Structure of Congress
The total number of members of Congress
What is 535?
Congress exercises this power when passing (or refusing to pass) a federal budget
What is the power of the purse?
Oh no! The President exercised this option to reject a Bill passed by Congress.
What is a veto?
The wishes of constituents are prioritized by this a member of Congress voting based on this role.
What is the delegate model?
This questionnaire completed every 10 years determines reapportionment of Congressional seats.
What is the census?
This chamber is based on proportional representation
What is the House of Representatives?
It's not a stretch to say that this Constitutional Principle allows for Congress to exercise implied powers.
What is the Necessary and Proper Clause?
After a Bill is introduced in either chamber it is referred to this standing group of members of Congress that will hear expert testimony, debate, and mark up the Bill
What is a committee?
When members of Congress promise to vote for each other's Bills
What is logrolling?
drawing a Congressional district to favor a certain party.
What is gerrymandering?
1/3 of this chamber is up for election every 2 years.
What is the Senate?
This enumerated power of Congress is at the center of U.S. v. Lopez
What is to regulate interstate commerce?
Before a Bill arrives on the floor of the House for debate and vote it must pass through this committee.
What is the rules committee?
A member practices this role when they rely on their own judgment to vote on a certain bill.
What is the trustee model?
This Supreme Court case ruled that legislative apportionment is something that the courts can review.
What is Baker v. Carr
This leader of the lower chamber presides over all work done there and is 2nd in line for the Presidency.
Who is the Speaker of the House?
This chamber refused to ratify the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 and again in 1920
What is the Senate?
If a Bill is passed in different versions in both the House and the Senate it will go to this committee to iron out the differences.
What is a Conference Committee?
Members of Congress can be persuaded to vote for a larger appropriation Bill if there is money set aside for a pet project in that member's district.
What is pork barrel legislation?
Supreme Court case that ruled race alone could not be used as a factor when drawing a Congressional District.
What is Shaw v. Reno?
This Constitutional Compromise established the bicameral legislature.
What is the Great (or Connecticut) Compromise?
This type of spending comprises the largest portion of mandatory spending.
What is entitlement spending? (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid)
Unlimited debate in the Senate leads to the ability of Senators to use this to put a hold on a vote for a specific Bill.
This tactic used to require a Senator to stand up and talk for as long as possible. In order to do this Senators would certainly make comments germane to the passage of the Bill, but in order to fill the time would have to fill the air with any sort of speaking possible. This could be achieved by reading from other government papers, works of literature, or even cookbooks. Anything that allowed the Senator to talk as long as possible. The record for the amount of time a Senator held the floor was Strom Thurmond; who used his time to avoid passage of the Civil Rights Act. This speech lasted over 24 hours! That record has been eclipsed though in just this last year by Cory Booker. He spoke on the floor of the Senate for 25 hours! He even quoted one of the Federalist papers. Holds can now be placed on bills without having to talk so long. This has led to an increase in use of this strategy.
What is a filibuster?
Partisan voting and polarization can lead to this situation in which no congressional action on legislation can be taken due to a lack of consensus.
What is gridlock?
Concentrating the opposition party in certain Congressional Districts.
What is packing?