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 anyone other than Rashida Tlaib called Israel an Apartheid regime in Congress?
In the recent legislation that granted Israel $1 billion of military aid for their Iron Dome defensive system and that passed in Congress, Rashida Tlaib, the US representative for the 13th ...
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Continuing Resolution majority necessary?
I have a fair understanding of the appropriations process but what I have trouble with is finding information about what kind of consensus is needed for a CR to pass Congress. Is it by simple majority,...
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Is the predictive "historical analysis" on the 2021 Taliban strategy (provided to the US Congress) a public document?
An article in The New York Times from August 18 says:
A historical analysis provided to Congress concluded that the Taliban had learned lessons from their takeover of the country in the 1990s. This ...
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Assigning fractional seats in a parliament
In proportional party-list voting systems, each party is entitled to a fraction of the seats in proportion to its vote count. This fraction is always rounded up or down according to some rule of "...
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Can the federal government withhold money from states that refuse to institute vaccine mandates?
Could Congress pass a law that revoked some of a states funding until they mandate vaccines, or can the federal government not withhold funding to get states to pass laws?
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How transparent is the process of packaging spending bills into an omnibus bill?
Packaging all or a number of appropriation bills together creates what
are called omnibus or minibus measures. These bills appropriate money
to operate the federal government and make national policy ...
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Did congress increase the U.S. Capitol Police budget by $2 Billion?
I've seen a discussion that implies there was a vote to increase the Capitol Police budget by $2 Billion, while the DC metropolitan police budget has been cut. It is also being suggested that the ...
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What are the types of decisions of the Supreme Court that can be overruled by the U.S. Congress?
What are the types of decisions of the Supreme Court that can be overruled by Congress?
In some countries, when the Supreme Court makes decision on any
matter, it cannot be reversed by any lower ...
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What does the bill status of "Held at the desk" mean?
Earlier this year, the Senate passed S. 1867, the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2021 by unanimous consent. This appears to be a "Sense of Congress" resolution, and calls for declassification of ...
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Has it already been discussed in Congress about what to do with the Confederate statues at the Gettysburg National Military Park?
I would like to know if it has already been discussed in Congress about what to do with the Confederate statues located at the Gettysburg National Military Park, or if there is a future date that has ...
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Is it likely that the Founding Fathers would not have created the 2nd Amendment if automatic rifles had been available in 1775? [closed]
I am wondering if it is likely that our nation's founding fathers would not have created the 2nd Amendment if automatic rifles had already been invented by 1775 and that they were being used in mass ...
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Can Congress really raise or suspend the debt ceiling through budget reconciliation with a simple majority in the Senate?
Some background info here
The federal debt ceiling has currently been suspended until August 1.
If this year so far is any indication, Senate Republicans will do everything possible to use a debt-...
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Are voters in the US generally aware of how and when their congressional representatives are being whipped?
I'm aware that in each house of the US congress there is a majority and minority whip tasked with, as far as I can tell from Wikipedia, voting as they are told rather than how they would choose to ...
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How can Congress end a war over the objections of the President
The Constitution seems to indicate that Congress should control war making, since it has the sole power to declare war. However, as the Commander in Chief, the President is given very broad powers ...
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If the US congress extended the Section 5 preclearance requirement in the Voting Rights act another 25 years in 2006, why might it not apply in 2020?
Wikipedia's Voting Rights Act of 1965; Amendments says:
Congress enacted major amendments to the Act in 1970, 1975, 1982, 1992, and 2006. Each amendment coincided with an impending expiration of some ...
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If a Congressional representative is arrested, does their seat become vacant?
There is news about a congressman who is accused of certain very serious crimes.
However I have heard that it is legally possible for someone to run for congress from prison even if they are currently ...
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How do Congress members digest 2,000+ page documents? [duplicate]
Today the Senate approved a 2,400-page industrial policy bill aimed at countering China.
My question: how do Congress members digest a 2,400-page bill?
I would’ve fallen asleep by the 5th page.
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Why is Biden trying to get an omnibus infrastructure bill?
President Biden has been trying to negotiate an infrastructure plan with Senate Republicans for at least a month. He's made some significant concessions, they've increased what they're willing to ...
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Can the president of the Senate (Vice president) introduce a bill?
Regarding United States government, I am under the impression that the president of the Senate is (only?) used as a tie breaker in the event of a tie during a vote, but can they introduce bills like ...
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How many Congressional Democrats support a one-state solution?
I think it’s fair to say that most mainstream Democrats and Republicans favor a two-state solution to the Israel/Palestine issue. There are some who have a position to the right of this, namely that ...
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Can I see the expected future actions on a bill?
The Congress.gov site provides with detailed and up-to-date information about bills. However, I fail to find the information about any planned/anticipated actions related to an arbitrary bill, e.g. ...
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Is there any publicly available draft of the American Jobs Plan beyond the fact sheet on whitehouse.gov?
The whitehouse released this fact sheet on the American Jobs Plan. However, there are several ambiguities in the plan so I am trying to find a more detailed draft of the plan. The House of Reps has ...
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Which Congressional Democrats have called on Biden to stop Title 42?
A year ago, the Trump Administration invoked an obscure infectious disease provision in Title 42 of the US Code, allowing Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents to turn away migrants who show up at ...
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How far does Congressional judicial stripping extend?
Under Article III Section 2 Clause 2, Congress has the power to limit the Supreme Courts power:
In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State ...
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What does "bipartisan support" mean in the United States?
Is there a definition of "bipartisan support"? For the Senate in the US, when can you claim a bill was supported/passed by bipartisanship, and when you can't claim thus?
