Understanding the U.S. Legislative Process: Bicameralism, Pork Barrel, and Bill Passage - , Exams of Local Government Studies

Download Understanding the U.S. Legislative Process: Bicameralism, Pork Barrel, and Bill Passage - and more Exams Local Government Studies in PDF only on Docsity! Chapter 10: Congress - What is bicameralism? Having two chambers in one legislative body: The House and the Senate of congress - What is pork barrel? Money given to a representative’s cause that does not benefit everyone, just locally, which can help a representative be reelected - Understand the styles of representation: substantive / descriptive representation; the trustee, the delegate and the politico Substantive representation: moves beyond appearances, concerning the constituents’ interest Descriptive representation: based on shared traits between members and constituents (ethnicity, religion, gender); demographic similarity increases trust Trustee: role played by elected representatives who listen to constituents’ opinions and use their best judgment to make final decisions Delegate: Vote the way the constituents would want them to regardless of their own opinion Politico: elected representatives who act as trustees or delegates depending on the situation - What is casework? Assistance provided by members of congress to their constituents in solving problems with the federal bureaucracy or addressing other specific concerns - How does the bill become the law? (read textbook from page 379 to page 383 carefully; understand the flowchart on page 380; use internet resources if necessary) Must be passed in identical form by the House and the Senate and signed by the President. If the President vetoes it, it can be overridden by a 2/3 vote in each chamber  Congress member introduces the bill (only members of congress can introduce a bill)  Subcommittee and committee craft the bill (markup= drafting final language of the bill)  Floor action on the bill takes place in the first chamber  Committee and floor action take place in the second chamber  Conference committee works out any differences between the House and the Senate  Final approval of new version by the floor of each chamber  President signs or vetoes  If vetoed, both chambers can attempt to override veto Any bill that appropriates money has to pass through the two step process of authorization and appropriation. -authorization: members debate the merits of the bill, determine its language, and limit the amount that can be spent on the bill -appropriation: involves the budget committees in the house and senate, which set the overall guidelines for the national budget, and the appropriations committees which determine the actual amounts of money that will be spent - Understand the process and think why the system requires each step in the process (i.e., why is there a conference committee?) The committees offer expertise that all of congress might not have. The conference committee is necessary to hammer out differences and act as a mediator between the two houses of congress so that both can get what they want/issues can be resolved/there’s representatives from both sides so that it’s more fair when they have to choose one or the other because they’re too different to merge - What are the differences in the House and Senate legislative process? (page 384-385) House- 2 year terms; Senate: 6 year terms (2/3 of members return each session [every 2 years]) Greater stability in the rules of the Senate than the rules of the House. House adopts new rules at the start of each session (every 2 years), whereas the senate has the option of changing the rules at the beginning of the session to meet the needs of new members. House- bill goes to bottom of legislative calendar (suspension of rules can get it discussed ASAP); Senate: Privileging final stage bills, action on whatever bill the majority leader wants action on House- structured floor process, more rules; Senate- unlimited debate, open amendment process, can filibuster - What is filibuster in Senate? How can it be limited? Filibuster: tactic used by senators to block a bill by continuing to hold the floor and speak --under the Senate rule of unlimited debate—until the bill’s supporters backed down. Can be limited by: Cloture- supermajority of 60/100 senators agree to limit the amount of time spent debating a bill - What are closed rules, open rules, and modified rules? Closed rules: conditions placed on a legislative debate by the House Rules Committee prohibiting amendments to a bill Executive order: proclamations that unilaterally change government policy without subsequent congressional approval. Executive privileges: The right of the president to keep executive branch conversations and correspondence confidential from the legislative and judicial branches; executive privilege is not always allowed. What was the impact of the Great Depression and/or the New Deal on the president and the executive branch? The great depression and the new deal expanded the presidential power. The president was given the power to make decisions/ implement things to help get the country out of economic trouble Understand presidential line of succession President -> vice president-> speaker of the house ->president pro tempore of senate - >cabinet secretaries in order of creation of office (state, treasury, defense, attorney general, etc) What is the Vice President’s role? Preside over Senate proceedings (ceremonial, usually delegated to president pro tempore of senate); can cast tie breaking votes in the senate; becomes president if the president for some reason cannot finish out presidency (death?); recently has become a senior adviser and trusted confidante for the presidents Who are in the cabinet? Cabinet is composed of the heads of the fifteen executive departments in the federal government along with other appointees given cabinet rank by the president; are the front line implementers of the president’s agenda in their executive departments, monitor the actions