Chapter 3: Congress PDF

**Chapter 3: Congress** 1. Why has Congress been called "the broken branch" of government? How does the public generally feel about this institution? a. **Congress has been called "the broken branch" of government because the public (and many political scientists) consider it...

**Chapter 3: Congress** 1. Why has Congress been called "the broken branch" of government? How does the public generally feel about this institution? a. **Congress has been called "the broken branch" of government because the public (and many political scientists) consider it an inefficient or ineffective institution.** b. **The public does not hold Congress in very high regard because Congress does not seem to be making much headway toward solving the nation's\ problems.** 2. Be familiar with the redistricting process (e.g., know what gerrymandering, both political and racial, means). See your lecture notes. c. **Apportionment: Adjust the number of seats allowed to each state** d. **Redistricting: State legislature must redraw congressional districs to ensure that each member in congress represents the same \# of residents. This often involves:** i. **Gerrymandering: redrawing a congressional district to intentionally benefit a party** 3. How (and why) has Congress' role in the U.S. system of government changed over time? What place in this system was this institution supposed to hold, according to the Founders' vision? e. **The modern Congress focuses less on making laws for the nation and more on representation and oversight of the administration this is because the executive branch had gained more power.** f. **Congress was intended to be the first branch of government in the\ sense that it was intended to be the primary branch of the federal government** 4. What other institutions make laws? What kinds of laws do they make? g. **The legislative branch is the law-making branch of the government\ made up of the Senate, the House of Representatives, and agencies that support Congress. executive orders, executive agreements, administrative regulations, and even case law\\** 5. What are enumerated and implied powers? From what clause in the Constitution is the latter derived? h. **Enumerated powers are those that are specifically mentioned. Enumerated powers are sometimes called delegated powers because they are powers that the Constitution delegates to government.** i. **Implied powers are those that are not specifically mentioned\ but which can be logically implied to flow from those that are enumerated**. j. **Is derivate by the necessary and proper clause (The elastic clause)** 6. Be familiar with the four main roles or functions of Congress. To what does Congress devote more of its time? k. **Lawmaking, representation, legislative oversight and constituency service.** l. **Congress devotes more time to representation and oversight and less time making laws for the nation.** 7. Especially familiarize yourself with the process by which laws are made. Review textbook and your lecture notes. m. **House of representatives-committee-sub-committee- Rules Committee- full house- conference committee** n. **Senate-committee-sub-committee - full senate- conference committee** o. **At the conference, a single version is made from both the house and senate.** p. **If congress passes the law, then the president can passed the bill or veto it.** 8. How can the Senate hold up a bill? How can a filibuster be defeated? Review your lecture notes. q. **The senate can hold up a bill by doing a filibuster in which the senate do long speeches or unlimited debate until everyone is gone.** 9. What is political efficacy? r. **Political efficacy is the belief that it is possible for a person to participate effectively in government and politics.** 10. Over what policy area does Congress have more influence (in comparison to the presidency); Over what does it have less influence? s. **Congress generally follows the president's lead in formulating public policy. In domestic affairs, Congress typically exerts more influence over public policy.** 11. What does bicameralism and unicameralism mean? What kinds of rules and traditions (e.g., formal or informal rules) does each house of Congress go by? t. **Unicameral has one chamber or house, while bicameral has two chambers or houses.** u. **The House is larger and therefore has more formal rules of operation to govern debate. The Senate is smaller and relies more on informal rules, a tradition of open debate (including the infamous filibuster), and personal relationships.** 12. What is the committee system? Be familiar with the different types of committees. v. **The committee system is a form of division of labor where individuals\ are assigned different tasks to take advantage of specialization or expertise.** w. **Standing: the most prominent of the committees. These are the\ permanent committees that focus on specific area of legislation, such as the House Committee on Homeland Security or the Senate Committee on Armed Forces.** x. **Joint committees have members from the House and the Senate and are\ concerned with specific policy areas.** y. **Conference committees are created to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill. The conference committee is made up of members from both the House and the Senate who work to reach compromises between similar pieces of legislation passed by the House and the Senate** z. **Select or special committees are temporary committees that serve only for a very specific purpose. These committees conduct special investigations or studies and report back to whichever chamber established the committee.** 13. Be familiar with the leadership structures in each house. Know the current leaders in each house, as well as which party controls each house. What does "whip" (e.g., minority whip) mean in this context? **The house is control by the republicans** **Mike Johnson is the leader of the house** A diagram of a government Description automatically generated **The senate is controlled by democrats** **Chuck Schumer (D) of New York and Mitch McConnell (R) of Kentucky are the leaders of the senate**  a. **Whip: Keep close contact with all members of his or her party and persuades members to toe the party line.