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• Congress is America’s “First Branch of Government”
• Congress has the “ultimate power of the purse”– Can pass a law even if the president
vetoes it– Can alter how existing laws are
administered through it’s oversight of executive agencies
– Can expand or contract the appellate jurisdiction of the US Supreme Court
• Today Congress is referred to as the “Broken Branch”
• Congress is “who governs” and “to what ends”
• In the world of large democracies the US Congress is the only one that can exercise powers independently of the Executive Branch
• United States and many Latin American countries have a Congress
• Great Britain and many Western European Nations have a Parliament
• Become candidate by persuading a political party to put your name on the ballot
• In the election voters in the districts choose between two or three PARTIES, not persons
• In America political parties exercise little control over the choice of candidates running for congressional office
• Primary election
• Loyal to national party leadership who meet to debate and vote on party issues
• If go against party you will not be re-nominated
• Prime Minister and cabinet officers from majority party
• Legislators think of themselves as independent representatives of their districts or states
• Vote for beliefs of their constituents and not necessarily for the party views
• Congress does not select head of executive branch
• Do not have to worry about repercussions if not vote with party
• Principal work of Congress is representation and action which takes place through committees
• Decentralized institution
• Two-Chamber
– House of Representatives
– Senate
• Congress has been decentralized since the mid-twentieth century
– Enhances the power of the individual members at the expense of the congressional leadership
• Has changed in the way in which it is organized and led– Certain periods Speaker had great
power– Certain periods given more power to
chairman of the House Committees– Other periods individuals members
had great influence– House will always be undergoing
changes– TOP OF PAGES 322-323
• Senate is small enough not to give much authority to small group of leaders (committees)
• Senators not elected until 20th Century (were picked by State Legislatures0
• Before being elected Senators were known as the “Millionaire’s Club”
– They were wealthy party leaders and businessmen
– 17th Amendment – now Senators are elected
• Filibuster: an attempt to defeat a bill in the Senate by talking indefinitely, thus preventing the Senate from taking action to the bill– Prolonged speeches, or series
of speeches– RULE 22 – debate could be
cutoff if two-thirds of the senators present and voting agreed to a cloture motion
– NOW – only need 60 Senators to stop the filibuster – sometimes Rule 22 is not carried-out
• MOSTLY WHITE MIDDLE-AGED PROTESTANT MALE LAWYERS
• DO NOT HOLD SAME VIEWS
• Has become less male and white• Between 1950-2005 women in
the House increased from 9 to 49 and the number of African Americans from 2 to 37
• 1994 four House Committees were chaired by blacks and 3 by Hispanics
• Republican control of House reduced minority influence
• By the 1950s serving in Congress has become a career “professional politicians”
• Since 1995 this has changed– Congressional District lines
were redrawn– Voter disgust, wanted
“outsiders”– Conversion of South from a
Democratic to a Republican stronghold
– Influx of Freshman members
• Incumbents still do good when running again
• Marginal Districts: close elections – less than 55% of vote to win
• Safe Districts: more than 55% of vote
• INCUMBENTS: Win More. WHY?– Congressional seats have
become less marginal1. Heard of incumbent– Free mailings, travel at public’s
expense– Names in newspapers by
sponsoring bills or conducting investigations
2. Use their power to help their districts back home
– Take credit for federal grants to local schools
• New Congress convenes every two years
• From 1933 – 2004 (36 Congresses convened)
• Democrats have dominated Congress – WHY?– Congressional District maps favor
Democrats– Majority Party draws district maps if
control both houses of the legislature, the governor’s office, and when necessary, the state courts
– Incumbency
• HELD INCUMBENTS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MESS IN WASHINGTON
• Republicans win Congress in 1994 (Was Democrat) – WHY?– Anti-incumbent mood– Redistricting– South becoming more
Republican
• CONSERVATIVE COALITION– in the south Democrats would
vote with Republicans in the House and Senate (they usually won)
– Very strong during Reagan years
– There is no more conservative coalition because South is primarily Republican and the Southern Democrats are liberal
• Members can influence legislation by:
1. Voting
2. Conduct hearings
3. Mark up bills in committee hearings
4. Offer amendments by bills proposed by other members
1. REPRESENTATIONAL VIEW
2. ORGANIZATIONAL VIEW
3. ATTITUDINAL VIEW
