APGOV U2

PA senators

John Fetterman and Dave McCormick

Rep

Scott perry

US census

national govt conducts a population count every 10 yrs

reapportionment

the redistribution of the 435 House seats after the census. National govt tells us each state how many seats they get

Redistricting

each state redraws its congressional district boundaries. All districts must be roughly equal population. Each state's legislature draws a map and it must be signed into law by governor

how many US Reps

435

how many US senators

100

speaker of the house

mike johnson

house majority leader

Steve scalese

house majority whip

Tom Emmer

House minority leader

Hakeem Jefferies

house minority whip

Katherine Clark

President of senate

JD vance

president Pro Tempore

Chuck Grassley

Senate majority whip

John Barasso

Senate minority leader

Chuck Schumer

senate minority whip

Dick Durbin

standing committees

are permanent committees because they exist from one congress to the next. Each has it's own specialized duty, dealing with particular issues

select committees

are temporary committees because they are created to investigate a particular issue and when they finish their task, they issue their report and disband

joint committees

are committees that include members of the house and members of the senate. Some joint committees are permanent others are temporary

conference committees

are temporary joint committeescreated to compromise and resolve differences between the house version of a bill and the senate version of a bill. Bills must be passed by both houses in the exact same language before they can be sent to the pres

subcommittees

are smaller committees with the committee that have even more specialized knowledge and function. They report their findings back to the full or parent committee

what do standing committees do?

-conduct oversight of executive depts and agencies by holding hearings and forcing people to testify under oath

-hold hearings to gain info on bills being considered by the committee

-debate and markup (amend) bills that have been sent to their committee

-vot eon bills and other matters that are under their jurisdiction

who holds a lot of power

majority party

when are leaders elected

at the state of every congressional term

who presides over each chamber

-speaker presides over House floor

-Vice pres or Pres pro tempore presides over senate

who is most powerful rep

speaker (control the house floor schedule)

who is most powerful senator

majority leader

what do the whips do

count the votes

congressional powers

congress has legislative powers as well as non legislative powers

legislative powers

-law making power

-congress can only make laws on subjects which the US constitution grants them authority

expressed/delegated powers

-the power to raise and support an army

-the power to law and collect taxes and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the US

-the power to regulate interstate commerce

implied powers

-the power to draft soldiers

-the power to support public schools and establish social security

-the power to establish minimum wage

The power of the purse

congress must approve the budget that the president proposes and all money spent must be approved by congress

appropriations bills

these bills allocate federal dollars to specific federal departments, agencies, and programs

forbidden things for congress

-can't suspend writ of habeas corpus

-can't pass bills of attainder or ex post facto laws

• congress can't grant titles of nobilities

non legislative powers

-confirm appointees of the pres

-ratify the president's treaties

-propose amendments to the US Constitution

-choose the pres and vp if there is no electoral winner

-impeach and remove federal officials

ratifying treaties

when the pres signs a treaty with another head of state the US senate must ratify the treaty with two thirds vote

proposing amendments

• 2/3 vote in both houses

• 3/4 ratification of states

choosing pres and vp

• house chooses president

• senate chooses vp

impeachment and removal

impeachment occurs in the house and then senate decides if the impeached should be removed

party politics

the party leadership may apply pressure to vote the party line on issues. Team players often get the best committee assignments and other favors from the party

constituents

many members of congress feel pressured to bring home the bacon to their constituents via pork barrel legislation or earmarks. This federal money can make then popular in their home state/districts

peers

members of congress sometimes pressure others to vote for their bill. In return, they promise to vote for one of their bills in the future (logrolling)

interest groups

interest groups often apply pressure to members of congress by sending lobbyists to meet with them.

pork barrel spending

legislation that directs specific funds to projects within districts or state

Logrolling

trading of votes on legislation by members

Oversight

efforts by congress to ensure that executive branch agencies, bureaus, and cabinet departments, as well as their officials, are acting legally and in accordance with congressional goal

Gerrymandering

the intentional use of redistricting to benefit a specific interest or group of voters

Partisan gerrymandering

drawing district boundaries into strange shapes to benefit a political party

Malapportionment

that uneven distribution of the population among legislative districts

Incumbency advantage

institutional advantages held by those already in office who are trying to fend off challengers in an election

House majority leader

the person who is second in command of the House of Representatives

whip

a member of congress, chosen by his or her party members,whose job is to ensure party unity and discipline

Minority leader

the head of the party with the second highest number of seats in Congress, chosen by the party's members

Senate Majority leader

the person who has the most power in the senate and is the head of the party with the most seats

Committee chair

leader of a congressional committee who has authority over the committee's agenda

Discharge petition

motion filed by a member of congress to move a bill out of committee and onto the floor of the House of Representatives for vote

House Rules committee

a powerful committee that determines when a bil will be subject to debate and vote on the House floor, how long the debate will last, and whether amendments will be allowed on the floor

Hold

a delay placed on legislation by a senator who objects to a bill

Filibuster

a tactic through which an individual senator may ise the right of unlimited debate to delay a motion or postpone action on a piece of legislation

Cloture

a procedure through which senators can end a filibuster, and proceed to action provided 60 senators agree to it

Veto

the power of a president to reject a bill passed by Congress, sending it back to the originating branch with objections

Mandatory spending

spending required by existing laws that is locked in the budget

discretionary spending

spending for programs and policies at the discretion of Congress and president

Delegate role

the idea that the main duty of a member of congress is to carry out constituents wishes

Trustee role

the idea that the members of congress should act as trustees, making decisions based on their knowledge and judgement

Politico role

representation where members of congress balance their choices with the interests of their constituents and parties in making decisions

Bipartisanship

agreement between the parties to work together in congress to pass legislation

Gridlock

a slowdown or hall in congress's ability to legislate and overcome divisions, especially those based on partisanship

Divided government

control of the presidency and one or both chambers of congress split between the two major parties

lame duck period

period at the end of a presidential term when congress may block presidential initiatives and nominees