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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Cabinets in USA (presidential) and UK (parliamentary) system difference? [closed]
What differences are there in the way the cabinets work between the UK, with their parliamentary system, and the USA, with their presidential system?
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How would the whistleblower remain anonymous if they testified?
Republicans are reportedly looking to bring the whistleblower who kicked off the Ukraine investigation in to testify before the committee.
Republicans' witness list is due Saturday morning and one ...
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Which act of Congress authorized the Ukrainian aid which was allegedly withheld?
According to multiple media sources, U.S. aid to Ukraine was authorized by Congress. I am having difficulty identifying precisely which act would have authorized the specific aid which the Trump ...
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Did Devin Nunes ever reveal evidence of unmasking abuse?
When the name of a US citizen is incidentally collected by the US Intelligence Community as part of intelligence activities, the name in masked in intelligence reports to protect the person’s identity....
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Was the whistle-blower's (12 Aug 2019) complaint deemed credible?
Despite rhetoric to the contrary, did the Inspector General (Michael Atkinson- IGIC) determine that the whistle-blower's complaint appeared credible?
This question can be answered factually. The ...
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How does cross-examination of witnesses in the impeachment inquiry work?
According to NPR:
The measure will enable public hearings and a release of the witness interviews already taken by House committees and will allow the president and his attorneys to cross-examine ...
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Did Obama notify Congress (the Intelligence committees in particular) that the bin Laden raid was ongoing?
Trump said recently that he did not notify Congress that the raid on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was ongoing because Trump feared a leak from Congress. So he only notified Congress after the US ...
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Trump Impeachment tallies in the House?
Are there any reliable tallies of those in the House that are supportive of impeachment of President Trump versus those that are not? I imagine most aren't on the public record, but curious if someone ...
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Why has Pelosi not held the impeachment vote the White House is demanding?
It's established that the House does not need to vote in order to being an impeachment inquiry, because a previous House had changed the rules so the committee already had subpoena power. However, ...
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What are the rules/laws for Congresspersons who want to listen to closed-door proceedings of committees they are not a part of?
In relation to another question of mine (and the comments it triggered), what rules does Congress have for closed-door meetings in committees, particularly with respect to the participation of other ...
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Are there precedents for Congresspersons going in uninvited to closed-doors committee proceedings?
According to CNN:
Roughly two-dozen House Republicans on Wednesday stormed a closed-door deposition in secure House Intelligence Committee spaces to rail against the Democratic-led impeachment ...
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Can a US President ban a Congressman from using SCIFs?
A SCIF is a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, and is mandated for use in some situations when reviewing classified and sensitive materials. If a President has cause, e.g. knows a ...
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Are meetings between the President and leaders of congress neutrally documented for the public?
There was a recent meeting in the White House where Pelosi and Schumer walked out. Unsurprisingly the Democrats and Republicans have slightly different versions of what happened - Democrats making the ...
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What was the ultimate fate of the 1985 defamation lawsuit against Rep. Don Sundquist?
In a pre-Westfall case (which might as well have motivated the 1988 law that increased Congresspersons' immunity against civil lawsuits), NYT reports (1987)
A Federal appeals court panel has ruled ...
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Are there any (post-Westfall) cases in which the Attorney General refused certification for a defamation lawsuit against a Congressperson?
The Westfall Act (1988) provides strong protection for Congresspersons against civil lawsuits. Part of the procedure that allows this protection to be effective is the fact that following Attorney ...
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Can US Congress members be (successfully) sued for defamation?
What is the level of protection of Congress members against civil lawsuits for statements they make, e.g. can they be successfully sued for defamation (libel, slander etc.)?
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Can the US President sue political rivals?
President Trump recently made a statement about suing Pelosi and Schiff over the impeachment inquiry.
Can the US President sue political rivals?
What would he sue about? How would that work in ...
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What's the point of the ranking minority member being consulted before a subpoena is issued by the chair?
A 2018 CRS document summarizing the subpoena power of committees of Congress says
Most House committees have also delegated to their chair the power to authorize subpoenas. Many of these rules ...
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When and why did the House rules change to permit an inquiry without a vote?
This other question asks whether the House requires a vote to begin an impeachment inquiry, but several of the answers (including the accepted one) point out that the rules have changed since Clinton'...
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Does the US Supreme Court have the authority to rule on impeachment matters?
In the ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Trump, the Trump administration has recently taken the stance that apparently they view the inquiry as invalid in some way, and are refusing to ...
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How could presidential power realistically be reigned in over time? [closed]
As I understand it scholars generally agree that the modern president is far more powerful then originally intended by the founders of the constitution.
Over the generations presidents have been ...
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What can be done about a US president who refuses to co-operate with an impeachment panel?
Is it possible to prevent a sitting US President from hindering an impeachment investigation against him or her?
The Washington Post just reported that:
Trump personal attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani ...
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Does the US require a House vote to begin an impeachment inquiry?
Does the US require a House vote to begin an impeachment inquiry?
News sources such as this CNN article seem to show a disagreement between the White House saying that a House vote is required, while ...
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What happens if an official leaves office before the end of his/her impeachment process?
There's an article on CNN and one of its headers says that
There's no time limit on the impeachment process - but Democrats want to move quickly
What happens if the legal process takes multiple ...
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Why is lying to Congress a crime?
Why is it considered a crime if you lie while testifying before Congress, but Representatives seem to be able to say whatever they want without repercussions?
