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Ch 12 Gov

Terms in this set (94)

when does congress convene
every two years
how is the speaker of the house selected
by the "members to be" and is usually a long-standing member of the major party
election on the floors is a formality
nonmember officers of house of reps
house clerk
parliamentarian
sergeant at arms
chief administrative officer
chaplain
permanent committees of the house of reps
19
reps from ct
5
joe courtney, rosa delauro, john larson, christopher murphy, jim himes
what happens in the house before the president will address the house and senate
clerk calls the chamber to order, does roll call, choose a speaker, speaker takes oath administered by dean of the house (member-elect with longest record of service), speaker swears in the rest of the body, elects clerk, parliamentarian, sergeant at arms, chief administrative officer, and chaplain, adopts rules that will govern them, committee appointment
what happens in the senate before the president will address the house and senate
newly elected and reelected members are sworn in, other organizational things done
state of the union address
reports on state of the nation as he sees it in terms of domestic and foreign policy
lays out the policies that congress will follow and the course he ha charted for the nation
recommends specific pieces of legislation and talks about bills that have been created by the executive branch
who else participates in the joint meeting
members of the cabinet, justices of the supreme court, foreign diplomatic corps and other dignitaries
president of the senate
vice president, joe biden
speaker of the house vs president of senate
more important that president of the senate
chosen by representatives, member of the house (president of senate isn't)
current speaker of the house
nancy pelosi
speaker's duties and powers
duties: preside in a fair and judious way, support his or her part financially and legislatively, and keep order
powers- appoint a temp replacement, gives members the power to speak, interprets and applies rules, refers bills to committees, motions to vote, decides the outcome of most votes taken on the floor, names members of select and conference committees, signs bill resolutions, debates and votes if they appoint a temp presiding officer, breaks tie
can be overridden by house vote
when the speaker decides to vote
to break a tie or defeat a proposal
appoints a temp presiding officer
follows the vp in line of succession
speaker of the house
is the president of the senate always a member of the majority party of the senate
no, depends on presidential race
president of the senate's powers
recognizes members, puts questions to a vote, cannot take the floor to speak or debate, can only vote to break a tie
president pro tempore
president pro tem, presiding office who serves in the vp's absence
elected by the senate itself, leader of majority party (usually longest serving member)
senator robert byrd (d-va)
follows the speaker in line of succession
president pro tem
two reasons that houses are organized along party lines
congress is the nations' central policy making body
partisan makeup

reflects political complexion, creates powerful positions
party caucus
closed meeting of the members of each party in each house
meets just before congress convenes in january and occasionally during session
deals with party organization matters like the selection of floor leaders and committee membership
executive committee of caucus
policy committee (called steering and policy committee by the democrats)
made up of party's top leaders
follow the speaker in importance as officers in congress
floor leaders
legislative strategists who carry out decisions of the caucus and steer the floor action to their parties' benefit
chief spokesman for political skills of high order
majority leader role
more powerful in each house
control order of business on floor
party whips
assistant floor leader
chosen by caucus, usually by floor leader's recommendation
serve in the house, paid staff, serve as lisasion (two way link between party leadership and members)
check with party members and tell the floor leader which memebrs are voting on what matter
see which members will be absent for vote and make sure same number of votes will be absent for the opposing party
committee chairman
heads a standing committee in each chamber
selected by the majority party caucus
decide when committee meets, which bills will be taken up, if they will hold public hearings, and what witnesses the committee should call
manages the debate of a bill that the committee oversaw
seniority rule with committee chairmen
states that the most formal posts will be given to members of congress that have the longest record of public service
arguments against seniority rule
ignores ability
rewards the length of someone's service but not the quality
discourages younger members
members selected usually come from "safe" districts
longest serving members usually have outdated public opinion
why do the house and senate rely on a division of labor in to committees
both so large, business they face is great
how many standing committees exist in the house and senate
36
how many standing committees are senators and reps suually assigned
reps: one or two
senators: 3 or 4
roles played by the standing committee
most bills receive the most consideration in these committees
most members of each house follow the recommendation of this group
fate of most bills is decided in these committees
why would a rep/senator want to be a part of a prominent committee
they are more influential than other groups
being a member of them gives one person more power
how is it determined which standing committee will receive which bill
each committee deals with a certain policy matter
3 standing committees that aren't subject specific
speaker or president refers the bill to the appropriate standing committee
how are standing committees selected
floor vote at the beginning of the term, ratifies decision
who holds most of the seats in each committee
majority party
responsibilities of subcommittees
specific division or section of committees overall workload.
