POLI Congress
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125 Terms
What is the main idea of Smith 6-1?
Deepening partisanship causes stalemates in Congress
What is the main idea of Smith 6-2?
Parties have shifted from focusing on legislation to messaging and winning elections
What is the main idea of Smith 6-3?
Partisanship has decreased the influence of committees in Congress
What is the main idea of Smith 6-5?
Group membership and party shapes legislative voting behavior
What is descriptive legislation?
Laws made for symbolic purposes
What is substantive legislation?
Laws made for practical reasons
What was the passing of Obamacare like?
Narrow pass on party lines
What percent of the public supported Obamacare?
45%
Who took over the House in 2010 and the Senate in 2014?
Republicans
How many times did Republicans try to repeal Obama care?
Over 60
Why were Republicans unable to repeal Obamacare?
Obama vetoed each attempt
Why did 3 Republicans vote against an Obamacare repeal in 2017?
Obamacare was more popular then
Who did Obama nominate to replace Scalia in 2016?
Merrick Garland
Why was the Merrick Garland not successful?
Mitch McConnell did not schedule hearings or a vote
Who was confirmed in 2020 after RBG died?
Amy Coney Barett
What was Amy Coney Barett’s vote?
52-48
Who has the center stage when it comes to lawmaking?
House and Senate
What check does the President have?
Veto
How can a veto be overridden?
2/3rds of each chamber
Is a veto overide common?
No; 52/499 have been overridden from 1942-2018
What trend has made it difficult to compromise or pass bipartisan legislation?
Increasing polarization
What influences almost everything that congressional members do?
Electoral Politics
Who dominates action in the House and the Senate?
The majority party through their leaders
What is one of the easiest things to do in Congress?
To stop things from happening because of the multiple chokepoints
Around how many bills have become law?
Out of 11k, 10% each sessions
What did the framers intend for Congresses power to be?
The most powerful branch bc longest article in the Constitution
What did the framers intend for Congress’s relationship to the people be?
To be the branch closest to the people bc only popularly elected institution
Why is it ironic that Congress is the closest branch to the people?
It is the least liked
What does the design of Congress do?
It makes it likely that it will be slow and not liked
Why is Congress slow?
Different parts of the lawmaking process and members have different incentives
What powers does the Constitution give Congress?
Power of the purse and sword
What is Power of the Purse?
Other branches cannot spend money without Congressional approval
What is Power of the Sword?
Power over the military
Where does the implied powers of Congress come from?
Necessary and proper clause
What checks does Congress have on the President?
Impeachment, investigations, and ratification of treaties and judicial nominees
What are checks on Congressional power?
Presidential veto, Executive branch carries out congressional laws, supreme court and declare laws unconstitutional, and President is Commander and chief
Who has most power in foreign policy?
President
How many times has Congress formally declared war?
11 times
How many times has the President sent troops?
Over 200 times
What was the framers intentions for the House?
Closer chamber to the people
What was the framers intentions for the Senate?
To temper to popular passions of the House
What does census does Congress call for?
Decennial census
Does the Constitution talk about the size of Congress or districts?
No
What Congressional Cap was set in 1911?
435 Seats
How the population has grown since 1911?
By 200%
What is reapportionment?
The allocation of House Seats to the states after each decennial census
What do Congressional ratios look like today in the house?
1 Congress person per 700,000
What Congressional ratios does the Constitution mandate for the house?
1 Congress person per 30,000
What happens every 10 years? (ending in 0)
Some states lose seats in house and some gain
What is every state guaranteed in the House?
One member
What 7 states have one member in the House?
DE, WY, SD, AK, MT, ND, VT
What is Gerrymandering?
When district lines are drawn to give an advantage to a political party or a group of people
Why is Gerrymandering more common today?
Frequent changes in the house, tech, and rise in single party control
What does Gerrymandering cause?
Loss in party seats and affects partisan balance
What does a 2018 analysis say about Gerrymandering?
16 more Republican seats because of it
Why is Gerrymandering not the only reason some elections of uncompetetive?
Most districts are naturally uncompetative and Dems are structurally disadvantaged in the House
Why are most districts naturally uncompetative?
People live with like minded people
Why are Dems are structurally disadvantaged in the House?
They are clustered into cities while Reps are spread out
Why is there little serious threats in single member districts?
Districts are homogenous
In 2020 by what average did single member districts win by?
28.8%
What is the only situation single member districts face an actual threat?
During primaries when they are forced to take more extreme positions
What happens to focus in single member districst?
Focus in more on district issues than national ones
What do electoral politics do to projects?
Narrows their focus and ignores impact on overall spending
What is logrolling?
When members of Congress agree to support each other’s vote-gaining projects or tax breaks
What is the trustee model?
Congressmen use their own judgment
What is the delegate model?
Congressmen do what their delegates want
What is the re-election rate in the House?
95%
What is the re-election rate in the Senate?
80%
Why is the re-election rate in the Senate lower?
Must appeal to entire state and more attractive bc of prestige
Why do incumbents have an advantage?
They have more experience and resources
When is the best time to run?
When someone retires
Which chamber has more individualism?
House
Why does the House have more individualism?
Bc members must win individual districts
What two institutional structures needed to overcome actions problems and pass laws?
Party leaders and Committee system?
What does the committee system provide?
Specialized info and benefits members re election efforts
How many committees are in the House?
22
Which chamber leader has the most power?
House majority leader
How is the leader chosen?
Through majority party
What does the Speaker of the House do?
Controls committee appointments, refers bills to committees, and controls Rules committee
What does Speaker of the Senate do?
Controls agenda on the floor
Who controlled both chambers from the 1930s to 1980s?
Democrats
What did party politics look like back then?
No incentive to band together, defections, and less party voting
What does party politics look like now?
Party control changes all the time
2020 Election was the 9th election that what?
Decided by less than 10%
How many districts backed a presidential nominee from one party and a house candidate from another?
Only 16 (4%)
Why do party members stick together and exaggerate party differences?
There is a chance that party control can change with every election
Which chamber had larger and more centralized control?
House
Which chamber has less debate?
House
Which chamber is given a rule from the rules committee?
House
What is open rule?
Amendments can be given on the floor
What is closed rule?
Amendments cannot be given on the floor
Which chamber does not have a filabuster?
House
Which chamber needs a simple majority for the bill to pass?
House
Which chamber has no limits on debate?
Senate; leaders agree to times
Which chamber has the filabuster?
Senate
What is the filibuster?
An obstructive measure used to delay a vote by continued unlimited debate
Is the filibuster in the Consitiution?
No
How is the filibuster an accident?
Rule 22 cloture
What is cloture?
A vote to stop a debate and end the filibuster; 60 votes needed
What is needed to pass a bill in the Senate?
60 votes bc thats what it takes to end the debate