of lower-level bureaucrats; chosen for a combination of presidential loyalty and expertise Keyword: vesting clause; recess appointment; fast-track authority; first mover advantage; executive agreement; power to persuade; going public; unilateral action; unitary executive theory; signing statement Vesting clause: the section of the constitution that states that executive power shall be vested in a president, which makes the president both the head of the government and head of the state. The precise meaning of this clause has been debated; supporters of presidential power want to interpret the clause more expansively while their opponents think the clause is so vague that it’s essentially meaningless. Recess appointment: a way for the president to get away with appointing someone without senate approval. When the president appoints someone to fill a position when senate is not in session, so senate cannot approve it. If this appointee is not approved by a later senate vote, they will only serve until the end of that congressional term. Fast-track authority: When a treaty is negotiated requiring just a simple majority in the House and Senate, not the two-thirds majority as a way to expedite the process. First-mover advantage: the president’s power to initiate treaty negotiations. Congress can’t initiate treaties and can only consider them after negotiations have ended. Congress cannot force the president to negotiate treaties. Executive agreement: An agreement between the executive branch and a foreign government, which acts as a treaty but does not require senate approval. Can be simply undone by the next president, which is not the case with a treaty. Power to persuade: theory that a president’s ability to shape the government policy depends more on his ability to convince members of congress, bureaucrats, and citizens to do what he wants than it does on the formal powers conveyed to him by the constitution Going public: appealing directly to American citizens using speeches and other public forms of communications about issues that the president would like congress to act on; is often times not that influential or successful today. Unilateral action: any policy decision that is made and acted upon by the president without explicit approval or consent from congress; many believe this occurs because of the ambiguities in the constitution. Unitary executive theory: the idea that the vesting clause of the Constitution gives the president the authority to issues orders and policy derivatives that cannot be undone by congress unless the Constitution explicitly gives them this power. Signing statement: a document attached to a law that the president is signing into effect that explains how the president interprets this law and how it should be carried out. Happens most often when the president disagrees with congress’ interpretation of the law but still wants to approve the bill. Chapter 12: The Bureaucracy The spoil system vs. the civil service regulation - What are the benefits and drawback of the spoil system? Useful for party organizations- gave them a powerful incentive for people to come work for the party Disadvantageous because a lot of times those who were given positions were not qualified or did not have expertise and had to be given strict guidelines about how to do their job (SOP) - What are the main outcomes of the civil service regulations? This makes it where the person who is given a job has to be appointed based on merit. A test has to be taken to make sure that the person is qualified. The president could no longer replace bureaucrats with his own campaign workers when elected. What is principal agent game? The interaction between the principal (President or Congress), who needs something done, and the agent (bureaucrats) who is responsible for carrying out the principal’s orders What is regulatory capture? When bureaucrats favor the interests of a small group of individuals or corporations regardless of the impact of these actions on public welfare. What is oversight? Why does Congress do oversee the bureaucracy? Monitoring the implementation of a law to make sure it is being carried out correctly.; information gathering by members of congress about what bureaucrats are doing. What are the benefits and costs for police patrol oversight and fire alarm oversight? Police patrol: benefit- preventative can stop a problem before it happens. Cost- very expensive and time consuming Fire alarm: benefit- saves money, doesn’t really waste time. Cost- damage is already done with Congress finds out about what happened Why bureaucrats are allowed to make administrative laws? They are allowed to make administrative laws because the alternative is costly. If congress set the rules, SOP, etc about things they aren’t an expert in, it could be dangerous (they could potentially make decisions that would cause people harm), or it would take up too much time for members of congress to research and inform themselves in order to make the decisions when the bureaucrats are already experts. Keywords: red tape; state capacity; standard operating procedures; neutral competence; budget maximizers; bureaucratic drift Red tape: bureaucratic rules that slow down or complicate getting things done. Unnecessary or complex procedures and standard operating procedures. Standard operating procedures: rules that lower-level bureaucrats must follow when implementing policies regardless of whether they are applicable to the situation at hand. Neutral competence: the idea that bureaucrats should provide expertise and information and avoid taking sides on policy questions or being swayed by elected officials, people outside the government, or their own personal beliefs/ policy goals. Budget maximizers: the government is so large because bureaucrats never pass up a chance to increase their own funding, regardless of if this new spending is worthwhile. Bureaucratic drift: bureaucrats pursuing their own goals rather than their assignments from officeholders or appointees