Ch.7 Sections 4,5,6

Example of party unity

-107th Congress was under unified Republican control -perfect party unity on all major votes taken in the House

What happened in an attempt to prevent the gridlock scenario? Did it work?

-Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA), soon to become the new Speaker of the House, met with President George W. Bush two days after the 2006 election -no, Democrats still found it difficult to pass legislation during the 110th Congress as Bush began to veto bills for the first time in his presidency

Describe the party unity of the 108th Congress

-Democratic senators demonstrated unanimity in filibustering several presidential judicial nominations to the US Court of Appeals -Controversy on whether this was considered party unity or that the members votes were influenced by liberal special-interest groups

Example of a hold

-Senator Joe Biden became so upset with congressional failure to fund Amtrak security -he put holds on two Department of Transportation nominees -this meant that their nominations couldn't be considered until he removed his hold

Define senatorial courtesy

-a process by which presidents, when selecting district court judges, defer to the senator in whose state the vacancy occurs

What's markup?

-a process in which committee members offer changes to a bill before it goes to the floor in either house for a vote -committee members can add items to the bill and send it to the House or Senate floor with a favorable recommendation -can also reject the bill

Define congressional review

-a process whereby Congress can nullify agency regulations by a joint resolution of legislative disapproval -method of exercising congressional oversight

How do senators use filibusters and why?

-a senator may read from a phone book, recite poetry, or read cookbooks to delay a vote -often, a team of senators takes turns speaking to keep the filibuster going in the hope that a bill will be tabled or killed

Historically, what did a divided government lead to?

-a situation called gridlock, which often results in very little important legislation being enacted into law

What were the Framers' hope for Congress?

-a system of multiple vetoes -wanted to disperse power -Congress evolved and is coming closer and closer to Framers' intentions

What's a hold?

-a tactic by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill is brought to the floor -this request signals the Senate leadership and the sponsors of the bill that a colleague may have objections to the bill and should be consulted before further action is taken -allows the senator to stop the bill from coming to the floor until the hold is removed

How is the power of caucuses now?

-all caucuses are informal in nature -some are more organized than others, like the Black and Hispanic Caucuses -Women's Issues have formal elections of its Republican and Democratic co-chairs and vice chairs, its members provide staff to work on issues of common concern to caucus member, and staffers meet regularly to facilitate support for legislation of interest to women

What are filibusters?

-allow for unlimited debate on a bill (or on presidential appointments) -there are no rules on a filibuster as long as the senator keeps talking

Describe the second stage of action (heCKA long)

-before a bill may be debated on the floor, it must be approved by the Committee on Rules and given a rule and a place on the calendar -takes place on the House or Senate floor -when the day arrives for floor debate, the House may choose to form a Committee of the Whole -on the House floor, the bill is debated, amendments are offered, and a vote ultimately is taken by the full House -if the bill survives, it's sent to the Senate for consideration if it was not considered there simultaneously -in the Senate, bills may be held up by a hold or filibuster

Define oversight

-congressional review of the activities of an agency, department, or office -became prominent in the 1970's and 1980's as a means of promoting investigation and program review, to determine if an agency, department, or office is carrying out its responsibilities as intended by Congress

What is the purpose behind special-interest caucuses?

-created around issues, home states, regions, congressional class, or other commonalities -facilitates the communication of members who share common interests

What's a pocket veto?

-figuratively allows bills stashed in the president's pocket to die -if Congress adjourns during the ten days the president has to consider a bill passed by both houses of Congress, the bill is considered vetoed without the president's signature

What do interest groups use to pressure legislators?

-grassroots appeals -urges their members in a particular state or district to call, write, fax, or e-mail their senators or representatives -lobbyists can't vote, but constituents back home can and do

What's the purpose of the Congressional Research Service?

-handles requests for info. for Congress -answers questions Congress may have about proposed bills

What are "wedge issues"?

-highly charged topics like same-sex marriage, abortion restrictions, flag burning -have an ability to divide or drive a wedge between voters -members are always keenly aware of the consequences of voting against their constituents' views

What happens after the bill is passed by the conference committee? (fourth stage) ((HELLA long))

-it is sent to the president, who either signs it or vetoes it -the president has 10 days to consider a bill The four options include: 1. the president can sign the bill, at which point it becomes law 2. the president can veto the bill, which is more likely to occur when the president is of a different party from the majority in Congress; Congress may override the president's veto with a 2/3 vote in each chamber, a very difficult task 3. the president can wait the full ten days, at the end of which time the bill becomes law without his signature if Congress is still in session 4. if the Congress adjourns before the ten days are up, the president can choose not to sign the bill, and it is considered pocket vetoed

What normally happens once a bill is introduced by a member of Congress?

