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Chapter 11 Congress
Rule initiation Interest representation Rule application Rule Interpretation Constituency Service
Purposes of Congress
Senate Senators serve 6 year terms Two per State for 100 total seatsHouse Representatives serve 2 year terms 435 seats, seats apportioned by population
Bicameral Legislature
Senate Must be 30 years old Represent statewide
constituencies The Senate is less
formal than the house. For example, the Senate can allow “unlimited debate.”
House Must be 25 years old Represent districts in
the state Debate is limited and
takes place according to a rule
Senate Cover a greater
variety of issues Media coverage tends
to be more extensive
House More specialization in
the House b/c more members
Generally, Reps. are not as well known nationally
Apportionment is based on the national census
Districting: drawing the lines for congressional districts
Washinton State districts can be viewed on http://access.wa.gov
Apportionment
Beware of districting manipulation (ex. Gerrymandering)
Result can be court cases
Apportionment
The culture of Congress and politics include unwritten understandings that define appropriate and inappropriate behavior.
Informal norms can influence behavior as much as formal rules can.
Individuals who fail to conform can find sanctions taken against them.
Informal Norms
Examples1.Work Hard 2.Specialize3.Honesty4.Reciprocity5.Apprenticeship periods
Informal Norms
Speaker of the House: most powerful in House, member of majority party, can recognize members on floor, can set agenda, refers bills to committee, assigns members to committees.
Party Leaders in the House
Majority Floor Leader: leader and spokesperson of party during floor debates, general
Party Leaders in the House
Majority Whip: serves as liaison between party leaders and rank-and-file members, responsible for rounding up votes on bills.
House Leadership
Minority Floor Leader: duties similar to that of the majority counterpart, top position of minority party though
House Leadership
Minority Whip: like majority counterpart, tries to get party to vote together
Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Missouri)
House Leadership
Vice President of U.S.: can break a tie vote, rarely attends the Senate
Senate Leadership
President Pro Tempore: Presiding officer of the Senate in VP’s absence, primarily an honorary position that is usually given to the most senior member of the Senate.
Senate Leadership
Other leaders: Majority floor leader, Majority whip, Minority Floor leader & Minority Whip
These positions similar to those in House Can find specific names at www.senate.gov
Senate Leadership
There are four types in Congress:1. Standing Committees: permanent
committees; all bills are submitted to standing committees and must go through these committees before being approved by the full House or Senate (See how a bill becomes a law)
Committee Structure
2. Select Committees: created for special reasons to investigate some current issue or problem; covers issues not being handled by the regular standing committees.
Committee Structure
3. Joint Committees: consist of members from both the House and Senate; created for a wide variety of reasons (examples: Joint Committee on Intelligence and the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress)
Committee Structure
4. Conference Committees: created each time a bill is passed with different versions by the House and Senate; designed to work out the differences in legislative language between the two houses of Congress; temporary in nature
Committee Structure
1. Introduction2. Committee assignment and action3. Floor Action (votes)4. Conference Action5. President (signature or veto)
See www.projectvotesmart.com
How a Bill Becomes a Law
Congress has three primary functions: legislation, representation, oversight
Congress is bicameral in nature with a House and a Senate
See www.senate.gov and www.house.gov for details on members, committees and congress in general
Summary