11 Congress. Representatives and Senators 11.1 The Members Not a glamorous job, but there are perks...

11

Congress

Representatives and Senators

11.1

The Members

Not a glamorous job, but there are perks Power $174,000 annual salary Generous retirement and health benefits

Constitutional requirements House: 25, citizen for 7 years Senate: 30, citizen for 9 years Reside in state 435 Representatives; 100 senators

11.1

TABLE 11.1: Portrait of the 113th Congress: Some statistics

11.1

The Members

Demographics Descriptive representation = representing constituents by

mirroring their personal, politically relevant characteristics

Substantive representation = representing interests of groups which they themselves are not members of

Does this matter?

11.1

Why Aren’t There More Women in Congress?

18% of House and 25% of Senate are women

Fewer women running Childcare Risk averse

Bias Must be more qualified

11.1

Congressional Elections 11.2

Incumbents Those already holding office Over 90% win reelection in House Senators do not have it as easy (60%)

Attract better competitors, have larger constituencies, attract more attention

Incumbents perceive themselves as vulnerable Hence fundraising and campaigning

Who Wins Elections? 11.2

Do you know your representatives? Most Americans do not – therefore are not voting

based on where their members of Congress stand on key issues

Who Wins Elections? 11.2

Who Wins Elections? 11.2

Who Wins Elections? 11.2

Senators Michael Bennet (D) and Cory Gardner (R)

Representatives 1 – Diana DeGette 2 – Jared Polis 3 – Scott Tipton 4 – Ken Buck 5 – Doug Lamborn 6 – Mike Coffman 7 – Ed Perlmutter

Who Wins Elections? 11.2

Presidential “Coattails” When voters support congressional candidates

because of their support for the president

Who Wins Elections? 11.2

FIGURE 11.1: Incumbency factor in congressional elections

11.2

Advantages of Incumbency

Advertising Being visible Constituent contact

Credit claiming Casework Pork barrel projects

11.2

Advantages of Incumbency

Credit claiming Telling voters about all of the things they have

accomplished for them while in Congress Casework – Activities of members of Congress that

help constituents as individuals, particularly by cutting through bureaucratic red tape to get people what they think they have a right to get.

Pork barrel – Federal projects, grants, and contracts available to state and local governments, businesses, colleges, and other institutions in a congressional district

11.2

Big Dig 11.2

Advantages of Incumbency

Position taking Taking positions on topics that are important to voters,

which voters use to decide if they want to reelect them

Weak opponents Strong ones are scared off by the benefits of being an

incumbent

Campaign spending Spending money gets name recognition. Incumbents

already have name recognition, so they don’t have to spend money on that. That name recognition gets them donations sooner than challengers.

11.2

Role of Party Identification Parties and districts

Drawn for one-party dominance Gerrymandering

11.2

11.2

11.2

Defeating Incumbents

Challengers are naïve But sometimes incumbents are vulnerable

Redistricting

Public mood

11.2

Open Seats and Stability and Change Vacant seat = no incumbent running

Most turnover occurs here

Stability from incumbency Development of expertise

Term limits Limitations on the number of terms that someone in Congress is allowed

to serve

11.2

How Congress is Organized to Make Policy

11.3

American Bicameralism

Bicameral legislature A legislature that is divided into two house. US

Congress and all state legislatures except Nebraska – because Nebraska

Bills must pass both houses Checks and balances Result of Connecticut Compromise

11.3

American Bicameralism

House More institutionalized and seniority-based Rules Committee

The committee in the House that reviews most of the bills coming from a committee before they go to the full House

Puts bills on calendar, chooses how long debates will last

11.3

American Bicameralism Senate

Less centralized and seniority-based Filibuster

A strategy unique to the Senate whereby opponents of a piece of legislation use their right to unlimited debate to prevent the Senate from ever voting on a bill. 60 members present and voting can halt a filibuster

Allows Senators to halt almost any legislation with the threat of a filibuster

Can’t get rid of it because what if you become the minority some day?

Cloture A vote to end unlimited debate on a bill in the Senate and

bring it to a vote

11.3

TABLE 11.2: House versus Senate: Some key differences

11.3

Congressional Leadership

Chosen by party

House Speaker of the House

An office mandated by the Constitution. Is chosen in practice by the majority party, has both formal and informal powers, and is second in line to succeed to the presidency.

