AP Government Midterm ALL TERMS

“Dont Get Rolled”

dont allow party leadership to overly control your voice/vote in congress

“District Agenda”

congress person voting/behavior in a way that benefits consitutants

constitutants

people who are in the district of a congress person

Why is the house referred to as a rugby team?

Its a team sport, move as one

Why is the senate referred to as golf?

Singular game, individualism

“Patomac Fever”

Describes disconnect between congress and home districts

committee assignments

every congressperson is in multiple committees but some committees have more power than others

What do congress people think of the 2yr election cycle for house?

HATE IT. Lots of time wasted on asking for donations for campaigns (less time to legislate)

Characteristics of the House of Representitives

Directly Elected by voters in their district (close to the people), two year terms (Close & accountable to the people while giving them enough time to become competent in their work), based on population, 435 members, atleast 25 years old, citizens of the U.S. for 7+ years, residing in the state that they represent, unlimited # of terms, all up for reelection at once. more formal and impersonal

Characterisitcs of the Senate

Directly elected by the people (17th amendment), every 6 years (elections staggered so that only 1/3 is up for election every 2 years, their longer terms provide as a defense to the people against their own temporary errors or delusions), atleast 30 years old, citizen of the U.S. for 9+ years, resident of the state that they represent, no term limit,100 members, unlimited debate allows filibusters, policy generalists

What are the powers of congress?

lawmaking, budgeting (regulating interstate commerce, passing a federal budget, imposing & collecting taxes, borrowing money, and coining money), executing oversight of the federal burecraucy & other public officials, declare war, determines who can become a citizen under the naturalization process

Legislative authority

authorized to legislate an economic policy national security, foreign policy, and other policy areas

budgeting process

impede presidents proposals by refuding to fund them, creating a bureaucratic agency, congressional action authorizes the department/agency, fund agencies activites

pork barrel spending

legislation in appropriation bills that fund projects within districts/states (gives party leaders some of the leverage they need to make congress run)

logrolling

combining several appropriation bills that funds projects within districts or states

oversight

power of congress to review and investigate actions by executive branch agencies, and other officials to ensure that they are acting legally and in accordance with congressional goals (not easy)

How does congress exercise checks and balances

sets number of SC judges, confirms presidential nominees, femove federal officials (POTUS, VP, members of the burecuracy, federal judges. must comiit treason, bribery or any other high crimes & misdomenors. if majority of house votes to impeach, 2/3 of senate need to convict)

Does congress reflect the diversity of their districts?

no, it is supposed to though

Advice and consent

U.S. constitutional power of the Senate to review, debate, and approve or reject presidential nominations (Cabinet, judges, ambassadors) and treaty ratifications, serving as a key check on executive power by requiring Senate deliberation and approval for major appointments and international agreements, derived from Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution. 

What do they mean by “bad ideas die, and good ideas take time”?

Bad ideas will be killed off in congress, but good ones will take a long time to be approved since they wait for people to come to terms

Ways that bills can die

filibuster, hold, germaness requirement, rules committee, majority party (decide not to recommend a bill, pigeon hole.

Incumbent

being already in office when running for reelection (qualified challengers often wait until their is an open seat after a retirement/move to other office)

Presidential coattails

straight ticket voting

midterm elections

Whoever the president is, the party looses elections at the midterm

census

the U.S. Constitution-mandated, decade-long count of the entire U.S. population (every resident, citizen or not) to gather demographic data (age, race, housing) vital for congressional apportionment (allocating House seats), drawing legislative districts, and distributing federal funds, directly influencing representation and resource allocation

Who will change district lines?

state legislature, or hire consultants

Baker v. Carr

explored the nature of "political questions" and the appropriateness of Court action in them, the Court held that there were no such questions to be answered in this case and that legislative apportionment was a justiciable issue.

Political Question

a constitutional issue that U.S. federal courts refuse to decide because the Constitution assigns it to another government branch (Congress or the President), making it nonjusticiable and leaving it for the political process

Germaness Requirement

legislative rule that mandates an amendment or motion must be relevant and appropriate to the subject matter of the bill it is being offered to

Pigeonhole

committee sets a bill aside and takes no action on it, effectively killing it. This can happen when a committee refuses to assign the bill to a subcommittee, hold a hearing, or bring it to a vote.

