Chapter 7

Who Are Your Congressional Reps?Missouri U. S. House of RepresentativesBy congressional district:1st — Rep. Lacy Clay Jr. [D] 2nd — Rep. Ann Wagner [R] 3rd — Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer [R] 4th — Rep. Vicky Hartzler [R] 5th — Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II [D] 6th — Rep. Sam Graves [R] 7th — Rep. Billy Long [R] 8th — Rep. Jason Smith [R]

Missouri U. S. SenateBlunt, Roy - (R ) McCaskill, Claire -(D)

New Missouri Congressional Districts as ofJanuary 2013, based on 2010 Census

Lacy

Missouri U.S. House Reps

AnnBlaine

Claire

Missouri Senators

Roy

In this lecture we will learn about

• The clash between representation and lawmaking• The powers and responsibilities of Congress• Congressional membership and elections• The organization of Congress and the rules of

congressional operation• The relationship of citizens to Congress

Representation and lawmaking• Representation: the efforts by elected officials to look

out for the interests of those who elect them– Popular ways to ascertain interests

• Town Hall Meeting• Surveys (phone and mail) • Staff analysis of email and letters• Permitting “access” to interest groups from within district• Getting out of Washington and back to district for local conversations

– Difference between representing the interests of constituency and the interests of the nation

• Lawmaking: the creation of policy to address the problems and needs of the entire nation– Note that certain laws may favor certain lawmakers and hence certain

districts more than others.– e.g. Tobacco Laws

Will your group be represented if you do not register or turn out to vote?

The conflict between representation and law-making• Local good different from

national good, and members favor representing their local constituencies

• Difficult for members to fulfill their collective responsibility of national lawmaking

• Explains why Americans hate Congress as a whole but love their own senators and representatives– Pork Barrel Spending Example

• Extremely difficult to unseat an incumbent– Why the push for term limits– What are the benefits and detriments of term limits?

Byrd served as a Senator from 1959 to 2010 and is the longest-serving senator and the longest-serving member in the history of the United States Congress, with a61 year tenure. Byrd died in office, June 2010.

Robert Byrd

Article I Section 2 of the Constitution:the Legislature

– Can states impose term limits on their Congressional Representatives?• In U.S. Term Limits Inc. v. Thornton (1995), the majority of

S.C. Justices ruled that states cannot alter the constitutional qualifications for membership in Congress.

• At that time, 23 states already imposed Congressional term limits.

• What do you think about the constitutionality of term limits? Does anything in the Constitution prohibit the voters to prescribe eligibility requirements for congressional candidates?

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Term Limits• What about, Article 1 Section 4 of

the Constitution?: “The Times, Places and Manner of holding

Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations . . . “

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– Ask yourself three questions:1. What was intended by the framers2. What is in keeping with precedent3. What is the current political climate or the personal

ideologies of the justices.

Term Limits

• Majority opinion:– “Permitting individual States to formulate diverse

qualifications for their congressional representatives would result in a patch-work that would be inconsistent with the Framers’ vision of a uniform national Legislature representing the people of the United States”

– Thought is that the Constitution grants authority to create procedural regulations, but does to provide States with license to exclude or limit access to federal office.

• Dissenting opinion:– “ . . .where the Constitution is silent, it raises no bar to

action by the States or the people”• What about end result (the incumbent problem)? Should the

end result matter? 12

Four kinds of representation1. Policy representation: congressional work

to advance the issues and ideological preferences of constituents

2. Allocative representation: congressional work to secure projects, services, and funds for the represented district

– Pork barrel: public works projects and grants for specific districts paid for by general revenues

– Why engage in “allocative representation”?• A way to get re-elected. Congressional work manifested in

physical improvement easier seen than social improvements• Not viewed negatively by constituents in district where

improvements occur, but viewed negatively nationally.

Four kinds of representation, cont’d.3. Casework: legislative work on behalf of

individual constituents to solve their problems with government agencies and programs– Examples: Get someone off the “no fly” list– Intervene in bureaucratic red tape to force

accessibility improvements to public structures (curb cuts for wheel chairs).

4. Symbolic representation: efforts of members of Congress to stand for American ideals or identify with common constituency values– Be present when an auto plant closes or when

the bodies of service men and women arrive back into the district

Powers of the House vs. the Senate

• Bicameral legislature: legislature with two chambers

• Constitutional differences– Term length, age, apportionment, treaties, appointments, etc.

