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Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Chapter 12: Congress
• The Representatives and Senators
• Congressional Elections
• How Congress Is Organized to Make
Policy
• The Congressional Process
• Understanding Congress
• Summary
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Chapter Outline and Learning
Objectives
• The Representatives and Senators
• LO 12.1: Characterize the backgrounds of
members of Congress and assess their
impact on the ability of members of
Congress to represent average Americans.
• Congressional Elections
• LO 12.2: Identify the principal factors
influencing the outcomes in congressional
elections.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Chapter Outline and Learning
Objectives
• How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy
• LO 12.3: Compare and contrast the House and Senate, and describe the roles of congressional leaders, committees, caucuses, and staff.
• The Congressional Process
• LO 12.4: Outline the path of bills to passage and explain the influences on congressional decision making.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Chapter Outline and Learning
Objectives
• Understanding Congress
• LO 12.5: Assess Congress’s role as a
representative body and the impact of
representation on the scope of government.
The Representatives and SenatorsLO 12.1: Characterize the backgrounds of
members of Congress and assess their
impact on the ability of members of
Congress to represent average Americans.
• The Members
• Why Aren’t There More Women in
Congress?
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
The Representatives and Senators
• The Members
• 535 Members – 100 Senators and 435
Representatives.
• House members – At least age 25 and
U.S. citizens for 7 years.
• Senators – At least age 30 and U.S.
citizens for 9 years.
• All members must reside in state from
which they are elected.
LO 12.1
To Learning Objectives
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 12.1
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
The Representatives and Senators
• The Members (cont.)
• African Americans make up about 10% of
the House members and 13% of the total
population, and 1 Senator is African
American.
• Hispanics make up 5.5% of the House
members and 15% of the total population,
and 3 Senators are Hispanics.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.1
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
The Representatives and Senators
• The Members (cont.)
• Asian Americans – 4 House members
and 2 senators.
• Native Americans – 1 House member.
• Females make up more than 50% of the
population, but only 17% of the members
of Congress with 72 in the House and 17
senators.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.1
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
The Representatives and Senators
• The Members (cont.)
• Descriptive representation is representing
constituents by mirroring their personal,
politically relevant characteristics.
• Substantive representation is representing
the interests of groups.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.1
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 12.1
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
The Representatives and Senators
• Why Aren’t There More Women in Congress?
• Fewer women than men become major party nominees for office.
• Women with children run for office less than men because of child care responsibilities.
• Women are less likely than are men to run when they perceive their odds to be poor.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.1
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 12.1
Congressional ElectionsLO 12.2: Identify the principal factors
influencing the outcomes in congressional
elections.
• Who Wins Elections?
• The Advantages of Incumbency
• The Role of Party Identification
• Defeating Incumbents
• Open Seats
• Stability and Change
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Congressional Elections
• Who Wins Elections?
• Incumbents – Those already holding
office.
• In congressional elections, incumbents
usually win.
• House elections – 90% of the incumbents
seeking reelection win and most of them
win with more than 60% of the vote.
LO 12.2
To Learning Objectives
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 12.2
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Congressional Elections
• The Advantages of Incumbency
• Advertising – Ads in newspapers and on
television.
• Credit Claiming – Servicing the
constituency through casework and pork
barrel.
• Position Taking – Voting and responding
to constituents’ questions.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.2
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 12.2
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Congressional Elections
• The Advantages of Incumbency
(cont.)
• Weak Opponents – Not well known or well
qualified and lack experience and
organizational and financial backing.
• Campaign Spending – The typical
incumbent outspent the typical challenger
by a ratio of more than 3 to 1 in
Congressional races in 2008.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.2
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Congressional Elections
• Role of Party Identification
• Most Congress members represent
constituencies in which their party is in the
clear majority.
• Most people identify with a party, and they
reliably vote for their party’s candidates.
• About 90% of voters who identify with a
party vote for the House candidates of their
party.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.2
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Congressional Elections
• Defeating Incumbents
• One tarnished by scandal or corruption
becomes vulnerable to a challenger.
• Redistricting may weaken the incumbency
advantage.
• Major political tidal wave may defeat
incumbents.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.2
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Congressional Elections
• Open Seats
• Greater likelihood of competition.
• Most turnover occurs in open seats.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.2
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Congressional Elections
• Stability and Change
• Incumbents provide stability in Congress.
• Change in Congress occurs less frequently
through elections.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.2
How Congress Is Organized to Make
PolicyLO 12.3: Compare and contrast the House
and Senate, and describe the roles of
congressional leaders, committees,
caucuses, and staff.
