bicameral legislature
*Two-house legislature that the U.S. adopted as a result of the Great Compromise at the Constitutional Convention
*House
-Population
*Senate
-Regardless of state size, two per state
cloture
*Only way to end filibuster in the Senate
*Difficult to achieve when the two parties are evenly represented, as it requires the votes of 60 members
Casework and Constituency Service
*Casework
-Assistance given to constituents by congressional members, answering questions or doing favors
*Constituency Service
-Assistance to constituents by congressional members
Both are examples of the incumbency advantage
Roles of Members of Congress
*Policymaker
-Make public policy through the passage of legislation
*Representative
-Represent constituents
*Delegate-members vote based on the wishes of constituents, regardless of their own opinions
*Trustee-after listening to constituents, members vote
committee system
*Legislative work starts in congressional committees and subcommittees
*Committee assignments are based on expertise and seniority
-Congressmen/women are assigned to one standing committee and multiple subcommittees
*Standing committees
*Select committees
House/Senate Requirements
*House
-At least 25 years old
-American citizen for at least seven years
-A resident of the state the candidate represents
-Serves a two-year term
*Senate
-At least 30 years old
-American citizen for at least nine years
-A resident of the state the candid
congressional caucus
*Formed by congressmen/women from both Houses of Congress who have the same interests for the purpose of developing and promoting legislation
*Examples:
-House and Senate Democratic caucus, consisting of all the elected Democratic congressmen/women and se
legislative veto
*A legislative veto must be passed by both the House and Senate
*Action repeals a policy of a federal agency or the president
*To reject the actions of the president or executive agency by a vote of one or both houses of Congress without the consent of th
filibuster
*Tactic used to delay voting on a bill in the Senate, usually done by a senator making a multi-hour speech on the Senate floor
*Can also happen without actual continuous speeches
*Only way to end filibuster is to vote for cloture, which requires the votes
impeachment
*Process by which president, judge, or other government official is tried for high crimes and misdemeanors
*Bringing charges of wrongdoing against a government official by the House
*Example:
-Impeached American president Andrew Johnson, who was found not
constitutional and legal basis of the congress foreign policy authority
*Article I gives Congress the authority to raise and support the armed forces:
-It gives the Senate the ability to approve presidential appointments and treaties
-Most important power Article I gives Congress is the authority to declare way
*Through Budge
appropriations
*Money granted by Congress or a state legislature for a specific purpose
franking privilege
*Privilege that allows members of Congress to mail letters and other materials to constituents postage-free
rider
*An addition or amendment added to a bill that often has no relation to the bill but that may not pass on its own merits
Incumbency advantage
*2 important facts to know about incumbent advantage:
*Representatives who run for reelection win approx. 90% of the time
*While incumbent senators have a tremendous electoral advantage, House incumbents have an even greater advantage
-Senators must run s
gerrymandering
*Practice of determining congressional district lines to benefit one party over the other
*During congressional redistricting, the political party in control of state legislature control how districts are drawn
*Purpose
-Draw a district regardless of natu
Majority and Minority Leaders
*House majority leader keeps party members in line
*Helps determine party policy, as well as the party's legislative agenda
*Senate majority leader controls the legislative agenda and therefore has considerable power in the Senate
*A majority leader in ea
Majority and Minority Whips
*Members of the House of Representatives who help their respective party leaders keep the members loyalty to the party's legislative agenda
logrolling
*Used for when congresspersons are pressured by their colleagues who hope to influence their vote on an issue
*Refers to process of a congressperson trading his or her vote on a bill for a promise from another member of Congress to support the first membe
oversight function
*Non-legislative task of Congress
*Congress monitors policies of the executive branch
-Reviews the work of the federal agencies through its committees and subcommittees, which helps check the executive branch
*Investigates charges of corruption and waste
override
*Congress has the constitutional power to override a president's veto if there is a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate
*Because a two-thirds vote is difficult to achieve in both houses, overrides are rare
quorum
*Minimum number of people required for the legislature to act
*Example:
-The quorum for a Senate vote is a simple majority
packing districts
*Form of gerrymandering:
-Act of isolating minorities to a particular district
-Done because minorities have a higher rate of Democrats, to make a solid voting district
*This is different from dividing minorities across many districts, which is known as
congressional districts
*Geographically defined group of people on whose behalf a representative acts in the House of Representatives
*Every state is divided into congressional districts of equal population
-Larger states have more districts and representative than smaller state
pigeonholed
*Used to describe a bill that is stuck in a House or Senate committee
*Bills become "stuck" when a committee refuses to vote on a bill in an attempt to keep it from being considered by the House
*A discharge petition may be used to force a bill out of com
pork barrel legislation and earmarks
*park barrel legislation
-Legislation giving benefits to constituents through sometimes unnecessary or unwise projects within a state or district, to enhance a member's chance of reelection
-Term used for budget items proposed by legislator's home state o
president pro tempore
*Chosen by the Senate from among its members
-Individual chosen to preside over the Senate if the vice president is unable to do so
markup
*Rewrite of a bill after hearings have been held on it
reapportionment
*Process of dividing the number of states legislators and congressional representatives among state's population in order to assure, as close as possible, districts of equal size
*As the total House membership must remain 435, states may lose or gain seat
redistricting
*Actual drawing of legislative boundaries
*Occurs after the census determines each state's population and how many congressional districts it should have
*Because redistricting is done by each state legislature, the controlling political party determines
select committees
*Temporary committees set up by the House and Senate to deal with a specific issue that is not covered by a standing committee
*Typically carry out investigations so that special legislation can be written
*Example:
-House Watergate Committee
-Senate Sele
conference committees
*Temporary and try to negotiate compromise bills that are then submitted to the two houses for a vote without amendments
*These committees include members from committees of the two houses who were responsible for writing a bill
*Usually attempt to come u
standing committees
*Permanent committees in the House and Senate that specialize in areas of legislation
*Representation on the committees is proportional based on the party makeup of the Senate and the House
*Examples:
-House Ways and Means Committee
-Senate Judiciary Comm
joint committees
*Consist of members of both House and Senate
*typically used for communication with the public or for investigations
*Currently there are four permanent joint committees:
-Joint Committee on Printing
-Joint Economic Committee
-Joint Committee on the Libra
Speaker of the House
*Leader of the House of Representatives
*Chosen by the majority party in a special election
*Speaker is powerful because he or she can direct floor debate and has influence over committee assignments and the Rules Committee
*Speaker can also control which
closed rule
*Bans amendments to a bill once the bill reaches the House floor
*Only exceptions are amendments approved by the Rules Committee or amendments approved in advance by a committee and submitted by the committee chairman in advance
*Significance of a closed
discharge petition
*Most bills die in committee
-Especially if they are introduced to satisfy constituency or get publicity for the member of
Congress that introduces it
*In the House, a discharge petition may be signed by 218 members to bring it to the floor
-The vast majo
simple resolution
*Passed by either chamber of Congress
*Sometimes set the rules under which either chamber operates
*Establishes rules, regulations, or practices that do not have the force of law
*Example:
-Congratulating a staff member for doing a good job or having an a
concurrent resolution
*Comes from both houses of Congress
*Often settles housekeeping and procedural matters that affect both houses
*Not signed by the president and do not have the force of law
joint resolution
*Requires the approval of both houses and the signature of the president
-Essentially is the same as law
*Joint resolutions are sometimes passed when the houses of Congress react to an important issue that needs immediate attention
*Example
-After the ter