** 14. What are the unique roles and powers of each house? See your lectures notes. b. **The house of representative has the power to originate revenue bills and power to impeach** c. **The senate has the power to approve major presidential appointments, power to approve treaties and power to convict impeached officials** 15. How often are representatives and senators elected? How many members does each house have? What is representation based on in each house? See you lecture notes. d. **The house is elected every 2 years, 435 members, representation based on population.** e. **The house is elected every 6 years, 100 members, equal representation.** **Chapter 4: The Presidency** 16. Be familiar with the legal (or formal) powers of the president (i.e., his constitutional, statutory, and case law) powers. What has been the cumulative effect of congressional delegations of power? f. ** Constitutional powers: The president\'s powers are outlined in Article II of the Constitution, including being the Commander-in-Chief, granting pardons, and negotiating treaties (with Senate approval).** g. ** Statutory powers: Powers granted through laws passed by Congress, such as the power to execute federal laws.** h. ** Case law powers: Legal rulings that interpret or expand presidential authority.** i. ** Cumulative effect of congressional delegations: Congress has delegated significant authority to the executive branch, enhancing the president's power over areas like national security and economic regulation.** 17. What are the three constitutional powers that presidents claim? Which one is the most controversial and why? j. ** Expressed powers (explicitly stated in the Constitution),** k. ** Inherent powers (implied by the Constitution\'s \"executive power\" clause),** l. ** Delegated powers (granted by Congress).** m. ** Most controversial: Inherent powers, because they are not explicitly stated, leading to debates over presidential overreach (e.g., executive orders, military actions without Congress).** 18. Know the different kinds of implied powers. n. **These powers are not expressly listed in the Constitution but are necessary for the president to carry out their duties. Examples include executive orders, executive privilege, executive agreements signing statements, and firing.** 19. In which article of the Constitution are the president's powers enumerated? o. **The president\'s powers are enumerated in Article II of the Constitution** 20. Also be familiar with the president's political (or informal) powers. p. ** Bargaining and persuasion: Using personal influence to push legislation.** q. ** Bully pulpit: Using the media to rally public support.** r. ** Executive orders: Directing how laws should be executed without the need for congressional approval.** s. ** Signing statements: Indicating how the president interprets a law and intends to implement it.** 21. With respect to presidential power, how has the Supreme Court generally interpreted the Constitution? t. **The Court has generally allowed for broad interpretations of presidential power, especially in foreign policy and national security, but has also imposed limits (e.g., in cases like *Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer*).** 22. Presidential power is also affected by the political events, circumstances, and conditions facing the country -- Be familiar with these. u. **Events like wars, economic crises, or national emergencies can enhance presidential power, as the country often looks to the executive branch for decisive action.** 23. What is gridlock? Unified government? Divided government? See also your lecture notes. v. ** Gridlock: When legislative action stalls due to divided control of Congress or conflict between the president and Congress.** w. ** Unified government: When the same party controls the presidency and both houses of Congress.** x. ** Divided government: When the presidency and Congress are controlled by different parties.** 24. Be familiar with the "rally around the flag" effect. y. **A phenomenon where public support for the president increases during a national crisis, especially in matters of foreign policy or national security.\ ** 25. What are the former (or constitutional) and informal qualifications to become president? z. ** Formal qualifications: Natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old, and a resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years.** a. ** Informal qualifications: Political experience, strong communication skills, party support, and** public appeal. b. 26. When do presidential elections take place? c. **Presidential elections take place every four years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.** 27. What does the Commission on Presidential Debates do? d. **The Commission on Presidential Debates organizes and sponsors debates between major candidates for president and vice president in the general election.** 28. Why did the Founders create the Electoral College? e. **The Founders created the Electoral College to balance power between large and small states, as well as to provide a buffer against direct popular vote, which they feared could lead to mob rule.** 29. What happens if no presidential candidate receives a majority of the electoral vote? f. **If no candidate receives a majority of the electoral vote, the election is decided in the House of Representatives, with each state delegation casting one vote for one of the top three candidates.** 30. What is a bureaucracy? What kinds of officials are considered part of the government bureaucracy? What does "red tape" mean? g. ** Bureaucracy: A system of government where most decisions are made by state officials rather than elected representatives.** h. ** Officials: Include civil servants, agency heads, and federal workers.** i. ** Red tape: Excessive regulation or rigid conformity to formal rules that are considered redundant and hinder decision-making.**