What are some examples of political questions

impeachment, rules for naturalization (courts cannot say if these things are bad or not), redistricting (race or unqeual populations are different though)

Reapportionment

seat changes in the house based on population

redistricting

ever 10 years the districts are redrawn and are supposed to represent about 750k people in a single district (you can do so more than every 10 years(

gerrymandering

Intentional use of redistricting to benefit a specific group (party or race) (partisan is okay but race is not okay)

Cracking

splits a group among multiple districts to dilute their voting power

packing

packing concentrates members of a party in a single district allowing the other party to win the other district

partisan gerrymandering

Gerrymandering based on political party. cannot be heard because they present a political question beyond the reach of the courts. (shows how baker v. carr was not fully successful)

Racial Gerrymandering

Gerrymandering based on race.

Majority Minority districts

Result of the voting rights act. A district that the majority of the peolpe who live in it are a minority group.

What is a theme with each groups committees?

HOR handles more domestic issues while senate works with more foreign policy issues

Where is most of the work done in congress?

committees. So much so that the members become specialists in their committees.

Standing Committees

Where most of the work of Congress gets done (permanent, legislation and exercise oversight on agencies, divided into even more specialized subcommittees)

Joint Committees

Contain members of the HOR & senate (public attention on an issue, gather info, help party leadership speed up legislation)

Confrence Committees

temporary committee that resolves differences between the house & the senate versions of a bill (required before president signature)(members centerally involved in a bill are usually on these committees

Select Committees

Temporary Committee made to investigate an issue (Crisis/Scandal)

What is committee membership like?

Serve on multiple at a time, tiering of committes (senerority to get better committees), based on interest or district needs (impact constituents, earmarks)

Firealarm oversight

legislative oversight of bureaucracy is reactive, relying on citizens and interest groups to trigger alerts (like a fire alarm) when agencies misbehave, rather than legislators constantly patrolling for issues themselves

Appropriations Committee

powerful body that controls government spending by reviewing budgets, drafting spending bills (appropriations), and allocating funds for federal agencies and programs, essentially deciding how taxpayer money is spent annually (House and Senate)

Ways and Means Committee

U.S. Congress's oldest and chief tax-writing committee, responsible for legislation on revenue (taxes, tariffs), Social Security, Medicare, trade, and unemployment, originating all revenue bills as required by the Constitution (House)

Foreign Relations Committee

handled by two main committees: the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (SFRC) and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs (HFAC), both crucial for shaping America's role in the world, overseeing diplomatic nominations, treaties, foreign aid, and international policy through hearings, legislation, and debate, with the Senate holding exclusive power over treaty ratification and confirmation of ambassadors. 

Judiciary Committee

overseeing justice, courts, civil liberties, immigration, and constitutional matters, handling related bills, holding hearings on issues like AI or antitrust, and vetting judicial nominations, effectively acting as the "lawyer" for Congress on legal and judicial affairs. (House and Senate)

Armed Services Committee

powerful standing committees that oversee the Department of Defense, military policy, and national security, authorizing defense spending and programs, most notably through the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). They handle everything from defense policy and budgets to military research, personnel benefits, and the readiness of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Space Force. (House and Senate)

How does party leadership in the house work?

Its more formally structered by members have less power than senators

speaker of the house

3rd most powerful person in the U.S.

Leader of the HOR chosen by members from the majority party

Political Action Committees (PAC’s)

Organizations that raise money for candidates & campaigns (Supports leadership)

House Majority Leader

Person who is second in command in the HOR. crucial in setting the legislative agenda, deciding which bills come to a vote, and guiding daily House business to advance their party's goals. 

whip

member of congress chosen by their party members, whose job is to ensure party unity and discipline

minority leader

Head of the party with the second highest number of seats in Congress, chosen by that party’s members (less influence, coordinate minority party activity, own whip)serving as their chief spokesperson, developing party strategy, negotiating with the majority, directing floor activities, leading debates, and ultimately working to help their party regain majority control by promoting their agenda and criticizing the majority's policies. 

How does party leadership work in the senate?

Office leader of the senate is the VP (they dont do anything unless they need to break a tie)

Senate majority leader

the person who has the most power in the senate and is the head of the party with the most seats (not as powerful as the speaker of the house)serve as chief spokespersons for their respective political parties, holding the majority and the minority in the chamber.

Committee Chair

Leader of a congressional committee who has authority over the committee’s agenda

Differences between house and senate committees

House has more by senators serve on more

Congressional Staff

works closely with members and has gotten larger as the years go on

What are the norms of behavior

unwritten rules/expectations for how members should act/contribute.

