2024 Study Guide on Congress PDF

Exam on Congress (Chapter 12) November 25 (W-day)/November 26 (R-day) 1. Describe the different structures, powers, and functions of each house of Congress. - How does the legislative branch reflect the concept of republicanism? The legislative branch reflects the...

Exam on Congress (Chapter 12) November 25 (W-day)/November 26 (R-day) 1. Describe the different structures, powers, and functions of each house of Congress. - How does the legislative branch reflect the concept of republicanism? The legislative branch reflects the concept of republicanism as it has citizens to elect representatives, representing a citizen’s district or their state based on a popular vote. - Senate vs. House of Representatives (how does the different membership sizes influence the formality of debate in each chamber? How do term limits and the two-party system affect interactions in Congress?) Membership Size and Formality of Debate: Senate: Smaller size (100 members) enables more informal, extended debates. The filibuster and unanimous consent highlight this flexibility. House: Larger size (435 members) requires strict procedural rules, including time limits on debate, managed by the Rules Committee. Term Lengths: House (2 years): Shorter terms make representatives more responsive to constituents and heavily focused on reelection. Senate (6 years): Longer terms allow for broader policy considerations and less immediate electoral pressure. Two-Party System: Fosters partisanship, with majority parties controlling committee chairs and legislative agendas. Party polarization often intensifies gridlock, but bipartisanship may occur in divided governments to pass key legislation. 2. How do enumerated and implied powers in the Constitution allow Congress to participate in the public policy process? - Power of the Purse (Art. I, Sec. 1 & 2) - Congress controls federal spending, deciding how to allocate funds through budgets and appropriations. - Example: Funding government programs like education or defense. - Interstate Commerce (Art. I, Sec. 3) - Regulates trade and economic activities across state lines.  - Example: Passing laws on transportation, labor standards, or environmental protections. - Declare War and Raise Army (Art. I, Sec. 8) - Congress decides when to declare war and allocates resources for military funding and operations. - Example: Authorizing defense budgets or military actions. - Necessary and Proper Clause (Art. I, Sec. 8) - Allows Congress to pass laws needed to execute enumerated powers. - Example: Establishing a national bank to manage federal finances. - Impeachment Powers (Art. I, Sec. 2 & 3) - House impeaches (charges), Senate holds trial to remove officials for misconduct. - Example: Impeachment of Presidents Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump. - Oversight of the Executive (Implied Power) - Congress holds hearings and investigations to ensure the executive branch follows laws and uses funds properly. - Example: Questioning agency officials or reviewing executive actions like foreign policies. 3. Explain how the structure, powers and functions of both houses of Congress affect the policy-making process. How do chamber-specific rules and procedures affect the legislative process? - How does a bill become law? Introduction: A member of Congress introduces the bill. - Committee Review: Referred to a committee for study and possible amendments. - Floor Debate: Debated and voted on in the House or Senate. - Other Chamber: Sent to the other chamber for approval. - Conference Committee: Reconciles differences in versions passed by each chamber. - Final Vote: Both chambers approve the final version. - Presidential Action: Signed into law or vetoed (Congress can override a veto with a 2/3 vote). - Speaker of the House: Sets the legislative agenda and assigns bills to committees in the House. - Rules Committee: Determines the length and structure of debates in the House.  - Ways and Means Committee: Oversees taxation and revenue bills, pivotal in funding policies. - Discharge Petition: Allows House members to bring a bill to the floor for a vote, bypassing committees (requires 218 signatures). - Filibuster: Senate tactic to delay legislation through prolonged debate. - Nuclear Option: Reduces the vote threshold to end filibusters for certain decisions (e.g., judicial nominations). - Cloture: Ends a filibuster with 60 votes. - Conference Committee: Resolves differences between House and Senate versions of a bill to create a final draft. 4. Explain the budget process. - Mandatory (social security, medicaid, medicare, etc.) vs. discretionary spending (defense spending, education, infrastructure, etc) - The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), part of the executive branch, works with federal agencies to draft the president's budget proposal. The president then reviews and approves it before submitting it to Congress. Budget Process 1. President’s Proposal: The president submits a budget plan to Congress, outlining priorities for the fiscal year. 2. Congressional Committees: ○ House and Senate Budget Committees draft a budget resolution, setting overall spending limits. ○ Appropriations Committees allocate funds to specific programs. 3. Approval: Both chambers vote on appropriations bills. 