Pols 1337: Congress
35 Cards in this Set
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
|
2 main functions legislators serve
|
representation and lawmaking
|
|
representation
|
efforts by elected officials to look out for the interests of those who elect them
|
|
lawmaking
|
the creation of policy to address the problems and needs of the entire nation
|
|
pork and barrel
|
public works projects and grants for specific districts paid for by general revenues
|
|
casework
|
legislative work on behalf of individual constituents to solver their problems with government agencies and programs
|
|
policy representation
|
congressional work to advance the issues and ideological prefrences of constituents
|
|
Allocative Representation
|
Congressional work to secure projects, services, and funds for the represented district
-Pork Barrel- public works projects and grants for specific districts paid by general revenues
|
|
symbolic representation
|
efforts of members of congress to stand for american ideals or identify with common constituency values.
|
|
senator of texas
|
Ted Cruz-R
|
|
Article 1 of the US Constitution
|
Defines the powers and the contents of the Legislative Branch
Gives the power to coin money and prohibits the states from doing so
|
|
Differences Between the House and Senate
|
Senators have 6 year terms. House has 2 years terms no limit.
435 House Representatives
100 Senators (can filibuster)
|
|
Staggered Terms
|
The House is replaced completely every 2 years
1/3 of Senate is replaced every 2 years (each senator serves 6-year term)
-Grants assurance and stability
|
|
State of the Union Address
|
formulates policy and plays huge role in setting the national adgenda
|
|
Marbury vs. Madison (1803)
|
Supreme Court can decide if law violates the constitution aka Judicial Review
|
|
reapportionment
|
a reallocation of congressional seats among the states every ten years, following the census
|
|
redistricting
|
redrawing of district lines in states with more than one representative
|
|
gerrymandering
|
redistricting to benefit a particular group
|
|
pro-incumbent Gerrymandering
|
Districts redrawn to maximize the chances of an incumbent winning
|
|
Partisan Gerrymandering
|
Favoring a specific political party
|
|
Racial Gerrymandering
|
Redistricting to enhance or reduce the chances that a racial or an ethical group will elect members to the legislature
|
|
Voting Rights Act of 1982
|
Set up minority/majority districts
-Creates more diversity within congress (found unconstitutional)
|
|
strategic polititan
|
office-seeker who bases the decision to run on a rational calculation that he or she will be successful
understands national trends
|
|
descriptive representation
|
the idea that an elected body should mirror demographically the population it represents
|
|
majority party
|
controls leadership structure
chooses Speaker of the House and the Senate majority leader
|
|
Speaker of the House
|
John Boehner (R)
majority party leader
-more power in House than majority leader in Senate
-power depends on person and amount given by party members
|
|
Majority/Minority Whip
|
person responsible for keeping the party members in line and getting them to vote w/ the party on legislation
|
|
standing committee
|
the permanent and most powerful committees of Congress
|
|
select committees
|
(usually) temporary legislative committees set up to highlight or investigate a particular issue or address an issue not within the jurisdiction of existing committees
|
|
Joint committees
|
similar purposes to select committees, but they consist of members from both the House and Senate
|
|
Conference Committees
|
Special type of joint committee appointed to resolve difference in the house and Senate versions of a piece of legislation
|
|
fillibuster
|
a tactic for defeating a bill in the senate by talking it to death.
|
|
Cloture
|
vote to end debate (filibuster) in the senate, requires 3/5 vote, or 60 votes
|
|
Presidential veto
|
The President rejecting a bill or law that has passed to him
|
|
Pocket Veto
|
A type of veto occurring when Congress adjourns within 10 days of submitting a bill to the president and the president simply lets the bill die by neither signing nor vetoing it.
|
|
Item or line item veto
|
a special form of veto that authorizes a chief executive to delete particular provisions of a bill enacted by a legislature without vetoing the entire bill
unconstitutional
|
Pols 1337: Bureaucracy Review