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H. Gov't Congress
Magruder's American Gov't Chp. 10-12 Congress
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Term | 2 year period of time during which Congress meets |
| Session | Part of the year when Congress in in session |
| Special Session | Meeting of Congress for a special or emergency purpose |
| Apportion | How seats in Congress are given to states |
| Never more than ___ seats total in the House | 435 |
| Reapportion | After census every 10 years, how seats in Congress are redistributed |
| Off-Year Election | Congressional election on a November when the President is not up for election. |
| Next Off-Year election? (As of 11/2/2011) | 2014 |
| Single-Member District | When voters can only vote on one representative for seat in house |
| At-Large | When voters can vote on all of the representatives for a state seat in the House |
| Gerrymander | Drawing of electoral district lines to the advantage of a pary or group. |
| 2 main methods of Gerrymandering | Block all opponents in as few districts as possible or spread voters for your party thin to create as many zones for your party as possible. |
| Constituency | People and interests an elected official represents |
| Partisan | Law makers who vote by party |
| Oversight Function | Review by legislative committees of policies and programs of Executive Branch |
| Franking Privilege | Allows Congress to mail postage free |
| Theoretical advantages (2) to Bicameral Congress? | 1. One house checks other house 2. Slows legislative process |
| House of Representative elections | Every 2 years; total sweep of House |
| Senate Elections | Staggered election; 6 year terms |
| Characteristics of House | Emotion of the day, immediate will of the people |
| Characteristics of Senate | Long thinking and pondering; slows things down |
| When do terms stretch from? | Jan 3rd of an odd year to Jan 3rd 3 years later |
| How many sessions in a term? | 2 |
| When can Congress adjourn? | As it sees fit as long as both houses agree |
| Are special sessions rare? | Yes. Congress is now in session almost year round so there are never any really big breaks in which to call an emergency meeting |
| How many members of the House from each state (range)? | Between 1 (Wyoming) and 53 (California) |
| How many House reps from SC? | 6 |
| How many terms can a House rep serve? | Unlimited |
| How many people do most reps of the House represent? | 650,000-700,000 |
| Expressed Powers (Enumerated Powers) | Powers spelled out in constitution |
| Implied Powers | Suggested by writing of Expressed powers. (Necessary and Proper Clause) |
| Strict constructionist | Does not view constitution as elastic and reads it to say that gov't is limited |
| Liberal Constructionist | Does view Constitution as elastic and has no problems with very large gov't |
| Direct tax | A tax that must be paid by the person to whom it is levied |
| Indirect tax | A tax levied on one person/party but then passed on to another. Ex: Inflation |
| Deficit Financing | Funding gov't by borrowing money to make up for excess money spent |
| Public Debt | All the money borrowed by gov't and not yet repaid and interest on tht amount |
| Commerce Power | Exclusive power of Congress to regulate interstate trade and foreign trade |
| Eminent Domain | Power of gov't to take private property for public use |
| Appropriate | Assign money to a particular use |
| Necessary and proper clause | Constitutional clause that gives Congress power to make all laws necessary and proper for executing its powers |
| How much money is taxed at National level each year? | 2.3 Trillion |
| What can't Congress tax? | Church, poll tax, non-profit charities, exports |
| When is deficit financing needed? | War |
| What is public debt today | 14.9 Trillion |
| What percent of our GDP? | 99% debt to GDP ratio (so says the gov't) |
| What powers has the Supreme Court given to National Gov't because of currency power? | Coin money and regulate value; Supreme Court also says to create paper money |
| What War powers has Congress been granted by Article 1 Section 8? | Only Congress can declare war; raise and support an army and navy |
| Power to grant copyrights? | Creative things (writing etc) Good for life of author + 70 years |
| Power to grant patents? | New inventions and products; good for 20 years |
| what expressed judicial powers does Congress have? | Creation of Federal Courts, define federal crimes, set punishments for violation of federal laws |
| Examples of how Congress uses neccessary and proper | 1. Express power to tax-creation of IRS and ability to punish tax evaders 2. Express power to raise and maintain army and navy- draft |
| What has Elastic clause come to mena? | Convenient and useful |
| Which house may choose president? Under what conditions? When has this happened? | 1824-Jackson v. Adams; no majority in electoral votes |
| How does Impeachment work? Example? | trial- house of rep; 2/3 senate vote to impeach president Ex: Clinton |
| What say does Congress have in Executive Appointments? | Senate must approve all appointments (Senatorial Courtesy) |
| What is a way around Congress approving Executive appointments? | Put people in while Senate is adjourned Ex: Head of Obamacare |
| Treaties? | President must get 2/3 Senate approval |
| Why does Congress conduct investigations? (5 reasons) | Gather info, focus public attention to a cause, check executive agencies, expose sketchy activity, promote interests of Congress |
| Speaker of House | Presiding officerof House |
| How is Speaker chosen? | Chosen by and from majority party |
| President of Senate | Vice President of US |
| Whip | Assistants to floor leaders in House and Senate, responsible for precounting and getting votes |
| Rider | Unpopular provision stuck onto a bill that is sure to pass |
| What really runs D.C.? | Congressional committees |
| Standing Committee | Permanet committee in legislative body to which bills in a specified subject matter area are referred |
| Subcommittee | division of existing committee that is formed to address specific issues |
| Filibuster | Various tactics (usually long speeches) aimed at defeating a bill in the Senate |
| Cloture | Procedure that may be used to limit or end floor debate in Senate (60 votes) |
| Veto | Presidents power to reject a bill |
| Pocket Veto | President does not sign bill by time Congress adjourns so simply dies |
| Bill | Proposed law presented by Congress for consideration |
| Key powers of Speaker of House? | Interpret and apply rules; refers Bills to committees; puts matters to vote; names members of committees |
| Who is currently speaker? (As of 11/2/11) | John Bayner- Republican- Ohio |
| How is floor leader in Senate most powerful post in Senate? | Steers floor action |
| Who is currently Majority Floor Leader? (As of 11/2/11) | Harry Reed- Nevada- Democrat |
| Why are committee chairmen extremely powerful? | Committees hold all power and chairmen decide what bills to take up and when committees will meet |
| Problems with custom of seniority rule? | Longer time around lobbyists, most likely bought off by someone, lack of new ideas, no idea of real world, solid district so not responsive to centrism giving extreme viewpoints |
| What are leading committees in house? | Ruth Waves Merrily At Judy And Steve Rules, ways and means, appropriations, judiciary, armed forces |
| In Senate? | Frank and Ruth Appropriate Funds Just for Banking Foreign relations, appropriation, finance, judiciary, banking |
Created by:
rachael94
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