-it usually reaches a dead end -of the approximately 10,000 proposed bills introduced in the 110th Congress, fewer than 5% were made into law

Example of lobbyists

-likely that a representative knows the National Rifle Association's (NRA) position on gun control legislation -legislator needs to get information and substantial research on the feasibility and impact of such legislation from NRA

What's the purpose of the Government Accountability Office?

-looks at spending of the executive branch -check of presidential power

What is the advantage to having multiple points of review?

-many opportunities for members to revise the content of legislation -may lead representatives to alter their views on a particular piece of legislation several times over

What's a cloture?

-mechanism requiring 60 senators to vote to cut off debate

Who do members of Congress rely heavily on for information on pending legislation? Why?

-members of their staff -when a bill is nonideological or one on which the member has no real position, staff members can be very influential -in many cases, lobbyists are just as likely to contact key staffers as they are members

What are the cons of having multiple points of review?

-much easier to defeat a bill than it is to pass one

What harder edge did the Republicans take on after Bush was elected?

-new tactics were devised to eliminate dependence on or participation by Democrats -members of the narrow Republican majority were kept in line largely by threats of poor committee assignments or loss of committee or subcommittee chairs

What's the War Powers Act?

-passed by Congress in 1973 -the president is limited in the deployment of troops overseas to a 60 day period in peacetime, which can be extended for an extra 30 days to permit withdrawal, unless Congress explicitly gives its approval for a longer period

What is the only way to stop a filibuster?

-sixty senators must sign a motion for cloture -after a cloture motion passes the Senate floor, members may spend no more than thirty additional hours debating the legislation at issue

What's the third stage of action that takes place? (hella long sry)

-takes place when the two chambers of Congress approve different versions of the same bill -they establish a conference committee to iron out the differences between the two versions -the committees hammer out a compromise, which is returned to each chamber for a final vote -sometimes, the conference committee fails to agree and the bill dies there -no changes or amendments to the compromise version are allowed -if the bill is passed, it's sent to the president

What did the Congressional Government (written by President Woodrow Wilson) focus on?

-the balances of power between Congress and the executive in the federal government and between the committees and the parties within the Congress -(former political scientist, David E. Price on the voting from 1970-1990s)

Describe how bills are introduced

-the bill is introduced to a member of Congress -the bill is sent to the clerk of the chamber, who gives it a number (HR 1 or S 1 to indicate House or Senate bill #1) -bill is printed, distributed, and sent to the appropriate committee/s for consideration

After years of Congress and the presidency being controlled by the Republican Party (109th Congress), how did the 2006 voters voice their discontent?

-the excessive partisanship of the Congress -a poll was taken on Election Day 2006 and found 51% of voters preferred a divided government

What do subcommittee hearings provide?

-the opportunity for those on both sides of the issue to voice their opinions

How are some pocket vetoes prevented?

-the session could technically be continued or a few extra days because Congress sets its own date for adjournment -however, extensions are unlikely as sessions are scheduled to adjourn close to the November elections or the December holidays

What were examples of how the Republicans used these tactics?

-the vote on the Republicans' privatized Medicare drug benefit (most notorious) -also utilized on the post-Katrina bill dealing with refinery construction and price-gouging

Describe the relationship between the Senate and the HoR during a bill-passing process?

-they have parallel processes -often the same bill is introduced in each chamber at the same time

What can be done to win over undecided legislators?

-they supply direct campaign contributions, volunteers, and publicity to members seeking reelection -they may urge supporters to deluge their representatives with e-mails or even to visit members' DC or district offices -they provide information that legislators use to justify the position they have embraced

What do legislators do when dealing with topics that have come through the committees on which they serve or with issues that they know about through experience (like their vocation)?

-they tend to act on their own preferences as trustees -on items of little concern to the people or items where the legislator has little knowledge on, they tend to turn to other sources for voting cues

Why is it so hard to gauge how the voters feel about any particular issue?

-virtually impossible to know how the people at home feel on all issues -members may get little guidance on their constituents' preferences if their district is narrowly divided -(abortion is often a passionate issue that has equal numbers of pro-life and pro-choice advocates)

What's logrolling?

