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Census
Redistricting
Gerrymandering
House of Representatives
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435 seats
2year term
Senate
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100
6 year term
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Smith v Allwright 1944
Wesberry v Sanders 1963
Buckley v Valeo 1976
Shaw v Reno 1993/ Miller v Johnson
1995
US Term limits v Thornton 1995
Bush v Gore 2000
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Taxing
House Ways and Means Committee
 Senate can only amend revenue bills
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Bills of attainder
Ex post facto laws
 Oversight
 Public
education
 Representing constituentscasework
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Sponsor the Bill
Bill must pass both houses of Congress in same
form
Rules Committee
Killer Amendments
Filibuster
Pork Barrel
Conference committee
Compromise
Veto/Pocket Veto
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Majority of each house holds committee chairs
Majority- control business of committees
Subcommittees
Standing Committees- permanent, specialized
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Joint Committees- House and Senate
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Judiciary , Armed Services
Investigations, communicating to public
Select Committees- special purpose
Conference Committee- compromise
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Pigeonholed
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Discharge petition
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Place bill in a committee to die
Force bill to the floor to vote
Hearings
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House
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Speaker
 Chosen by majority party
 Direct floor debate
 Committee assignments
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Majority Leader
 Keeps party members in line
 Determine party agenda
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Minority Leader
 Minority party agenda
 Keep party members in line
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Senate
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Vice President
 President of Senate- tie breaker
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President Pro Tem
 Presiding officer
 Honorary
 Senior member
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Majority Leader
 Holds real power
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Pendleton Act 1883
Sherman Anti-trust Act 1896
Hatch Act 1939
Air Quality Act 1967
Federal Election Campaign Act 1971-1974
War Powers Act 1973
Budget and Impoundment Control Act 1974
Freedom of Information Act 1974
Gramm Rudman Hollings Bill 1985
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Espionage Act 1917/Sedition Act 1918
Immigration Act 1924
Civil Rights Act 1964
Voting Rights Act 1965
Age Discrimination in Employment Act 1967
Civil Rights Act 1968
Title XI Education 1972
American w/ Disabilities Act 1990
National Voter Registration Act – Motor Voter
1993
Patriot Act 2001
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Executive Agreements
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution 1964
War Powers Act 1973
Cabinet
Secretaries
 Department of Homeland Security
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Impeachment
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Principles
Equal justice under the law
 Adversarial system
 Presumption of innocence
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Due Process
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Substantive
 Is the law fair
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Procedural
 Are the laws fairly applied
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Civil
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Disputes over property, contracts,
custody, liability
Criminal
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Grand jury
 Should a trial commence
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Judicial restraint
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Judicial Activism
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Willing to overturn
Writ of certiorari
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Reluctant to overturn prior rulings
Legal document used to request lower courts
transcript
Standing
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Petitioner must have vested interest
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Judicial Review
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Fletcher v Peck 1810
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First case in which court overturned a state law
McCulloch v Maryland 1819
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Marbury v Madison 1803
Ruled that state did not have power to tax national
bank – Federal government supremacy
Gibbons v Ogden 1824
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Federal government authority over interstate
commerce
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Bureaucracy
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Responsible for ensuring policies enacted by
Congress and executive offices are carried out
Agencies
Federal Trade Commission
 Securities and Exchange Commission
 Nuclear Regulatory Commission
 Federal Communications Commission
 Food and Drug Administration
 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
 Occupational Safety and Health Administration
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Iron Triangle
Lobbyists
 Congressional committee
 Agency (Bureaucracy)
