AP Gov - Unit 2

What are some powers of Congress?

• passing a federal budget, coining money, raising revenues

• declaring war and maintaining the armed forces

• legislation that addresses a wide range of environmental and social issues based on the necessary and proper clause

House of Rep. Description

• 2 year term limit

• 1 representative per 700,000 people

• minimum 25 years old

• more partisan = less likely to compromise between parties due to high turnover rate

• 1 hour speaking time per representative during debate

• deals with local issues

• very strict

Senate Description

• 6 year term limit

• 2 senators per state, no matter population size

• minimum 30 years old

• more relaxed/likely to collaborate with other parties

• unlimited debate time

3 main powers and responsibilities of Congress

• lawmaking

• budgeting

• exercising oversight with federal buracracy

Enumerated powers of Congress

• power to pass a federal budget (power of the purse)

• power to raise revenue

• power to coin money

• power to declare war

• power to maintian an army and navy

Economic Policy of Congress

Both Chambers:

• create and collect taxes

• create laws that are “necessary and proper” to carry out enumerated powers

• coin money

• borrow money

• regulate the value of currency

• regulate foreign and interstate commerce

Senate:

• propose budgetary amendments

• coequal partner in setting national revenue policy

House of Represenatives:

• all bills to raise revenue must be created in the House

Foreign Policy in Congress

Both Chambers:

• regulate trade with other nations

Senate:

• confirm ambassadors with a majority vote

• ratified treaties entered by a president through a two-thirds vote

National Security Policy in Congress

Both Chambers:

• declare war

• raise and support armies and a naval force

• power to call up the military to execute the laws of the Union

• define and punish piracies & felonies committed on the high seas

Other Powers involving Executive Branch

House:

• issues articles of impeachment against the president/vice president/ any exec. branch member

Senate:

• confirms presidential nominees of exec. branch officers with a majority vote

• tries impeached convicted officials with a 2/3 majority vote

Powers involving Judicial Branch

Both Chambers:

• creates levels of the judicial branch below the supreme court

• establishes the # of S.C. justices

House:

• issues articles of impeachment against federal judiciary

Senate:

• confirms judiciary nominees with a majority vote

• tries members of federal judiciary who have been impeached

Congressional powers through the Necessary and Proper Clause

powers that allow members of congress to create laws that helps them carry out their enumerated powers, so long as they are good-natured

Congressional powers through amendments

• 13th, 14th, 15th give congress the power to enforce appropriate legislation

What are the 2 steps required to make a bureaucratic agency?

1. congress authorizes the department or agency

2. congress funds the activities through the process of appropriation

• The Congressional Budgetary Office (CBO) provides budgetary consequences for funding agencies through Congress

What are the structures of congress decided by congress?

• Speaker of the House chosen by party in power in Congress

• President Pro Tempore usually given to VP

  • if VP has to act as president, position chosen by Senate

  • controls preceding and punishes members

  • can expel member with a 2/3 majority vote

How does a bill become a law?

Comes from Article 1, Section 7

1) President has 10 days (excluding Sundays) to sign or veto a bill

2) Bill is not signed & Congress is in session = bill becomes a lw

3) Bill is not signed and Congress is NOT in session = bill dies

• when a bill dies it’s called a pocket veto

define legislate

to pass policies into laws with bicameral legislature approval and a presidential signature

What are Congressional legislative powers?

• using committee structures to hold hearings, markups, and reports

• speaking and voting on the floor of Congress

• authorizing new public and private policy

• appropriating funds for discretionary spending on yearly basis

define constitutent services

representing our concerns through voting, speeches, oversight, interaction with federal agencies

What are Congressional constituent service powers?

• aiding students (recommendations to Service Academies)

• meeting with members and their staffs

• assistance in negotiating with federal agencies

• memorials and declarationa

• grants work

define oversight

review, monitering, and supervision of all federal agencies and programs and implementation of passed laws

What are Congressional oversight powers?