President pro tempore of the Senate

the official chair of the Senate / longest serving member of the majority party

Ranking Member

Senior minority party member on a committee. the amount of power I have depends heavily on my relationship with my counterpart on the committee from the majority party

What is the first step of the legislative process?

Introduction. Bill starts in house or senate. Interest groups help shape the bill. put in the hopper, assigned random number, and is assigned to relevant committees

Hopper

bill hopper attached to the side of the Clerk's desk in the Chamber. The term derives from a funnel-shaped storage bin filled from the top and emptied from the bottom, which is often used to house grain or coal.

How do committees and subcommittes handle a bill

Hold a hearing to gather info (people outside of congress may be brought in to testify/offer expertise), markup session (make changes), congressional committtes are often the graveyard of most bills

discharge petition

a motion filed by a member of congress to move a bill out of committee and onto the floor of the HOR for debate. 218 votes needed.

What is a continuing resolution?

temporary spending bills to prevent a government shutdown

House rules committee

powerful committee that determines when a bill 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

Committee of the whole

consists of all members of the HOR and meets in the hosue chamber but is governed by different rules that make it easier and faster to debate a piece of legislation

hold

delay placed on legislation by a senator who objects to a bill to prevent it from moving to the floor for a vote

Unanimous consent agreements

Agree to limit debate and avoid a filibuster

filibuster

a tactic through which an individual senator may use the right of unlimited deabte to delay a notion of postpone action on a piece of legislation (threat of a filibuster can result in negotiation to add provisions to a bill)

cloture

procedure through whic senators can end a filibuster and proceed to a vote provided 60 senators agree to it

veto

The power of a president to reject a bill passed by Congress, sending it back with objections (2/3 of both chambers can override a veto)

How can a bill die in the introduction stage?

Never scheduled for referral or improperly referred; clock runs out in the session (same for house and senate)

How can a bill die in the standing/subcommittee stage?

Committee or subcommittee refuses to hold a hearing (“pigeonhole”)

Or simply takes no action before adjournment (same for house and senate)

How can a bill die in the committee vote stage?

Committee votes to give an unfavorable report or table the bill, stopping further consideration (Same for house & Senate)

How can a bill die through calendar/scheduling for House?

Leadership or rules/ calendars system never schedules floor time

Hassert rule: where by speaker of the house wont allow a vote unless its supported by majority of the members of the majority party

How can a bill die through calendar/scheduling for Senate?

The majority leader does not place the bill on the calendar or on the agenda for consideration. Minority leadership is often consulted.

How can a bill die in the House / Senate Floor Debate phase?

Fail on final passage vote

How can a bill die through Daily Tactics / Clock Running?

Filibuster or threat of filibuster (hold) prevents cloture; without 60 votes to end debate, the bill never gets a final vote before adjournment

How can a bill die through confrences/resolving differences?

House rejects the senate’s version or a conference report, and no compromise text passes before the session ends (same for house & senate)

How can a bill die Post Passage in Other Chamber?

House passed bill dies because the senate never take it up, kills it in committee or defeats it on the floor

How can a bill die during the presidential stage

veto

How can a bill die through End of Session Timing?

If congress adjourns within 10 days of sending a bill and the president does not sign it, the bill dies in pocket veto (same for house and senate)

Constituency

citizens in a district/state who elect a representitive/senator

apportionment

process that occurs every 10 years after the census of determining the number of representatives for each state using census data (each state is guaranteed atleast 1 representitive)

Redistricting

states redrawing of boundaries of electoral districts for the HOR following each census (for states with just 1 representative the district lines are the same as state boundaries)

Malapportionment

uneven distribution of the population among legislative districts (unconstitutional in the 14th amendment)

Parisian Gerrymandering

parties use the oppurtunity to draw boundaries that will give their party the largest possible # of representives (not the only reason most congressional districts are like minded (party wise), its also because people are moving to places with likeminded people. People who vote in primaries are more ideologically extreme

Majority- minority districts

a district in which voters of a minority race/ethnicity constitute an electoral majority within that electoral district

incumbency advantage

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

When will incumbents loose?

mostly because of a scandal, poor economic conditions, or redistricting

How do incumbents maximize their advantage?

publicizing their effects on behalf of their constitutients, name recognition, casework

How many votes in the hosue for impeachment

51%

Where do new revenue bells originate?

the house