Congress

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  • Created by: Hannah
  • Created on: 27-05-13 17:32
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  • Congress
    • What is the structure of Congress?
      • Bicameral = House of Reps and Senate
      • Upper = House of Reps, Lower = Senate
    • What are the powers of Congress?
      • Concurrent Powers - pass legislation, override's pr's veto, initiate constitutional amendments, declare war, confirm newly appointed VP
      • House of Reps - initiate money bills, impeachment, elect pr is electoral college is deadlocked
      • Senate - Confirm appointments and treaties, try cases of impeachment and elect VP if electoral college is deadlocked
    • How do the House of Reps and Senate compare in terms of power and prestige?
      • Senate = more prestigious -
        • Represent an entire state
        • Senate = 6 yr term
        • Senate = only 1 out of 100
        • Leadership positions more likely
        • Senators are known state-wide
        • Recruiting pool for pr and VP
        • Exclusive power of senate
      • BUT
        • Equal power in passage of bills
        • Constitutional amendments must be approved by both
        • Equal salaries
    • How is power distributed in Congress?
      • House Speaker
      • Minority and majority leaders
      • Committees
    • How important are congressional committees?
      • Standing Committees = permanent policy-specialist committee
      • House Rules Committee = Responsible for prioritising bills coming from the committee stage onto House floor
      • Conference Committees = to reconcile differences between 2 bills that come out both Houses
      • Select Committees = 'special' or 'investigative' committees
    • What determines the way members of Congress vote?
      • Political Party
      • Constituents
      • Administration
      • Pressure Groups
      • Colleagues and Staff
      • Personal Beliefs

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Old Sir

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A comprehensive coverage of the most important elements and issues, this will be useful as a starting point for revising this topic. However, students will need to learn detailed examples of (especially recent) Congressional working in order to effectively prepare to answer the important questions raised in the diagram.

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