POSC 100 CHAPTER 11 PART2

jurisdiction (page 347)*

(of a congressional committee) the policy area in which a particular congressional committee is authorized to act.

INTRODUCTION

-A bill is introduced in the House or the Senate, where it is sent to the relevant committee

FLOOR ACTION

-Before debate takes place in the House, the House Rules Committee defines the rules for debate. In the Senate, the leadership proposes rules for actions. The legislation is debated on the floor, amendments are proposed, and the bill is voted on by the full membership of the House or the Senate.

CONFERENCE ACTION

-If the bill passes and no similar bill has been passed by the other chamber, it is sent to that chamber for consideration. if the other chamber has passed a similar bill, a conference committee of members of both chambers for final approval. only if a bill is passed both chambers in identical form is it sent to the president.

COMMITTEE ACTION

-Most of the work on legislation is done in committees and subcommittees. Hearings are held, the bill can be revised, and a recommendation to pass or table the bill is made.

EXECUTIVE ACTION

-if the president signs the bill, it becomes law. a presidential veto can be overridden by a two-thirds majority in each chamber.

advantages of seniority system (page 349-350)*

-reduces the number of power struggles that would occur if the chairs were decided each time by open competition - it places committee leadership in the hands of experienced members -enables members to look forward to the reward of a position as chair after years of service on the same committee.

cloture (page 353)*

A parliamentary maneuver that, if a three-fifths majority votes for it, limits Senate debate to 30 hrs and has the effect of defeating a filibuster

joint committee (page 347)*

Congress also has ____ ____ composed of members of both Houses, which performs advisory functions. ex: the ______ _____ on the library overseas the Library of Congress, the largest Library in the world.

conference committee (page 347)*

Congress has ____ ____ joint committees formed temporarily to work out differences in House and Senate versions of a particular bill.

select committees (page 347)*

Congress has a few ___ ____ that have a designated resgnisiblity but, unlike the standing committees, do not produce legislation. ex: Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which receives periodic classified briefings from the intelligence agencies.

COMMITTEE CHAIRS (PAGE 349-340)

Each committee and subcommittee are headed by a chairperson. -the committee chair position is powerful -the chair is responsible for: scheduling committee meetings, determines the order in which committee bills are considered, presides over committee discussions, directs committee's directs the committees majority staff, and can choose to lead debate when a committee bill goes to the floor of chamber for a vote.

HOW A BILL BECOMES LAW (PAGE 350-351)*

INTRODUCTION COMMITTEE ACTION FLOOR ACTION CONFERENCE ACTION EXECUTIVE ACTION

FROM COMMITTEE TO THE FLOOR (PAGE 352-353)*

If a majority of the committee vote to recommend passage of the bill, it is referred to the full chamber for action.

THE HOUSE COMMITTEE TO THE FLOOR (PAGE 352-353)*

In the House, the Rules Committee has the power to determine when the bill will be voted on, and how long the debate on it will last. -On most House bills, only a small number of legislators are granted the opportunity to speak on the floor -On most House bills, the chief sponsor and one of the bill's leading opponents will choose the speakers -The Rule Committees also decides whether a bill receives a "closed rule" (no amendments will be permitted), an "open rule" (members can propose amendments relevant to any of the bill's sections)

THE SENATE COMMITTEE TO THE FLOOR (PAGE 353)*

In the Senate, the majority leader, usually in consultation with the minority leader, schedules bills. -all Senate bills are subject to unlimited debate debate unless a three-fifteenth majority (60 of the 100 senators) vote for cloture, which limits debate to thirty hours. -Cloture is a way of defeating a Senate filibuster, which is a procedural tactic whereby a minority of senators can block a bill by talking until other senators give in and the billl is withdrawn from consideration

CONGRESS POLICY MAKING ROLE (PAGE 355)*

The president assumed a central rule in the legislative process -today congress and the president share the legislative effort, although their roles differ -congress policymaking role revolves around its 3 major functions: LAWMAKING, REPRESENTATION, AND OVERSIGHT

COMMITTEE HEARINGS AND DECISIONS (PAGE 352)*

When a bill is introduced in the House or Senate , it receives a bill number and is sent to the relevant committee, which assigns it to one of its subcommittee. -less than 10% of the bills referred to committees will get to the floor for a vote; the others are 'killed' when committees decide they lack merit. -The full House or Senate can overrule such decision, but this rarely occurs. -most bills die in committee because they are poorly conceived or of little interest to anyone other than a few members of Congress. -if the bill appears to have merit, the subcommittee will schedule hearings on it. after the hearings if the subcommittee still feels that the legislation is needed, members will recommend the bill to the full committee, which might hold additional hearings.

congress

_______ couldn't manage its workload without the help of its committee system.

law (page 354)*

a bill passed in identical form by the House and the Senate is not yet a law. the president also has a say. -if the president signs the bill it becomes law. -if the president rejects the bill through the use of veto, the bill is sent back to Congress with the presidents reasons for not signing it. -congress can override a veto by a two-thirds vote of each chamber; the bill then becomes law without the presidents signature.