• American Bicameralism
• Congressional Leadership
• The Committees and Subcommittees
• Caucuses: The Informal Organization
of Congress
• Congressional StaffTo Learning Objectives
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
How Congress Is Organized to Make
Policy
• American Bicameralism
• Bicameral Legislature – A legislature
divided into two houses.
• The U.S. Congress and all state
legislatures except Nebraska’s are
bicameral.
LO 12.3
To Learning Objectives
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 12.3
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
How Congress Is Organized to Make
Policy
• American Bicameralism (cont.)
• House Rules Committee – The
committee in the House that reviews most
bills coming from a House committee
before they go to the full House.
• Rules Committee is responsive to the
House leadership because the Speaker of
the House appoints the committee’s
members.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.3
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
How Congress Is Organized to Make
Policy
• American Bicameralism (cont.)
• 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.
• Sixty members present and voting can halt
a filibuster.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.3
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
How Congress Is Organized to Make
Policy
• Congressional Leadership
• Speaker of the House – An office
mandated by the Constitution and chosen
by the majority party.
• Majority leader – The principal partisan
ally of the Speaker of the House, or the
party’s manager in the Senate.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.3
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 12.3
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
How Congress Is Organized to Make
Policy
• Congressional Leadership (cont.)
• Whips – Party leaders work with the
majority leader or minority leader to count
votes beforehand and lean on waverers for
votes on bills favored by the party.
• Minority Leader – The principal leader of
the minority party in the House of
Representatives or in the Senate.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.3
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
How Congress Is Organized to Make
Policy
• Congressional Leadership (cont.)
• President of the Senate – The United
States Vice President.
• Vice presidents can vote to break a tie.
• Modern vice presidents are active in
representing the president’s views to
senators.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.3
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
How Congress Is Organized to Make
Policy
• Congressional Leadership (cont.)
• Despite their stature and power,
congressional leaders cannot always move
their troops.
• Power in both houses of Congress is
decentralized.
• Leaders are elected by their party
members and must remain responsive to
them.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.3
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
How Congress Is Organized to Make
Policy
• Committees and Subcommittees
• Standing committees – Subject matter
committees that handle bills in different
policy areas.
• Joint committees – Few subject matter
areas with membership drawn from House
and Senate
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.3
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 12.3
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
How Congress Is Organized to Make
Policy
• Committees and Subcommittees
(cont.)
• Conference committees – Formed when
the Senate and the House pass a bill in
different forms to iron out the differences
and bring back a single bill.
• Select committees – Created for a
specific purpose, such as the Watergate
investigation.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.3
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
How Congress Is Organized to Make
Policy
• Committees and Subcommittees
(cont.)
• More than 9,000 bills are submitted by
members in the course of a two-year
period.
• Every bill goes to a committee, which has
virtually the power of life and death over it.
• Legislative oversight – How the
Congress monitors bureaucracy.To Learning Objectives
LO 12.3
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
How Congress Is Organized to Make
Policy
• Committees and Subcommittees (cont.)
• Committee assignments help members get reelected, gain influence, and make policy.
• New members express committee preferences to party leaders.
• Those who have supported their party’s leadership are favored in the selection process as parties try to grant committee preferences.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.3
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
How Congress Is Organized to Make
Policy
• Committees and Subcommittees
(cont.)
• Committee Chair – Dominant role in
scheduling hearings, hiring staff,
appointing subcommittees, and managing
committee bills on the floor.
• Seniority System – Members who have
served on the committee the longest and
whose party is the chamber majority
become chair. To Learning Objectives
LO 12.3
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
How Congress Is Organized to Make
Policy
• Caucuses: The Informal Organization
of Congress
• Caucus (congressional) – A group of
members of Congress sharing some
interest or characteristic.
• Caucuses are composed of members from
both parties and from both houses and
their goal is to promote the interests
around which they are formed.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.3
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 12.3
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
How Congress Is Organized to Make
Policy
• Congressional Staff
• Personal staff – They provide constituent
service and help with legislation.
• Committee staff – They organize
hearings, and research and write
legislation.
• Staff Agencies – CRS, GAO, and CBO
provide specific information to Congress.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.3
The Congressional ProcessLO 12.4: Outline the path of bills to passage
and explain the influences on congressional
decision making.
• Presidents and Congress: Partners
and Protagonists
• Party, Constituency, and Ideology
• Lobbyists and Interest Groups
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
The Congressional Process
• Bills
• About 9,000 bills are introduced in each
Congress.
