Monday, December 10, 2012

F5

a)The majority party is able to control who becomes the President Pro-Tempore in the Senate, the person third in line for the presidency, and the Speaker of the House. These congressional leaders control committee appointments and moderate debates. Who is appointed to committees helps control which interest groups gain sway in congress and what laws gain support. Debate moderators control which congressmen speak when.

b) The House of Representatives sets time limits for debates, preventing a filibuster from occurring. These time limits are set by the House Rules Committee. In the senate, there are no time limits on debates, allowing one senator to prevent a vote from occurring. Today, that rule has been adapted so that a senator no longer has to speak in order to delay a vote but must simply declare a filibuster. Therefore a minority party can easily prevent legislation from being passed in the Senate but would have a harder time in the House.

c) Only one person is needed to prevent a law from being voted on in the Senate. This makes it very easy to stop legislation from being passed in the Senate. Because filibusters are not possible in the House, the minority party cannot hold up legislation.

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