Congressional Decision-making
The Public Rates Congress Lower Than Many Other Institutions
The Military
The Police
The US Supreme Court
The Presidency
Banks
Public Schools
Television News
Big Business
Organized Labor
Congress
The Criminal Justice System
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Percentage Indicating "Very High" or "High" Levels of Ethics and Honesty
The Public Rates the Honesty and Ethics of Members of Congress Lower Than Those of Other Occupations
Pharmacists
Medical Doctors
College Teachers
Auto Mechanics
Local Office Holders
TV Reporters
Senators
Labor Union Leaders
State Office Holders
Lawyers
Members of Congress
Car Salespersons
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Percentage Indicating "Very High" or "High" Levels of Ethics and Honesty
Fenno’s Puzzle: Americans Rate Their Own Representative More Positively than Congress as a Whole
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Approve of Congress
Approve of Incumbent Represen-tative
Perc
ent W
ho “
App
rove
”
District-focused Representation
District-focused Representation
1. Exclusive geographical area
2. Professional career – seeking re-election
3. Horse-race elections – only one winner
Part 2 Parties v. Committees
1. House tightly controlled by party leadership, which
controls which bills come before the floor.
Senate is smaller, but party leaders still control the
flow of legislation.
2. Tug of War between the party leadership and the
committee system
Power in Congress
Historical Shifts in Power in Congress
A. Historically, power shifted from party leaders to committees – and to subcommittees.
B. Recently, power has shifted back to party leaders
Meeting of House Committee on Financial Services
Speaker of the House John Boehner (R) andSenate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R)
Congressional Eras Since Civil War
Era of Party Government: 1865 - 1910
Era of Committee
Government: 1911 – 1970
Era of Subcommittee Government: 1970 - 1994
Era of Party Revival?
1994 - present
Joseph “Czar” Cannon
Speaker of the House 1903-1911
Rules Committee expanded
Watergate Class of 1974 Party Revival
“… It is not far from the truth to say that Congress in session is Congress on public exhibition, whilst Congress in its committee rooms is Congress at work.”
– Woodrow Wilson
“In practice, Congress functions not as a unified institution, but as a collection of semi-autonomous committees that seldom act in unison.”
– George B. Galloway
Power in Committees
Power in Party Leaders
“Jim Nussle (R-Iowa), who had been heroic on a huge range of things for the party, had to have that opportunity (to have his ethanol legislation considered in the House).”
– Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich
Power Shifted from Parties to Committees
1. Incumbency protection
2. Progressive movement and the decline of patronage
3. Primaries
4. Internal divisions within parties (during early 20th C.)
5. Independents
Power Shifts Back to Party Leaders
1. Decline of Democratic South and Republican
Northeast – each party is more unified internally.
2. Gridlock. Negotiations must take place by top leaders to get legislation passed and signed.
3. Just a few bills are passed that contain almost all spending and policy initiatives.
4. Nationalization of campaign finance.
Congress has polarized since the 1960s:Republican (Blue) vs. Democrat (Red)
010
2030
40
50F
requ
ency
-1 -.5 0 .5 1DW-Nominate First Dimension
87th House of Representatives (1961-1962)
010
20
30
40
50
Fre
qu
en
cy
-1 -.5 0 .5 1DW-Nominate First Dimension
106th House of Representatives (1999-2000)
Liberal
LiberalConservative
Conservative
Part 3 Critiques of Committee Control
The Legislative Labyrinth: Why Few Important Laws are Passed
Full House Debates and Votes on Passage
Reported by Full Committee
Referred to Subcommittee
Referred to House Committee
Rules Committee Action
Referred to Senate Committee
Referred to Subcommittee
Reported by Full Committee
Full Senate Debates and Votes on Passage
President
Conference Committee
Senate ApprovalHouse Approval
Vetoed and Overridden Signed
Introduced in House Introduced in Senate
Four Critiques of Committee Control
1. Overlapping Responsibilities
2. Unrepresentative Committees
3. Spending Money on Committee Favorites
4. No Redistribution
Critique 1: Overlapping Responsibilities
In 2001, there were 14 Congressional Committees responsible for intelligence operations, including:
House• Select Committee on Intelligence• Armed Services Committee• Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Defense Operations• Foreign Affairs
Senate• Select Committee on Intelligence• Armed Services Committee• Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Defense Operations• Foreign Affairs
For Homeland Security, additional committees include judiciary committees,transportation committees, civilian airlines committees, and committeesoverseeing international trade and tariffs.
Critique 2: Unrepresentative Committees
• To get re-elected, representatives join committees that focus on issues of concern to their constituents.
• Committee policy biased toward special interests: rural members on agriculture; members with defense industries on armed forces, etc.
Critique 3: Spend Money on Committee Favorites – Bridge to Nowhere
“Bridge to Nowhere” (aka “Million Dollar Bridge”) in Alaska
Critique 4: No Redistribution – Which States Get the Money?
* Grouped by quintiles- each bar represents an average for the respective quintile.
Richest 10 States
Poorest 10 States
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
1990
Dol
lar/
Per
Cap
ita
Committees or Party Leaders?
• Committees better able to compromise than parties, but they are inefficient. Better at spending than balancing budgets.
• Parties needed to keep government under control. But partisanship makes for polarization among elites and the media.
Why the Senate Cools the Tea
1. Filibuster rule: takes 60 percent to pass legislation
2. States more heterogeneous than districts
3. Senate smaller
4. Committees weaker; more amendments to
legislation on Senate floor
5. Senators more vulnerable (visible, contested
elections)
6. More bipartisan legislation
Threats to Tea Cooling
– 60 percent rule in jeopardy– Nationalized financing forcing partisanship in
Senate as well as House– Elite polarization continuing, as primary elections
become more important
Next Lecture: Bureaucracy