Today we will Explore how political parties help to organize
the government and the role they play in politics. 1.FRQ practice
comparative electoral systems 2.Slide/notes - review questions for
organization of Congress 3.Congress Venn diagram HW: set 2 RQs quiz
next block OBJ/ AgendaAgenda
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FRQ Practice 2011 short answer #3
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Warm Up - Article I List all of the powers of Congress you
remember House? Senate? List the size, terms, member qualifications
of the House List the size, terms, member qualifications of the
Senate
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1. Party Organization of the Senate
http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference
/e_one_section_no_teasers/org_chart.htm
http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference
/e_one_section_no_teasers/org_chart.htm Majority Party President
President Pro-Tempore Majority Leader Majority Whip Minority Party
Minority Leader Minority Whip
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Selecting the Leaders: Ideology popularity, effectiveness on
television, favors owed Policy Committee schedules Senate business
Committee Assignments: Democratic Steering Committee Republican
Committee on Committees Assignments emphasize ideological and
regional balance New Senators want opportunities to help
constituents & supporters
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2. Party Organization of House http://www.house.gov/leadership/
Majority Party Speaker of the House Majority Leader Majority Whip
Minority Party Minority Leader Minority Whip
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2b. Speaker of the House Leader of majority party; presides
over House Decides whom to recognize to speak on the floor Rule on
relevancy of motions Decides to which committee bills go Appoints
members of special and select committees Has some patronage power
(ex: Capitol jobs & office space) http://www.speaker.gov/about
http://www.speaker.gov/about
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Check for understanding What other job does the US Vice
President have? Who takes over if the VP is busy? What is the
leader of the House called? Which one of these 3 positions would
you like to have? Why?
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3. Newt Gingrich He changed the structure of the House of
Representatives Measure of leaders ability to determine party rules
& organization Committee chairs would have term limits (6 yrs)
Transparency
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4. Civility and Polarization Increasingly divided by political
ideology Role of political elites & caucuses in forming policy
Staffers often take the lead to negotiate between their bosses,
less personal contact Yet, voters are close to the center of the
political spectrum Polarization leads to less civility, more
attacks Are We Doomed to Polarization? | The Center On Congress at
Indiana University Are We Doomed to Polarization? | The Center On
Congress at Indiana University
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5. Congressional CaucusesCaucuses Association of members of
Congress created to advocate a political ideology or a regional or
economic interest Rivals to parties in policy formulation Types:
Intra-party Personal interest Constituency concern
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Check for understanding When else have we talked about
caucuses? What is the same and different between these types of
caucuses?
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6. The Committee System Where Congress does its work Helps to
develop specialization among members 1.Standing Committees 2.Select
or Special Committees 3.Joint Committees Conference Committees
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Standing Committees Permanent w/specific legislative
responsibilities Most are subject related: Judiciary, Foreign
Policy, Armed Services Majority party holds majority membership of
each committee http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/committees/d
_three_sections_with_teasers/committees_home. htm
http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/committees/d
_three_sections_with_teasers/committees_home. htm
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Select/Special Committees Temporary - appointed for a limited
purpose and time, or cross purposes Oversight functions to keep
things from going wrong in gov. Investigations
http://www.house.gov/committees/
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Joint Committees Both Representatives and Senators serve
Permanent House-keeping CONFERENCE COMMITTEE: Third House
representatives and senators to resolve differences in the Senate
and House versions of the same piece of legislation before final
passage; creates a compromise bill before its sent to the
president
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Committee Structure Number of committees varies between houses
Majority party has majority of seats and names chair Usually most
senior member is elected Assignments Members usually serve on 2
standing committees or 1 exclusive committee Subcommittee Bill of
Rights 1970s Secret ballot election of committee chairs No Rep can
chair more than one committee All House committees w/ 20+ members
to have at least 4 subcommittees Large staffs, open to the public
unless vote too close
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Roles of Committees Rules Legislation Appropriations - handles
all discretionary federal spending bills. Appropriates money to the
department. Oversight Fast and the Furious Fast and the Furious
Oversight can also be in the form of Appropriations to the
Executive Departments
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What committees do representatives want to be on?
Policy-oriented members = finance or foreign policy committees
Constituency-oriented members = small business or veteran's affairs
committees Robert Walker Larry Craig
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Check for understanding Why is the committee structure more
important to the House, instead of the Senate? (hint: think
size)
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7. Congressional Staff 1/3 of a staff members work in the
district, full- time district office.work Constituency Casework
Legislative functions: Devise proposals & draft reports
Organize & monitor hearings Meet with lobbyists & program
administrators Consequences of larger staff More legislative work
in the chamber Results in more individualistic Congress
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8. Staff Agencies Offer specialized information Congressional
Research Service (CRS)(CRS) General Accounting Office (GAO)(GAO)
Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
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CLOSURE How does the majority party have an advantage in the
House above the sheer number advantage?