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What are the limits on an impeached and not convicted president?
What, if any, are the limits on an impeached and not convicted president?
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Congress taking a break and Impeachment
If congress is about to take a break, what happens with the impeachment inquiries that are going on now? Are they simply put on hold for the next bit?
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Are the votes of members of Congress required to be made public?
When Congress votes on something, the vote cast by every representative is made public. Is this required by law? Specifically, is either chamber of Congress allowed to hold a binding vote without ...
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Does a presidential impeachment inquiry give the House additional powers to obtain documents more quickly?
Does a presidential impeachment inquiry allow the House to obtain documents relevant to its inquiry (such as a president's tax returns) more quickly? Do impeachment inquiries change anything relating ...
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What kind of concrete things has Donald Trump done that might constitute "high crimes and misdemeanors"?
"High crimes and misdemeanors" is a the official standard for impeachment of a US president. As I understand, the term is legally a bit vague because it hasn't been tested much. What kind of concrete ...
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Can the President of the US limit First Amendment rights?
The First Amendment to the US Constitution reads:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the
freedom of speech, ...
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How do people come to address the U.S. Congress?
Congresspeople often seem to be addressed by celebrities (and sometimes teenagers who are foreign nationals). It's often unclear in what the person's qualification for commenting on legislative ...
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Easily contact all three U.S. Congress people?
No one in the U.S. Congress is willing to provide an actual email address to contact your 3, elected representative (2 senators, 1 representative). Rather, they have you complete a lengthy, web-based ...
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What bill provided for public viewing of bills before Congressional vote?
I cannot remember the name of this failed bill. I forget if it pertained to the House or the Senate or both.
The proposed legislation essentially stated that a bill would have to be viewed in its ...
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Could Congress annul a declaration of war from the U.S. President?
Could Congress annul a declaration of war from the U.S. President? Let's say that the President declared war against Cuba for no reason, could Congress step in and annul the declaration of war or is ...
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Do trade or currency wars require congressional approval?
According to the US Consitution, Article 1, Section 8, US Congress has the power "To declare War".
Currently, several mainstream news outlets are describing various tariff increases by the current US ...
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Are sworn witnesses not obligated to answer questions in congressional hearings?
Watching the Mueller hearing today, I was surprised to find that he was declining to answer some questions. Although many questions could be rightfully answered by saying "I refer you to the report", ...
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Is it common for candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives to go door-to-door as a campaign activity?
I read that candidates for Congress can knock on doors as a way to campaign. Is this a common practice or something that is rare? I read that AOC knocked on many doors, but I would think this would ...
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Why did Rand Paul vote in support of the 2017 tax cuts if he's against increasing the deficit?
I've seen lots of media sources calling Sen. Rand Paul a hypocrite for blocking the 9/11 victim compensation fund bill until the cost is offset elsewhere, but not voting against the 2017 tax cut bill ...
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Has any congressperson ever been a victim of discrimination while in office?
From the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's web page Immigrants' Employment Rights Under Federal Anti-Discrimination Laws:
Harassment Based on National Origin
Ethnic slurs and other ...
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Does anything else happen if the parliamentarian rules a House speech was out of order, but is not stricken by vote?
In the debate over the House resolution condemning President Trump's tweets, Nancy Pelosi characterized them as racist
This sparked an attempt by Republicans to have the speech stricken
“I ask that ...
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Why did Barry Goldwater change from opposing to supporting the Export Trade Administration Act of 1979?
The House modified the bill after it passed the Senate. Goldwater was among three Senators who voted against the bill. Can someone confirm that the modifications that the House of Representatives ...
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Are US Congressional districts required to be connected?
With all the talk of gerrymandering of late, I was looking up North Carolina's past election maps. And man, the 2016 map which caused the court case looks downright normal compared to some of the ones ...
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Could the U.S. Congress abolish itself?
Hypothetically, could the U.S. Congress abolish itself and transfer all power to the President? I'm thinking of a scenario where Congress amends the Constitution and gives all power the President, ...
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If Congress discards a state's electoral votes, does it change the number needed for a majority?
According to the 12th Amendment, a majority of "whole number of Electors appointed" is needed to elect a US President or Vice President, or else it's thrown into a contingent election by the House (...
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How can a single member of the House derail a Congressional bill?
I read a news article today that claims that a Congressional bill to provide disaster relief to US communities has been derailed, because a single member of the House of Representatives objected to it....
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Why are lawsuits between the President and Congress not automatically sent to the Supreme Court
When the United State Congress and the President are involved in a legal fight together, the resulting legal case originates in a US District Court for DC, as was the case for United States v. Nixon. ...
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Has the White House addressed what brought H.R. 312 to Trump’s attention?
President Trump tweeted this yesterday:
Republicans shouldn’t vote for H.R. 312, a special interest casino Bill, backed by Elizabeth (Pocahontas) Warren. It is unfair and doesn’t treat Native ...
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What happens if the US Attorney General refuses to comply with the legislative branch?
Similar to question Is there precedent or are there procedures for a US president refusing to concede to an electoral defeat? but in reference to specifically the attorney general. As a side note, ...
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Did any US Congressmen use their free speech privileges to publish classified material since the Pentagon Papers?
In 1971, Senator Mike Gravel famously used his Congressional free speech privileges to publish a classified report on US activities in Vietnam, later dubbed "the Pentagon Papers". Did any members of ...
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