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CCEA A2 US Politics- 15 full answers to potential 10 mark questions
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CCEA A2 Government & Politics Comparative Politics - USA and UK 15 full answers to potential 10 mark questions (section A) 10/10 answers
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10 marks1 members of congress carry out their representative function
1 voting on legislation on the floor of the chamber
-democratic senator mark pryor from more conservative Arkansas voted against obama’s
proposed gun control legislation in 2013 in an unsuccessful bid to secure re-election
-trustee representation- using expertise to judge wgat they think is in the best interest of the
people- senate
-delegate representation- when congress members listen to and respond to constituents
wishes- house
-constituents have significant influence over representatives, in particular house members
are increasingly careful about their constituents views as they are up for election every 2
years, for this reason they make an effort to represent the views of their constituents when
voting
-the locality rule-the constitution states that members of congress who represent their
constituency must be residents of the state they represent, this gives them a good
understanding of what their constituents are thinking and typical house or senate members
will have grown up and worked in their state, making them feel empathetic towards voting to
represent their constituents
-lack of party discipline- can vote as they see fit
-members of congress voting on representing their constituency first, rather than on party
lines-3 republican senators, including susan collins, voted against repealing obamacare as
they were concerned about the lack of a coherent plan to replace the healthcare system
2 trying to gain money and policy to benefit their states or districts- pork barrel politics
-this is a slang term
-refers to members of congress seeking federal funding, jobs or investment for their region in
return for supporting legislation or policy
-their hope is that their constituents will be pleased and re-elect them
-congress members are praised for their ability to deliver funds home
-2019- $15.3 billion was spent on pork barrel politics, often these projects are superfluous
-the ‘big dig highway’ project relocated 3.5 miles of highway underground. The cost of this
was $14.6 billion and was funded by the federal government and pushed for by Tip O’Neill
(democrat) whilst he was speaker of the house
-the arts programme in washington DC (2018) cost $2.8 million. It was allocated for the
national capital arts and cultural affairs grant programme, which funds arts and cultural
institutions in washington DC.
Voting, membership of committees of interest, caucuses, pork barrel politics
2 members of congress carry out their legislative function
1 voting on legislation
-house and senate members are called upon to cast a large number of votes each year
-this might be voting on budgets, amendments to bills, second or third readings, bills from
conference committees, constitutional amendments or in the senate voting on appointments
made by the president
-lack of party discipline
-many factors impact how members of congress carry out this role- their political party,
, personal beliefs, their constituents, pressure groups etc.
-a party vote- a vote in the house or senate in which the majority of one party votes against
the majority of the other party- this is most likely to happen an an ideological or contentious
matter, such as gun control or abortion
-the House-Federal Information Systems Safeguard Act (2016) - all but 2 republicans voted
for its passage and all but 2 democrats voted against it.
-due to the representative role of congress members, constituency is an important factor
when fulfilling their legislative role
-12 republican representatives of the house voted against the tax cuts and jobs act (2017).
All were predominantly representatives of california, new jersey and new york districts whose
constituents would have seen their taxes increase because of a cap on state and local tax
deductions.
2 standing committees- members of the house and senate
-occurs within the committee stage (this is the most important stage of the legislative
process
-it’s members are policy specialists
Senator leahy was chair of the senate judiciary committee from 2007-15 and has been
involved with the committee for 40 years
-they have full power of amendment
-they are permanent and well-resourced, they have no time limit on their investigations
-make highly important reports
Voting, power of the purse, override a veto, committees
3 members of congress can use to scrutinise the executive
1 congressional committees
-standing committees
-the House Rules Committee
-they can investigate executive action or consider legislative proposals, often amending or
blocking presidential laws
-congress created the house select committee on benghazi in 2014, after the killing of the
US ambassador to Libya. The committee investigated the executive, questioning hilary
clinton, the secretary of state at the time of the attack, for over 8 hours
2 impeachment and removal
-the ultimate check on the executive
-can only be used if there is evidence of presidential wrongdoing
-presidential nixon was not impeached or removed but perhaps the threat of this helped to
secure his resignation over the watergate affair in 1974
2 impeachment
-investigation within committees can lead to impeachment
-congress has the power to investigate actions of the executive and judiciary
-used in the most serious circumstances, investigations could lead to impeachment
-if successful- a member of the executive or judiciary branch is removed from office
-house of representatives- only a simple majority is required
-senate- conducts the trial and if found guilty by a ⅔ majority the accused person is removed
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