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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 20 general entries.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 U.S. Congress
Robert Byrd. Senator Kennedy (Massachusetts) was first elected in 1962, Senator Inouye (Hawaii) in 1964 and Senator Biden (Delaware) in 1974. Senator Byrd represents West Virgina and was born in 1917.
Kay Bailey Hutchison. Senators Cornyn and Hutchison are both Republicans. A Democrat has not been elected to the United States Senate from Texas since 1988 when Lloyd Bensten, a former vice presidential candidate, represented the state.
Judiciary. Shortly after Senator Specter's last successful campaign he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease and went through chemotherapy. He continued to work throughout the illness and is now in remission. Due to his liberal political views, Senator Specter's approval rating is higher among Democrats than his own Republican party.
Barack Obama. Senator Obama was the only African-American Senator in the 109th Congress. Only six African-American senators have served in the United States Senate. Hiram Revels, elected in 1870 from Mississippi was the first.
Vice President. Senator Lieberman was presidential candidate Al Gore's running mate. In 2004 he announced his desire for the Democratic nomination for president and failed in the primaries. In 2006 Senator Lieberman lost the Democratic party's primary race for Connecticut senator and announced he would run as an independent in the November election which he subsequently won.
North Carolina. Senator Dole was Secretary of Labor in President George H.W. Bush's cabinet. She also served as Secretary of Transportation under President Reagan. Her husband, former presidential candidate and senator, Robert (Bob) Dole represented the state of Kansas in the United States Senate.
Kennedy and Kerry. Edward (Ted) Kennedy was the younger brother of assassinated President John F. Kennedy. John Kerry ran against President Bush in the presidential election. Kennedy ran in 1980 but lost during the primaries.
Snowe & Collins. Senior Senator Olympia Snowe was first elected in 1994. Junior Senator Susan Collins was first elected in 1996. Maine is also the home of Margaret Chase Smith, the first woman to be elected to both houses of congress.
California. Maine and Washington are the other two states that have two female senators representing them. Senators Boxer and Feinstein are the first women to be elected from the same state in the same election.
John McCain. Senator McCain was held for over five years in a North Vietnamese prison camp. His unsuccessful attempt to get the Republican nomination in the 2000 presidential election brought him to national prominence.
| Legislative differences between the House and Senate are resolved by what? | The U.S. Congress
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A Conference Committee. In many cases legislation passed by the two bodies contains different language. When this occurs a committee of key members involved in the crafting of the bill are appointed to hammer out compromise and then both chambers must pass the revised measure before it is submitted to the President for his signature into law.
| Which Speaker of the House later became President of the United States? | The U.S. Congress
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James K. Polk. Polk was one of the very few Presidents to deliver on all his campaign promises. He served one term and died shortly thereafter. Other Speakers have run for the Presidency and lost such as Henry Clay and James G. Blaine in the 19th Century. FDR's Vice President, James Garner, was a Speaker. But normally it takes a great deal of time and effort to attain the office of Speaker and few wish to give that up in order to take a chance on running for President. Truman never served in the House. Madison served in the House but was never elected to the Speakership.
| During a State of the Union address who sits behind the President during his speech? | The U.S. Congress
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The Speaker of the House and the Vice President. They sit in chairs above the President as the two next in line. Also they are the presiding officers over the two legislative bodies albeit the Vice President's role in the Senate is largely ceremonially except with tie votes in which case he/she casts the deciding vote. A speech before Congress has emerged over time. It was not the practice until the 20th century.
| If the Congress cannot pass an appropriations bill to provide funds for a governmental department or organ of the government, what can it pass to keep the provision of spending alive? | The U.S. Congress
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A continuing resolution. Toward the end of a Congressional session you will see the CRs flowing like a flood as Congress often cannot get to Appropriations bills especially if they are contentious. Sometimes governmental departments will operate on a CR rather than an Appropriation for a considerable amount of time.
| All legislation dealing with funding must start in which body, according to the Constitution? | The U.S. Congress
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The House of Representatives. The framers felt that the House, as the only body at that time directly elected by the people, should have the initial control of the money flow in government. This in no way means the Senate has less authority in this area.
| We know that the Vice President would succeed the President should he/she be forced to leave office any reason. Who is next in the line of succession after that? | The U.S. Congress
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The Speaker of the House. Secretary of State Al Haig was obviously unaware that the Constitution had been amended when after the attempted assassination of President Reagan he suggested he was next in line of succession after the Vice President. The fact that the Speaker is third in line can have political consequences. For example, had Republican President Richard Nixon been forced out of office prior to the appointment of Gerald Ford as Vice President during the Watergate scandal the Presidency would have passed to Speaker Carl Albert, a Democrat.
| The Committee in the House of Representatives that is responsible for issues such as taxes and international trade is called the Committee on what? | The U.S. Congress
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Ways and Means. Presumably the name came about as a description by which the "ways and means" of revenues were collected! Members cannot serve on any other Committee although technically they can apply for a waiver. Three former Presidents served as Chairman of the Committee: Polk, Fillmore and McKinley.
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