• hearings

• inquiries (letters, meetings)

• reviews

• financing

• legislative veto (controversial)

• rulemaking review under the Congressional Review Act

Powers of the House

• introduce revenue bills

• impeach federal officers

• select the president if electoral college cannot do so

• determines tax policy

Rules for the House

• debate limited to 1 hour

• speaker of the house contros who speaks

• only germane amendments allowed

• discharge petitions

• rules committee

Powers of the Senate

• advise and consent for presidential appointees

• try and remove presidential officers

• approve treaties with 2/3 vote

• approve ambassadors and military officials

• filibuster (power to speak without interruption in Senate)

Rules of the Senate

• unlimited debate

• cloture rule

• can add amendments on any subject to a bill

• unanimous consent

define cloture rule

• power to end filibuster with a vote

House Leadership

• Speaker of the House

• Majority Leader

• Minority Leader

• Majority WHIP

• Minority WHIP

• Majority Conference Chairs

• Minority Conference Chairs

Senate Leadership

• Vice President'

• Pro Tempore

• Senate Majority Leader

• Senate Minority Leader

• Senate Majority WHIP

• Senate Minority WHIP

• Senate Majority Conference and Caucus

• Senate Minority Conference and Caucus

Define Standing Committee

• permamnent committes, where multiple of them can occur

• often has overlapping jurisdictions to give more control to party leadership in order to pass legislation

  • usually for agriculture, judiciary, foreign affairs, oversight

Define House Rules Committee

• set rules (timing, conditions, schedule to hear bills out of the rest of the standing committee

  • only for the house

Define Select Committees

address temporary investigate or policy issue; dissolves generally after term adjourns

• ex: steroids in baseball

• benghazi

Define Joint Committees

members of both houses; investigate for research purposes

• economic

• taxation

Describe the Office of Management and Budget

• they assist the President in creating a budget that furthers their agenda (like the President’s accountant

• budget is made public and sent to congress in feb.

• Congress uses the Congressional Budget Office CBO

define reconciliation

passing changes to revenue ($ coming in) or spending ($ going out) attempting to balance the budget before final votes in both houses

define mandatory spending

spending required by existing laws that is “locked in” the budget

ex: social security, medicare, medicaid

define discretionary spending

spending for programs and policies at the discretion of congress and the president

ex: military spending, disaster relief

define pork barrel spending

1) legislation that directs specific funds to projects within states or districts

2) bills that are proposed get stuffed with projects or money that is added specific to a district

Note: people generally like pork barrel spending because it puts money into a district but its often criticized for putting narrow interests ahead of national ones

define logrolling

trading of votes on legislation by members of Congress to get their earmarks passed into legislation

• used to negotiate getting votes

• 2011 the house banned earmarks (add ons to bills)

define earmarks

spending bills as a specific line item in which the requirements for spending are built to funnel money to a particular vendor or business

define grants in aid

financial programs constructed to facilitate cooperative relationships between federal and state governments to achieve policy goals

what factors into legislator’s voting decisions?

• reactions of constituents

• political party

• interest group and donors

define delegate role

the idea that the main duty of a member of congress is to carry out constituents wishes

define trustee role

the idea that members of congress should act as trustees; making decisions based on their knowledge and judgement

define politico role

representation where members of Congress balance their choices with the interests of their constituents and parties in making decisions

problem with elected officials following constituents policy preferences

• people are not properly informed

• show little interest

• lack coherent policy oreferences

define bipartisanship

agreement between parties to work together in Congress to pass legislation

• happens due to outside factors like news, social media, and party guidelines, there is less likelihood of votes coming from across the aisle

define gridlock

a slowdown or halt in congress’s ability to legislate and overcome divisions, especially those based n partisanship

divided government

control of the presidency and one or both chambers of Congress split between the two major parties

gerrymandering

redrawimg districts in a way the benefits a spcific group/party

partisan gerrymandering

drawing district boundaries into stranger shapes to benefit a political interest

• aims to increase representation of one party at the expense of another

packing

lumping districts together to strengthen the control of one district

cracking

breaking up a district into multiple districts in order to either break control of one district from a party or to take a strongly controlled district frm a party while making multiple district out of it

