Questions tagged [congress]
A congress is typically the legislative body of a country, but without the executive powers of a parliament or president. Use with a relevant country tag.
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Has a majority of one political party in one house of Congress ever voted in opposition to the same party in the other house in the same Congress?
Has there ever been a case where a majority of a political party votes one way on some bill in the Senate but a different way on the same bill in the House of Representatives?
For example, has a ...
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Has the Congress of the US ever passed an "Amnesty law" and are such laws constitutional?
Amnesty laws are laws that reduce the penalty of or allow the release of prisoners convicted of various offences i.e someone is convicted of an offence with a mandatory minimum imprisonment without ...
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Why is it the President's job to resolve conflicts in Congress?
Yesterday the Republican-led US House of Representatives passed a bill to raise the debt ceiling, but it includes many spending cutbacks that are objectionable to Democrats. The Democrat-led Senate is ...
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Why doesn't the US ratify treaties that have been widely ratified elsewhere?
The Wikipedia article List of treaties unsigned or unratified by the United States lists, among others, some famous treaties that have been widely ratified like the Convention on Rights of Persons ...
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Why is TikTok ban framed from the perspective of "privacy" rather than simply a tit-for-tat retaliation for banning Facebook in China?
There's currently tons of disputes in the media over the extent to which TikTok is supposed to be "spying" on US users and (afaik) the planned ban, if executed, will be done on the grounds ...
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What is the point of TikTok congress hearing when most of the lawmakers believe CCP can have full control of TikTok?
I watched some video clips about TikTok congress hearing and one thing is clear that most of the lawmakers believe CCP can have full control/influence of TikTok. It is a bipartisan unity that nothing ...
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Origin of "longtime House Republican principle that states no bill should pass without a 'majority of the majority' on board"?
Politico's March 22, 2023 McCarthy’s newest challenge: Keeping the House GOP peace on war power includes the following:
Should a standalone war powers repeal bill come up, only a handful of ...
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What are the causes for partisan politics to have grown more severe then in the past, and how much is down to echo chambers? [duplicate]
From my, admittedly limited, knowledge of US history it seems that congress tended to be a bit less patrician in the past. Congressman were more likely to support bipartisan initiatives, more likely ...
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Are congressional investigations ever more than political theater? How often does one actually lead to actionable results?
I've seen so many congressional investigations over the years, and generally they all feel pointless to me.
In particular, every case the news talks about the investigation for a little while, you ...
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Apportionment: Where is the actual language for "the method known as the method of equal proportions" in the U.S.C.?
In the United States Congress, there are two legislative bodies: the House of Representatives and the Senate. These two bodies are structured differently from the very beginning in Article 1 of the U....
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Last 'real' US budget (before 2023)?
When was the last time the US Congress passed a true annual budget, in one or several installments, that was signed by the President? In recent memory the practice has been to pass a series of "...
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Why didn't Democrats get rid of the debt ceiling while they were in power?
Since 1995, Democrats and Republicans have been in constant disagreement over the debt ceiling, with Democrats wanting to raise it and Republicans resisting their efforts. During this time, Democrats ...
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What is the current state of US's dilemma on waiving CAATSA for India?
India's purchase of Russian S-400 was eligible for CAATSA sactions.
No sanctions have been applied yet using CAATSA.
There were talks that India would get a waiver, and
there was a house of ...
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Is there a process for 'removing' a law
Any good student of Schoolhouse Rock knows how a bill becomes a law, but how do laws get removed, like obsolete laws?
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What is the effect of U.S. House members being sworn in?
In the January 2023 crisis over electing Speaker of the House in the U.S., usually one of the first things mentioned in any coverage is that without a Speaker, "House members can't even be sworn ...
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Why would US Senator Adam Schiff be addressed as "Chairmanship" rather than "Chairman"? [closed]
At the very end of the December 11, 2022 Face The Nation video Schiff says Jan. 6 committee's probe "far out ahead" of Justice Department the show's "moderator and CBS News senior ...
