Polisci 101 Exam 2

House Elections

Two year term
25+ to run
7+ years as a citizen
93% chance of reelection

Senate Elections

Six year term
30+ to run
9+ years as a citizen
Must live in elected state
82% chance of getting reelected

Congress can impeach members of what branches?

Executive and Judicial

Impeachment Process

House brings forth formal complaints, impeaches with a simple majority
Senate holds the trial and impeaches with ⅔ vote
Chief Justice fills impeached position

Powers of Congress

Enumerated/delegated powers
Necessary and proper clause/elastic clause

Advantages to term limits

Ends career politicians
Allows newer perspectives/increases diversity
Encourage voter participation
Weakens interest groups

Career Politicians

someone who’s outlived their usefulness in the government

Disadvantages to term limits

Congress moves slowly and needs experiences people
Some claim its undemocratic

When may the shape of the House change?

After a census

When may states gain or lose representatives?

After a census

How many members are in the House

435

What is reapportionment?

Reallocation of Congressional seats among states after each census

What states gain representation?

Sun belt states

What states lose representation?

Snow belt states

Redistricting

Redrawing district lines for the House in states that have more than one representative

Redistricting is typically done by:

State legislatures

Malapportionment

Unequal distribution of population among House districts

Where and why was malapportionment used?

Southern states to dilute representation of racial minorities

Gerrymandering

Redistricting to benefit a particular group

Legal Gerrymandering

Partisan Gerrymandering
Pro-incumbent gerrymandering

Partisan Gerrymandering

Redistristricting is controlled by state legislature

Pro-incumbent gerrymandering

state legislatures agree to create districts to protect the current memberships of both political parties

Illegal Gerrymandering

Racial Gerrymandering

Racial gerrymandering

Prevents racial minorities from winning seats in Congress

What are the 3 basic responsibilities of Congress?

Representation, creation of legislation, oversight

Delegates

Listens to desires of constituents when deciding how to act
Makes effort to find out what constituents want
Typically junior officials

Trustee

Uses their own judgment to make decisions
Acts in national interest rather than district interest

Politico

Combination of delegate and trustee behavior

Descriptive representation

representation mirrors demographics it represents

Substantive representation

elected officials will support an agenda based on their personal and political party’s views

What are factors that affect officials' behavior?

Political party, constituency, interest groups, seniority, other legislators regardless of party, other influences such as president + national/international events

Who has the largest influence on Congress?

Political Party

____ holds top leadership positions and committee chairs

Majority party

Who holds the most power in Congress?

House Speaker

House Structure

Speaker holds the most power, gets power from the rules committee
Minority and majority parties each have a leader

Senate Structure

Majority and minority leaders have the most power

Who can introduce bills?

Legislators

About what percent of bills die in commitee?

90%

Types of Committees

Standing
Conference
Joint
Select/Special

Standing Committee

Where bills are referred after being introduced
Permanent, last from one session of congress to next
Holds legislative power

Conference Committee

Only committee mentioned in Constitution
Temporary
Created solely to resolve differences between the chambers when it comes to legislation
Holds legislative power

Joint Committee

Members from both House and Senate
Permanent
Does not hold legislative power
Bills are not referred here
Coordinate legislation between the two chambers

Select/Special Committee

Usually temporary, some have become permanent
Members from one of the chambers
Does not hold legislative power

House Rules Committee

How the speaker determines everything that happens in the house in terms of legislation

Filibuster

Happens in the senate, ability to engage unlimited debate on a bill

What are filibusters used for?

To kill a bill

What are the Constitutional differences between chambers?

term length, minimum age, citizenship

Which chamber has more standing members?

House

The Speaker has the power to limit floor debate through the

House Rules Committee

What are some differences of the House?

more formal, less personal, specialized, power lies in majority party

What are some differences of the Senate?

less formal, more personal, minority power has more power in Senate

How does a bill become a law?

1. Bill is introduced
2. Committee and subcommittee consider bill
3. House and Senate consider bill and vote
4. Conference committee resolves the differences
5. Bill passes both chambers
6. President signs or vetoes bill

What are some powers of the president?

Military powers; president is Commander in Chief
Pardons, treaties
Make appointments and fill vacancies

What are some duties of the president?