• Congressperson votes the same way his or her constituents feel– Civil rights laws: if there
are a significant number of black voters in the Congressperson’s district they are not likely to vote against Civil Rights Bills
• If there is a divided constituency over an issue: congressperson will not vote
• Constituency influences were an important factor in Senate Votes
• Congressperson can vote freely without pressure from constituents on:
– Voice or standing votes
– Roll-call votes
• Organizational view: vote with their colleagues/their party
• This view explains more about a Congressperson’s voting record than any other single factor
• Vote with your party on the sponsoring committee (SMALL QUESTIONS) – Congressperson does not know much about the issue
• Attitudinal View: Congressperson’s ideology is how they vote
• This view has increased in importance
• Congress has become increasingly ideological
• Polarized: Congressperson is either liberal or conservative (partisan)
• Vice President: leader of the Senate
• President pro tempore of the Senate: usually person with greatest seniority, honorific position, required by the Constitution, is the presiding officer of Senate when Vice President is absent
• REAL LEADERSHIP– Majority Leader: chosen by the
Senators of the majority party (Harry Reid)
– Minority Leader: chosen by the Senators of the minority party
– Each party elects a Whip: helps the party leader stay informed about what the other party members are thinking
• Majority Leader: real leader of Senate– Schedules the business
of the Senate– Recognized first in any
floor debate– Should be skilled at
political bargaining
• WHIP:– Helps party leader
stay informed about what members are thinking
– Rounds up members when important votes are to be taken
– Keeps an account of how members vote
• The Democrats who assign Senators to the standing committees of the Senate
• The Republicans who assign Senators to the standing committees of the Senate
• LEADERSHIP CARRIES MORE POWER IN THE HOUSE THAN THE SENATE BECAUSE OF IT’S SIZE
• Speaker of the House: most important person in the House; elected by majority that is in the House– Presides over all House
meetings
• Majority Leader: selected by majority party, who is the floor leader
• Minority Leader: chosen by party that is not the majority
• Whips: same as Senate whips
• Speakers-as-presiders: expected to be fair
• Speakers-as-party leaders: use power to help pass legislation of his or her party
• Decides who should be recognized to speak on the Floor
• Decides if a motion is relevant• Decides the committees to which
new bills are to be assigned• Influences what bills are to be
brought up for vote
• Is the ability of party leaders to get their members to vote together on the rules and structure of Congress (Newt Gingrich – Speaker of House in 1995 did this) page 337-338
• Senate – today is
– Less party-centered
– Less leader-orientated
– More hospitable to freshman
– More subcommittee-orientated
• Strength is determined if party votes together
• Party Polarization: a vote in which a majority of one party opposes the majority of the other party
• Bimodal – all Democrats vote one way, and all Republicans vote another way– Abortion – Democrats always
support it with no restrictions, and Republicans usually want to put a lot of restrictions on abortion
• In the last 30 years voters seem to be more partisan1. Because of the way districts are
drawn – districts are not competitive; they are either predominantly Dem or Rep
2. Voters are more partisan because parties have become more partisan
3. Seniority – most chairperson are those who have been in Congress the longest and they are from safe districts
• Party is not what it used to be but party affiliation is still the most important thing to know about a member of Congress
• Congressional Caucus – an association of members of Congress created to advocate a political ideology or a regional or economic interest
• Caucus has grown in numbers since the 1950s
• Congressperson joins these caucuses to show they care greatly about an issue– Democratic Study Group - was
established by liberal Democrats
• IS THE MOST ORGANIZATIONAL FEATURE OF CONGRESS
• WHERE THE REAL WORK OF CONGRESS IS DONE
• WHERE MOST OF THE POWER OF CONGRESS IS FOUND
1. STANDING COMMITTEES – permanent bodies with specified legislative responsibilities
2. SELECT COMMITTEES – groups appointed for a limited purpose and usually lasting for only a few Congresses
3. JOINT COMMITTEES – both Reps and Senators serve on the same committee– Conference Committee – resolve
differences in the Senate and House on same legislation
• Majority party usually take the majority of the seats on each committee, name the chairperson, and allow the minority party to have the other seats
• Standing Committees are the most important– House members serve on two
standing committees– Senators serve on two major
committees, and one minor committee
• Seniority rule on committees has weakened because of secret ballots.