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What would the repercussions be for individual Lawmakers if they had actually been communicating with the 'mob' outside the capitol on January 6?
If on January 6, 2021 Senators or Congress people from within the Capitol building had been communicating with the mob outside, what could be the consequences for these actions?
To make matters even ...
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What is the deal with the U.S. Senate's Parliamentarian?
Recently the role of the Senate Parliamentarian has become a focal point in the upcoming 2021 COVID stimulus package. Specifically, the Senate Parliamentarian has ruled against allowing a $15 minimum ...
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Why does Donald Trump wield influence over Republican Congressmen & Senators?
Given that Donald Trump lost the recent Presidential election, why is it that congressmen continue to visit Mar-A-Lago? In what way is Donald Trump a power broker? What is it that congressmen seek ...
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Where do I find when the next congressional hearing about an issue I'm following is? (e.g. Gamestop)
How do I find out when the next US congressional hearing is regarding ___?
This is not a question for discussing current events surrounding Gamestop and Robinhood.
I expected "when is the next ...
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How are members and chairs of subcommittees appointed by their party caucus/conference in the U.S. Senate?
There are many subcommittees in the U.S. Senate. On the third of February, 2021,
the committees were reorganized to reflect the new Democratic majority in the Senate. Since then, some subcommittees ...
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Why isn't there a bigger presence of 3rd parties in the US Senate or House of Representatives?
Many people say that voting for a 3rd party in a presidential election is pointless. And under the rules, this is pretty true as it is a winner takes all system.
The Senate and House of ...
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Why another impeachment vote at the Senate?
I always thought it was a three-step procedure:
First, the Congress investigates.
Second, the House of Representatives must pass, by a simple majority of those present and voting, articles of ...
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Has any political party changed sides in either U.S. congressional chamber, in the literal sense?
Over the course of history, the alignment of the U.S. Democratic and Republican parties with the "political right" and "political left" has changed. For example, the Republican ...
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What's to stop the House majority party from voting to expel every member of the House minority party from committees?
Marjorie Taylor Greene was expelled by the House of Representatives this week from committee assignments after her comments on conspiracy theories. The vote passed by 230-199 with 11 Republicans ...
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Removing Lawmakers from Committee Assignments
Marjory Taylor-Green was removed from her committee assignments because of things she said. I understand that what she said crossed a line. I also hear that what she said helped incite violence. ...
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Can an older bill be picked up and voted on by a new congress? [duplicate]
Before the new congress took over in January 2021; the House of Representatives passed a standalone bill to increase the $600 stimulus payments to $2000, by sending an additional $1400 to every ...
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What is the Legal Process if Electoral Certificates are Damaged?
Plenty of interesting questions have arisen related to the unprecedented riot at the Capitol in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021. In a recent report printed in the New Yorker, Keith Stern, a ...
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Can the Supreme Court declare an impeachment unconstitutional? [duplicate]
Somebody asked:Why is the Senate, and not the Supreme Court, deciding whether the current impeachment is constitutional?
As an Australian lawyer, I was thinking the same way. If a valid impeachment is ...
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Why does H.R.335 not mention the nominee's name?
To my understanding, H.R.335 which became Public Law No: 117-1. was a bill before the United States House of Representatives which would provide an exception to 10 U.S. Code § 113 (a) in order to ...
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Have Democrats in favour of abolishing the filibuster said anything about what happens if Democrats were to lose control of the Senate in the future?
Senator Joe Manchin has been consistently opposed to abolishing the filibuster, noting that the filibuster provides for minority input.
I can assure you I will not vote to end the filibuster, because ...
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Why does the 50–50 Senate need a new organizing resolution before Democrats can take control of committee chairmanships?
Unlike the House of Representatives where its "rules package" expires at the end of each Congress, the Senate continues to operate on an existing organizing resolution from previous ...
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Is this person in this picture from the squad?
The following picture has often been associated with the squad. But who is the lady on the leftmost?
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What are the dress code rules for the Houses of Congress
Question: Is the dress code policy for the Houses of Congress available publicly?
If so, is there an official source such as a US .gov website or how might a citizen go about finding it?
If not, has ...
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US secrecy determination as per Article I, Section 5, Clause 3
Question: What does it take exactly to determine a judgement of proceedings and votes by either house to require secrecy?
Why, context, etc.
As per Article I, Section 5, Clause
3
does this mean only ...
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Why are congressional votes not secret?
In general, a person in the United States has the right to vote. As far as I can tell, this vote is private—no one else knows who you voted for. Why are the votes in congress public? Wouldn't it help ...
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How would a vote in US congress taken under duress be later invalidated?
My question is inspired by the hypothetical actions of some of the recent insurectionists, one of whom was pictured below:
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/zip-cuffs-capitol-riots/
At least 2 men ...
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Can members of congress carry weapons into the chamber?
Congresswoman Boebert has stated that she will bring a loaded glock into the DC. The article here says that weapons can be carried around the streets of Washington D.C but a permit is required. ...
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Quickly prevent POTUS from initiating military or nuclear operations?
As Pelosi warns Trump could be impeached for a second time if he does not leave office imminently and willing, she has expressed in a letter about two things which stems this question...
Taking "...
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Can the Supreme Court strike down an impeachment that wasn’t for ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ or is Congress the sole judge?
If an impeachment for something clearly not a ‘high crime or misdemeanor’ were to go though for example for increasing tariffs, would the Supreme Court have the power to overturn their judgement?
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Can the Senate Majority Leader change during a Congressional term? [duplicate]
With the change to the Alaska primary rules, and her recent denunciation of President Trump's actions inciting the recent violent riot/insurrection, a few (although I have yet to see particularly ...
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