Chapter 11 AP Government

Explain the factors that shape the way members of Congress vote.

- Party influence, ideology/polarized politics, constituency opinion vs member ideology

List the powers of the Speaker of the House.

- Presides over the house - Plays a part in committee assignments - National spokesman

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

- analyzes the president's budget and making economic projections about the performance of the economy, costs of proposed policies, and economic effects of taxing and spending alternatives.

Government Accountability Office (GAO)

- helps congress perform its oversight functions by reviewing the activities of the executive branch to see if it is following the congressional intent of laws and by investigating the efficiency and effectiveness of policy implementation.

What role does party play in Congress' oversight role?

-provides opportunity to define existing policies example: Medicare, oil drilling regulations if congress is controlled by rep or dem can controll the policies to align with their party views

Describe the four different types of committees.

1) Standing Committees - handle bills in specific policy areas 2) Joint Committees -both house and senate members involved; only exist for topics like economy & taxation 3)Conference Committees- formed when house and senate pass different versions of the same bill 4)Select Committees - have a special focus (committee of intelligence)

How many numbers are in the Senate?

100

What are the qualifications for being in the House?

25 years old, citizen, 7 years of residency in the US

What are the qualification for being in the Senate?

30 years old, citizen, 9 years of residency in the US

How many members are in the House?

435

Congressional Caucus

A group of members of Congress sharing some interest or characteristic. Many are composed of members from both parties and from both houses.

Seniority System

A simple rule for picking committee chairs, in effect until the 1970's. The member who had served on the committee the longest and whose party controlled the chamber became chair, regardless of party loyalty, meant state, or competence.

Filibuster

A strategy unique to the senate whereby opponents of a piece of legislation use their right to unlimited debate to prevent the senate from ever voting on a bill. AKA they're stalling.

Trustee/Delegate/politico

A trustee is the view that a Congressman uses their best judgement to make decisions, a delegate is the view that a congressman should just listen to their constituents and ignore their personal views, and a politico is a combination of both.

Casework

Activities of members of congress that help constituents as individuals, particularly by cutting through bureaucratic red tape to get people what they think they have a right to get.

Explain the reasons that incumbents are often reelected, and why they occasionally aren't.

Advertising, credit claiming, weak opponents, campaign spending, party identification. They aren't reelected after major scandals or wave elections

When does most of the turnover in Congress happen?

After congress members retire.

How did the founders envision the legislative branch?

As the center of policy-making

Read over Figure 11.2, including the intro, to familiarize yourself with the legislative process. What are the similarities and differences between chambers? Which two steps do many bills avoid (thinking back to what you know about types of committees)?

Can be introduced into congress by: -member of house/senate (if passes in one chamber, sent to other chamber to be presented) -companion bill (introduced in both chambers at the same time House: introduced, subcommittee, committee, RULES committee, Full house,president Senate: introduced, subcommittee, committee, Leadership, Full senate, president

Using Table 11.1, describe the typical member of Congress. What demographic group is the most under-represented? Which chamber looks more like America?

Caucasian male. Women are the most under-represented - but most minorities are also under represented (Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans) House obviously looks more like America

Where does most of the real work in Congress happen?

Committees

Legislative Oversight

Congress's monitoring of the executive branch bureaucracy and its administration of policy, performed mainly through committee hearings.

Pros barrel spending

Federal Projects, grants, and contracts available to state and local governments, businesses, colleges, and other institutions in a congressional district

How has lawmaking changed since the 1980s? Note: recently politicians have been discussing this issue by calling for a return to "regular order."

Few legislation actually pass due to the harsh political climate - party leaders take the role for compromising since committees often are unable to compromise

How does the size of the House and Senate impact their operations and how power works within them?

House -very large compared to senate -more centralized/hierarchical -party loyalty / party line voting more common -leaders in the house have more power over the new house members than the senate leaders do over the senate members -protects the ideas of the masses Senate -protects the ideas of the elites -tends to be same amount or more liberal than the House -smaller -decentralized

In which chamber is the incumbency reelection rate higher? Why?

House, because of gerrymandering

Omnibus Legislation

It's a way for whoever is in the majority to ram a bill through. It takes very unrelated bills and puts them in one legislation. So Republicans can put a bill supporting gay rights with a bill deporting illegal immigrants, and a Democrats who votes against it is essentially voting against gay rights.

Cloture

Means that 60 senators can vote to stop a filibuster.

Franking Privilege

Members of congress can send mail for free - advantage as an incumbent

Chuck Schumer

Minority leader

Rules Committee

Only in the House, gives each bill a "rule" by setting the terms of debate, when it will go to floor for a vote, and what kind of amendments can be attached to it

Whip

Party leaders who work with the majority party's leader or minority leader to count votes beforehand and lean on waverers whose votes are crucial to the passage of a bill favored by the party.

Contract with America

Proposed 6 weeks before the 1994 midterm elections and was a major asset to Republicans taking back the house, called for term limits to Congressmen

Hastert Rule

Republicans will not allow the House to vote on a bill unless it has the support of a majority of the Republican caucus

Who is the REAL, day-to-day leader of the Senate?

Senate majority leader, NOT VP

Which type of committee is the most important?

Standing Committee - handles bills in specific policy areas.

5y,What does Figure 11.4 illustrate about the Senate?

That it is the most malapportioned legislative body. The fact that rhode island gets 2 votes and so does california means it will always be, on paper, badly represented, but that was the Connecticut compromise

Describe the events that followed Antonin Scalia's death.

The Constitution says that the President is to chose a Supreme Court Justice, and the Senate is to confirm them. But Mitch McConnell ignored the constitution and refused to confirm the justice that the President nominated.

Using Figure 11.3, explain the changes in party polarization in Congress.

The distance between parties has grown steadily. Dems are getting more liberal and GOP is getting more conservative and racist

Minority Leader

The principal leader of the minority party in either house

How useful is constituent contact in helping a member of Congress figure out what her district wants?

Very, and over the years with better technology it has gotten easier and therefor more useful to members

Markup

When a bill is in a committee, they mark it up. They change it, add amendments, and usually, kill it

How has the filibuster changed since 2013?

filibusters limited by majority dems by lowering the amount of votes it takes to end a bill debate (except for nominations to the supreme court)

How and why are members assigned to committees?

members communicate their preferred committee

Explain the statement, "Presidential leadership of Congress is at the margins."

parties have become extremely polorized, thus, presidential leadership isnt very successful

How has the role of committee chairs changed over the past few decades?

pre 1970s - seniority system (this was dumb) and allowed chairs to bully congress after 1970s- seniority system kinda in place kinda not but now they vote on who should be chair - plus chairs have limits of having no more than 3 consecutive 2 year terms

What are the pros and cons of Congressional term limits? What have states, Congress, and the Supreme Court done on the issue of term limits?

pro: -higher turn over rate -more elections for election seats -more challengers run against incumbents con: -possibility of more lower quality candidates -loss of experienced legislators Congress failed to pass a constitutional amendment on term limits Supreme court declared state imposed term limits on members of congress is unconstitutional

Mitch McConnell

senate majority leader - republican

Majority leader

the principal partisan ally of the speaker of the house or the majority party's manager in the senate

Incumbent

those individuals who already hold office in congressional elections; usually win.