CONSTITUTION AND CONGRESS
GUESS THE VOCAB: legislation that directs specific funds to projects within districts or states
pork barrel spending
GUESS THE VOCAB: drawing of district boundaries into strange shapes to benefit a political party
partisan gerrymandering
GUESS THE VOCAB: leader of a congressional committee who has authority over the committee’s agenda
committee chair
GUESS THE VOCAB: a tactic through which an individual senator may use the right of unlimited debate to delay a motion or postpone action on a piece of legislation
filibuster
GUESS THE VOCABS:
the amount of money remaining when the government takes in more than it spends
the shortfall when a government takes in less money than it spends
budget surplus
budget deficit
GIVE THE DEFINITION: oversight
efforts by Congress to ensure that executive branch agencies, bureaus, and cabinet departments, as well as their officials, are acting legally and in accordance with congressional goals
GIVE THE DEFINITION: incumbency
being already in office as opposed to running for the first time
GIVE THE DEFINITION: minority leader
the head of the party with the second-highest number of seats in Congress, chosen by the party’s members
GIVE THE DEFINITION: discharge petition
a motion filed by a member of Congress to move a bill out of committee and onto the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote
GIVE THE DEFINITIONS:
mandatory spending
discretionary spending
spending required by existing laws that is “locked in” the budget
spending for programs and policies at the discretion of Congress and the president
______ years of citizenship are required to become House of Representatives.
7
The term gerrymandering comes from the state legislative districts that were oddly drawn in 1812 under _ (state) governor _ _ (first and last name).
Massachusetts, Elbridge Gerry
________ is second in the line of succession to the presidency.
The speaker
WHAT ARE THE THREE CHOICES FOR EACH BILL THAT LANDS ON HER OR HIS DESK?
1. Sign it
2. Veto it
3. Pass the bill through inaction
The ________ influences both the total amount of money the national government plans to spend and the ways in which that money is allocated.
budgeting process
WHAT IS THE LIMIT OF TERMS REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS MAY SERVE?
there is no limit :)
The House of Representatives for each state based on its population. The Senate has an equal amount for each state.
How many members of the House of Representatives are there?
435
LIST FOUR OUT OF THE THIRTEEN STEPS FOR HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO PASS A BILL
1. Bill introduction in House of Representatives
2. Committee referral
3. Subcommittee referral
4. Subcommittee and committee consideration
5. Rules committee action
6. Floor consideration
7. Conference committee action
8. Final consideration of conference committee's bill
9. Presidential consideration
10. Presidential veto
11. House and Senate reconsideration
12. House and Senate override presidential veto
13. Bill becomes a law
HOW IS SOCIAL SECURITY AN EXAMPLE OF AN ENTITLEMENT PROGRAM?
It is financed by current payroll taxes paid by individuals and does not have income-based requirements to receive its benefits.
LIST THE FOUR ENUMERATED POWERS FROM THE NATIONAL SECURITY THAT APPLY TO BOTH CHAMBERS
1. Declare war
2. Raise and support armies and naval force
3. Power to call up the military "to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions"
4. Define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas
DESCRIBE THE CASE BAKER V. CARR AND NAME THE PRINCIPLE IT SET
A registered Republican challenged Tennessee’s congressional district boundaries, which had not been changed since 1901. As a result, some districts contained ten times the population of other districts. Tennessee argued that drawing congressional boundaries was a political question that should be left to the states. The Supreme Court disagreed, requiring Tennessee to redraw congressional district boundaries so that each district would have roughly the same number of constituents. This lad to the principle of “one person, one vote” articulated in Gray v. Sanders.
LIST AND DEFINE THE 4 KINDS OF COMMITTEES
Standing: Standing committees consider legislation and exercise oversight of bureaucratic agencies, usually recommending funding levels for them.
Joint: focus public attention on an issue, gather information for Congress, or help party leaders speed things along in the legislative process.
Conference committee: is a temporary joint committee that resolves differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill, which is required by the Constitution before a president can sign the bill into law.
Select or Special committee: These temporary bodies are usually called upon to investigate an issue, sometimes in response to a crisis or a scandal.
LIST THE TEN STEPS FOR SENATE TO PASS A BILL
1. Bill introduction in the Senate
2. Committee referral
3. Subcommittee referral
4. Committee and subcommittee consideration
5. Floor consideration
6. Conference committee action
7. Final consideration of conference committee’s bill
8. Presidential consideration
9. President signs bill
10. Bill becomes a law
LIST AND DESCRIBE THE STEPS TO SET THE FEDERAL BUDGET
1. THE PRESIDENT'S PROPOSED BUDGET - The federal government’s fiscal year begins in October, and the president is expected to submit a proposed budget to Congress in February of that year.
2. CONGRESS ACTS - Congress is expected to produce a budget resolution that provides broad outlines for federal spending. The real action, however, happens in the House and Senate appropriations committees, which set the budgets for departments, agencies, and bureaus.