March 2, 2005

• Understanding the Roles and Clout of Committees– Discussion of Lobbyists Roles– Introduction of Legislation– Oleszek (Chapter 3)– King (Chapter 2)– Setting Course (Chapters 1-7)

“Preliminary Legislative Action” from Congressional Procedures and the

Policy Process-Walter J. Oleszek

Categories of Bills

• Bills Lacking Wide Support– Introduced with no expectation of passage– Die in committee

• Noncontroversial Bills– Expedited– Passed on Floor with little debate

• Major Legislation– Executive Branch Bills– Influential Members’ Bills– Must Pass Legislation

Bill Referral Procedure

• Receives a number: H.R. in House; S in Senate

• Speaker assigns bill to committee– Parliamentarians make assignment on behalf

of Speaker

• Referrals typically routine but committees clash over turf

• Representative can only appeal assignment in instances of erroneous assignment

Legislative Drafting/Referral Strategy

• Draft bill in such a way that it is referred to a favorable committee

• Technique 1: word it ambiguously so the Presiding Officer has options

• Technique 2: amend existing laws over which a committee has jurisdiction

• Know precedents regarding bill referral• Parliamentarians provide advice to staff

about referrals

Referral to Several Committees

• Committees often share jurisdiction– Formal– Informal

• Speaker allowed to refer bill to multiple committees since 1975– Joint– Sequential– Split

• May create ad hoc committees to deal with bills that overlap jurisdiction of several committees

• 1995: Joint referrals abolished, but sequential and split are allowed

Consideration in Committee

• Options– Consider and Report the Bill

• With amendments or recommendation• Without amendments or recommendation

– Rewrite bill entirely– Reject bill– Refuse to consider bill

Consideration in Committee

• Whole Committee may consider bill• Often Chair sends bill to subcommittee

– Public hearings or No Public Hearings– Approve, rewrite, amend or block bill– Mark Up: consider the bill line by line– Report bill to full Committee

• Whole Committee may repeat subcommittee’s procedures in whole or part

• If bill passes Committee, it is sent for consideration for Floor debate with a Report (statement of committee action)

Role of Committee Chair

• Controls committees legislative agenda• Refers bills to subcommittees• Controls committee finances• Hires/Fires committee staff• May refuse to consider a bill• May refuse to recognize member for questions• Used to be determined by Seniority• Now subject to majority selection within

caucuses

Hearings

• Format– Traditional, Panel, Field, Joint, High Tech

• Purpose– Public record of committee members’ and interest

groups’ positions– Orchestrated– Testimony solicited and taken

• Timing– Chairs may delay or schedule hearings to affect

outcome of legislation

Markup

• Line-by-Line review of legislation by committee members

• May implement formal or informal procedures

• House markups occur at subcommittee and full committee levels usually

• 1/3 membership needed for quorum, majority needed to report bill

Markup Procedures

• Usually in open session

• Issues decided by voice vote or show of hands

• Proxy: allowing a member to cast a vote for an absent member– Banned by Republican Majority– Modified rule allows Chairs to reschedule vote

when they are certain of majority support

Report

• Written statement of committee action that accompanies a bill that has passed committee– Describes purpose and scope of bill– Explains committee revisions– Outlines proposes changes to existing laws– Outlines views of Executive Branch agencies

affected– Committee members may file Minority,

Supplemental or additional views

Bypassing Committees• Committee Power has diminished

compared to Party Power

• Techniques to Bypass– Partisan Task Forces– Riders to Appropriations Bills– House Rules Committee can send bills to floor

without previous committee consideration

• Reasons– Time, Partisanship, Committee Gridlock,

Electoral Salience, Consensus

“The Nature of Committee Jurisdiction” from Turf Wars

-David C. King

Committee Borders

“Jurisdictions are, at once, both rigid and flexible.”

• Sources of Jurisdictional Legitimacy– Statutory Law– Common Law

Statutory Jurisdictions

• Easy to quantify, rarely change

• Based on 1946 Legislative Reorganization Act– Supposed to get rid of jurisdictional fluidity

• Previous statutory jurisdictions were imprecise– “committee boundaries were like

gerrymandered electoral districts”

Common Law Jurisdictions

• Precedents are KEY

• Decision are made by Parliamentarians routinely

• Typically affect discreet bills and not wide issue areas

• The closer a bill is to committee turf increase its chances of being referred to that committee

Policy Entrepreneurs

“Jurisdictionally ambiguous bills arise in areas that are not yet clearly defined and within issues areas that are undergoing redefinition.”

• See turf as malleable

• Strike claim on turf as they are motivated by policy or election

Setting Course: A Congressional Management

Guide-Congressional Management Foundation

First 60 Days: Nov. & Dec.