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Why didn't Democrats legalize marijuana federally when they controlled Congress?
A notable majority of the US is supportive of legalizing marijuana, with Democrats having a much higher level of support, and Biden's own platform including legalizing it. Given the overwhelming ...
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Why did the 72nd Congress' U.S. House session not meet until December 1931?
After the 1930 U.S. House of Representatives elections, newly elected members officially took office the following March but there was no active session of Congress until December 1931. Considering ...
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What was the House Popular Vote excluding uncontested races?
In the aftermath of most Congressional elections, it is often noted that Democrats did better in the House popular vote than they did in terms of actual seats won, indicating a role for the incumbency ...
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Federal government's power to mandate the sale of specific product
Can the Federal government (Congress/agency) mandate that private firms offer a specific product?
Example: Seller of wood tables MUST also offer plastic table.
OR...
All hardware stores (defined ...
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What do the numbers mean after the R and D when describing seats in the House of Representatives?
I'm sure this is basic but my Google search results are overwhelmed by links to current events.
[...] Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert appears in real danger of losing her R+15 seat [...]
What does R+...
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Countries with a very plural congress/parliament
As Brazil heads toward it's runoff, one striking feature is that it's very multiparty. No party has more than 13/81 and 77/513 senate and house seats, respectively (about 15%). Are there any countries ...
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Legal weight of the Electoral Count Reform Act (ECRA)
I've been a bit (well, very) confused regarding the proposed Electoral Count Reform Act.
Purportedly, it apparently attempts to (among other things) do the following:
Dictate which state official(s) ...
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If both houses together are called Congress, why does Congressperson refer to members of the House of Representatives?
The US Senate is referred to as the upper house of Congress. And the 'House of Representatives' which is also part of Congress, is referred as the lower house.
A member of the US Senate is called a ...
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In which house of Congress of the USA is a bill introduced first?
US Congress has two houses, Senate (called Upper house), House of Representatives ( Lower). When a bill is introduced, which house is it supposed to be first or can it be introduced in either? Are ...
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Is Day light time ending in USA
There was couple of news regarding US Senate agreeing on Day light Savings time ending. But I do see it is getting continued. Will it end in 2022or 2023 ?
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Gender-neutral term for a Senator or Representative
Is there a gender-neutral term for a Senator or Representative?
Senator: gender-neutral, but only includes Senators
Representative: gender-neutral, but only includes Representatives
Congressman: male-...
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How do congressional investigation committees maintain continuity after losing committee members?
Are there congressional rules on how to replace committee members who lose their congressional status? Is there precedent, and what was the impact/effect on the ongoing investigation, and the outcome ...
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Why did Sen. Ed Markey's delegation to Taiwan fly aboard a USAF (passenger) jet?
I understand that Nancy Pelosi regularly gets a USAF passenger jet for long-distance abroad (C-40, a modified Boeing 737 if I'm not mistaken), because she's third in the "line of succession" ...
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Has the State Department submitted any reports to Congress under 22 U.S.C. § 1741 (aka “Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act”)?
According to this law (22 U.S.C. § 1741) an annual report to Congress needs to be submitted by the State Department, listing United States nationals they consider wrongfully detained abroad.
Have any ...
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Trying to find a quote about how voting for the good parts of a bill also means voting for the bad parts of a bill
During one of the presidential debates (probably during the primaries) I remember there being an exchange between a long time congressman (maybe Ron Paul or Bernie Sanders) and another candidate about ...
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Do Congressional representatives and senators read letters we send them?
I'm American. And I recently wrote my representative and senators to express my opinion about bills on which they might vote soon. I got no response at all from two of these letters, and from the ...
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Who in US Congress with close ties to militias & white power groups suggested the US government had "real culpability" in Oklahoma City Bombing/1995?
In the Hari Sreenivasan interview of "Nicole Hemmer... an author and historian specializing in the history of conservative media in the U.S" in the June 10, 2022 How Laundering a Conspiracy ...
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Have there been any meaningful federal laws passed in the USA recently?
