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Formal Qualifications for House
- Must be at least 25
- Have been a citizen for 7 years
- Inhabit a state from which they are elected
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Informal Qualifications for House
- Gender
- Ethnicity
- Political Experience
- Name Recognition
- Party Affiliation
- Being able to raise money
- Being Incumbent
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Formal Qualifications for Senate
- Be at least 30
- Been a citizen for 9 years
- Inhabit a state from which they are elected
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Informal Qualifications for Senate
- Party Affiliation
- Gender
- Ethnicity
- Name Recognition
- Being Incumbent
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Westberry v Sanders (1964):
requires each district in a state to have a similar-sized populations
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Gibbons vs Ogden (1824):
- interpreted “commerce” to include all commercial exchanges between nations and parts of nations, not just the buying and selling of goods
- This broad interpretation leaves many questions for Congress
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Gomillion v Lightfoot (1960):
Outlawed Gerrymandering. Enforced 15th Amendment
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McCulloch v Maryland (1819):
Liberal Construction, grants Congress implied powers
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Congress’ 5 Major Roles
- Legislators
- Reps of their Constituents
- Committee Members
- Servants of their Constituents
- Politicians
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Major Roles of House
- Speaker of the House (Paul Ryan) - Preside and Keep Order
- Majority Floor and Whips (Speaker)
- Minority (Assist Majority)
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Major Roles of Senate
- President (Vice President (Joe Biden))Is not chosen nor a member of that body, much less powerful
- President Pro Tempore (Patrick Leahy)Serves in president’s absence
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Vote in the House where Speaker counts yes and no votes
Voice Votes
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Vote in the House where Those in favor and against are counted by the clerk
Standing Votes
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Vote in the House that Goes member by member can be demanded on by one fifth of members present
Roll-Call Vote
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Vote in the House that is Rare, Count votes for each party
Teller Vote
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Committees in Action
- Report bill favorably, with a “do pass” recommendation. Chairman then steers bill through debate
- Refuse to report bill (Pigeonhole)
- Report bill in amended form (many are changed)
- Report bill w/ unfavorable recommendation (Not often)
- Report committee bill (Produces rewritten measure to substitute bills referred to it)
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Powers denied to Congress
- By the Constitution
- By the Constitution’s Silence
- By ability to create a federal system
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Those that belong to all sovereign nations (control national borders)
Inherent Powers
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Expressed Powers
- Those stated in Constitution (regulate both foreign and interstate commerce)
- Power to Tax
- Power to Borrow
- Power of Bankruptcy
- Power of Currency
- Foreign Policy
- Power of War
- Copyrights and Patents
- Postal Powers
- Federal Lands
- Eminent Domain
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Those not stated in Constitution but drawn from expressed powers (b/c they can regulate commerce, they can set minimum wage)
Implied Powers
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Implied Powers
- Necessary and Proper Clause: Clause that increases the power of the implied powers
- Elastic Clause: Allows Congress to decide how it should carry out the many powers given to it by Constitution
- Strict vs Liberal Construction
- -Strict: Thomas Jefferson, Anti-Federalists, Should only use expressed powers and implied powers necessary to carry out expressed powers
- -Liberal: Alexander Hamilton, Federalist, McCulloch v Maryland
- Title III of Civil Rights Act
- Title IX of the Education Amendments to the Civil Rights Act
- The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
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NonLegislative Powers
- Elections
- -The House chooses President
- -Senate chooses Vice President
- Impeachment
- -Andrew Johnson: Civil War Aftermath
- -Richard Nixon: Watergate
- -Bill Clinton: Perjury and Obstruction
- Control Executive Powers
- -Presidential appointments must be confirmed in Senatorial majority vote
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Measures that apply to the nation as a whole
Public Bills:
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Apply to certain persons or places
Private Bills:
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Special measures, have force of law, used to deal with temporary mattersFunding inaugurations or proposing constitutional amendments
Joint Resolutions:
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do not have force of law
Used when both House and Senate want to state a position
Concurrent Resolutions
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Used by each house to adopt or amend rules
Simple Resolutions:
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Provision tacked on to an unrelated bill, such as appropriations bill
Rider:
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Believe they should vote however their constituents want them to, even if it means going against the delegate’s or their party’s views
Delegates:
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Guided by personal views, even if it means going against their constituents
Trustees:
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Place their loyalty to political party first. They support party platform and leaders
Partisans:
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Try to balance other three approaches- personal, party loyalty and wishes of constituents
Politicos:
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Different Types of Representation
- Delegates
- Trustees
- Partisans
- Politicos
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House Positions
Speaker of the House:
Majority Floor Leader:
Minority Floor Leader:
Majority Whip:
Minority Whip:
- Speaker of the House: Paul Ryan
- Majority Floor Leader: Kevin McCarthy
- Minority Floor Leader: Nancy Pelosi
- Majority Whip: Steve Scalise
- Minority Whip: Steny Hoyer
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Senate Positons
President:
President Pro Tempore:
Majority Floor Leader:
Minority Floor Leader:
Majority Whip:
Minority Whip:
- President: Joe Biden
- President Pro Tempore: Patrick Leahy
- Majority Floor Leader: Mitch McConnell
- Minority Floor Leader: Harry Reid
- Majority Whip: John Cornyn
- Minority Whip: Dick Durbin
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How many members of House
435 Members(Population)
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How many members of Senate
100 Senators(Equal)
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Start of Congressional Term:
January 3rd
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1st Woman in house:
Nancy Pelosi
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Meeting for Congress:
Caucuses
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1st Postmaster General:
Benjamin Franklin
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Percentage of Incumbent continuing their reign:
Over 90%
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# of subcommittees:
99 (20 permanent committees)
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How much do Senators make:
$174,000
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What Resolution limits President’s power to deploy troops:
War Powers Resolution of 1973
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How many special sessions have been called
- 27 joint(1948 Truman)
- senate only 46(1933 FDR)
- house only 0
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What fixed the size of the house at 435 members
Reappointment Act of 1929
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How does the Senate differ from the House
- Only has 100 members
- members have 6 year terms
- 30yrs old, citizen 9 yrs, live in state
- less subject to public pressure and more concerned about national issues
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This made Senators elected by popular vote in statewide elections
17th amendment
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How many people were expelled from the Senate
15 mostly during the civil war
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Priviledges of Congress
- cannot be arrested for civil crimes
- cannot be charged with libel or slander for anything they say in COngress
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3 purposes why government collects taxes
- public projects
- protect public health and safety
- protect domestic industries
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Chapter 7 and 13 bancruptcy
- chapter 7 - a debtor gives up property to pay creditors
- chapter 13 - a debtor works out a long term payment plan
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When did congress create legal paper money
1862
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Factors of Fair Use
- the purpose and character of the use
- the nature of the copyrighted work
- the amount of the work used
- the effect of the use
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The Supreme court upheld the idea of _____ in MuColloch vs Maryland 1818
implied powers - liberal constructionalist
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Pros and Cons of Seniority Rule
- Seniority Rule - an unwritten custom granting the most important posts in Congress to the party members with the longest service.
- Critics say this rule ignores ability, discourages younger members, limits fresh ideas
- Supporters say the rule ensures experienced leadership and is easy to apply without debate
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House Committees
- 20
- Rules, Ways and Means, Foreign Affairs, Armed Services
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Senate Committees
- 16
- Armed Services, Financial, Judiciary, Foreign Relations
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Must all tax bills start in the House
yes
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stalling tactic used by minority of senators to talk a bill to death
fillbuster
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allows debate to be limited by a special procedure that requires support of 60 senators
Cloture
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