4. Implementation: Once signed by the president, the budget goes into effect. Mandatory vs. Discretionary Spending Mandatory Spending: ○ Required by law; cannot be changed without new legislation. ○ Examples: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other entitlement programs. ○ Makes up the majority of the federal budget. Discretionary Spending: ○ Decided annually through the appropriations process. ○ Examples: Defense, education, infrastructure, research, etc. ○ More flexible but subject to cuts during budget negotiations. Key Difference: Mandatory spending is automatic; discretionary spending is debated and adjusted each year. 5. How do pork-barrel legislation and logrolling affect the legislative process in both chambers? Pork-barrel: Waste of money (neg. On the general public) Earmark: Logrolling: If you vote my my bill, I will vote for your project Pork-Barrel Legislation: ○ Refers to funding specific local projects to benefit a representative’s district (e.g., a bridge or park). ○ Impact: Negative: Seen as wasteful spending, benefiting a small group at the expense of the general public. Positive: Can help pass larger bills by gaining local support. Earmarks: ○ Specific provisions in spending bills that direct funds to particular projects or districts (a formalized type of pork-barrel spending). ○ Impact: Encourages legislators to support bills in exchange for securing funding for their districts. Logrolling: ○ A quid pro quo arrangement where legislators agree to vote for each other’s bills or projects. ○ Impact: Facilitates compromise and coalition-building to pass legislation. Can lead to excessive spending or prioritizing narrow interests over broader public needs. 6. How is congressional behavior influenced by election processes, partisanship, and divided government? - Partisan voting: Occurs when members of Congress vote along party lines, meaning they consistently support their political party's position on legislation or issues. This often reflects party loyalty and ideology rather than individual or bipartisan consideration of a bill. Impact: Increases polarization, making compromise difficult, and can contribute to legislative gridlock, especially in a divided government.  - Polarization: Extremes / separation (unwillingness to compromise) → Ex. last year almost gov’t shutdown (Congress could not compromise and agree on a budget) - Gridlock: Result of polarization → Gridlock were nothing happens in Congress - Gerrymandering (Baker v. Carr, Shaw v. Reno) 7. How is accountability to constituents in each chamber affected by how representatives perceive their roles? - Trustee vs. delegate model Some additional terms: Incumbency Advantage: Sitting members of Congress have a high chance of reelection due to name recognition, franking privilege, access to resources, and established networks. Divided Government: When the president belongs to one party, and Congress (one or both houses) is controlled by the opposing party. Impact: Increases gridlock and decreases the likelihood of bipartisan agreements. “Love Members, Hate the Institution”: People often approve of their own representative due to personal interactions or district-level work (casework) but dislike Congress overall for inefficiency, polarization, and gridlock. Filibuster/Cloture/Nuclear Option: Filibuster: Senate tactic to delay or block legislation through prolonged debate. Cloture: Ends a filibuster with 60 votes. Nuclear Option: Lowers the vote threshold (e.g., from 60 to a simple majority) for specific actions like confirming judicial nominees. Budget Reconciliation: Allows certain budget-related bills to bypass the filibuster, needing only a simple majority to pass in the Senate. Gerrymandering: Drawing district boundaries to favor one party, reducing electoral competition (e.g., Baker v. Carr: “one person, one vote”; Shaw v. Reno: racial gerrymandering unconstitutional). Franking Privilege:  Allows members of Congress to send mail to constituents for free, boosting communication and name recognition. Pork Barrel/Earmarks: Legislators allocate funding for projects in their district/state as part of negotiations on broader bills, often criticized for prioritizing narrow interests. Key Congressional Leadership Positions: Speaker of the House: Leader of the House, controls agenda and assigns bills to committees. Majority/Minority Leaders: Lead their respective party's agenda. Whips: Ensure party members vote along party lines. President Pro Tempore: Senior member of the majority party in the Senate, ceremonial role. Safe vs. Competitive District: Safe District: Strongly favors one party, almost guaranteed reelection. Competitive District: Swing districts with close elections, more focus from both parties. Minority-Majority District: Electoral district where the majority of constituents belong to racial or ethnic minorities, often created to ensure minority representation. Ombudsman: A person who acts as an intermediary to resolve constituent complaints or concerns with the government, often part of congressional casework. Casework: Assistance provided by members of Congress to constituents in solving problems with federal agencies or programs (e.g., securing Social Security benefits). Filibuster: Minority party has a say Shaw v. Reno: Racial gerrymandering is unconstitutional (solely based on race) - unconditional because creating lines based with rhyme or reason just to make majority-minority district (equal protection clause - solely based on race violates it) - Other reasons that happen to make a majority-minority group is okay  - Makes gerrymandering think twice (equality in mind?) Baker v. Carr: - Question of Tennessee did not redraw the map for 50 years → gave people in the rural areas who were white (had a greater say) than blacks living in urban areas → brought a case to suit as it dilutes the representation of Blacks in urban areas → Is this a political question? & Not redrawing the lines - did they violate the rights of people living in urban areas → Yes SCOTUS should decide on this & Yes violated the 14th Amendment (equal protection clause) → every 10 years need to redraw districts (apportionment) “One person, One vote” Majority - Minority districts - Adds diversity to Congress - Individual minority citizens don’t think the same as another Individual minority citizen (boxed in & generalized) Idea → Written bill → committee → Floor → Voting → Signed / vetoed by president Budget process: President has agenda → Budget ppl makes list of budget → Congress decides where money goes by voting on it