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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Does the Speech and Debate clause protect members of Congress from prosecution for violent threats made during congressional debates?
The first amendment has been interpreted to have exceptions that don’t protect violent speech, but what about this clause, could Congress members get away with saying literally anything during debates ...
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Comparing the summer of 2020's BLM protests to the events at the Capitol on 6th January, 2021
I realize that this is a contentious matter and do not want to start a heated discussion. In fact, having just come from one, I don't want a discussion at all - just some dispassionate, neutral, ...
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Did the FBI inform the US Capitol Police on the level of possible threat on Jan 6?
It's been reported that following the rioting and break-ins from Trump supporters at the Capitol, both the (acting) chief of the US Capitol Police and the Seargents at Arms of both chambers have ...
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Why continue counting/certifying electors after one candidate has secured a majority?
As I understand it, a presidential candidate needs to secure 270 electoral votes to have a majority and thereby officially win the election. As I also understand it, when the joint session of Congress ...
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Was there a specific order for a muted response to pro-trump rioters' assault on the capital building?
Comparing the response to the recent BLM protests and the scenes last night (06/01/2021), as pro-trump groups made their way into the Capitol building, the reactions don't seem to be proportional. ...
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Whose responsibility is the physical security of the US Capitol?
It will seem, at first glance, like this question has an easy answer; the US Capitol Police. It might be that that's the answer, but I'm not sure whether it goes more in-depth than that. During the ...
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How long might Congress take to certify the 2020 Presidential election?
In 2017, the joint session of Congress certifying Trump's 2016 win took a little over 30 minutes; I watched it. There were a few objections from Representatives, but none were joined by a Senator and ...
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What happens if the Vice-President were to die before presiding over the official electoral college vote count?
The President of the US Senate (who is the Vice-President ) is responsible for presiding over the electoral college's votes formally in a Joint Session of Congress. However, what if the Vice-President ...
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Why can members-elect vote for Speaker of the US House of Representatives?
Nancy Pelosi has just been re-elected to the Speakership in the US House of Representatives, and will be serving her fourth and final term as Speaker there from now until, presumably, the third of ...
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Can the US President veto Congress' decisions to reject electoral votes for the presidency?
According to the Electoral Count Act on the designation of the US President, the House of Representatives and the Senate may reject votes of some electors when they consider that these votes were not ...
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Assuming Pelosi is Speaker, how would it affect the January 6th count if she refused to seat the Reps who plan on objecting to the electoral votes?
As Rep. Bill Pascrell said it, "Stated simply, the men and women who would act to tear the United States Government apart cannot serve as Members of the Congress," arguing that the 14th ...
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Was the 5,593 pages-long stimulus bill the longest bill ever passed?
The recently passed stimulus bill and appropriations act was 5,593 pages long. Was that the longest bill ever passed?
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If the Electoral Count Act is repealed, would Pence have the power to throw out states' results? [duplicate]
I have just found that another lawsuit have been filed in Texas, aimed at overturning the presidential election result and seeking for the courts to invalidate the Electoral Count Act as ...
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What will be the makeup of the new Congress (2021)? [duplicate]
There appears to be 2 House elections that are contested and 2 Senate runoff elections yet to be held.
What will be the makeup of the new Congress once they are sworn in on January 3, 2021? In other ...
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Can a bill be recalled before it's signed into law?
Let's say the House of Representatives and the Senate pass a bill and it sits on the President's desk. Before the President signs the bill, can it be recalled (by the Senate or the House)?
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How do politicians scrutinize bills that are thousands of pages long?
The recently passed stimulus bill is said to be 5,593 pages long, and allocates $900 billion in funds. It's no surprise that there was no chance to read or amend the bill.
The logistics of revising a ...
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Why does Puerto Rico have representation in the house, but not in the senate?
Puerto Rico has representation in the US house, albeit non-voting. Only having the right to speak and debate on the floor and votes in committee.
But why does Puerto Rico not have coinciding ...
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What is this stalemate on Covid relief payments all about? [duplicate]
Trump said he wants to raise the size of payments to $2,000, the Democrats are all for it, but the Republicans still block it. What is the disagreement? There was also something with foreign aid that ...
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Did Congress pass a 5,593 page bill without chance to amend or even read?
US Representative Justin Amash tweeted:
For half a year, congressional leaders refused to put any legislation on the floor to be considered AND scrutinized AND amended. Now, they release a 5,593-page ...
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What prevents a single senator from passing a bill they want with a 1-0 vote?
As a follow-up to this question, the answer there indicates that by the rules set by the Senate, a quorum is assumed to be present unless someone requests a roll-call vote. Because of this rule, the ...
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Is "The West Wing" accurate when a spouse takes over following a Representative's death?
Season 1, episode 6 of The West Wing, “Mr. Willis of Ohio”, features the titular Mr Willis, who is a school-teacher temporarily filling the seat of his recently departed wife in the House of ...
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Can Congress reject presidential electoral votes? What majority is required and can the decision be reverted?
Does "safe harbor" provision prevent Congress from voting to reject presidential electoral vote(s)?
What kind of majority is required for such a rejection?
Is it possible to revert such a ...
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Is more US federal Congress business decided by inaction now?
The US Congress can effectively stop business by choosing not to hear/vote on it. This way legislators don't have to go on record as actively opposing something, it was just never brought up.
Is this ...
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What happens when a USA congress/senate candidate concedes while the vote count is still going? I mean can they still win? [duplicate]
I just have general question about concedings:
Let's say in scenario a democratic congressman/senator concedes while a large percent of the votes are still being counted. The large batch of uncounted ...
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How often do Cabinet members go back to being in Congress?
