GOVT 2305 - Chapter 11 - Congress - The Struggle for Democracy

What powers are unique to the Senate?

-advice/consent for judicial and upper-level executive branch appts -trial of impeachment cases -advise/consent for treaties

What formal powers does the Speaker have to help him/her perform his/her duties? (8)

-making committee assignments -referring bills to committee -controlling house agenda -appointing members to rules committee -replacing conference committee members -influencing appt of chairs of committees -controlling house's schedule -directing floor debate; power to recognize/not ppl to speak in floor debates

What powers are unique to the House of Representatives?

-origination of revenue bills -bringing of impeachment charges

What does the President of the Senate do? (2)

-to serve as pres of senate and preside over senate in absence of VP -honorary office, usually given to the senator w/ the longest continuous tenure

What two considerations do members of Congress have when seeking committee assignments?

-try to get on committees that will help them serve their constituents -get on elite committees to get high visibility and a central role in law making

What three choices does a committee have after receiving a bill finished being worked on by a subcommittee?

1) call own hearings and markup session 2) kill the bill 3) accept the action of the subcommittee if 2 bill dies; if 1 starts process of hearings, testimony and markup all over again; If 3 goes to floor for action

what 4 things are involved w/ oversight?

1) hearings-information gathering exercises and signals from committee to relevant part of bureaucracy what committee wants bureaucracy to do 2) congress can also request reports on agency practices and ops 3) informal oversight-ongoing contact btwn (sub)committee leaders and agency administrators 4) impeachment-house impeaches, senate tries

What four things does the party leadership consider when making committee assignments?

1) seniority 2) the preferences of individual members 3) the needs of the party 4) loyalty to the party

When the President receives a bill passed by Congress, what three choices does he have?

1) sign bill 2) veto the bill 3) pres can do nothing

Do we have descriptive representation in Congress? If not, who is overrepresented and who is underrepresented?

1. no 2. millionaires, lawyers, advanced degrees 3. women, african, hispanic, asian americans

1. Who is the most powerful leader in the House? 2. In the Senate?

1. speaker of the house 2. majority leader

Why might a lack of descriptive representation in an elected body be important? (2)

1. views of groups only taken into accnt in policy-making if these groups hold seats in legislature in proportion to their size in pop 2. might point to some flaws in the democratic process

Where do bills go after they are introduced in either the House or the Senate?

HOR - committees; senate - comittee

Who are the constitutionally proscribed leaders of the House and the Senate?

VP, Pres of Senate and Pres Pro Tempore,

What a filibuster?

an attempt to talk a bill to death by endless debate that does not allow bill to reach the floor for a vote

What happens if the president signs a bill?

becomes a law

What does the House Minority Leader do?

chief spokesperson and legislative strategist for the opposition; tries to forge relationships w/ members of opposition party who might be persuaded to ally w/ the minority party on certain issues

Where does most of Congress's work happen?

committees

What is descriptive representation?

composition of a rep body reflects the demographic composition of the pop as a whole

What does a conference committee do?

created as needed for each major piece of legislation to reconcile the house and senate's version of bills Sometimes add, subtract of amend provisions, and this can have great effects.

What are minority-majority districts?

district where majority of constituents are from the same minority

What is gerrymandering?

drawing congressional district lines to advantage one group or disadvantage another

How are bills introduced in the House?

dropping them into hopper

What is casework?

each member of congress has a sizable staff, major job is helping constituents cut thru red tape of fed bureaucracy

After a conference committee finishes its work, where does a bill go next? What happens then?

goes back to each house for a vote

What does the House Majority Leader do?

help speaker plan strategy and manage legislative business of the house

Which chamber, House of Senate, has time limits on debate?

house

Which chamber, House or Senate, has limits on the number of amendments that may be added to bills?

house

Which chamber, House or Senate, has more members?

house

Which chamber, House or Senate, is more hierarchically organized?

house

What is reapportionment?

house reshuffled among states

What are possible negative effects of creating minority-majority districts?

hurt interest representation

What happens if the president does not sign a bill?

if congress is in session bill becomes law after 10 days w/o pres signature; if congress adjourned bill dies

What are joint committees

include membership from both houses of congress; facilitate flow of legislation

What formal powers does the Senate Majority Leader have to help him/her perform his/her duties?

influence in committee assignment office space designation and control of access to the floor of senate

What is oversight?

keeping an eye on how executive branch carries out provisions of laws that congress has passed

What does the Speaker of the House do?

leads/giudes the HOR

How are bills introduced in the Senate?

must be introduced on the floor

Must amendments added to bills be related to the topic of the bill?

no

Why is a filibuster strategy possible in the U.S. Senate?

no limits on debate in Senate

What is a hearing, and where do these take place during the process of a bill becoming a law?

part of oversight in executive branch; info gathering exercises and signals from committee to relevant part of bureaucracy what committee wants bureaucracy to do.

What are the party conferences (or caucus for House Democrats) and what do they do(4)?

party conference; all of the members of pol party in the house/senate meet to: -select its leaders -approve committee assignments -approve committee/subcommittee chairs - reach an agreement on legislative objectives for the season

What are standing committees? Which of Congress's three jobs are done on standing committees?

permanent committees that specialize in the consideration of particular subject areas

What does the President pro tempore of the Senate do?

preside over Senate in absence of VP

What is a markup and where does this occur?

process of rewriting bills in referred subcommittee

What is redistricting?

redrawing of congressional district lines after reapportionment

Before a bill goes to the floor for debate and a vote in the House, where does it go first? What happens here?

rules committee; decide when bills will be heard and how they will be debated like time limits, # and nature of amendments allowed

What happens if the president vetoes a bill?

sent back to congress, where veto can be overridden by a 2/3 vote of both house

What does the Senate Majority Leader do?

some influence in committee assignments, office space designation, and control of access to the floor of the senate

Who is responsible for actually redrawing the Congressional district lines in a state?

state legislature but parties in legislature try to draw lines to their advantage

What effect do redistricting efforts have in most states?

states who gain/lose house seats have to, as # of districts in a state = # of house seats

Are vetoes usually successful or unsuccessful in stopping legislation?

successful

Is gerrymandering constitutional?

supreme court says yes if done to advantage of one group/disadvantage another but no if done to dilute an ethnic minority/diminish their political influence

How can a filibuster be ended?

takes a 3/5th vote to end debate, called a cloture, so a very effective way to kill a bill

What do the Majority and Minority Whips do? (4)

the duty of carrying out: -many tasks of getting bills passed -counting votes -arm twisting -enforce party discipline

Why might a lack of descriptive representation in an elected body NOT be important?

the need to face constituents in elections makes reps responsive to their constituents regardless of whether they share traits or not.

Why did Congress pass legislation encouraging the formation of minority-majority districts?

to increase minority representation in Congress

Why is casework important to members of Congress?

to keep/gain voters vote

Why is reapportionment done?

to reflect changes in pop; states gain pop -> gain seats in house. States lose pop -> lose seats in house

Where does a bill passed by Congress go next?

to the president

What are special/select committees? Which of Congress's three jobs are done on special/select committees?

usually temporary committees created to perform a particular study/investigation; no power to send bills to house or senate floor; frequently have oversight functions

What is a pocket veto?

when bill dies bc congress is adjourned

Why is redistricting done?

when pop w/in states shift they must redistrict bc congressional districts must all have roughly the same pop

What does the Senate Minority Leader do?

who tries to organize the minority party's activities in the senate

Have minority-majority districts achieved their objectives (the reasons for Congress's encouraging their formation?

yes increased descriptive rep = more african americans and latinos in congress