67-506: The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives . The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful panels in the House. Its chair is one of only three in the House with the authority to issue subpoenas without a committee vote or consultation with
134-509: A Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies to manage presidential and vice-presidential inaugurations). Other committees are also used in the modern Congress. In the House of Representatives , there are 20 permanent committees, and 21 in the United States Senate . Four joint committees operate with members from both houses on matters of mutual jurisdiction and oversight. Committees in
201-616: A bill . Conference committees draft compromises between the positions of the two chambers, which are then submitted to the full House and Senate for approval. Apart from conference committees, most joint committees are permanent. But temporary joint committees have been created to address specific issues (such as the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War during the American Civil War , and
268-538: A 50 percent cut in staff. In 2007, a reorganization under a new Democratic majority combined the duties of the seven subcommittees into five. In the 106th Congress , the panel was renamed the Committee on Government Reform. While retaining the agenda of the former Committee on Government Operations, the new committee also took on the responsibilities of the former House Committee on the Post Office and Civil Service and
335-547: A Republican-led legislature and its subsequent and very public signing by Jan Brewer , the Republican Governor of Arizona , ignited protests across the Southwest and galvanized political opinion among both pro-immigration Latino groups and Tea Party activists, many of whom supported stronger measures to stem illegal immigration. The passage of the controversial Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act also contributed to
402-445: A committee to handle the matter. This first Committee on Ways and Means had 11 members and existed for just two months. It later became a standing committee in 1801, a position it still holds today. The appointment of Senate committee members is formally made by the whole Senate, and the whole House formally appoints House committee members, but the choice of members is actually made by the political parties. Generally, each party honors
469-410: A key role. In the tabling and wording of new law, procedures such as the House discharge petition process (the process of bringing a bill onto the floor without a committee report or mandatory consent from its leadership) are so laborious and technical that committees, today, dominate the draftsmanship and honing of the detail of many bills laid before Congress. Of the 73 discharge petitions submitted to
536-815: A net of six state governorships; Democrats won control of five governorships previously controlled by Republicans, but Republicans took 11 governorships. In many states where the following positions are elected offices, voters elected state executive branch offices (including Lieutenant Governors (though some will be voted for on the same ticket as the gubernatorial nominee), Secretary of state , state Treasurer , state Auditor , state Attorney General , state Superintendent of Education, Commissioners of Insurance , Agriculture or, Labor, etc.) and state judicial branch offices (seats on state Supreme Courts and, in some states, state appellate courts). Republicans scored record gains, gaining at least 680 total seats and taking control of 20 legislative chambers through election, while
603-561: The 1st Congress had eleven members, and was created to determine salaries of the president and vice president. Also in the first session, the entire membership of the Senate was divided into two large committees, with half the senators on the committee to prepare legislation establishing the federal judiciary and the other half on the committee to define the punishment of crimes against the United States. This system proved ineffective, so in 1816
670-609: The Democrats lost 21 chambers. The winners of this election cycle were slated to serve in their respective legislatures for either two or four-year terms, depending on state election rules. Republicans made substantial gains in state legislatures across the nation. Twenty chambers flipped from Democratic to Republican control, giving Republicans full control of eleven state legislatures and control of one chamber in Colorado, Iowa, and New York. Additionally, Republicans gained enough seats in
737-728: The Federal Emergency Management Agency 's weak response to Hurricane Katrina ; and Philip Cooney 's suppression of data demonstrating the existence of global warming . After the release of the Downing Street memo , which contained incriminating information on the buildup to the Iraq War , Democrats in the minority were refused a hearing chamber and were forced to meet in the basement of the United States Capitol . However, under Davis's chairmanship from 2003 to 2007,
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#1732848556921804-500: The House of Representatives generally have more members, due to its larger size, as compared to the smaller 100-member Senate . Senate rules fix the maximum size for many of its committees , while the House determines the size and makeup of each committee every new Congress. (See complete list with subcommittees ) (See complete list with subcommittees ) 2010 United States elections The 2010 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, in
