Name: Gia
AP GoPo
Amsco Reading Guide Unit 2: Chapters 4 Congress
Chapter 4: Congress (page 99)
Topic 2.1 Congress: The Senate and the House of Representatives
Learning Target: Describe the different structures, powers, and functions of each house of Congress
How many members make up Congress?
535
Define bicameral. Next, what is the importance of the census in relation to the House of Representatives?
Two house legislatures
What did the 17th Amendment do?
It ratified that senators were elected by state legislatures
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Structure of Congress
Size and Term Length | Contrast the House and the Senate specifically in regard to why they are designed the way they are. The House of Representatives is made to reflect the will of the people, has about 435 members, and a 2-year term, while the Senate is a more cautious and educated group, has 100 members, and a 6-year term.
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Caucuses | **This is different than a voting caucus. What is a caucus?
Policy-making committees. |
Powers of Congress
Power | Description of the power |
Power of the Purse
| To raise revenue and tax. |
Regulating Commerce
| Congress has authority over commencement, writing policies, etc. |
Foreign and Military Affairs |
Foreign and military affairs encompass a nation's policies, diplomacy, and actions in international relations, involving diplomacy, defense, intelligence, economic tools, and security assistance to advance national interests.
**Make sure to know the War Powers Act Federal law is intended to check the U.S. president's power
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Implied Powers
| The Necessary and Proper Clause allows Congress to make any laws they think are necessary and proper. This was created in McColloh v. Maryland, which wasdeciding if Congress should establish a bank or not. The Supreme Court ruled that items in the enumerated powers list would allow Congress to create a bank; ever since then congress has gained the elastic clause. |
Differing Powers for House and Senate-this is important!!!
Powers Specific to the House | Powers Specific to the Senate |
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Advice and consent, which allows senators to recommend or reject major cabinet members, secretaries, and federal judges Senators can recommend people for positions in the executive branch Powers in foreign affairs The Senate must approve by a ⅔ vote any treaty The House can impeach senate can try, and if found quilty cn emove the official from the office with a ⅔ vote.
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Topic 2.2. Structures, Powers, and Functions of Congress
Learning Target: Explain how the structure, powers, and functions of both houses of Congress affect the policy-making process
Structure of Congress and Policy-Making
Structure | What are they, and how does it affect the policy-making process? They create leadership positions to guide their own party members, which makes the policy-making process more organized |
Leadership
| House Key leadership and what do they do? Speaker, Majority Leader, Minority Leader, and Whips, The top leader, elected by the full House, presides over the chamber, manages its business, and is the leader of the majority party.
Second to the Speaker, schedules legislation, plans agendas, helps formulate party policy, and leads their party on the floor.
The chief spokesperson and strategist for the minority party directs their legislative efforts and protecting minority rights.
Assist leadership by ensuring members vote with the party, acting as a communication link, and mobilizing votes for key legislation.
House leaders
Senate Key leadership and what do they do?
Vice presisdent non voting is called the President of the Senate President pro tempore - presiding over the Senate in the absence of the president of the Senate Senate majority leader- most power, chief legislator, sets the agenda, determines which bills reach the floor, guides the party caucus issues.
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Committees **we will do an activity on committees in class, but you do need an overview
Answer this in the lens of affecting policy
| General Overview:
Conduct hearings, debate bills under consideration, playing key roles in the legislative process in both houses
Standing Committees: Focused on particular policy areas Members in Congress can select topics and become experts in them, for example energy and Commerce Committee Most likely, senior members in the majority party are experienced in that committee Hold confirmation hearings for the presidential nomination
House Ways and Means:
Joint Committees:
Select Committees:
Established for a limited time period to perform a particular study or investigation
Conference Committees:
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Committees and Rules Unique to the House
What does it mean in the House to only allow for germane amendments?
House Rules Committee: why is it so powerful and what does it do?
It can easily dispose of a bill or design the guidelines for debate because it acts as a traffic cop to the house floor. Nothing reaches the floor unless the rules committee allows it
Committee of the Whole: what is it and why is it different than the House or a general committee?
Because it does ot require all the represeaives however its more of a state operation in which the house rules are relaxed than an actually cinuttee]
Created to allow longer debate among fewer people
Discharge petition: what is it?
Can bring out a bill from a reluctant committee
Rules and Procedures Unique to the Senate
How and why is debate different? (include filibuster and cloture)
Debate is different because senators can speak longer, and the presiding officer does not have much control over who speaks. The Senate and the House of Representatives can not directly address anyone but the presiding officer.
Senators can propose non-germane amendments
They can try to stall or kill a bill by speaking for an excessive amount of time, known as the filibuster
Cloture rule enabled two thirds supermajorty to stop a debate on a bill
What role does the Senate play in foreign policy? What specifically can they do?
The Legislative Process (p 116)
A lot of this I will go over in class, so I am just targeting some key things
What is a rider? Additional provision added to a bill
What is an omnibus bill?
large piece of legislation that packages many distinct and often unrelated topics or programs into a single document.
What is pork barrel spending? What is the purpose of it?
Pork barrel spending refers to the appropriation of government funds for localized projects that are secured primarily to bring economic or social benefits to a specific representative's district.
List the three stages a bill goes through in committee?
Hearings ( testimony/expert input), Markup (debate & amendment drafting), and Voting (committee approval/rejection/tabling)
What is logrolling? (***also read the section on voting on bills, specifically paying attention to what McCullough says)
Generating a Budget (p 119)
List the sources of revenue:
Taxes
Fees
Licenses
Permits
Fines
penaies
What is the difference between mandatory spending and discretionary spending? Basic understanding and one or two examples.
mandatory spending is automatic based on eligibility rules, whereas discretionary spending requires yearly votes for funding levels.
Know the difference between deficit and debt.
A deficit is a yearly shortfall when a government spends more than it earns, while the debt is the total, cumulative amount borrowed over time
Topic 2.3 Congressional Behaviors
Learning Target: Explain how congressional behavior is influenced by election processes, partisanship, and divided government
Factors that Influences Congress | Description in 2-3 bullet points (some are shorter, some are longer) |
Partisanship and Polarization
| members of congress increasingly vote along party lines instead of compromising.
high polarization makes passing legislation harder and leads to gridlock. |
Voting Models
| the trustee model leads members to vote based on their own judgment.
the delegate and politico models push members to vote based on constituents’ views or political advantage. |
Redistricting
| states redraw congressional district boundaries every ten years after the census.
this process can change which party has an advantage in elections. |
Gerrymandering
| districts are drawn to favor one political party or group.
this reduces competition and makes many elections noncompetitive. |
Divided Government and Senate Shutdowns
| divided government occurs when different parties control congress and the presidency.
it increases conflict and can lead to budget deadlock and government shutdowns. |