I don't live in the US, but I am drowned in news from the US, even more than those from my country.
I understand that the US is a very polarized society, where one of the main stated goals of both of ...
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What congressional committees' jurisdiction US entertainment industry, e.g. Hollywood, falls under?
I googled extensively but found little certainty about US entertainment industry's oversight by US Congress. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation website explicitly states ...
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How and to what extent did lobbyists contribute to Trump/Pence's "next man and first woman" to the Moon? (via Artemis and Commercial Crew programs)
When I first saw the title to Ars Technica's May 16, 2022 Former NASA leaders praise Boeing’s willingness to risk commercial crew I thought it suggested that Boeing and it's troubled Boeing_Starliner ...
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When is the US Senate required to pass bills unanimously?
According to the BBC News website, the US senator Rand Paul has managed to delay approving financial aid package to Ukraine:
Paul, who has historically opposed spending on foreign aid, refused to ...
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On what basis could the US federal government codify Roe v. Wade?
There are proposals to pass a federal law allowing abortion in all states, in case Roe v. Wade is overturned. Ignoring the political feasibility of passing such a law, on what constitutional basis can ...
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Origin of bill "urgency" in the Philippines, how does it work and how widespread is it in other democracies?
From the Philippine News Agency's December 30, 2021 article Duterte signs law creating Department of Migrant Workers
The creation and establishment of the Department of Migrant Workers is one of ...
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What 1867 act of US congress entered this painting for the Southern District of New York? What did this act of congress actually do?
CNN's Abby Phillip's video Where the fight for the Black vote really started | History Refocused at about the 6 minute mark during a discussion of reconstruction, a work of art is shown during ...
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Does the US Air Force "Rocket Cargo" project have any notable proponents in Congress?
CNBC's June 4, 2021 article The Pentagon wants to use private rockets like SpaceX’s Starship to deliver cargo around the world says:
The U.S. Air Force said Friday is expanding a small development ...
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What/when are the filing deadlines after which Alice Stewart predicts Republican congress members will start saying Let's stop talking about the past?
Political commentator Alice Stewart has made an interesting prediction; Republican politicians will begin to say "Let's stop focusing on the past" (Donald Trump's loss in 2020 and associated ...
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what effect, if any, will the potentially over 1 million COVID deaths have on the outcome of the 2022 US midterm elections? [closed]
There are currently over 880,000 registered COVID deaths in the US, and every day another 2-3000 more are added to the tally, so it is very likely that by November, there will be over 1 million COVID ...
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Are House and Senate "debates" pointless, aside from some PR value? [duplicate]
I watch the House and Senate "debate" periods on bills and wonder who they are talking to and what is the point, aside from the later video clips. Has any Senator or Representative ever ...
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What is the difference between funds being "authorized" and funds being "appropriated" in the IIJA?
I'm currently trying to understand H.R.3684 - Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) but there are a few things don't understand.
Authorization vs. Appropriation
As far as I understand, ...
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Biden's bipartisan infrastructure bill (IIJA) [closed]
I'm currently trying to understand H.R.3684 - Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) but there are a few things I don't understand:
The price tag:
People are referring to the bill as the $1....
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Is it possible that the US will default on its debt in foreseeable future? [closed]
The US has a history of having its debt grow, increasing the debt ceiling and repeating the cycle:
Source
Normally, the states don't default on debts denominated in their own currency, because they ...
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How big a short term debt ceiling increase is McConnell agreeing to?
Senate Republicans have thus far refused to raise the debt ceiling, which needs to be raised by October 18 to prevent the US Government from defaulting on the national debt. They have been insisting ...
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Why don't more people move to safe seats to run for office in the US?
Three out of eight US voters live in a congressional district represented by the opposite party of who they voted for for president. This figure is true for both Biden and Trump voters.
This makes you ...
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When was the least bipartisan debt ceiling increase or suspension, in the past 30 years?
Pelosi said in an interview aired a couple of days ago (on Hill TV at least) that raising the debt ceiling has "always been bipartisan". Later, in the same video segment McConnell says ...
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