concurrent powers

• Legislates

  Creates/amends/delays/passes e.g. Trump's Obamacare replacement failed to pass

  Either house's veto can be overriden by POTUS -> 10/12 of Obama's vetoes came when he lost control of at least one house

  Can override a President's veto -> 2/3 vote in both houses, JASTA
• Declares war

  Used 11 times, needs the agreement of both houses

  • Last used in 1942 against Romania as part of WW11
  • Since WWII, congress uses AMUF giving the president authorisatio without formally declaring war, used 14 times since 2001 by Bush, Obama and Trump
• Amends the Constitution

  Either house can propose an amendment with a 2/3 vote, which has to be then ratified by 3/4 of the states

  • Last amendment in 1992
• Equal salaries - $174,400 in 2017
• Confirming a new VP

  If the VP becomes absent during a presidential term, the office must be filled

  • E.g. after Kennedy's assassination in 1963 and Nixon's resignation in 1974, when the old VP became POTUS

  25th Amendment -> simple majority in both houses to confirm a new VP
• Investigation

  An implied power - the reports do not haave to be acted upon

  Congress can investigate into areas it has legislated on/may need to legislate on

  Has the power to subpoena witnesses

  • Reviewed 9/11 and the role of the US intelligence community
  • Response to Hurricane Katrina
• Can chair committees

  Those who chair are drawn from the majority party in that house

  • Seniority rule - chair of the standing committee will be member of majority party with the longest continuous service
  • Republicans in both houses now have a three term limit (6 years) on commitee chairs
  • Repulicans adapted it - when they are in majority, they use their Steering Commitee to determine who will be awarded chairs