• A bill is a proposed law, drafted in legal
language.
• Anyone can draft a bill, but only a member
of the Congress can introduce a bill.
LO 12.4
To Learning Objectives
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
The Congressional Process
• How a Bill Becomes a Law
• Bill Introduction – By a member.
• Committee Action – Subcommittee hearings and committee rewrites.
• Floor Action – Votes, debates, and amendments offered.
• Conference Action – Compromise bill to iron out differences.
• Presidential Decision – Sign bill into law or veto bill.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.4
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 12.4
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
The Congressional Process
• Presidents and Congress: Partners and Protagonists
• Presidents attempt to persuade Congress that what they want is what Congress wants.
• Presidents have many resources to influence Congress.
• Presidents must win at least 10 times and their leadership of Congress is at the margins.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.4
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
The Congressional Process
• Party, Constituency, and Ideology
• Party Influence – Party leaders cannot
force party members to vote a particular
way, but many do vote along party lines.
• Polarized Politics – Differences between
Democrats and Republicans in Congress
have grown considerably since 1980.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.4
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 12.4
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
The Congressional Process
• Party, Constituency, and Ideology
• Constituency Opinion – On the
controversial issues, members are wise to
vote based their constituency opinion.
• Member Ideology – The dominant
determinant of member’s vote on most
issues is their ideology.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.4
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
The Congressional Process
• Lobbyists and Interest Groups
• 35,000 registered lobbyists represent
12,000 organizations seeking to influence
Congress.
• The bigger the issue, the more lobbyists
will be working on it.
• Lobbyists try to influence legislators’ votes.
• Congress can ignore, reject, and regulate
the lobbyists.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.4
Understanding CongressLO 12.5: Assess Congress’s role as a
representative body and the impact of
representation on the scope of government.
• Congress and Democracy
• Congress and the Scope of
Government
To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Understanding Congress
• Congress and Democracy
• Not representative – Leadership and
committee assignments.
• Congress does try to respond to what the
people want, but some argue it could do a
better job.
• The 535 members of Congress are
responsive to the people, if the people
make clear what they want.
LO 12.5
To Learning Objectives
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Understanding Congress
• Congress and Democracy
• The central legislative dilemma for
Congress is combining the faithful
representation of constituents with making
effective public policy.
• Congress tries to be both a representative
and an objective policymaking institution.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.5
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Understanding Congress
• Congress and the Scope of
Government
• More policies by Congress means more
service to constituencies.
• More programs that get created, the bigger
the government gets.
• Contradictory – Everybody wants
government programs cut, but just not their
programs.To Learning Objectives
LO 12.5
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 12.1Summary
• The Representatives and Senators
• Congress has proportionately more whites and
males than the general population, and
members of Congress are wealthier and better
educated than the average American.
• Although they are not descriptively
representative of Americans, they may engage
in substantive representation.
To Learning Objectives
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Descriptive representation is
representing the
A. constituents by mirroring their
personal, politically relevant
characteristics.
B. interests of groups.
C. party platform and ideology.
D. none of the above.
LO 12.1
To Learning Objectives
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Descriptive representation is
representing the
A. constituents by mirroring their
personal, politically relevant
characteristics.
B. interests of groups.
C. party platform and ideology.
D. none of the above.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.1
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 12.2Summary
• Congressional Elections
• Incumbents usually win reelection, because
they usually draw weak opponents, are usually
better known and better funded than their
opponents, typically represent constituencies
where a clear majority share their party
affiliation, and can claim credit for aiding their
constituents.
To Learning Objectives
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 12.2Summary
• Congressional Elections (cont.)
• However, incumbents can lose if they are
involved in a scandal, if their policy positions
are substantially out of line with their
constituents, or if the boundaries of their
districts are redrawn to reduce the percentage
of their constituents identifying with their party.
To Learning Objectives
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
All of following are true of incumbents
in Congress EXCEPT
A. Most incumbents decide to run for reelection.
B. Most incumbents’ views on policy are well known to their constituents.
C. Most incumbents win reelection with more than 60 percent of the vote.
D. Most incumbents have more campaign contributions to spend than their opponents.
LO 12.2
To Learning Objectives
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
All of following are true of incumbents
in Congress EXCEPT
A. Most incumbents decide to run for reelection.
B. Most incumbents’ views on policy are well known to their constituents.
C. Most incumbents win reelection with more than 60 percent of the vote.
D. Most incumbents have more campaign contributions to spend than their opponents.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.2
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 12.3Summary
• How Congress Is Organized to Make
Policy
• House is larger, characterized by greater
centralization of power in the party leadership,
and has more party discipline than the Senate.