• results in fewer competitive races for elections in the house

majority/minority districts

a district in which voters of a minority ethnicity constitute an electoral majority within that electoral district

formal powers of the president

Article II, Section 1 & 2:

• grant pardons or reprieves (except in impeachment)

• make treaties with consent of Senate

• fill vacancies when Congress is in recess

• comander in chief

Article I, section 7:

• establish veto power

informal powers of the president

• conduct foreign policy and influence relations with other countries

• baragaining and persuasion

• executive orders used to bypass Congress and make laws independantly

• executive agreements used to bypass congress’ advice and consent to make agreements with foreign nations

• signing statements that informs congress of the pres. interpretations of laws already passed by Cogress and signed into law

• assertion if executive privelage used to keep some communication private

expressed power to the president

• commander in chief

• chief diplinat (treaties, fireign agreements)

• chief if state - recieve foreign diplomats

• chief adinistrator - fill courts, vacancies

• chief executive - vestment, take cake

• chief legislator - state of the unuon, veto

congressionally delegated powers of president

• implementation and execution of laws

implied powers of president

• establish cabinet and advisors

• executive privilege

• executive orders, presidential signing statements, other presidential proclamations

• executive agreements

inherent powers of the president

• constitutionally delegated powers

• acquiring new territory

• action in times of emergency or times if crisis

• private power of persuasion

  • chief of party

  • lobbying congress

  • informal communications and meetings

  • negotiations with congress

  • office of legislative liason

• public power of persuasion

  • chief citizen

  • media events like easter egg roll

  • bully pulpit

policy agenda

an informal contract that the president makes with the people when campaigning on policy they plan to approve if elected

how many nominations can a president have?

• 126 sc and federal judge

• 500 cabinet

• 4,000 civilian (independent agencies, memebrs of cabinet, ambassadors)

• 65,000 military every 2 years

are the white-house staff memebrs confirmed?

no they are not, but still hold greta influence over the president

chief of staff

allows/deneis access tot he president; responsible for smooth operation

press secretary

speaks on behalf of the president to the public

chief council

advises president on boundaries of authority when presidential actions will likely be challenged

national security advisor

provides summary of current and potential threats to the country

teddy roosevet communication

used national newspapers ti develop a relationship with journalists “bull pulpited” them

herbert hoover communication

1st to have a press secretary

franling roosevelt communication

1930’s fireside chats

woodrow wilson communication

delivered first state of the union address in person since john adams in 1800

what is the state of the union?

president reports on current conditions of the US

original jurisdiction

the authorty of a court to hear a case first, which includes the findings of facts in the case

appellate jurisdiction

the authority of a court to hear and review decisions made by lower courts in the system

• focuses on decisions, no new facts

precedent

follow the rule of law of previous cases, when deciding cases that are similar

• the holding (reasonign behind decision) establishes the principle or rule of law

binding precedent

precedent comes from hgiher courts; lower courts will look to this as the precedet for their rulings

persuasive precedent

comes from neighboring district or court on a similar level that might factor in a ruling

stare decisis

doctrine that says that courts should look to precedents whe. making their decisions

pros of stare decisis

• guidance

• stability, consistency, predictability

• efficiens - means that courts don’t have to try the same issue over and over

• less arbitrary decisions

cons of stare decisis

• incorrect deciions affect multiple cases, until overturned/replaced

• judgements are sometimes determined by “settled laws” even if they disagree

• the choice of the precedent is sometimes viewed as “politcally informed” or biased

what goes into a judge’s decision?

• historical interpretation

• textual interpretation

• structural interpretation

• docternural interpretation

• ethical interpretation

• prudential interpretation

loose constructionist

• constutition is emant ot be itnerpreted

• broader interpretation tends to elad to broader governmentl power

• is a “living document”

strict constructionist

• constitution means what it says and not more

• limited interpretation narrow’s government power

• constitution should be applied to its original intent

judicial restraint

justices who practice:

• strict interpretation

• original intent

• states and elected branches (not courts) should solve social, economic, and political problems

• should only act in cases with clear constitutional questions

judicical activism

justices who:

• practice loose interpretation of constitution

• open documents

• courts should hold the “guardian ethic”