house committee on rules important to live of bill
"traffic cop" in lower house
screen for all of the measures introduced in teh house
before a bill reaches the house, it is cleared by the rules committee
gets to the floor only when it is granted a rule by the house committee on rules
they decide how and under what circumstances the full house will consider the bill
rule
when a bill has been granted floor consideration
purpose of a select committee
investigate a current matter
importance of select committees
exercises the congressional powers to investigate and utilize oversight function
focuses attention on national issues
purpose of the joint committee
investigate in order to issue reports to both houses
mostly perform routine duties
purpose of a conference committee
produce a compromise that both houses will accept in the cause that the two houses passed two different versions of the same bill without being able to agree on the same bill
def of bill
proposed law presented to the house or senate for consideration
where do bills originate
within the members of congress or in the exec branch
where do revenue bills originate
house of reps
who can introduce a bill
special interest groups can propose bills
ideas for bills usually come form private citizens
other bills are created in congressional committees
only members can introduce bills
two types of bills
public - address the nation (tax measure or copyright law)
private - apply to certain people or places
joint resolution
similar to bills, have the force of laws
deal with unusual or temp matters
used to propose constitutional amendments
annex territories
used to appropriate money for the prez innauguration ceremonies or to correct an already passed statute
concurrent resolution
deal with matters that the house and senate must act on jointly
do not have the force of law
do not have to be signed off by the prez
usually used to state a position on a matter (ex. in foreign affairs)
resolution
deals with matters concerning either house alone
taken up only by that house
used when adopting a new rule of procedure
amending an already existing rule
does not have the force of a law and is not sent to the prez for a sig (like a concurrent)
how and why do you add another issue to the single subject bills and resolutions
a rider dealing is added
rider
provision not likely to pass on its own that is attached to an important measure that is likely to pass
used on appropriations measures (when congress provides the money to pay for something
how does the clerk number and title house and senate bills and resolution
number the bills as they are introduced (ex. hr 3410 is the 3410th bill introduced that term)
senate gets an s before the number and the house of reps get an hr
resolutions are similarly identified in the houses in the order of their introduction
bill gets a short title of what its principal contents are about
house journal and congressional record
...
how many readings does a bill receive in each house
3
when does the second reading take place
during floor consideration
third reading takes place
before the final vote on the measure
why are the readings so important
ensure careful considertion of the bill
were even more important when not all congressmen could read
after the first reading where is the bill sent
appropriate standing committee
why are bills pigeonholed
the standing committees reject bills that they don't feel are worthy of floor consideration
never acted on
role of discharge petition for a bill that's been pigeonholed
can take a bill that has been pigeonholed and enable memebrs to force a bill that has remained in committee for 30 days (7 days in the rules committee) on to the floor for consideration
any member may file a discharge motion
if the motion is signed by the majority (218) of the house, then the committee has seven days to report the bill
how do discharge petitions succeed
if failed, any member who signed the motion may on the second and fourth mondays of each month move that the bill is discharged from the committee (sent to the floor)
if the motion carries the rules require the house to consider the bill at once
the maneuver is not often tried and it rarely succeeds
successful in 2002 in recovering the bill that went on to become the bipartisan campaign reform act
if a bill stays alive in a standing committee how does a subcommittee help the standing/full committee understand the bill
a subcommittee holds a public hearing on the subject of the bill
interested people, special interest groups, and government officials are invited to testify
occasionally a subcommittee will make a junket (trip) to locations affected by a measure
what happens once the subcommittee has thoroughly researched the bill
1 report the bill favorably with a "do pass" recommendation; chariman then steers the bill through the debate on the floor
2 refuse to report the bill (pigeonhole it); most common
3 report the bill in amended form; many are changed in committee and several bills on the same subject may be combined in to a single measure
4report the bill with an unfavorable recommendation, doesn't often happen; occasionally a committee feels that the full house should have a chance to consider a bill or odes not want to take the responsibility for killing it
5 report a committee bill; this is an entirely new bill that the committee has substituted for one or several bills reffered to it
role of the calendar
schedule of the order in which bill will be taken up on the floor
five types of calendars
1calendar of the committee of the whole house on the state of the union (union calendar) for all bills having to do with revenues, appropriations, or gov prop
2house calendar for all public bills
3private calendar for all private bills
