of their committee's agenda, and they schedule hearings, hire staff, appoint subcommittees, and manage committee bills.

Explain what lobbyists provide for members of Congress. What did Congress do in 1995 to rein in the power of lobbyists?

They provide crucial policy information, political intelligence, and assurances of financial aid in the next campaign. The law in 1995 required anyone hired to lobby policymakers to report what issues they were seeking to influence, how much they were spending, and the identities of their clients, as well as restrictions on what gifts policymakers could accept from lobbyists.

How has lawmaking become unorthodox?

Unorthodox lawmaking allows party leaders to cope with problems and expedite the process of lawmaking. They become more involved in the process and perform multiple steps at once to make the process more efficient.

How were committee chairs chosen until the 1970s? What could committee chairs do (prior to the 1970s) that made them so powerful? What happened in the 1970s that changed that? How are committee chairs chosen now? Does seniority play any role?

Until the 70s, whoever served on the committee the longest and whose party controlled the chamber became the chair. They were able to bully members or bottle up legislation at any time. In the 70s, younger members rebelled, and both branches permitted members in both houses to vote on committee chairs, but seniority remains the general rule for selecting chairs.

Define whip. Define minority leader.

Whip- works with majority leader to count votes and lean on waverers whose votes are crucial to the passage of the bill Minority leader- leader of the minority party in the House, with their own party whips

In spite of what Will Rogers said, where is the real work of Congress done? In addition to policymaking, what does Congress do?

Work is done in committees. They don't only work in policymaking, but also holding hearings to investigate problems and controlling the congressional agenda.

Congressional elections are ________, __________, and, as you will see, generally ___________.

demanding, expensive, and generally forgone conclusions

What "weapons" do Senators have at their disposal to stop legislation?

filibuster and cloture

On what issues do parties stick together when it comes to legislation?

issues of economic and social welfare policy, as their views are very clear on those matters

Leadership in Congress usually is around what?

party leadership