Here is the extra credit activity that can be completed over Winter Break. You may submit your work via email or you may turn it in on your first day back from break.
Part 1
Role of Committees:
http://congress.indiana.edu/ On main page, hover the mouse on “Learn About Congress” click on “How Can I Learn More”, click on “How Does Congress work” in the upper left hand portion of the screen in gold letters” Go to the “Read” subsection: “Legislative Process, Questions and Answers” click on any question and you can see both the question and their answer. Read all. Label each subsection of questions as you work your way through each website as shown below.
Study Questions for Legislative Process, Questions and Answers:
1. What is the role of the Vice President when the Senate is evenly divided on a bill?
2. What happens if a member of Congress challenges the Constitutionality of a bill?
3. Summarize the role of standing, special and joint committees.
4. What perks do Party whips control to coerce members into voting along party lines?
5. State two good reasons why Conference Committees vote in private.
6. What rules control the number of members on a Conference Committee from both parties?
7. Why is the Senate called a “continuing body?
Part 2:
How Congressmen Decide to Vote:
http://www.dirksencenterprojects.org/ - read PPT Understanding Congressional Decisions Through Vectors (on main page click About Gov’t. then click on the star “Special Projects” scroll down to the PowerPoint second from the bottom of the list. It is labeled “Understanding Congressional Decisions Through Vectors)
Study Questions on PPT Understanding Congressional Decisions
Through Vectors
1. See the slide titled “Source of the Force” and name four sources of influence on members votes cited in the PowerPoint.
2. On the slide “Who should I listen to?” What does the author mean by politics makes strange bedfellows (you need to continue clicking on the slide for the answers to appear)
3. On the slide “How Much Should I listen to them?” the author makes the point you can’t be a statesman without being re-elected. That said, how much to Congressmen consider the opinions of Presidential administrations and Interest Groups?
4. Read through the slides showing graphic examples using vectors to illustrate how opinions influence each Congressmen’s vote. At the conclusion, consider the slide labeled “The lesson”
5. What impact does the lack of a clear message from the president, constituents, and interest groups have on a Congressman’s vote? Who’s the “squeaky wheel?”
6. When all groups are aligned in the same direction, does that make the Congressman timid or emboldened on an issue? Explain why.
7. In the “damned if I do, and damned if I don’t” category what does the acronym PAIR stand for?
8. If the Congressman is of the same party as the President, what influence is that expected to make on his/her vote? Why?
9. Look at the last two slides. In what ways is this model distinctly different than real life in terms of the number of influences on a Congressman’s vote?
10. Summarize the overall lessons on the PPT in your own words.
Study Questions for: 14 Units to Learn How a Bill Becomes a Law on the Dirksen website (last in starred section: Special projects)
(on Dirksen main page click About Gov’t. then click on the star “Special Projects” scroll down to the chart at the bottom of the web page)
1. List all 14 steps shown.
2. Why are there differences in the House and Senate for how a bill moves from committee to the floor for a vote?
3. Define the following terms as they relate to a bill’s passage: legislative intent, committee of the whole, quorum, floor manager.
4. How does the House and Senate iron out its differences on a bill (in your own words)
5. What role can the public play in the legislative process?
6. What can committees do to a bill that will affect whether or not it is passed/changed?
7. What is a mark-up session?
8. What procedures do the House and Senate follow on how they vote?
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