Congress
List at least 3 enumerated powers of Congress
LOTS OF ANSWERS! some
Taxes / Pay debts, Senate: confirm appointments and ratify treaties, Borrow and coin money, Run post offices, Patents and copyright laws, Citizenship, Declare war, Raise military, Interstate commerce, Necessary and Proper Clause
to enforce federal law through rules and regulations
Describe the appointment process to become a SCOTUS Justice.
President nominates, Senate holds a hearing and votes to confirm or deny
Explain how the appointment process represents checks and balances.
The power of the president is being checked/limited by the Senate as they have to approve of his choice, theoretically preventing executive tyranny.
U.S. v. Lopez used which constitutional clause?
Commerce Clause
Name a congressional leadership position and explain how they influence Congress
Explain how checks and balances could be applied when the President writes an executive order
Via judicial review if someone sues it to SCOTUS
Difference between judicial activism and judicial restraint
Activism overturns precedent, restraint does not
2. facts of new case in reading
3. compare the holdings
Explain the concept of legitimacy and why it matters to SCOTUS
the idea that we trust in something, matters b/c SCOTUS has no enforcement mechanism
Where are the powers of Congress listed?
Article 1 Section 8
Difference between discretionary and rulemaking authority, PLUS where those powers come from
Discretion is broad, rulemaking is specific, both come from Congress
When does the ideology of the court change and what causes that?
When presidents get to nominate new justices that the Senate confirms, caused by the death or retirement of another justice
Give an example of how a President could use one of his powers to affect the actions of Congress.
(answers will vary)
The President tweets about how amazing his policy agenda for immigration is while Congress is debating legislation about immigration, pressuring same-party members of Congress to include the president's proposal in their law.
Federalist 70
ENERGETIC EXECUTIVE
Describe one specific way that Congress can "check" the power of the President ?
(answers will vary)
Congress can refuse to fund the president's foreign policy such as stop funding the war in Iran.
Describe how the President's war powers have evolved over time
Using Commander in Chief title, Presidents now authorize military force without Congressional declarations of war and negotiate "agreements" with other nations that are never called treaties because they are never ratified by the Senate
How can Congress respond to SCOTUS decisions
1. write a law to work around the decision and modify its impacts
2. impeach a Justice
3. create a Constitutional amendment w/ 2/3rds Congress and 3/4s states
4. change jurisdiction of Court
pros: efficient in a large republic to manage and maintain order/consistency in law, protecting broader rights
cons: inefficient, subject to waste/corruption, unelected, difficult to hold accountable
Federalist 78 includes these main 2 ideas.
Make a chart that compares the House and the Senate.
House: organized in committees, 2 year terms, rep by population, special duties = budget bills and impeachment, strict debate rules, Speaker of the House presides
Senate: organized in committees, 6 year terms, 2 per state, special duties = confirmations and ratifying treaties, filibuster and cloture, VPOTUS breaks ties and president pro tempore presides
Make a chart of the formal and informal powers of the President.
Formal: Veto/pocket veto, Commander in Chief, Appointments, choose cabinet/ambassadors, negotiate w/ foreign nations
Informal: signing statement, persuasion and bargaining, bully pulpit, executive order, executive agreements w/ foreign nations
What are the 3 options for states to challenge a SCOTUS ruling?
1. refuse to enforce the decision.
2. get states together for a ratifying convention to craft a new constitutional amendment
3. write a law to work around/modify impact of decision
What programs comprise a huge majority of U.S. Mandatory spending?
social security, medicare, medicaid
Explain why a constitutional amendment is an UNLIKLEY response to a Court decision
because the threshold for consensus in Article V is really high, 2/3 Cong 3/4 states