Seniority (page 349)*

a member of congress's consecutive years of service on a particular committee. committee chairs are always members of the majority party and usually are the party members with the most ______ on the committee. ____ is based strictly on time served on a committee, not on the time spent in congress. -Thus, a member who switches committees, the year spent on the first committee do not count towards _____ on the new one.

filibuster (page 353)*

a procedural tactic in the US Senate whereby a minority of legislators prevents a bill from coming to a vote by holding the floor and talking until the majority gives in and the bill is withdrawn from consideration

bill (page 350)*

a proposed law (legislative act) within Congress or another legislature

conference committee (page 354)

a temporary committee that is formed to bargain over differences in the House and Senate versions of a bill. a conference committees members are usually appointed from the House and Senate standing committees that originally worked on the bill. -about 10%of the bills that pass both chambers differ in important respects in their house and senate versions. these bills are referred to conference committees to resolve the differences

turf war (Page 347)

all committees seek legislative influence, and each is jealous of its jurisdiction, so a bill that overlaps committee boundaries can provoke a _____ _____ over which committee will handle it

Committees and Parties: which is in control (page 350)*

committees are an instrument of the majority party in that it controls most of each committee's seats and appoints its chair. -each committee is powerful in its own rights -committees have been described as "little legislatures" each secure in its own jurisdiction and membership, and each wielding considerable influence over legislation it handles. -less than a dozen members hold a party leadership position, but several hundred serve as a committee or subcommittee chairs or are ranking members( the term for the minority's party committee and subcommittee leaders. -the distinguishing features of congressional power is its division among the membership, with provision for added power sometimes more and sometimes less in the hands of the top party leaders.

true

each House and Senate subcommittees have leading voices in the deposition of bills in their policy area

fixed number (PAGE 348)

each committee has a ___ ___ of seats with the MAJORITY holding most of them.

Vacancy(page 348)

each committee has a fixed number of seats, and a committee must have a ____ before a new member can be appointed

CONFERENCE COMMITTEES AND THE PRESIDENT (PAGE 354)* bill

for a ___ to pass, it must have the support of a simple majority (50% + 1) of the House or Senate members voting on it.

pocket veto (page 354)*

forces congress in its next term to start over from the beginning: the bill again must pass both chambers and again is subject to presidential veto

mark up (Page 352)*

in the House, both the full committee and subcommittee can ____ _____ a bill that is, they have the authority to change its content. in the senate, ____ ___ usually is reserved for full time commitment

Senate

in the _____ members can propose any amendment to any bill. ex: a senior may propose an antiabortion amendment to a bill dealing with defense expenditures. (such amendments are called riders)

House

in the ______ , proposed amendments must directly relate to the bill's contents.

senators (page 348)

often serve on 4 committees although they can only sit on 2 major committees, such as the FINANCE COMMITTEE or the FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE.

standing committee (page 345)*

permanent congressional committees with responsibility for a particular area of public policy. An example is the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

the 1946 Legislative Reorganization Act (Page 347)*

the _____ ____ ____ ___ requires that each bill introduced in Congress be referred to the proper committee. ex: an agricultural bill introduced in the senate must be assigned to senate agricultural committee. ex: bill dealing with foreign affairs must be sent to the senate of foreign relations committee. -this requirement is a source of each committees power. even if a committees members are known to oppose certain types of legislation, bills clearly within it's jurisdiction -the policy area in which it is authorized to act- must be assigned to it.

Lawmaking function of government (page 355-356) *

the authority (of a legislature) to make the laws necessary to carry out the governments powers . The constitutional powers of congress are substantial; they include the power to tax, to spend, to regulate commerce, and to declare war. -neither house nor senate can enact legislation without Theo others approval -the house and senate are controlled by opposite parties -100 lawmakers in the senate 435 members in the House -whereas congress's authority is divided, executive power is vested constitutionally in the hands of the president. -whereas congress often see issues from the perspective of their state or constituency, presidents have national constituency. -congresses strength as a legislative body is to handle scores of small issues simultaneously.

logrolling (page 360)*

the practice of trading one's vote with another member's so that both get what they want

Full House or Senate.(page 348)

the rate of democrats to republicans on each committee is approximately the same as the ____ ____ ___ _____, but there is no fixed rule on this matter an the majority party determines the ratio.

THE REPRESENTATION FUNCTION OF CONGRESS (PAGE 358-359)*

the responsibility of a legislature to represent various interest in society -to be fully effective members of congress must be reelected time and again, a necessity that compels them to pay attention to local demand -in making choices most members of congress on narrow issues at least vote in a way that will not antagonize local interest. -local representation occurs in part through the committee system. -local representation also shapes how congress distributes funds for federal programs -constituents have little awareness of most issues that come before congress. -congress typical sides with interest groups that align with their party. -in congress, disagreements over national goals occur along party lines republican and Democrats lawmakers have different perspective on national issues because their parties differ philosophically and politically -ex played out in the legislative decision No child left behind which tied federal education grants to public schools to their students performance on standardized test. Reps stressed need for tough testing standards Dems stressed financial support to poorer communities.

a law (page 354)*

to be a ____ a bill must be passed in identical form by both the House and the Senate.

Members if the House (page 348)

typically serve on only 2 committees