Chapter 12

When does Congress convene?

congress convenes (begins a new term) every two years on January 3 of every odd numbered year

How is the Speaker of the House selected?

1. clerks call the members-to-be then choose a speaker as their permanent presiding officer
2. Speaker is a long standing member of the majority party
3. speaker then takes the oath of office
4. administered by the dean of houses
5. speaker swears in the

who are the nonmember officers of the H.R?

clerks, parliamentarian, sergeant at arms, chief administrative officer, chaplain
-none are members of the house

how many permanent committees are in the H.R/

19

How many reps are in the state on CT? Who are they?

5
John B. Larson, Joe Courtney, Rosa DeLaura, Jim Himes, Chris Murphy

What must happen in the House and Senate before the President will address them?

They have caucuses and they meet. The two caucuses are the Democrats and Republicans

What is the name of the President's message and what is it about?

STATE OF THE UNION MESSAGE
- reports on the state of the nation and how he sees it
- domestic and foreign policy terms
- includes a number of specific legislative recommendations
- scores of bills drawn up in the ex. branch

Who else participates in this joint meeting?

The Cabinet, the justices of the Supreme Court, the foreign diplomatic corps, and other dignitaries, assemble in the House chamber to hear him.

Who is the President of the Senate? Who is the current Pres. of the Senate?

The vice president current on is Joe Biden

Which position is more important, the Speaker of the House or the President of the Senate? Why?

SPEAKER OF TEH HOUSE The Vice President plays a much smaller part because 1. Unlike the House, the Senate does not choose its won presiding officer 2. Unlike the Speaker of the House, the Senate's presiding officer is not in fact a member of that body.

Who is the current Speaker of the House?

John Boehner

What are the Speaker's duties and powers?

Expected to preside in a fair and judicial manner, and he regularly does. He is also expected to aid the fortunes of his party and its legislative goals. The powers reside around two duties- to preside and to keep order. No member may speak until he or sh

What is the procedure the Speaker follows when he/she decides to vote? Why does he/she usually vote?

The Speaker does not often vote, and the House rules say that only he must vote to break a tie. Notice then, that becaseu a tie vote defeats a question, the Speaker occasionally votes to cause a tie and so defeat a proposal.

Who follows the V.P. in the line of succession to the presidency?

The Speaker of the House

Is the Pres. of the Senate always a member of the majority party of the Senate?

Not always

What is the Pres. of the Senate's powers?

to recognize members, put a question to a vote, and so on. The vice president cannot take the floor to speak or debate, and may only vote to break a tie.

What is the role of the president pro tempore? How are they selected? Who is the current president pro tempore?

They serve in the Vice President's absence. They are selected by the Senate itself and is always a leading member of the majority party. Darrell Steinberg.

Who follows the Speaker in line for the presidential succession?

The pro tempore

What are the two reasons that both houses are organized along party lines?

1. Because Congress is the nation's central policy-making body 2. Because of its partisan makeup reflecting its political completion

What is a party caucus? When does it meet? What does it deal with?

Is a closed meeting of the members of each party in each house. It meets just before congress convenes in January and occasionally during a session. The caucus deals mostly with maters of party organization, such as the selection of the party's floor lead

Who acts as the executive committee for the caucus? What do the Democrats call this committee?

The policy committee composed of the party's top leadership - steering and policy committee.

Who follow the Speaker in importance as officers in Congress and what role do they play?

Floor leaders in the House and Senate are the most important officers in Congress. They are legislative strategists. They try to carry out the decisions of their parties caucuses and steer floor action to their party's benefit. Each of them is also the ch

Discuss the majority leaders role.

The majority leader's post is the more powerful in each house because they have mores seats (more votes) than any other party has. Largely controls the order of business on the floor in his chamber.

What is the role of a party whip?

Party whips are assistant floor leaders. They check with party members and tell the floor leader which members, and how many votes, can be counted on in any particular matter. The whips also see that all members of the party are present for important vote

Define committee chairmen, who selects them, and their role

Committee chairmen are members who head the standing committees in each chamber and hold strategic posts. The majority party caucus selects them. They decide when their committees will meet, what bills to take up, whether they will hold public hearings, a

How does the seniority rule apply to the committee chairmen?

The head of each committee is almost always the longest-serving majority party member of that committee. The seniority rule provides that the most important posts, in both the formal and the party organization ill be held by those party members with the l

what are the main arguments against seniority rule?

The main arguments against seniority rule are that it ignores ability, rewards mere length of service, and works to discourage younger members. The rule means the committee head often comes from a "safe constituency" so they are without play of fresh and

Why do the House and Senate have to rely on a division of labor into committees?

There is so much work to be done, the House and Senate rely on the committees to help them with all the work.

How many Standing Committees exist in the House & Senate?

20 standing committees in the House and 16 in the Senate.

How many standing committees are Senators and Rep. usually assigned?

Senators: 16; 14 to 28 senators in each (1 or 2)
House of Reps: 20; 10 to 75 reps in each (3 or 4)

What are the roles played by the standing committee?

Lawmakers, senator and representative helpers.

Why would a Rep. want to be a member of a prominent comm. Like Rules, Ways and Means, Appropriations, Armed Services, Judiciary, International Relations and Agriculture? OR Why would a Sen. Want to be a member of the Foreign Relations, Appropriations, Fin

A representative would want to be part of a prominent committee, because some panels are more prominent and more influential then others. Want to be reelected and get on a committee that will benefit their district or state. (Help your community advance)

How is it determined which standing committee will receive which bill?

The Speaker or the President of Senate refers the measure to the appropriate standing committee, based on category.

How are standing committee members selected?

The committee is chosen by a floor vote in Congress at the beginning of each term.

Who holds most of the seats in each committee?

The majority party holds most of the seats in each committee.

What are the responsibilities of the subcommittees?

Responsible for a specific piece of the committees overall workload. Also, they investigate current matters regarding the bills, and issues that occur. Their goal is to bring these issues to the public eye, and have people bring their attention to them.

Why is the House Committee on Rules so important to the life of a bill?

The Rules committee grants a rule and can delay, speed, or prevent House action on a measure. A bill can die in the Rules Committee

What is a rule?

When the Rules Committee has scheduled a bill for floor consideration.

What is the purpose of a select committee?

To address current issues that don't already have a standing committee that it falls into. They are usually only for a limited time and are formed to investigate these present matters. For example, the Watergate Scandal.

Why are select committees sometimes important?

They are to investigate "the extent, if any, to which illegal improper, or unethical activities were engaged in by any persons" in cases such as the Watergate Scandal.

what is the purpose of the Joint Committee?

The joint committee composed of both houses', purpose is sometimes temporary, but mostly they are permanent groups that serve on a regular basis. Has members from both he House and the Senate dealing with the same issue. They investigate in nature and iss

What is the purpose of a conference committee? How does it work?

It is a temporary, joint body that is created to iron out the differences in a bill. They produce compromises on the bills that both houses will accept. If bill is written in the House and then amended by the Senate then it moves on to the conference comm

What is a bill?

Proposed law presented to Congress for consideration.

Where do most bills originate?

The executive branch.

Where do Revenue bills originate?

House of Represenatives, but the Senate can propose amendments.

Who can introduce a bill?

Members of either house can introduce them.

What are the two types of bills and how do they each function?

The two types are public and private bills. Public bills apply to the nation as a whole, and private bills apply to certain persons or places, no the whole country.

What is a Joint Resolution? Example

A proposal for some action that has the force of law when passed, and usually has to deal with special circumstances or temporary matters. An example is how they are used to appropriate money for the presidential inauguration ceremonies or to correct an i