Unit 3: Legislative Branch

Bicameral

A term meaning “two houses” that is often used to describe the structure of Congress

State legislatures

who were senators originally elected by?

Article 1

the part of the constitution that sets up congress

17th amendment

a amendment that changed the way senators were elected from being elected by the state legislatures to a popular vote

2 years

length of each congressional term

435

how many voting members are there in the House?

population

How are seats in the house of representatives apportioned?

25

how old do you have to be a us representative?

11

how many Congressional districts does VA have?

100

how many members are there in the senate?

cup and saucer

an analogy that is often used to describe the relationship between that house and senate. It refers to the way that the house is meant to pass things more quickly but the senate is then supposed to take more time to deliberate and figure out if the bill is actually good before passing it.

unlimited

is senate debate limited or unlimited?

limited

is house debate limited or unlimited?

policy generalists

the senate’s stance on policies

policy specialists

the house’s stance on policies

money

the house places an emphasis on…

foregin policy

the senate places an emphasis on…

executive

this is a list of the checks that congress imposes on what branch?

• confirms cabinet

• approve treaties

• override presidential veto

• convict and impeach president

• house chooses president if no one wins election

judicial

this is a list of the checks that congress imposes on what branch?

• confirms supreme CT, federal judges

• can impeach/convict judges and justices

• can propose constitutional amendments

expressed powers

powers that are stated directly in the constitution

ex:

• levy taxes

• coin/borrow money

• regulate commerce

• Declare war

implied powers

powers that are granted by the necessary and proper clause that allows Congress to do whatever they need to in order to carry out expressed powers

ex:

• raise an army

• establish a min wage

inherent powers

powers that are granted to Congress because any government needs to do these things to function

ex:

• granting citizenship

• immigration regulation

Mike Johnson

Speaker of the House

Steve Scalise

House majority leader (R)

Hakeem Jeffries

house minority leader (D)

Chuck Schumer

senate majority leader (D)

Mitch McConell

senate minority leader (R)

Kamala Harris

vice president/president of the senate

Patty Murray

president pro tempore

incumbent advantage

A phrase that refers to how incumbent elected officials have an advantage when being re-elected

pork barrel

federal grants, programs, projects that are tacked on to a larger bill that help only one district with the aim of helping the incumbent get re-elected

House

which Congressional chamber has a higher rate of re-election for incumbents?

equal in population

a requirement for Congressional districts that states that all of the districts have to have roughly the same population

contiguous

a requirement for Congressional districts that states that all the area in the district has to be connected.

compact

a requirement for Congressional districts that states that the districts can’t be crazy shapes.

gerrymandering

when a state’s legislature draws district lines that favor the party in power

packing

a gerrymandering method that combines as many opposition voters as possible into one district so that they wont have any influence outside of that one district

cracking

a gerrymandering method that splits up opposition voters into very small percentages across all the districts so that they won’t be able to form a majority anywhere

kidnapping

a gerrymandering method that moves an incumbent into an entirely new district to make it so that they have less of a chance of being re-elected.

mandatory spending

a part of the government budget that they have to spend by law for different federal programs

net interest

a part of the government budget that is the interest that we are paying on all of the national debt

discretionary

a part of the government budget that Congress can choose what to spend it on.

revenue for the govt

the ways that the federal govt earns money. this is mainly through individual income taxes, payroll taxes and corporation income tax.

president submits budget request

step 1 in the federal budget process

congress releases budget plan

step 2 in the federal budget process

subcommittees set funding through appropriations bills

step 3 in the federal budget process

congress discusses differences in bills

step 4 in the federal budget process

president signs budget into law

step 5 in the federal budget process

mandatory spending

which part of the federal budget is growing over time?

debt ceiling

a cap on how much the government can borrow

oct 1

start of fiscal year for the government

35 days

how long was the longest govt shutdown ever that took place in 2018?

bill

proposed language for a law

law

a bill that has been passed and signed

sponsor

the primary supporter of a bill

co-sponsor

other supporters who sign on to a bill after it is introduced

house rules committee

the house committee that directs which bills are voted on first

filibuster

when senate members prolong the infinite debate to stop a bill from being voted on

conference committee

a committee where members from both houses of congress get together to work out a compromise between the house and senate versions of a bill that got passed

pocket veto

when the president doesn't sign a bill but doesn’t veto it either. they kind of just ignore it for 10 days and then it doesn’t pass (unless congress adjourns within the 10 days)

rider

like pork legislation, where amendments are tacked on to a bill for support, but it doesn’t involve any spending.

necessary and proper clause

sometimes called the elastic clause, this phrase gives Congress the power to do whatever it needs to do in order to carry out expressed powers