AP gov quest-- chapter 4

what are the two parts of congress (bicameral legislature)

lower house- house of reps

upper house- senate

house of reps represents ____

and is based on ____

districts

populations

senate represents ___

and is based on ___

the whole state

state equality, 2 people per state

term of office

amount of time you served

ex) president’s term of office is 4 years

term limit

limit on the # of terms you can serve

ex) president’s term limit is 2 terms

the house of reps …

more rules, more formally structured, more power to certain positions, “easier” requirements

the senate …

less rules, more informal, more power to certain members, “harder” requirements

the house of reps is the only branch originally

directly elected by voters 

how many seats does the house of reps have

and why?

435

they put a limit so that it wouldn’t get too big and every state gets a percent of those seats based on population 

how often is the house of reps elected?

every 2 years

the senate is insulated,

protected from the emotions and whims of the people (not political)

how many seats are in the senate

and why

100

2 for every state

why does the house tax us and not the senate?

1) we elect them

2) they have shorter terms, 2 years, so they can’t mess things up too bad

separation of powers

all power is evenly distributed throughout branches of gov

checks and balances

ensures power stays even by giving the branches power over eachother

declaring war

congress (legislative) declares war, president (commander in chief) oversees and makes decisions 

determination of # of justices 

power to determine the number of Supreme Court Justices

executive and legislative power over judicial branch

judicial nomination 

the pres selects candidates to fill spots on a federal court

executive power over judicial branch

judicial review

the power of the supreme court to decide if government laws and actions are constitutional 

judicial power over legislative and executive branch 

advise and consent

constitutional power of the senate to approve/reject candidates appointed by the pres (“advise and consent the pres)

legislative power over executive branch

override

allows Congress to reverse a presidential veto of a bill

legislative power over the executive branch

convict or acquit

convict- guilty, acquit- not guilty

legislative power over the executive and judicial branch 

impeachment 

formal accusation by the House of Representatives against a federal official for wrongdoing

legislative power over executive and judicial branches

veto

power of the president to reject a bill passed by Congress

executive power over the legislative branch 

confirmation

the U.S. Senate provides "advice and consent" on presidential appointments

legislative power over executive branch 

the 17th amendment changed the senate how?

senators are now directly elected by voters

how often is the senate elected

every 6 years

the house of reps is known as

“the people’s branch”

the senate is known as

“the millionaires club”

the senate election is staggered so that…

1/3 of the senate is up for election every two years, ensures that there is always a group of experienced people

the powers of Congress (legislative) are

lawmaking, budgeting, and oversight

congress- lawmaking

pass laws about national policy,

expressed/enumerated powers

congress- budgeting

president makes budget, congress approves

appropriating funds,

pork barrel spending

logrolling

appropriating funds

president makes budget, Congress doles it out as states request it for specific needs

pork barrel spending

government funds that are snuck into the budget for local projects that benefit a lawmaker's district to gain political support and boost reelection chances, rather than serve the national interest

logrolling

vote-trading among legislators to secure passage for their own priority bills.

congress- oversight

ability of Congress to ensure laws are being followed (ensures the bureaucracy stays on track)

constituencies

group of voters in one district/state

ex) Senator’s constituency = everyone in their state

House member’s constituency = everyone in their district

members of the house of reps serve in ______

single-member districts (one seat for one district)

base vs constituencies 

base- people who voted for you (party A)

constituencies- all the people you represent (party A+B)

census

determines the # of seats each state gets, every 10 years

apportionment

the process of reallocating the 435 seats in the house of reps every cenus

malapportionment

badly distributed population within districts

redistricting

redrawing of electoral districts to ensure each rep is in charge of same sized districts 

gerrymandering 

drawing voting district boundaries in a way that gives one group an advantage (help one group- ex. race, party, etc)

partisan gerrymandering 

Gerrymandering done to help a political party (ex. republicans, democrats)

racial and ethnic gerrymandering 

gerrymandering done to weaken/limit the power of voters based on their race/ethnicity