• Organizational differences– Size, number of committees, Rules Committee, limits on debate

• Electoral differences– Campaign spending

Differences between the House and the SenateHouse Senate

Constitutional DifferencesTerm length 2 years 6 yearsMinimum age 25 30Citizenship required 7 years 9 yearsResidency In state In stateApportionment Changes with population Fixed; entire stateImpeachment Impeaches official Tries impeached officialTreaty-making power No authority 2/3 approvalPresidential appointments No authority Majority approval

Organizational DifferencesSize 435 members 100 membersNumber of standing committees 20 16Total committee assignments per member Approx. 6 Approx. 11Rules Committee Yes NoLimits on floor debate Yes No (filibuster possible)

Electoral DifferencesCosts of elections Incumbents $1.26 million $9.4 million Challengers $510,195 $5.4 million Open seat $1.5 million $10.4 millionIncumbency advantage 98% reelected 96% reelected

(93.4% 50-year average) (80.4% 50-year average)

Source: Roger Davidson and Walter Oleszek, Congress and Its Members, 11th ed. (Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2008), 63, 209; Federal Election Commission data compiled by Center for Responsive Politics; calculations by authors.

Checks and balances: Congress and the president

• Congress passes bills; president signs or vetoes– President’s State of the Union address formulates policy

• President executes laws and is in charge of administering executive branch; Congress exercises oversight of executive branch activities– Do you think Congress does a good job of oversight?

• FDA (Food and Drug Administration)• SEC (Securities Exchange Commission)

• President appoints cabinet, ambassadors, judges to federal courts– Senate has “advise and consent” role

• President represents national constituency; Congress represents district or state constituencies

Checks and balances:Congress and the judiciary

• Congress makes the laws; the courts interpret them; executive branch implements them

• Congress sets up lower federal courts, determines salaries; and Congress approves the creation of military tribunals

• Congress decides jurisdiction for courts to hear cases (sets up the districts)

• Congress passes legislation that limits courts’ discretion to rule or impose sentences. – If the S.C. rules in a way that Congress does not like, Congress

passes legislation to counter-it; then S.C. must use their power of judicial review to counter that Congressional action – and so forth.

– Current example: Campaign finance and Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission.

Congressional elections

• Politics of defining congressional districts

– Reapportionment: a reallocation of congressional seats among the states every ten years, following the census

– Redistricting: process of redrawing of district lines in states with more than one representative (carried out by state legislators or commission)

– Gerrymandering: redistricting to benefit a particular group

Districting

• Under Article I Section 4 of the Constitution, Congress is in charge of dividing the 435 Representatives between the states and states are responsible for districting so that each district is as equal as possible for the selection of Representatives

• What does “gerrymander” mean? – Drawing the boundaries of a district in a way that will

create an electoral advantage to one group or party over another.

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Types of gerrymandering

• Pro-incumbent gerrymandering / Partisan gerrymandering

• Racial gerrymandering: redistricting to enhance or reduce the chances that a racial or an ethnic group will elect members to the legislature– Majority-minority districts after Voting Rights Act

(1982)

Gerrymandering

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NO

YES

Gerrymandering

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Close up of Illinois Congressional Districts 11 and 17

Deciding to run for Congress• Who can run?

– Age (25 House, 30 Senate)– Citizenship (U.S. born or naturalized, 7

years for House , 9 for Senate)– and residency qualifications (must

reside in the State when elected)

• Why would anyone want this job?– Sense of duty, policy, ideology – Pay, perks, power– Down side: hard work, low job

security, expensive

Youngest House MemberAaron Schock, R-Ill born 1981

Deciding to run for Congress, cont’d.

• Strategic politician: office-seeker who bases the decision to run on a rational calculation that he or she will be successful– Understands national trends– Can pass vetting process

Who gets elected?

• Congress does not represent the public demographically(112 Congress next slide)

• Descriptive representation: the idea that an elected body should mirror demographically the population it represents

Party Composition*Republicans: 242 (55.63%) *Democrats: 193 (44.37%) Gender Composition*Men: 363 (83.45%) *Women: 72 (16.55%) Party Composition by Gender*Republicans *Men: 218 (90.08%) *Women: 24 (9.92%) *Democrats *Men: 145 (75.13%) *Women: 48 (24.87%)

Religion Composition by Party*Christians: 399 *Republicans: 241 *Democrats: 158 *Protestants: 249 *Republicans: 164 *Democrats: 85 *Catholics: 133 *Democrats: 70 *Republicans: 63 *Mormons: 9 *Republicans: 8 *Democrats: 1*Jews: 27 *Democrats: 26 *Republicans: 1*Buddhists: 3 *Democrats: 3 *Republicans: 0*Muslims: 2 *Democrats: 2 *Republicans: 0*Agnostics/Atheists: 1 *Democrats: 1 *Republicans: 0