871-611: The Senate Select Committee on Ethics , and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence . The chairpersons and ranking members in each committee are also elected by the political parties. An analysis of U.S. House of Representative committee request letters from the 92nd, 93rd, 97th, 98th, 100th, and 101st Congresses showed that the most common justifications raised by members seeking a committee assignment were prior professional experience, geography, and electoral considerations, in that order. About 80 percent of justifications in
938-520: The United States House of Representatives were up for election. Additionally, elections were held to select the delegates for the District of Columbia and four of the five U.S. territories . The only seat in the House not up for election was that of the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico , who serves a four-year term and faced election in 2012 . Republicans won the nationwide popular vote for
1005-478: The financial crisis of 2007–2008 . The report alleged that the government had caused the collapse by meddling in the United States' housing and lending market in the name of "affordable housing". In February 2012, the committee held a hearing on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 's mandate that would "require all employers to cover birth control free of cost to women". Specifically, Republicans on
1072-441: The ranking member . However, in recent history, it has become practice to refrain from unilateral subpoenas. Carolyn Maloney ( D -New York) served as acting chair of the committee following the death of Elijah Cummings ( D -Maryland) on October 17, 2019; she was elected chair a month later. Representative Jim Jordan served as ranking member from January 3, 2019, until March 12, 2020. On March 31, 2020, Jordan switched to become
1139-552: The sweeping reforms of the health care system enacted by Democrats in 2010, as well as concerns over tax rates and record deficits. At the time of the election, unemployment was over 9%, and had not declined significantly since Barack Obama had become president. Further eroding public trust in Congress were a series of scandals that saw Democratic representatives Charlie Rangel and Maxine Waters , as well as Republican senator John Ensign , all accused of unethical or illegal conduct in
1206-515: The "Oversight Committee" for short. In 1997, the Republican majority on the committee changed its rules to allow the chairman, Dan Burton (R-Indiana), to issue subpoenas without the consent of the committee's ranking Democrat. From 1997 to 2002, Burton used this authority to issue 1,052 unilateral subpoenas, many of them related to alleged misconduct by President Bill Clinton , at a cost of more than $ 35 million. By contrast, from 2003 to 2005, under
1273-764: The "harsh policies" by deciding to "migrate now before things get even worse". According to House rules, the committee has jurisdiction over the following areas: Resolutions electing members: H.Res. 14 (Chair), H.Res. 15 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 70 (R), H.Res. 71 (D), H.Res. 704 (D), H.Res. 913 (R), H.Res. 1034 (D) Sources: H.Res.9 (Chair), H.Res.10 (Ranking Member) H.Res.62 (D), H.Res.63 (R), H.Res.789 (Removing Paul Gosar), H.Res.825 (D - Shontel Brown), H.Res.1225 (R - Mike Flood) Sources: H.Res. 24 (Chair), H.Res. 25 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 67 (D), H.Res. 68 (R) The Oversight and Government Reform Committee underwent numerous membership changes over
1340-533: The 107th Congress, but on account of Senator Jim Jeffords ' party switch rather than the election results. Candidates and voters in 2010 focused on national economic conditions and the economic policies of the Obama administration and congressional Democrats. Attention was paid to public anger over the Wall Street bailout signed into law by President George W. Bush in late 2008. Voters were also motivated for and against
1407-819: The Appropriations Committees recommend appropriations legislation to provide budget authority for federal agencies and programs. The Budget Committees establish aggregate levels for total spending and revenue that serve as guidelines for the work of the authorizing and appropriating panels. Select or special committees are established generally by a separate resolution of the chamber, sometimes to conduct investigations and studies, and, on other occasions, also to consider measures. Often, select committees examine emerging issues that do not fit clearly within existing standing committee jurisdictions, or that cut across jurisdictional boundaries. A select committee may be permanent or temporary (all current select committees in
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#17328485569211474-613: The Border" on the "inhumane treatment of children and families" inside child detention centers on the southern US border. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) chaired the session which included testimony from Yazmin Juarez, the mother of Mariee who died at the age of nineteen months while detained in a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) center in Dilley, Texas. In his opening statement Raskin said that "hundreds of thousands of people" have responded to
