Summary Edexcel A Level US Government and Politics- notes and plans on congress
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Course
The US congress
Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)
Book
Pearson Edexcel A Level US Government and Politics
Help with Pearson Edexcel A Level US Government and Politics. Includes notes on The US Congress alongside essay plans in a table format. Evidence and quotes are colour coordinated to help with easy access. Information is perfectly concise and up to date ( up to 2023). Includes comparison of UK and ...
Congress notes
Structure
Bicameral
- The lower HofR the states are repped proportionately to the pop and in the upper house
Senate states would be repped equally- keeps big and small pops content
- HofR has 435 members and senate has 100
- The number of representatives for each state is reapportioned after each ten yearly census-
some states gain house seats and others lose theme e.g. 2010 Texas delegation rose from 32
to 36
Election cycle
- Elections every 2 years in comparison to every 4 years for P.
- The whole house is elected every 2 years
- Senators serve for 6 years with ⅓ being reelected every 2 years
- Every 4 years congressional elections coincide with presidential elections
- Congressional elections between presidential elections are midterms
- As the executive and leg is separate and the frequent midterms change the balance in
congress the USA often changes from a united gov to a divided gov e.g bill clinton, democrat,
had a mostly republican congress
- 2022 midterms: 51 dem 49 republicans
Membership
- 30 y/o + US citizen for 9 years = senator
- 25 y/o + Citizen for 7 years = HofR
- Both have to be residents in the state they rep
Distribution of powers
- A1 gives congress clear enumerated powers exclusive powers
Reps:
● Beginning consideration of money bills
● Bring charges of impeachment
● Choose president if the electoral college is deadlock
Both
● Create leg
● Oversight of executive
● Override president's veto
● Initiate amendments
● Declare war
● Confirming appointment of vice P.
Senate
● Ratify treaties
● Confirming appointments trying cases of impeachment
● Choose vice P if the electoral college is deadlock
Concurrent Powers of leg
Creating leg
- A1- ‘All legislative powers shall be vested in a congress’- limited powers
- Both houses are equal when it comes to legislation as all bills pass through both houses
- Nether house can override decision of the other
, - Both houses must agree to the law in the same form
- President has to ask congress to pass leg e.g. Obama asked for the healthcare reform known
as Affordable care 2010 and trump asked for Tax cuts known as the tax Cuts and jobs Act
2017
Oversight of the executive
- Constitution make no explicit statement concerning oversight but it is implied A1S8 where it
says it must investigate
- Congress establishes and votes on budgets of executive departments and agencies of federal
gov- implies oversight
- Oversight of executive occurs in committee rooms exercised by congressional standing and
select committees
- Following allegations of collusion by the Trump campaign with the Russinas in 2016 both
houses began investigations, specifically through the House Intelligence Committee, the
house oversight committee, the senate oversight committee and the senate judiciary
committee- none found evidence of collusion
Overriding the president's veto
- Law making powers
- Both houses need ⅔ maj
- Congress overrode 4 of Bush’s 12 during his 8 years in office - 2007 congress overrode his
veto of the Water Resources Development Bill
- During Obama congress overrode 1 of his 12 vetos in 2016 on his veto of the Justice Against
Sponsors of Terrorism Act which would’ve allowed families of victims of 9/11 to sue the Saudi
Arabaian gov for their role - senate voted 97-1
- Congress overrode 1 of Trump's vetos- The national defence authorization act for the fiscal
year 2021
Initiating amendments
- Houses are equal
- Amendment must be approved by ⅔ before its sent for ratification
- E.g. Bill of rights
Declaring war
- Both houses must concur
- Has occurred 5 times- last time 1941 when US declared war on Japan
- Since, congress has been sidelined by president e.g. Vietnam or has been asked to sanction
military action that the P has already decided on e.g. Iraq
Confirming VP
- 25A
- Only relates to VP who is appointed not those elected
- P can choose VP is VP dies or resigns-confirmed by maj of both houses- has occurred twice
e.g. Ford became P and appointed Rockefeller as VP
Powers of HofR
Beginning of consideration of £ bills
- The fathers believed the people's elected reps should control people's money
- The reps must pass and can amend these bills, limiting the reps power
Bringing of charges of impeachment
- For ‘treason, bribery, or other high crime’
- 2 stage process and each house has 1 stage
- The house has successfully achieved it 21 times since 1789
- E.g. CLinton on two accounts; perjury and obstruction of justice
- E.g. Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of congress 2019 and for incitement of
insurrection 2021
, Choosing P if electoral college is deadlock
- Has been used twice
- E.g. 1800 to elect Thomas Jefferson
Powers of senate
Ratifying treaty
- By ⅔ maj
- President needs to keep senate informed during treaty negotiations
- 2010 the senate voted 71-26 to ratify the new strategic arms reduction treaty (START)
negotiated by obama with russia
- The P has found a loophole by signing executive agreements with foreign powers if they think
the treaty won't be passed
- Party polarisation has made a ⅔ maj difficult
- E.g. trump abandoned the Iran Nuclear Deal 2018 with little insight from senate
Confirming appointments
- Confirm by a simple maj presidential appointments to judiciary and senior executive branch
- When ginsburg died, Trump's appointment of Amy Barrett was confirmed by 52 to 48 in the
senate
- ‘Senatorial courtesy’ is an informal agreement which allows the president to confer with any
senator from their own party before they make a nominee affecting that state
Trying impeachment cases
- ⅔ maj the person is removed from office
- 2020 trump was acquitted by the senate of abuse of power and the obstruction of congress
- 2021 trump was impeached on the charge of ‘incitement of insurrection’ in connection with
the armed attack on capitol- 57 senators voted guilty falling 10 votes short of ⅔ maj - 7
republican senators voted to impeach making it the most bipartisan impeachment trial
- Congress are considered reps of the people so cant be removed this way
- A1S5 each chamber may expel a member for ‘disorderly behaviour’ by ⅔ maj
- Democrat James Traficant was removed after his conviction to the federal court on charges
including bribery and filing false tax refunds 2002
Choosing VP if electoral college is deadlock
- VP is the P of the senate
- Used twice e.g. 1800 to elect VP Aaron Burr
Comparing the HOuse and the senate
- Senate is more powerful
- House members seek election to the senate e.g.2017 there were 50 house members in the
senate
- Why:
1. House members rep a congressional district and senators rep the entire state e.g.
Henry Cuellar reps only the 28th congressional district of texas
2. Senators are 1 of 100 yet house reps are 1 of 435- smaller senate means that a
senator is likely to gain leadership quicker
3. Senate is a launching pad for presidential campaign e.g. Biden
4. Senate is a recruitment pool for VP e.g. Kamala Harris 2020 (5 of the last 8 VPs)
5. Senators enjoy exclusive powers superior to HofR (confirm appointments, ratify
treaties, impeachment cases) but in regards to passage of leg they’re equal and both
houses receive same salary
Functions of congress:
REPRESENTATION
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