US Govt. Study guide + Kahoot

Baker v Carr

(1962) TN violated the 14th Amendment (equal protection under the law) because districts were not proportionately represented

Wesberry v Sanders

(1964) SCOTUS concluded that the state's districts (GA) were badly apportioned.

Qualifications for HOR

-25 years old -citizen at least 7 years -live in the district being represented

Gerrymandering Supreme court cases

-Baker v Carr, 1962 -Wesberry v Sanders, 1964 -Shaw v Reno, 1993

Leadership Positions HOR and Senate

-Don Beyer: District 8 representative -Tim Kaine: Senator -Mark Warner: Senator

Powers

-Major differences between senate powers and HOR powers -Filibuster and cloture -Legislative checks on the executive -Revenue bills

Current leadership

-Nancy Pelosi: HOR speaker -Donald Trump: Pres -Mike Pence: VP

Standing committees

-Permanent committees that cover a particular subject -Chaired by a senior member in the majority party -The majority party controls the majority seats on each committee, thus controlling the legislation -Separate subject-matter committees in each house of Congress that handle bills in different policy areas.

Committees

-Ranking member -Rules committee -Ways and Means Committee -Role of Committees and subcommittees in legislation -Conference committee -Legislative oversight -Standing committees

Legislative checks on the executive are

-Removing president through impeachment -Refuse to approve a treaty -Override a presidential veto

Role of Committees and subcommittees in legislation

-Smaller groups within Congress to draft more precise laws -Provide expertise on a subject -The system allows for a large amount of legislation to pass through Congress

Simple majority vote in the Senate approves

-Supreme Court Nominees -Cabinet Members

The president of the Senate is

-The vice-president -Covered by the president pro-tempore -is the swing vote

cloture(Rule 22)

-allows for 3/5 majority vote (60 Senators) to stop debate on a bill and call for a vote -Then each senator can speak up to one hour on that bill

How Gerrymandering Works

-cracking: diluting the voting power of the opposing party's supporters across many districts -packing: concentrating the opposing party's voting power in one district to reduce their voting power in other districts -homogenization of all districts: essentially a form of cracking where the majority party uses its superior numbers to guarantee the minority party never attains a majority in any district

incumbent success- Why

-familiar to voters and raise more money -provide constituent and district services (addressing a concern, providing capitol tours...)

Powers delegated to Congress in the Constitution

-issue copyrights and patents -establish laws -establish post offices and postal roads -declare war

legislation types

-pork barrel -rider

When does gerrymandering happen

-redistricting takes place in each state about every ten years, following the decennial census. This defines geographical boundaries, with each district within a state being geographically contiguous and having about the same number of state voters.

Pass rate of a bill to become a law

-simple majority -A bill can originate in either house BUT an exact version MUST pass both houses and be signed by the president to become law

How many members is guaranteed to a state in the House of Reps

1

why gerrymandering is done

1) draw the lines to include as many of the opposing party's voters as possible in one or 2 districts, making the remaining districts safe for majority vote. (packing) 2) to divide an opponent's voters into other districts to weaken the opponent's voter base (cracking)

Shaw v Reno

1993 case in NC with majority-minority districts, court ruled it was an example of racial gerrymandering and thus these districts were unconstitutional. The case was a problem of reverse discrimination. (Redistricting cannot be based on race!) (Can states draw new congressional districts with race in mind?)

Number of Representatives

535 total people in congress but number of representatives in HOR depends on population

Congress not being up for reelection all at once is

A continuous body

Incumbent

A current officeholder who is seeking reelection.

Rider

A provision attached to a bill - to which it may or may not be related - in order to secure its passage or defeat.

Ranking member

AKA Vice chair is the senior committee member in the minority party

minority leader of 116th congress

Chuck Schumer

Where does a bill go after it is introduced in the House or the Senate

Committee

Legislative oversight

Congress's monitoring of the bureaucracy and its administration of policy, performed mainly through hearings. Congress, through its committees, checks to see that executive branch agencies are working effectively

Congress' ability to send mail and packages for free is

Franking privilege

Process of drawing district lines to favor a political party

Gerrymandering

Congressional elections have this advantage

Incumbents get more contributions and provide services

Making laws is the job of only this branch

Legislative

Majority leader of 116th congress

Mitch McConnell

Rules of procedure in the Senate compared to the House are

More Formal

Providing funding for local projects for one's constituents is

Pork Barrel

How Gerrymandering is effecting politics

Pulling parties, Democratic and Republican, further apart as they become more extreme.

HOR only can begin this type of bill

Revenue bills

McCulloch v Maryland

Supreme Court ruling (1819) The establishment of the National Bank seemed an overstep of power for some. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the strengthening the government (keep the bank!) upholding implied powers (liberal constructionists)

Ways and Means Committee deals with

Tax Laws

revenue bills

Tax bills (must originate in the House) to raise money for the government

Major differences between senate powers and HOR powers

The House was designed to prevent abuses such as those during colonialism but The Senate was meant to calm popular ideas since Senators cannot be so quickly removed

What happens if there is no clear winner in the electoral college

The house selects the president

Speaker of the House is

The most powerful member in Congress

What is true of a standing committee

They are headed by members based on seniority

This brings the bill to the floor in the Senate

Unanimous consent

party affiliation

a candidate's identifiable membership in a political party, often listed on an election ballot.

Fillibuster

allows a single Senator to block voting on a bill by giving a lengthy speech

Franking Privilege

allows members of Congress to mail letters and other materials postage-free by substituting their facsimile signature (frank) for the postage.

Rules committee

assigns bills to the appropriate committee, determines debate and voting schedules

The people in a representative's district

constituents

Conference committee

created temporarily to work out differences of bills passed by each house. They gather for a mark up session.

Ways and Means Committee

determines tax policy

Most bills are sent to a committee and then

don't make it to the full Congress

Interest groups role with congress

have brought more individuals into the legislative process

In an election, what is the largest factor for a candidate

incumbency

Role of the party affiliation in voting

is the main factor in voting

Pork barrel

representatives try to spend federal dollars in their district ("bringing home the bacon")

Redistricting is

setting up new congressional districts

Legislative checks on the executive

veto override, impeachment of civil officers, Senate approval of appointments and treaties, raise and govern military forces