1541-616: The Bush administration generated few or no subpoenas from the Republican-led committee. These events included the September 11 attacks ; the leaking of classified information identifying Central Intelligence Agency agent Valerie Plame ; CIA-backed abuses at Abu Ghraib prison ; the Bush administration claim that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction ; illegal campaign contributions by lobbyists, including Jack Abramoff ; deaths and damage due to
1608-411: The Committee on the District of Columbia . On January 4, 2007, the 110th Congress renamed it the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The name was changed again by the 116th Congress to the Committee on Oversight and Reform. For the 118th Congress , Republicans changed the name to "Committee on Oversight and Accountability, which is the current iteration. Since 2007, it has simply been called
1675-711: The Condition of the Potomac River Front at Washington . According to La Follette, he "had immediate visions of cleaning up the whole Potomac River front. Then [he] found that in all its history, the committee had never had a bill referred to it for consideration, and had never held a meeting." In 1920, the Congressional Directory listed nearly 80 committees, including the Committee on the Disposition of Useless Papers in
1742-454: The Democratic minority opposed the action. Chairman Davis said it was "a legitimate legislative inquiry". The committee also investigated World Wrestling Entertainment 's wellness and drug policies, amid speculation about a possible link between steroid use and the death of WWE performer Chris Benoit . On July 8, 2009, committee Republicans released an investigative staff report discussing
1809-559: The Executive Departments . By May 27, 1920, the Russell Senate Office Building had opened, and with all Senate members assigned private office space, the Senate quietly abolished 42 committees. Today the Senate operates with 21 committees ( 16 standing and 5 select ). These select committees, however, are permanent in nature and are treated as standing committees under Senate rules . The first House committee
1876-465: The House and Senate are considered permanent committees). Instead of select, the Senate sometimes uses the term special committee (as in the Special Committee on Aging). Joint committees are permanent panels that include members from both chambers, which generally conduct studies or perform housekeeping tasks rather than consider measures. For instance, the Joint Committee on Printing oversees
1943-411: The House declined from 6,000 hearings per year in the 1970s, to about 4,000 hearings in 1994, and to just over 2,000 hearings in 2014. Commentators from both major parties have expressed concern regarding the loss of committee capacity to research and develop legislative initiatives. The first Senate committee was established April 7, 1789, to draw up Senate rules of procedure. In those early days,
2010-415: The House of Representatives , written in 1961, American scholar George B. Galloway (1898–1967) wrote: "In practice, Congress functions not as a unified institution, but as a collection of semi-autonomous committees that seldom act in unison." Galloway went on to cite committee autonomy as a factor interfering with the adoption of a coherent legislative program. Such autonomy remains a characteristic feature of
2077-557: The House of Representatives by a margin of 6.8 points and picked up 63 seats, taking control of the chamber for the first time since the 2006 elections . This represented the largest single-election shift in House seats since the 1948 elections and the largest midterm election shift since the 1938 elections . The only seat Democrats flipped without unseating a Republican was Delaware's lone House seat, going to former Lt. Governor John Carney . 37 state and two territory United States governors were up for election. Republicans picked up
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2144-693: The House's Committee of the Whole; allowed minority party committee members to call their own witnesses during a day of hearings; established the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs ; and enhanced the research capabilities of two legislative support agencies: the Congressional Research Service and the General Accounting Office . Between 1994 and 2014, overall committee staffing was reduced by 35 percent. The number of hearings held in
2211-536: The Oregon House of Representatives to produce a 30-30 party split, pushing Democrats into a power-sharing agreement that resulted in the election of two "co-speakers" (one from each party) to lead the chamber. Republicans gained a total of 680 seats in state legislative races, breaking the previous record of 628 flipped seats set by Democrats in the post-Watergate elections of 1974. Six states saw both chambers switch from Democrat to Republican majorities: Alabama (where
2278-481: The Organization of Congress , a temporary committee established in 1993 to conduct a policy and historical analysis of the committee system, determined that while the 1946 Act was instrumental in streamlining the committee system, it did fail to limit the number of subcommittees allowed on any one committee. Today, Rules in the U.S. House of Representatives generally limit each full committee to five subcommittees, with