• The Senate imposed Six-year term limits on House chairpersons
• PAGE 343 – WRITE THE MAJOR RULES OF THE HOUSE AND SENATE IN YOUR BINDERS– THESE ARE THE MAJOR RULES ON
COMMITTEES– EFFECT OF THESE CHANGES WAS -
DECENTRALIZATION - TO GIVE GREATER POWER TO INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS AND LESSEN THE POWER OF PARTY LEADERS AND COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSONS = HARDER TO GET THINGS DONE (AMENDMENTS TO BILLS)
• Proxy Votes – chairperson can cast votes of absent members
• If everyone is heard, no one is heard, because the noise is deafening and the speeches endless
• Proxy voting banned by House in 1995
• Republican changes to committees in 1995– 6 year term limit on all committee
chairperson– Committee members select their
chairperson by secret ballot
• Legislators personal staff has grown tremendously since the 1900s
• Staff Roles:– Help draft legislation– Handle constituents– Shape policy and
politics
• Spend most of their time servicing requests from constituents– Answering mail– Handling problems– Meeting with voters– Main function of Staff is to help
solve constituents problems and thereby helping the legislator get reelected
• Most staff work in the district of the state where the Congressperson is from – not in Washington D.C.
• One reason why it is hard to beat an incumbent
• Staff also helps with legislation because each Senator serves on two committees and six subcommittees– Hard to become
an expert because the Senator is spread-out over so many issues
• Staffers are part of subcommittees so the lobbyists spend time with the staffers
• Staffers promote new policies and negotiate
• Staff members have increased in size
• Staff Agencies – Work for Congress not individual Congresspersons– Congressional
Research Service– General Accounting
Office– Congressional Budget
Office
• FAST TRACK BILLS
– Reduce drug abuse
– Help the disabled
– Bills that embody a clear appealing ideal
• SLOW TRACK BILLS:
– Health care
– Tax laws
– Energy conservation
– Foreign trade
– Bills that spend a lot of money
– GIVES POWER TO THOSE WHO OPPOSE THE BILL
• If a Bill does not pass both houses and signed by the president within the life of one Congress, it is dead
• Congress lasts two years then there is a new one
• Any member of Congress may introduce a bill
• In the House – intro bill by handing it to the clerk or dropping it into the “hopper”
• In the Senate – by being recognized by the presiding officer and announcing the bill’s introduction
• House Bill – H.R. means House Resolution
• Senate Bill – S• Public Bill – pertaining to
public affairs• Private Bill – pertaining to a
particular individual , such as a person pressing a financial claim against the government or seeking special permission to become a naturalized citizen) – not as common today
• Today most legislation begins in Congress not by the president
• Even when the president is the principal author of the bill, the president submits it after he or she consults with the Congressional leaders
• President cannot introduce legislation, must have congressperson do it
• Simple resolutions: passed by either House or Senate and is used for matters such as establishing the rules under which each body will operate
• Concurrent Resolution: settles housekeeping and procedural matters that affect both Houses
• Simple and concurrent resolutions are not signed by the president and don’t have the force of law
• Joint Resolutions: requires the approval of both houses and the signature of the president; it is essentially the same as a law
• Joint resolution is also used to propose a constitutional amendment; must have two-thirds votes of both Houses, but does not need president’s signature
