Congressional Politics
The committee chair in both chambers always belongs to this party.
What is the majority party?
The geographic area a Senator represents.
What is a state?
This person is second in line for the presidency and most powerful House member.
What is the Speaker of the House?
The number of members of the House up for reelection every 2 years.
What is all 435?
A bill written, placed in the hopper, and therefore submitted, is in this stage of the process.
What is introduction stage?
When a representative supports a bill to secure funds for their district, it is said they are pulling from this.
What is the Pork Barrel?
The geographic area a member of the House represents.
What is a (Congressional) District?
This is mostly a ceremonial title given to the senior Senator from the majority party.
What is President pro Tempore?
The Congressional chamber that has a larger constituency base.
What is the Senate?
The deadliest step in the journey for bills occurs here.
What are standing committees?
Though it may be distasteful, the Supreme Court ruled this practice is not unconstitutional, so long as neither race nor disproportionate populations are not a factor.
What is Gerrymandering?
This type of candidate enjoys a special advantage in Congressional elections, as they benefit from name-recognition, campaign experience, credit-claiming, and franking privilege.
What is the incumbent?
These individuals assist in ensuring party discipline and cohesion.
What are party whips?
This type of Congressional spending is required, and been increasing the last few decades, causing discretionary spending to decrease
Mandatory/Entitlement Spending
A technique a minority party member can use to kill a bill in the Senate.
What is a filibuster?
The name of the Supreme Court case that helped establish the “one person, one vote” doctrine (after the courts controversially entered the “political thicket”.
What is Baker v. Carr?
These do not exist in Congress, so members can serve 30, 40, even 50+ years!
What are term limits?
This person is largely in charge of committee assignments and the legislative agenda in the House.
Who is the Speaker of the House?
Two of the four powers unique to the Senate.
What are confirmation power (treaties and appointments), holding impeachment trials, and choosing VP if no majority in electoral college?
The only way Congress can override a presidential veto.
What is with 2/3rd approval in both houses?
One way the Republican-held House had kept Democrat President Biden in check, is by investigating his implementation of their policies, known as this power.
What is Congressional Oversight (of the Bureaucracy)?
Proponents of the Elite model of Democracy (and arguably Madison in Federalist 10) may see legislators as designed to fill this role, which entitles them to make policy judgments they see as best, regardless of majority opinion.
What is the Trustee role?
This Senator is the main person who undertakes the job of being an opposition voice to the ruling party (Mitch McConnell took it VERY seriously 2020-2024).
What is Senate Minority Leader?
The alliterative nickname for one of Congress’s main powers. They use this to decide things such as whether or not to fund a border wall.
What is Power of the Purse?
This is the practice of exchanging votes for each others bills in Congress, or combining several pieces of different legislation into one bill to secure enough votes for passage.
What is logrolling?