Racial Composition*Caucasians/Whites: 362 (83.22%) *African Americans/Blacks: 42 (9.66%) *Hispanics/Latinos: 24 (5.52%) *Asians: 6 (1.38%) *Native Americans: 1 (0.23%)

112th Congress*Unstated/Ambiguous: 3 *Democrats: 3 *Republicans: 0

Sexual Orientation Composition by Party*Straight/Heterosexuals: 431 *Republicans: 242 *Democrats: 189*Gay/Homosexuals: 4 *Democrats: 4 *Republicans: 0

How Congress works: organization

• Central role of party

– Parties frequently vote in unison in Congress

– Majority party controls leadership structure

Organization, cont’d.

• Speaker of the House: majority party leader, serves as presiding officer of the House– Speaker has more power in House than majority leader has

in Senate– Leadership power depends on person and amount of

power given by party members, but typically is in charge of setting legislative agenda

(1) preside over the daily sessions, (2) preserve order in the chamber, (3) state parliamentary motions, (4) rule on parliamentary questions, (4) appoint committee chairs and members, (5) refer bills to committee, (6) sign legislation, (7) act as the official spokesman for the House or Assembly.

Nancy PelosiHouse Minority Leader

John BoehnerSpeaker of the House

Harry ReidSenate Majority Leader

Mitch McConnellSenate Minority Leader

President Pro TemDaniel Inouye

Kevin McCarthyHouse Majority Leader

Patrick LeahySenate President Pro tem

Committee system: types of committees

• Standing committees: permanent committees responsible for legislation in particular policy areas.

• Where the real work is done! Speeches for t.v. audience.• Speech in Empty Chamber

– Draft legislation and provide oversight

– Committee chairs wield considerable power

– House Rules Committee: determines how and when debate on a bill will take place

– Getting on “right” committee essential for members of Congress , hence why it was a problem having term limits in some states and not others

House of Rep. Standing CommitteesAgricultureAppropriationsArmed ServicesBudgetEducation and LaborEnergy and CommerceFinancial ServicesForeign AffairsHomeland SecurityHouse AdministrationJudiciaryNatural ResourcesOversight and Government ReformRulesScience and TechnologySmall Business.Standards of Official ConductTransportation and InfrastructureVeterans' AffairsWays and Means

Committee system, cont’d.

• Select committees: appointed to deal with an issue or a problem not suited to a standing committee

• Joint committees: combined House-Senate committee formed to coordinate activities and expedite legislation in a certain area

Select Committees:Permanent Select Committee on IntelligenceSelect Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming

Joint Committees of the Congress:EconomicLibraryPrintingTaxation

Committee system, cont’d.

• Conference committees: formed temporarily to reconcile differences in House and Senate versions of a bill– May alter or rewrite legislation

– Current Hearing Schedule

• Congressional resources (staff and bureaucracy) have grown

How Congress works: process and politics

• Separate houses, identical bills– Bicameral legislature

• Fragmentation of legislative power– Committees break up legislation

• Norms of conduct: informal rules that govern behavior in Congress – Norms have changed, leading to adversarial behavior– The “You Lie” incident

How a bill becomes a law – some of the time

• Getting on the legislative agenda– President: State of the Union, exercises role as policy

entrepreneur; highly publicized agenda

• Legislative process– Introduced and then moves through committees (most

often dies here or is marked up)

How a bill becomes a law, cont’d.

• Getting to the floor– House has rules on debate from Rules Committee– Senate can offer amendments or filibuster (stopped only

by cloture)

• Final challenge: consideration by full House and/or Senate – Roll call vote; if bill passes with different language, must

go to conference committee– Presidential veto– Congress can override veto with two-thirds vote in each

chamber

The citizens and Congress:why the public dislikes Congress

Feb. 14th, 2010. Recent polling by Washington Post-ABC News poll found that “The deep recession, continued high unemployment and political polarization in Washington have put the country in a sour mood toward politicians.” According to this poll, disapproval of Congress reached 71 percent in February (The Washington Post)- Current polling

• Changing nature of campaigns (voter cynicism and candidates running against Congress)

• Negative media coverage of Congress• Role of money in congressional elections

– Need to raise funds– Suspicion about special interest access

Why the public dislikes Congress, cont’d.

• Dissatisfaction with congressional politics– Want efficiency, not bickering

• Reforms are not likely to work– Congress has problems policing itself

• Founders intended Congress not to move hastily