APGOV Unit 2: Legislative Branch

US Congress

bicameral legislature, the Senate and House, under Article 1

senate representation

each state is represented equally; each state has two representatives = two votes

number of senators

100 ___ in Congress

minimum age of senators

must be 30 years old

senate terms

6 year terms

house representation

__ is represented based on population

federal caps number of House Representatives at

435 limit

census

every 10 years they measure how many people live in the US and where they live, then the House seats are reapportioned

minimum age for House seats

at least 25 years old

House terms

2 year terms

bipartisan coalitions

alliance of legislators that work together towards a common goal

legislative branch

Congress is part of which branch

senate has ___ debate on bills

which house has unlimited debate on bills

house has ___ limit an hour per member on debates on bills

which house has limit an hour per member on debates on bills

article 1, section 8

enumerated powers of Congress in the Constitution

pass a federal budget, raise revenue, coin money, declare war, raise and maintain the armed forces

5 powers of the Congress

necessary and proper clause

Congress has the power to pass any law which may be deemed necessary and proper to the carrying out of the enumerated powers

speaker of the house

has power to say who can speak when and who can’t speak, makes committee assignments

Majority and Minority Leaders in the House

guide their party members in policy-making issues; direct debates

Majority and Minority Whips (house)

render party discipline, make sure party members walk in line with party goals

President of the Senate

vp holds this position, only votes to break ties

President Pro Tempore (senate)

Senate members, leads the Senate when the Vice President isn’t present

Majority and Minority Leaders (senate)

set legislative agenda, controls calendar assignments of bills

legislative agenda

which bills get to be debated and which do not

calendar

determines what bills and resolutions are awaiting debate and voting

committee

used by both the Senate and House to get their work done; smaller group of legislators that debate and draft legislation

standing, joint, select, conference

4 types of committees

standing committee

permanent committee

joint committee

committee with members from both the house and senate

select committee

a temporary committee formed for a specific purpose

conference committee

formed if both houses can’t agree on identical versions of a bill

house rules commitee

The gatekeeper for all legislation decides when votes take place

discharge petition

if a bill gets stuck in a committee, the house can bring the bill out of the committee and to the floor for a vote if House gets a majority vote

filibuster

attempt to stall or kill a bill by talking for a long time

cloture

move to end a filibuster by getting 3/5 votes and bring that bill to a vote

3/5

how many votes does a cloture need

unanimous consent

agreement by all Senators to restrict certain privileges to get done work faster, like a filibuster

non-germaine riders

stuff added to a bill that has nothing to do with the subject of the bill for benefits to a state or representative

pork-barrel spending

funds designated for a particular representative’s district

House or Senate can ___ a bill

who sponsors a bill

logrolling (senate)

I’ll vote for your bill if you vote for mine

mandatory spending

the money they have to allocate by law

discretionary spending

anything not outlined by the law; most goes to federal employees in the government

deficit spending

as mandatory spending increases, discretionary spending SHOULD decrease but it doesn’t

divided government

opposing parties hold a majority in both houses or when the president is in one party and Congress is in the other

lame duck president

when a guy has no chance at being president again so Congress doesn’t have incentive to work on his agendas with him

delegate model

representative votes for will of the people even if its against their own judgement

trustee model

delegate votes in favor of his conscience even if it goes against what the people want

politico model

can act like a delegate when his constituents feel strongly, but if they don’t then they act like a trustee

redistricting

every 10 years, based on info gathered by census, congressional districts are redrawn to reflect the most current population number

gerrymandering

Districts are drawn to benefit one party or group over another

partisan gerrymandering

districts redrawn to favor one POLITICAL PARTY over another

racial gerrymandering

districts are redrawn to favor one race over another