baker v carr

the equal protection clause requires legislative district boundaries to be drawn to have roughly the same number of constituents under the principle of “one man, one vote”

shaw v reno

the supreme court overturned the race-conscious drawing of a strangely shaped legislative district

incumbent

person who already holds the office (as opposed to running for the first time)

incumbency advantage

benefits current officeholders (incumbents) have that make it easier for them to get re-elected

incumbency advantage— franking privilege

The ability of members of Congress to send mail to their constituents for free

incumbency advantage— name recognition

Voters are more likely to vote for someone they’ve heard of

incumbency advantage— casework

when members of Congress help individual constituents with problems, it builds voter loyalty

majority party

party with the most seats in each chamber (218 seats)

minority party

party with the second highest number of members

the speaker is part of the __

house of reps

the speaker (house of reps)

most important, chosen by the majority of the senate, normally member of the majority party

majority leader (house of reps)

second-in-command, assists the speaker, sets agenda for majority party

minority leader (house of reps)

sets agenda for the minority party

majority/minority whip (house of reps/senate)

convinces reps to vote for their parties bills and not vote for the other sides, “fired up the troops” (sometimes exchanges political favors) 

vice president (senate)

president of the senate in name only, only votes when there is a tie, only at the senate when they have to vote

president pro tempore (senate)

there for when the VP is not, votes the same as every other senator, has no official power

majority leader (senate)

holds most power in the senate, supposed to share power with minority leader but often doesn’t

minority leader (senate)

leader of opposition party in senate

what is the line of succession?

president, VP (1st in line!), speaker, pres pro tempore, cabinet roles…

congressional committees 

created to divide the workload of legislating 

committee chair

head of committee, sets agenda, member of majority party

standing committee

permanent, divided by policy area (ex. house- rules, senate- judiciary)

joint committee

members of both chamber (majority and minority) sit, usually studies/investigates, no lawmaking

conference committee

Work out slight differences between House & Senate versions of a bill (so that the president only has to sign one copy)

select committee

temporary, handle special investigations or issues (ex. 9/11, Watergate, etc)

lawmaking process— introduction

introduce Bill to Congress 

lawmaking process— committee assignment

assigned based on topic

lawmaking process— committee and subcommittee action

the bill is studied, debated, and possibly changed.

lawmaking process— floor consideration 

congress voters (full chamber) debate, amend, and vote on the bill

lawmaking process— conference committee 

fix slight differences in bills from house and senate to make one bill for the president 

lawmaking process— presidential action

bill goes to the President, who decides whether it becomes a law

propose vs introduce bills

propose- write bill

introduce- introduce Bill to congress

discharge petition

a way for house of reps to force a bill out of committee for a vote

only members of ____ can introduce a bill

congress

2 kinds of voting methods—

1) voice notes

2) roll-call votes

voice notes

citizens don’t know who voted what (anonymous)

roll-call votes

calls your name, so your vote is available (known)

house rules committee

sets rules for debate, can limit

filibuster

using unlimited debate with the intention of talking a bill to death (postpone or delay)

closure/rule 22

60 senators vote to end filibuster and proceed to action

party popularization

taking one extreme side or another (wider gap between left and right), slows bill process down

pocket veto

President ignores a bill AND Congress adjourns within 10 days — the bill dies automatically without a signature

veto

president sends bill back to congress with objections (cannot veto and override)

veto override

2/3 vote of both chambers can override a veto

mandatory spending

spending required by law, automatically happens every year without being approved by congress (ex. social security, medicare, medicaid)

discretionary spending

spending that’s not mandatory, needs to be approved by congress (ex. military, education)

who sets the budget?

the president and congress

presidents role in budget 

the president submits a suggested budget to congress

congresses role in budget

congress creates a resolution budget based off of the pres and decides how the money is spent, also breaks down budget

appropriations

committees for specific programs (ex. educational, defense)

who passes and who signs the budget?

passes- congress

president- signs

where does the governments revenue come from?

taxes

surplus

gov spends less that revenue