Giving the State of the Union
Ensure that laws are faithfully executed

Who charges officials in the impeachment process?

The House

Who removes officials from office in the impeachment process?

The Senate

What are the two dimensions to measure presidential character?

Energy level and outlook on life

What are the 4 personality types?

Active/Positive
Active/Negatives
Passive/Positive
Passive/Negative

Active/Positive

people who are motivated, enjoy their job, seek positive results

Active/Negatives

motivated primarily by the goals of getting and keeping power, but receive little emotional benefit from their job

Passive/Positive

seeking power to gain the approval of others

Passive/Negative

seek office because they see it as a civic responsibility

Traditional presidency

Founders had a vision of limited executive powers
Separation of powers, checks and balances, powers outlined in the constitution

Modern Presidency

Executive power increase since 1930s
Executive orders and agreements, signing statements, powers not outlined in Constitution

What does a presidential system include?

separation of powers, checks and balances

What does a parliamentary system merge?

Executive and Legislative functions

Who cannot be impeached

Congressional officials

What are the Constitutional Presidential Powers?

Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces
Grant pardons
Make treaty
State of the Union Address

Grant Pardons

Absolve someone of federal crime before prosecution or after conviction, presidential check on judicial branch

Make treaty

ability to negotiate agreements with foreign nations with ⅔ vote of Senate, congressional check on presidency

State of the Union Address

President addresses nation and Congress, outlines priorities for bills and policies

What are Inherent Powers?

Non-constitutional powers
Executive Orders
Executive Agreement
Signing Statements

Executive Orders

clarifications on how the president intends for a law to be implemented

Executive Agreement

Made between a president and foreign leader as a means of circumventing the treaty process

Signing Statements

written statement issued by a president after a bill is signed into law to explain how the president intends to interpret the law

What are the Veto Powers?

Tradition Veto
Pocket Veto
Line-item Veto

Tradition veto

allows the president to veto a bill in its entirety and send it back to Congress

Pocket Veto

presidential authority to kill a bill submitted within ten days of the end of a legislative session by not signing it

Line-item veto

Congress gave the president the power to veto part of a bill instead of the bill in its entirety

Head of State

nonpolitical unifying role of the president as symbolic representation of the country

Head of Government

political role of the president as leader of a political party

Bureaucracy

any organization that is structured hierarchically

Why is a bureaucracy criticized?

It's seen as complex and wasteful

A bureaucracy consists of:

Hierarchy
Specialization
Explicit Rules
Merit

Hierarchy

clear chain of command and responsibility

Specialization

People with specific skills work on specific tasks

Explicit Rules

Essential to everyone to perform the tasks they're assigned

Merit

Hiring and promotion of people based on abilities

Patronage

a system in which a successful (political) candidates rewarded friends, contributors, and party loyalists for their support with jobs, contracts, and benefits

Hiring under patronage (spoils system)

depended upon characteristics including party affiliation and financial contributions to a political campaign vs. job-related qualifications

What was patronage reformed by?

Pendleton Act

Pendleton Act (1883)

set up an independent, bi-partisan, civil service commission to make job selections for the federal government based on merit rather than factors such as party affiliation

What level is the Pendleton Level at?

Federal level

What system is the Pendleton Level under?

Merit system

Merit System

individuals receive jobs or promotions based on knowledge and abilities than political favoritism/connections

What are the different Bureaucratic Organizations?

Cabinet-level departments
Independent Agencies
Independent regulatory commissions
Government corporations

Cabinet-level departments

One of the major subdivisions of the federal government, represented in the president’s cabinet
15 departments headed by secretaries, with the exception of the justice department
May be divided into bureaus, divisions, etc.
Department heads are appointed by the president, may be confirmed by a simple majority of the Senate

Independent Agencies

Government organizations independent of departments, narrower policy focus
Not part of any cabinet department
Heads of the agencies are appointed by the president, and must be confirmed by the Senate

Independent regulatory commissions

Government organizations that regulate various businesses, industries, and economic sectors
Operate independently of the president and Congress

Government corporations

Companies that have been created by Congress to provide goods and services to the public
Sometimes also provided by private businesses or companies