• Senators are more equal in power and may
exercise the option of the filibuster to stop a
majority from passing a bill.
To Learning Objectives
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 12.3Summary
• How Congress Is Organized to Make
Policy (cont.)
• Congressional leaders are elected by their
party members and must remain responsive to
them.
• Congressional leaders cannot always depend
on the votes of the members of their party.
• Committees consider legislation and oversee
administration of policy.
To Learning Objectives
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 12.3Summary
• How Congress Is Organized to Make
Policy (cont.)
• Committees chairs have the power to set their
committees’ agendas.
• Congressional Caucuses are composed of
members of Congress who have a shared
interest or characteristic.
• Personal, committee, and agency staff provide
policy expertise and constituency service.
To Learning Objectives
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
When the House and the Senate pass
different versions of a bill, these
versions are to be reconciled by a
A. Joint Committee.
B. Conference Committee.
C. Select Committee.
D. Reconciliation Committee.
LO 12.3
To Learning Objectives
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
When the House and the Senate pass
different versions of a bill, these
versions are to be reconciled by a
A. Joint Committee.
B. Conference Committee.
C. Select Committee.
D. Reconciliation Committee.
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.3
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 12.4Summary
• The Congressional Process
• The process for considering a bill has many
stages.
• Presidents try to persuade Congress to
support their policies, which usually earn space
on the congressional agenda.
• Parties are more homogeneous and polarized
and provide an important pull on members on
most issues.
To Learning Objectives
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 12.4Summary
• The Congressional Process (cont.)
• Constituencies have influence on
congressional decision making on a few visible
issues, while members’ own ideologies exert
more influence on less visible issues.
• Interest groups play a key role in informing
Congress and sometimes the threat of their
opposition influences vote outcomes.
To Learning Objectives
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Only a member of the can
officially propose a bill.
A. House
B. Senate
C. House or Senate
D. staff
LO 12.4
To Learning Objectives
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Only a member of the can
officially propose a bill.
A. House
B. Senate
C. House or Senate
D. staff
LO 12.4
To Learning Objectives
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 12.5Summary
• Understanding Congress
• Congress is an elite institution and responsive
to the public when the public makes its wishes
clear.
• Congress is open to influence, which makes it
responsive to many interests but also may
reduce its ability to make good public policy.
To Learning Objectives
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
LO 12.5Summary
• Understanding Congress (cont.)
• Members of Congress often support expanding
government to aid their constituents, generally
in response to public demands for policy, but
many also fight to limit the scope of
government.
To Learning Objectives
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Congress tries to be both a
and an objective policymaking
institution.
A. representative
B. disposition
C. direct
D. fragmented
LO 12.5
To Learning Objectives
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Congress tries to be both a
and an objective policymaking
institution.
A. representative
B. disposition
C. direct
D. fragmented
To Learning Objectives
LO 12.5
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Text Credits
• David Samuels and Richard Snyder, “The Value of a Vote:
Malapportionment in Comparative Perspective,” British Journal of
Political Science, v. 31, n. 4, October 2001, p. 662. Copyright 2001
Cambridge University Press. Reprinted with the permission of
Cambridge University Press.
• “Incumbency Factor in Congressional Elections” adapted from
Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Neimi, Vital Statistics on
American Politics, 2007-2008, CQ Press, 2008. Used with
permission.
• “Incumbency Factor in Congressional Elections” adapted from Vital
Statistics On Congress by Norman J. Ornstein, Thomas E. Mann,
and Michael J. Malbin. Copyright 1998 by American Enterprise Inst
For Public Policy Res. Reproduced with permission of American
Enterprise Inst For Public Policy Res in the format Other book via
Copyright Clearance Center.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Photo Credits
• 332: Jewel Sanad/Getty
• 333T: Gunther/Sipa Press
• 333TB: Lifetime TV
• 333B: Getty Images
• 335: Gunther/Sipa Press
• 336: Lifetime TV
• 344: David Horsey
• 345L: AP Photo
• 345C: Brendan Hoffman/Getty
• 345R: Alex Wong/Getty Images
• 349: Jack Ziegler/The New Yorker collection/www.cartoonbank.com
• 350: Getty Images
• 358: J.B. Handlesman/The New Yorker Cartoon/www.cartoonbank.com