When a US President selects cabinet members and other appointees, they often get pulled from current members of Congress. If the person is particularly effective in Congress, then you have to debate ...
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Presidency and Congress being different political parties
Between 1955-57, the president was Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican. But, at the same time, both the Senate and House were controlled by Democrats.
How difficult was it for the president to sign a bill ...
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Writings or public statements advising elected politicians on how to make hard choices
While not always seen in this light, members of congressional or parliamentary bodies are regularly faced with moral choices when deciding how to vote in situations where the answers to questions like ...
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Why does McConnell voting against the Fed nominee allow him to advance it again later? [duplicate]
Article's discussing Judy Shelton's nomination say something like:
The procedural vote ultimately failed 47 to 50, with Mr. McConnell changing his vote from agreeing to advance the nomination to ...
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Is a coup still possible in the United States?
I am aware of this question, but what I am asking is slightly different.
I remember from January 6, 2001, that during the constitutional counting of the vote of the presidential electors, to be done ...
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Is it possible for a president to circumvent the senate confirmation process by selectively firing some of the existing cabinet members?
The Senate has to approve a cabinet member's hiring, but not their firing. If the existing head of a cabinet is fired, acting heads are typically assigned based on a line of succession. In this ...
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Is it uncommon for a party to win presidency, but lose house seats?
In the United States' 2020 Presidential election, it appears as if Joe Biden and the Democrats have won the presidency, however as of writing this, have lost 5 seats in the house, and will likely lose ...
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Can congress/president make the COVID19 vaccine mandatory in the US? Are there any national precedents concerning mandatory vaccination?
Background Human clinical trials to determine the safety and efficacy of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 started as early as March, and currently, 10 have reached final states of testing according to 1.
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Is the creation of new states via partitioning really possible in the US? Are there any precedents to this?
Background: The Senate provides as much representation to Wyoming with a population of 580,000, as California with 39.5 million inhabitants. According to [1]
State
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Urban
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Couldn't the Senate Democrats have stalled the SCOTUS vote using impeachment?
I was interested to learn more about the procedures for impeachment and while going through the Senate rules, I found it odd that it stated that any articles of impeachment that are sent to the Senate ...
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Are Democratic members of congress more educated?
I have read some people on this site talking about how whether or not white Americans have a college degree can change their voting habits. I was thinking about this topic regardless of race in ...
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Why does Washington DC elect a Delegate to the House AND a United State Representative?
I live in Washington DC. Here's a sample ballot (PDF). We vote for a Delegate to the House of Representatives. The incumbent, Eleanor Holmes Norton, is a local celebrity. Why do we have a separate ...
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Is there some way to find out the senate or house candidates endorsed by Bernie Sanders?
Wikipedia lists endorsements in each race, e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections_in_Texas#District_25. Some tweets by candidates also announce ...
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Can the speaker invoke the 25th amendment without the Senate?
With the recent talks that Speaker Pelosi is going to "discuss" the 25th amendment in order to get rid of President Trump, what is the process for this? Does it have to be voted on in ...
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Why do Senators and Representatives miss so many votes?
We send these people to Washington to do one main job: to vote on bills to make them laws. For example, in the 115th Congress, 33 Representatives and three Senators missed 10% or more of votes, across ...
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Was there ever a US president who previously served as an independent in Congress?
I am writing an article about Bernie Sanders and what I think the real reason he lost was. (I think he lost because he was an independent.) But, that is not the point. I want to fact check something ...
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Can a US state bar a formerly incarcerated felon from being a member of congress?
I was thinking about the fact that some states bar felons from voting even after they are released from prison. I also thought about whether or not it would be legal for a state to bar a former felon ...
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In the United States, why aren't both legislative chambers involved in the Supreme Court confirmation process?
I'm following the situation around the recent Supreme Court vacancy left by the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. As a non-American, what's strange to me is that confirming a new SCOTUS Justice ...
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Why do progressive candidates seem to better in inelastic districts?
I have noticed a phonomenon where progressives typically win in urban, heavily Democratic, and inelastic districts.
An example of this manifesting itself could be Alex Morse losing a primary in one of ...
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Are there any tangible proposals for a modern era war powers system in the U.S. akin to the War Powers Resolution of 1973?
The system of congressional oversight in the U.S. with regard to acts of war has been broken for a long time. The year 1942 was the last time the U.S. formally declared war. Since then there have only ...
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Why are Democrats blocking COVID-19 pandemic relief bills with the objection that it's not enough instead of passing it and then passing another?
I read an article that said that the most recent COVID-19 relief bill was not passed because Democrats didn't think it was enough. The article is here: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/11/gops-coronavirus-...
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How many pieces of US legislation passed with a supermajority in both houses of Congress without being vetoed
To override a U.S. presidential veto requires a two-thirds supermajority in both houses of Congress. According to this Wikipedia page, this has happened 111 times. What I'm having trouble finding is: ...
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What could the US federal government do to reform the police?
There is a widespread belief that policing in the USA suffers from systemic racism. Let us suppose that Joe Biden gets elected President and decides that this is a priority. Let us also suppose that ...
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Why was the 18th amendment constructed with way it was?
...The manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors...is hereby prohibited
The 18th amendment is pretty clear in its intent, but my question is why? Why did the amendment ban alcohol ...
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Representatives of districts that are 50 to 65 percent Hispanic by party?
I was thinking about congressional districts. I found that there was one type of majority-minority district that could be plausibly represented by a Republican. These are districts between 50 and 65 ...
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Has Nancy Pelosi ever endorsed a primary challenger before?
On August 20th, 2020, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi endorsed Democratic Congressman Joe Kennedy in his ultimately unsuccessful primary challenge of Democratic Senator Ed Markey. This strikes me as ...
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