2345-922: The Republicans won a majority and a trifecta for the first time since 1874), Maine (for the first time since 1964), Minnesota (for the first time since 1915 in partisan elections and 1973 in non-partisan elections), New Hampshire, North Carolina (for the first time since 1896), and Wisconsin. In addition, by picking up the lower chambers in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Montana and Pennsylvania, Republicans gained control of both chambers in an additional five states. Further, Republicans picked up one chamber from Democrats in Colorado, Iowa, and New York to split control in those states. They expanded majorities in both chambers in Texas, Florida, and Georgia. The massive Republican victories in legislative races would be widely expected to significantly impact
2412-492: The Senate Historical Office, "the significance of the change from temporary to permanent committees was perhaps little realized at the time." With the growing responsibilities of the Senate, the committees gradually grew to be the key policy-making bodies of the Senate, instead of merely technical aids to the chamber. By 1906, the Senate maintained 66 standing and select committees—eight more committees than members of
2479-550: The Senate adopted a formal system of 11 standing committees with five members each. Three of those committees, the Finance , Foreign Relations and the Judiciary Committees exist largely unchanged today, while the duties of the others have evolved into successor committees. With the advent of this new system, committees are able to handle long-term studies and investigations, in addition to regular legislative duties. According to
2546-566: The Senate operated with temporary select committees, which were responsive to the entire Senate, with the full Senate selecting their jurisdiction and membership. This system provided a great deal of flexibility, as if one committee proved unresponsive, another could be established in its place. The Senate could also forgo committee referral for actions on legislation or presidential nominations. These early committees generally consisted of three members for routine business and five members for more important issues. The largest committee established during
2613-494: The Vice Ranking Member. The panel now known as the Committee on Oversight and Accountability was originally the Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments, created in 1927 to consolidate 11 separate Committees on Expenditures that had previously overseen the spending of various departments of the federal government. The Committee on Expenditures became the Committee on Government Operations in 1952. The new name
2680-656: The chairmanship of Tom Davis (R-Virginia), the committee issued only three subpoenas to the Bush administration . After Republicans retook the House in the 2010 elections , the new chairman, Darrell Issa (R-California), escalated the use of subpoenas again, issuing more than 100 in four years during the Obama administration . That was more than the combined total issued by the previous three chairmen—Davis, Henry Waxman (D-California), and Edolphus Towns (D-New York)—from 2003 to 2010. Between 2000 and 2006, many major events and scandals in
2747-399: The chamber. In the House of Representatives, Republicans won a net gain of 63 seats, the largest shift in seats since the 1948 elections . In state elections, Republicans won a net gain of six gubernatorial seats and flipped control of twenty state legislative chambers, giving them a substantial advantage in the redistricting that occurred following the 2010 United States census . The election
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2814-651: The committee alleged that the Department of Health and Human Services 's rules governing exemptions for religious institutions violated the Free Exercise Clause of the Constitution. The chairman, Darrell Issa, said the hearing was "meant to be more broadly about religious freedom and not specifically about the contraception mandate in the Health Reform law". After Aaron Swartz committed suicide on January 11, 2013,
2881-721: The committee investigated the Justice Department's actions in prosecuting Swartz on hacking charges. On January 28, Issa and ranking member Elijah Cummings published a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder , questioning whether prosecutors had intentionally added felony counts to increase the amount of prison time Swartz faced. On July 10, 2019, a hearing was held by the United States House Oversight Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties entitled "Kids in Cages: Inhumane Treatment at
2948-440: The committee issued a subpoena requiring Schiavo to "appear" so that members could "examine nutrition and hydration which incapacitated patients receive as part of their care". The apparent objective of this, beyond providing information to committee members, was to delay the pending withdrawal of life support from Schiavo, whose wishes were in dispute, while Congress considered legislation specifically targeted at her case. Members of
3015-408: The committee launched two controversial investigations. One of those investigations—triggered by the publication of Jose Canseco 's memoir, Juiced — concerned the use of anabolic steroids by Major League Baseball players. An inquiry was also made into the case of Terry Schiavo. In that investigation, which concerned the removal of a feeding tube from a woman in a persistent vegetative state ,
3082-480: The committee system in Congress today. In 1932, a reform movement temporarily reduced the number of signatures required on discharge petitions in the U.S. House of Representatives from a constitutional majority of 218 down to 145, i.e., from one-half to one-third of the House membership. This reform was abolished in a 1935 counterattack led by the intra-House oligarchy . Thus the era of the Great Depression marks