Presides over the House when in session Major role in making committee assignments Appoints key legislative leaders Exercises control over where bills get assigned

11.3

Congressional Leadership

Senate Vice president

Technically is the president of the Senate, but really only casts votes to break ties

Majority leader The principal partisan ally of the Speaker, or the

party’s manager in the Senate. Responsible for scheduling bills, influencing committee assignments, and rounding up votes on behalf of the party’s legislative positions.

11.3

Congressional Leadership

House and Senate Whips

Party leaders who work with the majority leader or the minority leader to count votes beforehand and to lean on waverers whose votes are critical for a bill favored by the party

Minority leader Principal leader of the minority party

11.3

Congressional Leadership 11.3

Committees and Subcommittees Four types of committees

Standing committees Separate subject-matter committees in each house of

Congress that handle bills in different policy areas Joint committees

Congressional committees on a few subject-matter areas with membership drawn from both houses

Conference committees Congressional committees formed when the Senate

and the House pass a particular bill in different forms. Party leadership appoints members from each house to iron out the differences and bring back a single bill

Select committees Congressional committees appointed for a specific

purpose, such as the Watergate investigation

11.3

TABLE: 11.3: Standing committees in the Senate and in the House

11.3

Committees and Subcommittees

Committees at work: Legislation Legislative oversight

Congress’s monitoring of the bureaucracy and its administration of policy, performed mainly through hearings.

11.3

Congressional committee at work 11.3

TABLE 11.4: Sharing oversight of homeland security

11.3

Getting on a committee Constituent needs Appealing to leadership Membership is made up of members from each party, with

majority party having more

Committees and Subcommittees

11.3

Committee Chairs The most important influencers of the congressional agenda. They play dominant

roles is scheduling hearings, hiring staff, appointing subcommittees, and managing committee bills when they are brought before the full house.

Seniority system A simple rule for picking committee chairs, in effect until the 1970s. The member who

had served on the committee the longest and whose party controlled the chamber became chair, regardless of party loyalty, mental state, or competence.

Committees and Subcommittees

11.3

Caucuses: Informal Organization of Congress As important as formal structure

Caucus (congressional) A group of members of Congress sharing some interest or characteristic. Many are

composed of members form both parties and from both houses.

Dominant today 500 caucuses today Goal is to promote their interests Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus

11.3

Congressional Hispanic Caucus 11.3

Congressional Staff

Personal staff Casework Legislative functions

Committee staff 2,000 staff members Legislative oversight

11.3

Congressional Staff

Staff agencies Congressional Research Service (CRS)

Provides members of Congress with nonpartisan studies to provide information to members

Government Accountability Office (GAO) Oversees the activities of the Executive branch and

reports back to Congress Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

Analyzes the president’s budget

11.3

Congressional Process and Decision Making

11.4

Bills

Bill A proposed law, drafted in legal language. Anyone can draft a

bill, but only a member of Congress can formally submit a bill for consideration

Most are killed off early in the process

11.4

How a bill becomes a law 11.4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otbml6WIQPo

FIGURE 11.2: How a bill really becomes a law

11.4

Presidents and Congress: Partners and Protagonists

President’s legislative agenda Persuade Congress Work at the margins but usually win Yet Congress is quite independent

11.4

Party, Constituency, and Ideology

Party influence Economic and social welfare policies

Polarized politics Parties more internally homogeneous Less likelihood of compromise

11.4

FIGURE 11.3: Increasing polarization in Congress

11.4

Party, Constituency, and Ideology

Constituency opinion versus member ideology Trustees – using their best judgement to make policy

in the interests of the people Instructed delegates – Mirroring the preferences of

their constituents Politicos – doing a little of both Comes down to politically salient issues – if its

important enough for people in the district to know about and have an opinion on, then the member is an instructed delegate, if not, they are a trustee

11.4

Lobbyists and Interest Groups

D.C. is crawling with lobbyists 12,000 of them Spent $3 billion in 2011 Former members of Congress

How lobbyists persuade Provide policy information Provide promises of money Ghostwrite legislation Status quo usually wins

Disclosure requirements

11.4

11.5Understanding Congress

Congress and Democracy

Democracy depends upon successful representation

Congress unrepresentative Members are elites Leadership chosen, not elected Senate based on states, not population

Obstacles to good representation Constituent service Reelection campaigns

Representativeness versus Effectiveness

11.5

Congress and the Scope of Government

Does size of government increase to please public? Pork barrel spending

Contradictory preferences Against large government, for individual programs

11.5