gov test

census

counts the population every 10 years and reapportions house of reps

reapportionment

redistributing house of rep seats, act of 1929, ~700,000 people per seat

redistricting

drawing district lines after change in seats, left up to the states (CA has nonpartisan redistricting)

incumbents

members who were already in office tend to win again (90% of the time)

house of reps

435 members, 25 years old, resident of state, citizen for 7 years, 2 year long term

senate

100 members (2 per state), at least 30 years old, resident of state, citizen for 9 years, 6 year term

gerrymandering

drawing of legislative districts to give one party an advantage

packing

method of gerrymandering, put all the people of the bad party into one group

cracking

method of gerrymandering, divide up based on party, to split up the bad party into all the groups (like 2 of them in each group)

what did supreme court rule about gerrymandering

reynold v. sims (1964) said districts should be drawn based on population, wesberry v. sanders (1964) said it is one person, one vote, shaw v. reno (1993) racial gerrymandering violates the 14th amendment

demographics of congress

mostly lawyers, men, white, old (baby boomers and older), average age is 58, average age in senate is 65, current congress is the most racially and ethnically diverse

calendars

a schedule that lists the order in which bills will be considered in congress

quorum

the minimum numbers who must be present to permit a legislative body to take official action

diff between house of reps and senate rules

house of reps uses their rules to speed up the legislative process with limited debate, but senate uses rules to encourage deliberation and allow only senator to influence legislation through extended debate

house of rules

determine the rules and procedures for the consideration of legislation on the floor of the house of reps

unanimous consent

a motion by all members of the senate who are present to set aside formal rules and consider a bill from the calendar. 

filibuster

method of defeating a bill in the senate by stalling the legislative process and preventing a vote. this is any number of actions taken by a senator or group of senators to prevent a bill from coming to a final vote. 

can be effective by talking the bill to death so people can’t vote

can be ended by voting for a cloture resolution, 60 senators must vote for cloture.

standing committee

permanent group in congress that handles bills on specific subjects

subcommittee

smaller group in a committee that handles specific topics

select committee

temporary group in congress created for a specific purpose or investigation

joint committee

has members from both the house of reps and the senate

conference committee

temporary group that works out differences between house and senate versions of a bill

seniority system

gives more power or leadership roles to members who served longer in congress

3 purposes of committees

review bills before they reach full congress, investigate issues and gather information, help organize work and decide which bills will move forward

committee chair

lead the committee, set the agenda, and decide which bills will move forward

two types of congressional staff

personal staff, committee staff

personal staff

helps individual members of congress with tasks, research, and communication

committee staff

assists committees by researching bills, preparing reports, and organizing hearings

congressional research services

give members nonpartisan info and analysis

government accountability office

checks government spending and performance

congressional budget office

estimates costs for bills and budgets

library of congress

provides research and historical records

revenue bill

law that raises money for the governments through taxes or fees

appropriations bill

a law that provides government money for specific programs/depts

copyright

us grants sole right to publish and sell an author’s work

patent

us govt grants sole right to manufacture, use, or sell any new product/innovation

impeachment

process for the removal of public officials for treason, bribery, or high crimes and misdemeanors.

they get impeached in house and tried in senate

serves as a check on other branches bc president or judges can be impeached

impeachment process

1. inquiry phase

2. create articles of impeachment

3. approve articles of impeachment and vote to impeach

4. trial (senate)

5. if there is support to impeach from 2/3 of senate, then they get impeached

subpeona

official orders that requires someone to appear in court and provide documents. used to gather evidence at testimony for legal cases

perjury

a crime of lying or making false statements under oath in a legal setting

contempt of congress

when someone disobeys or refuses to follow a congressional order, like ignoring a subpeona

immunity

protection from legal punishment

legislative oversight

when congress monitors and reviews how the executive

divided government

when the president and majority of congress are in different parties

what factors cause tension between congress and prez

when congress and prez are diff parties, congress controls funding and oversight, which can restrict the president. disputes also come from vetoes, executive order, and foreign policy decisions

national budget

country’s annual financial plan that estimates expected revenues or money

pocket veto

prez kills a bill passed by refusing to act on it

private bills

a bill dealing with individual people or places

public bill

a bill dealing with general matters and applying to the entire nation

joint resolution

passed in the same form by both houses

simple resolution

adopted to cover matters affecting only one house of congress

concurrent resolution

covers matters requiring action of house and senate but doesn’t need a law

earmarks

part of a funding bill that will go toward a certain purpose

entitlements

program or benefit using established eligibility requirements to provide health care, food, or income supplements to individuals

congress’ 2 step procedure to appropriate money

1. authorization bill - a bill that sets up a federal program and specifies how much money may be appropriated for the program

2. appropriations bill - legislation authorizing spending for certain things

lobbyists

paid representatives of interest groups convincing members of congress to support policies approved by the groups they weaponize

influences on congress

• constituents: voters who expect politicians to meet the needs of their district and politicians depend on them to stay in office

• political party: congresspeople tend to vote with their parties, mix of shared outlook and pressure from party leadership (esp if prez is from same party)

• president: esp early in term, prez has powerful influence on public opinions

• interest groups: sends paid reps (lobbyists) to convince congress to vote for their ideas, lobbyists can write bills, rally public, and target committees

• PACS: fund orgs that donate individual candidates/political parties, superpacs spend unlimited money on a candidate as long as they don’t coordinate

pork-barrel legislation

laws that are passed by congress to appropriate money for local fed projects

logrolling

an agreement by two or more lawmakers to support each other’s bills

what kind of casework do members of congress complete

moving a soldier to a base closer to home bc his parents are ill, local businessperson wants to meet