3149-473: The course of the 116th United States Congress . Sources: H.Res. 6 (Chair), H.Res. 7 (Ranking Member), H.Res. 45 (D) H.Res. 51 (R), H.Res. 52 , H.Res. 95 and H.Res. 127 (D) United States congressional committee A congressional committee is a legislative sub-organization in the United States Congress that handles a specific duty (rather than
3216-695: The exception of Appropriations (12 subcommittees), Armed Services (7), Foreign Affairs (7), and Transportation and Infrastructure (6). There are no limits on the number of subcommittees in the U.S. Senate . Congress has convened several other temporary review committees to analyze and make recommendations on ways to reform and improve the committee system. For example, the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 led to further reforms to open Congress to further public visibility, strengthen its decision-making capacities, and augment minority rights. The 1970 Act provided for recorded teller votes in
3283-503: The first—a three-member committee "to prepare and report an estimate of supplies ... and of nett [sic] produce of the impost"—was established on April 29, 1789. The Committee on Ways and Means followed on July 24, 1789, during a debate on the creation of the Treasury Department over concerns of giving the new department too much authority over revenue proposals. The House felt it would be better equipped if it established
3350-428: The full House from 1995 through 2007, only one was successful in securing a definitive yea-or-nay vote for a bill. The growth in autonomy and overlap of committees has fragmented the power of the Senate and of the House. This dispersion of power may, at times, weaken the legislative branch relative to the other two branches of the federal government, the executive and the judiciary. In his often cited article History of
3417-583: The functions of the Government Printing Office and general printing procedures of the federal government. The chairmanship of joint committees usually alternates between the House and Senate. As of June 17, 2017, there were four joint committees: the Economic , Library , Printing , and Taxation committees. A conference committee is an ad hoc joint committee formed to resolve differences between similar but competing House and Senate versions of
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#17328485569213484-410: The general duties of Congress). Committee membership enables members to develop specialized knowledge of the matters under their jurisdiction. As "little legislatures", the committees monitor ongoing governmental operations, identify issues suitable for legislative review, gather and evaluate information, and recommend courses of action to their parent body. Woodrow Wilson once wrote, "it is not far from
3551-725: The last across-the-board change, albeit a short-lived one, in the autonomy of House standing committees. The modern committee structure stems from the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 , the first and most ambitious restructuring of the standing committee system since the committee system was first developed. The 1946 act reduced the number of House committees from 48 to 19 and the number of Senate committees from 33 to 15. Jurisdictions of all committees were codified by rule in their respective chambers, which helped consolidate or eliminate many existing committees and minimize jurisdictional conflicts. The Joint Committee on
3618-1202: The letters fell into one of these three categories. Members who request an assignment to the House Armed Services Committee tend to have a greater military presence in their district, while members requesting assignment to the House Interior Committee generally tend to come from sparsely populated areas with more land held in public trust . There are three main types of committees—standing, select or special, and joint. Standing committees are permanent panels identified as such in chamber rules (House Rule X, Senate Rule XXV). Because they have legislative jurisdiction, standing committees consider bills and issues and recommend measures for consideration by their respective chambers. They also have oversight responsibility to monitor agencies, programs, and activities within their jurisdictions, and in some cases in areas that cut across committee jurisdictions. Most standing committees recommend funding levels—authorizations—for government operations and for new and existing programs. A few have other functions. For example,
3685-621: The low approval ratings of Congress, particularly Democrats, in the months leading up to the election. Many Republicans ran on a promise to repeal the law, and beat incumbent Democratic opponents who had voted in favor of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. On January 19, 2010, a special election was also held for the Class I seat in Massachusetts , as a result of the death of incumbent Senator Ted Kennedy . Republican Scott Brown won
3752-499: The majority party. The large number of committees and the manner of assigning their chairmanships suggests that many of them existed solely to provide office space in those days before the Senate acquired its first permanent office building, the Russell Senate Office Building . There were so many committees that freshman Senator Robert La Follette of Wisconsin was assigned chairmanship of the Committee to Investigate