• PRIORITIZE

Urgent Not Urgent

Not Important

Important

Dealing with crises or handling projects with deadline

Busy work; some calls and mail

Interruptions; some calls, mail and meetings

Planning, building relations and preventing crises

Critical Transition Tasks

1. Decisions about Personal Circumstances– Family– Current job status– Relocating to Washington or commute

2. Selecting & Lobbying for Committee Assignments3. Setting Up Your Office

– Creating a First Year Budget– Management Structure for Office– Hiring Core Staff– Evaluating Technological Needs– Establishing District Office

Guiding Principles

• Develop and Base Decisions Around Strategic Goals

• Recognize “Less is More”

• Delegate

• DON’T: Try to Do Everything

• DONT: Procrastinate and Put off Planning Until the Next Year

Selecting Committee Assignments

• Committee Choices in the First Year are Not Necessarily Binding

• Try to Land Committee of Choice from the Start

• Steps1. Party Recommendation2. Approval by the Party Caucus (Most

Important3. House or Senate Floor Vote on Roster

Committee Categories

• House: Limit to Serve on 2 Standing Committees and 4 Subcommittees of those Standing Committees

• Service Limited to 1 Exclusive Committee

• Service Limited to 2 Non-Exclusive Committees

Advice for Choosing a Committee

• Start early: learn where the openings are, learn jurisdictions, talk with Members

• Gather Information: Talk with other members from region

• Select Committees that will Help You Achieve your Goals

• Make Your Case• Consider Leadership Requests• Assess Your Chances

Congressional Budget Primer

• Allocations Fixed: Personal responsibility for finances

• Funds Not Given to office, held by Treasury

• Funds Authorized Annually• Funds have Limited Uses• Office Doesn’t Pay for Fringe Benefits• Office not Charged for Washington Office

Space

Developing a First Year Budget

1. Collect Expense Information2. Make Major Allocations

• Salaries• Franking• Equipment• District Office Rent, Telecommunications, Utilities• Travel (Member and Staff)• Supplies and Materials• Printing and Production• Other Services (eg: newsclipping, cleaning of

district office• Returning Money to Treasury• Contingencies ($5,000 in reserve usually)

Developing a First Year Budget

3. Compare Major Allocations to Your Office Goals

4. Build a Month-by-Month Budget

Advice on Building a Budget

• Read and Know the Rules; Ask Questions• Keep Options Open When it Comes to Spending

Leftover Funds• Get to Know the Employees of the House

Finance Office• Use the Buddy System• Estimate Transportation Costs• Budget at the Highest Level of Detail• District Offices are Expensive• Pay attention to Freshmen Legislator Specials

that Only Last for 1 Year

Management Structure

• Option 1: Centralized Structure

MEMBER

Chief of Staff

District Dir.Legislative Dir.

Press Sec.

Office Manager

Executive Asst.

Management Structure

• Option 2: Washington/District Parity Structure

MEMBER

Chief of Staff District Director

Management Structure

• Option 3: Functional Structure

MEMBER

CoS LD PS EA DD

Management Structure

• Option 4: Member as Manager

MEMBER

Advice for Designing Communication System

• Employ a full range of methods

• Draft a memo that specifies how the office intends to manage Member-Staff relations

• Evenly enforce the agreed upon rules and practices

• Conduct regular office-wide discussions about your communications to identify problems

Hire a Core Staff

• Scarce time

• Increase the chances of hiring the “right” staff– Turnover High

Vital Functions

• Answering phone/greeting visitors• Answering mail• Conducting basic legislative research• Maintaining computer system• Handling scheduling requests• Providing member with personal assistance• Handling casework• Handling press inquiries• Day-to-day management

Staff Candidate Selection Process

1. Do a job analysis for each position2. Develop interview questions and other tests

that will elicit information about whether the candidates have the skills identified in the job analysis

3. Ask the same key questions; use a rating system

4. Involve other staff in the interview5. Don’t hesitate to conduct further interviews6. Check references

Technology

• Freshman members inherit predecessors’ computers, unless the systems do not comply with the House’s/Senate’s standards– Staff computers– Networks– Networks and file servers– Printers– Correspondence Management System– Scheduling Software– Word Processor– E-mail Management– Web Browser– Budgeting and Accounting

Steps to Making Wise Technology Purchases

1. Conduct an inventory of hardware, software, and functionality

2. Talk to the people who can help

3. Shop around

4. Try before you buy

5. Be sure purchases are compatible

6. Pay close attention to installation and maintenance details

Establishing District Offices

• “All politics is local”• Consider

– Size of district– Accessibility to constituents– Constituent expectations

• Number of offices operated by previous Member• Campaign promises

– Budget constraints– Urban/Rural differences– Strategic importance of constituent services– Staff hiring limitations

Office Options

• Occupying predecessor’s offices

• Using government vs. privately-owned space

• Mobile offices

Considerations

• Symbolism Counts

• Make Sure the Office can “Carry the Load”

• Don’t Do Anything Just to Look Good on Day 1

• Everything not inherited must be paid by Member’s Account

Credits• Presentation based on: Congressional Management Foundation, Setting

Course: A Congressional Management Guide. (Washington: Congressional Management Foundation 2004), Chapters 1-7.

• Image on Cover from: Congressional Management Foundation, http://www.cmfweb.org Accessed 2/19/2005

• Presentation based on: King, David C. Turf Wars: How Congressional Committees Claim Jurisdiction. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997) 33-55.

• Image from: http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/13268.ctl (Accessed 2/28/05); http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/news/experts/2001/king_election_reform_031301.htm; Accessed 3/1/05)

• Presentation based on: Oleszek, Walter J., Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process. (Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2004) 76-109.

• Images from: http://www.cqpress.com/product/Congressional-Procedures-and-the-Policy-2.html, http://www.school-house-rock.com/Bill.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:US_House_Committee.jpg (Accessed 2/28/2005)