-vote trading; voting to support a colleague's bill in return for a promise of future support -often takes place on specialized bills targeting money or projects to selected congressional districts

Describe the first action taken place (hecka long sry)

-w/in the committee, after a bill is referred there by the Speaker of the House or by the Senate majority leader -committee usually refers the bill to one of its subcommittees, which researches the bill and decides whether to hold hearings on it -the bill is revised in subcommittee -subcommittee votes to approve or defeat the bill -if it's approved, it's returned to the full committee -markup takes place

What are the issues where it's rare for members to vote against their constituents? Name an example of this.

-welfare rights, domestic policy, same-sex marriage, flag burning, abortion restrictions, or other highly salient issues -Ex. representatives from southern states couldn't hope to keep their seats for long if they voted in favor of proposed civil rights legislation (1960s)

What do members who sponsor bills have to go through to get it passed? (10 steps)

1. the House subcommittee 2. the full House committee 3. the House Committee on Rules 4. the House 5. the Senate subcommittee 6. the full Senate committee 7. the Senate 8. floor leaders in both Houses 9. the House-Senate conference committee 10. the president

How does a bill become a law?

1. the textbook method, which provides a greatly simplified road map of the process to make it easier to understand 2. second method more complicated

How often do members vote in conformity with the opinion in their district?

2/3 of the time -on average, Congress passes laws that reflect national public opinion at about the same rate

Which president was determined to govern from the "right in" rather than the "center out"?

George W. Bush (Rep.)

Whose presidency caused congressional Republicans, especially those in the House, to take on a harder edge?

George W. Bush (Rep.)

Which bills don't need to go through the Committee on Rules?

House budget bills

What is the average number of staffers for the Senate and the House? How are they divided?

House: 17 Senate: 40 -staff are divided between DC and district offices

What's the most effective way to influence behavior?

a link to a legislator's constituents

What's a divided government?

a political condition in which different parties control the White House and Congress

Are filibusters more a threat or an actual event on the Senate floor?

a threat

What's the purpose of the Library of Congress?

contains any book that's been published

What's the difference between holds and filibusters?

filibusters are more formal and public way of halting action on a bill

What's the only way for a bill to become a law if it becomes a pocket veto?

for it to be reintroduced in the next session and be put through the process all over again

Why is debate limited in the House?

given the size of the body

How did filibusters form?

grew out of the absence of rules to limit speech in the Senate

Why are their often co-sponsors, or multiple members sponsoring a bill?

in attempt to show support for the aims of the bill

Who do lobbyists primarily work for?

interest groups, trade associations, or large corporations

What happens once the Committee on Rules considers a bill?

it's put on the calendar

What is the constitutional responsibility of Congress?

its law-making function, which affects day-to-day lives of all Americans and sets policy for the future

What was voting like from 1970 to the mid-1990s?

majorities of the two parties took opposing sides roughly doubled to more than 60% of all roll-call votes

Who are the only people allowed to submit a bill for congressional consideration

members of the House or Senate, although many are initially drafted by lobbyists

Can bills be held up by a hold or filibuster in the House?

no- only the Senate

What can win over undecided legislators?

organized interests

What do the members of Congress look towards for voting cues to avoid making voting mistakes?

party, constituents, colleagues/caucuses, interest groups/lobbyists/political action committees, staff/support agencies

How was the power of caucuses prior to 1995?

power evident, as several caucuses enjoyed formal status within the legislative body and were provided staff, office space, and budgets

What's a major source of most members' campaign funding?

the almost 5,000 political action committees (PACs) organized by interest groups

What is the other way interest groups influence members' decision making?

the high cost of campaigning has made members of Congress attentive to those who help pay the tab for their high-cost campaigns, especially those without huge personal fortunes

What does the rule given to a bill by the Committee on Rules determine in the House?

the limits on the floor debate and specifies what types of amendments, if any, may be attached to the bill

What allows Congress to fulfill its constitutional responsibilities?

the organization of Congress

What are constituents?

the people who live and vote in a representative's home district or state

Where can proposals for legislation come from?

the president, executive agencies, committee staffs, interest groups, or even private individuals

What explains why members often look to party leaders for indicators of how to vote?

the whips in each chamber reinforce the need for party cohesion, particularly on issues of concern to the party

What do members do when they must vote on bills about which they know very little about?

they turn for advice to colleagues who have served on the committee that handled the legislation

What does forming a Committee of the Whole allow theHouse to do?

this procedure allows the House to deliberate with only one hundred members present, to expedite consideration of the bill

What's the primary function of most lobbyists?

to provide information to supportive or potentially supportive legislators, committees, and their staffs

What's the purpose of the Congressional Budget Office?

when the president submits budget, they make sure its reasonable