3819-506: The middle of Democratic President Barack Obama 's first term. Republicans ended unified Democratic control of Congress and the presidency by winning a majority in the House of Representatives and gained seats in the Senate despite Democrats holding Senate control. Republicans gained seven seats in the Senate (including a special election held in January 2010) but failed to gain a majority in
3886-633: The months leading up to the 2010 election. Immigration reform had become an important issue in 2010, particularly following the passage of Arizona Senate Bill 1070 , officially known as the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act. The Act greatly enhanced the power of Arizona's law enforcement agencies to investigate the immigration status of suspected illegal immigrants and to enforce state and national immigration laws. The Act also required immigrants to carry their immigration documentation on their person at all times. Its passage by
3953-485: The preferences of individual members, giving priority on the basis of seniority. In the Senate, each party is allocated seats on committees generally in proportion to its overall strength in the Senate as a whole. Membership on most House committees are also in rough proportion to the party's strength in the House as a whole, with two major exceptions: on the House Rules Committee , the majority party fills nine of
4020-653: The ranking member of the Judiciary committee instead. Representative Mark Meadows served as ranking member from March 13, 2020, until March 30, 2020, when he resigned his congressional seat to become White House Chief of Staff . Representative James Comer (R-Kentucky) was selected to succeed Meadows on June 29, 2020. Comer became Chair when Republicans regained control of the House majority, with Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) being elected as Ranking Member. Politico reported in late January that Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) would be appointed as
4087-539: The redrawing of congressional districts for the 2012 election cycle. On November 2, 2010, various cities, counties, school boards, and special districts (in the United States) witnessed elections. Some elections were high-profile. High-profile mayoral elections are listed below: Approximately 82.5 million people voted. Turnout increased relative to the previous U.S. midterm elections without any significant shift in voters' political identification. Bold indicates
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#17328485569214154-541: The seat. The 34 seats in the United States Senate Class III were up for election. In addition, the Class I/II seats held by appointed Senators Ted Kaufman of Delaware , Kirsten Gillibrand of New York , and Carte Goodwin of West Virginia were contested in special elections on the same day. Republicans picked up six seats, but Democrats retained a majority in the Senate. All 435 voting seats in
4221-486: The thirteen seats; and on the House Ethics Committee , each party has an equal number of seats. In each committee, a member of the majority party serves as its chairperson , while a member of the minority party serves as its ranking member . Four Senate committees instead refer to the ranking minority member as vice chairperson: the Senate Committee on Appropriations , the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs ,
4288-903: The truth to say that Congress in session is Congress on public exhibition, whilst Congress in its committee rooms is Congress at work." It is not expected that a member of Congress be an expert on all matters and subject areas that come before Congress. Congressional committees provide valuable informational services to Congress by investigating and reporting about specialized subjects. Congress divides its legislative, oversight, and internal administrative tasks among approximately 200 committees and subcommittees . Within assigned areas, these functional subunits gather information; compare and evaluate legislative alternatives; identify policy problems and propose solutions; select, determine, and report measures for full chamber consideration; monitor executive branch performance (oversight); and investigate allegations of wrongdoing. The investigatory functions have always been
4355-530: Was appointed on April 2, 1789, to "prepare and report such standing rules and orders of proceeding" as well as the duties of a Sergeant-at-Arms to enforce those rules. Other committees were created as needed, on a temporary basis, to review specific issues for the full House. The House relied primarily on the Committee of the Whole to handle the bulk of legislative issues. In response to the House's need for more detailed advice on certain issues, more specific committees with broader authority were established. One of
4422-437: Was intended to reflect the committee's broad mission: to oversee "the operations of Government activities at all levels with a view to determining their economy and efficiency". After Republicans gained control of the House in the 1994 elections , the committee was reorganized to include seven subcommittees instead of 14. This reorganization consolidated the jurisdiction previously covered by three full committees and resulted in
4489-542: Was widely characterized as a "Republican wave" election . The heavy Democratic losses in 2010 were mainly attributed to the passing of the Affordable Care Act along with a poor economic recovery from the Great Recession and large budget deficits. This marked the first election since 1858 that yielded a Republican-controlled House and a Democratic-controlled Senate. This configuration was also in place for most of
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