4corrections calendar for all bills from the union or house calendar taken out of order by unanimous consent of the house of representatives. most often minor bills to which there is no opposition
5discharge calendar for petitions to discharge bills from committee
role of the rules committee in the leg process
it must grant a rule before most bills can in fact reach the floor
before a bill is taken from the calendar the rules committee must approve that step and set a time for its appearance on the floor
by not granting a rule for a bill, it's killed
how do some bills jump line and become privileged
may be called up at almost any time, ahead of any other business before the house
most highly privileged measures include major appropriations and general revenue (tax) bills, conference committee reports, and special rules from the rules committee
after the rules committee grants/declines rule
second reading is completed
why do minor bills seem to be lucky
get passed easier than major bills because there is little or no opposition
committee of the whole role
old parliamentary device for speeding business on the floor deals with more important measures
who makes up the committee of the whole and how it is an advantage for a bill to go through this committee rather than the house
includes member of the house
sit as one giant committee
rules are much less strict
floor action moves faster
(ex quorum only requires 100 for committee of the whole vs 218 for full house)
what does the speaker of the house do when a bill goes through the committee of the whole
steps down because the house is no longer in session
another member presides
what steps does a bill go through in the committee as a whole
each section is read
amendments are offered up
under the 5 minute rule supports and opponents of each amendment can make their case
votes are taken on each section and amendment as the reading proceeds
what happens to the comittee as a whole when it is complete
rises and dissolves itself
house resumes session
speaker resumes chair
house formally adopts the committee's work
what does the house now do with the bill
house resumes session
speaker resumes position
house formally adopts committee's work
how long can a rep debate
up to an hour
can debate for a longer time with unanimous consent
what happens if a rep changes subjects
speaker can force them to give up the floor
role of majority and minority floor leaders
decide how they will split the time to be spent on the bill
what happens when a member votes to "move the previous question"
debate ends
what procedural motions can be made by members who want to prevent or stall a bill from passings
tabling the bill or the previous question
what are the four methods for taking floor votes
1voice votes, most common; speaker calls for vote and members vocally answer; speaker announces result
2division can be called; standing vote counted by clerk
3one fifth of the quorum can demand a teller vote; speaker names two tellers one from each party; members pass between the tellers and are counted; rare practice that has been replaced by electronic voting
4roll call vote (record vote) may be demanded by one fifth of the members present
how does the computerized voting system help the quorum calls and record votes
more efficient and when the speaker ends the vote, states the amount of votes for and against the bill
engrossed
state a bill is in once it has been approved at a second reading
in printed form
final steps
becomes engrossed
read a third time and put to a final vote
speaker signs it
carried by a page to the president of the senate's desk
how is a bill introduced in the senate
by senators
measure is then given a number and a short title
read twice
referred to a committee, same routine as house
why are the proceedings less strict in the senate than in the house
senate has less members and its easier to organize fewer people
how are the rules of debate in the senate different from those in the house
floor debate in the house is limited, senate is unrestrained
senators may speak on the floor for as long as they want
senate has no rule that requires a senator to speak only to the measure before the chamber
the senate's rules do not allow any member to move the previous question
senate's consideration of most bills is brought to a close by unanimous consent agreements
senate has two speech rule (no senator may speak more than twice on a given question on the same leg. day)
fillbuster
"talk a bill to death"
stalling tactic where a minority of senators work to delay or prevent senate action on the bill
monopolize the senate floor
senate will either drop the bill or change it in a manner acceptable to the minority
involve time-killing motions, quorum calls, and other parliamentary moves
can be successful but seldom work
what actions can senators in oppositio take to prevent or stop fillbuster
lengthy, sometimes even day-and-night, sessions to wear down the participants
strict rules are enforced (no sitting, leaning on desks, no walking about)
members can't talk in unparliamentary language
cloture rule
after cloture, 30 more hours is given on the bill and a decision is made
cloture rule
rule xxii in the standing rules
provides for cloture, limiting debate,
can be brought in to play by special procedure (16 members submit request 3/5 vote for it)
why is the conference committee so important to the life of a bill
committee is only allowed to address the differences in the bills
cannot include any new material
usually make unspecified changes
how can the president respond to this bill
sign the bill
veto the bill and have it sent back to the house where the veto can be over ridden
do nothing at all and after 10 days the bill becomes a law
perform a pocket veto where congress adjourns a session within 10 days of submitting a bill and the president doesn't act so it dies
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