The U.S. CongressAP UNIT 4

About the U.S. Congress

The chief policymaking institution of gov’t

535 members total (435 in House of Representatives, 100 in Senate)

1 term of Congress = 2 years

Year 1 = 1st Session, Year 2= 2nd Session

Ex: we are in 115th Congress, 1st Session

Salary: $174,000/year

Meets on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.

U.S. House of Represent atives

U.S. Senate

Congressional Distr icts

Members of the House each represent a congressional district (section) of their state

Senate does NOT have districts (represent the whole state)

435 members of House = 435 districts across U.S.

Single-member plur al i ty system (SMP) - the candidate who gets more votes than opponent(s) wins (not always majority)

Encourages two-party system (third parties cannot compete to get most votes)

Congressional districts are reassigned and redrawn every 10 years (after the census)Based on state population (more population = more

districts)Every state guaranteed at least one districtEach district must have about the same population (around

710,000 people) reappor t ionment - the reassigning of congressional

districts/seats to a state redistr ict ing - the redrawing of districts to reflect

reapportioned districts/seats

States can lose or gain districts depending on population changes

ex: many people move out of state, state loses districts after next census

Affects a state’s influence in Congress and its # of electoral votes (thus, influence in an election)

Gerr ymandering

state legislatures are responsible for drawing congressional districts (party in power uses this to their advantage)

gerr ymandering - tactical drawing of congressional districts to benefit a particular political party or group

If more voters of your party live in district = more likely your party will win that district and a seat in House

Districts must be as compact as possible (solid lines, not spread out) and contiguous (in one piece)

Our St ate

TN has 9 districts (and so has 9 representatives in the House of Representatives)

We live in U.S. House District 1

packing - technique where voters of one party are packed into one district (so they can only win one

district, while the other party wins the rest)

cr acking - technique where voters of one partyare spread out to prevent them from getting a majority in any

district(other party gets majority in as many districts as possible)

kidnapping - drawing an incumbent out of their old district to prevent their reelection (they lose their voting base)

hijacking - forcing two incumbents of same party into the same district to fight for one seat

bleaching - (aka racial gerrymandering) drawing districts to keep minority populations from having a majority in any district

Congressional Elect ions

incumbents - individuals currently in office

have a greater advantage of getting re-elected than challengers (incumbents usually win)

House incumbents have better chance of keeping seats than Senate incumbents (easier to get a district to vote for you again than an entire state)

Advant ages of Incumbency

1.) Adver t ising/Visibi l i ty

voters get to know their elected representatives (incumbents have an established “brand”)

incumbents make frequent trips back home to visit constituents (the people they represent) and gain visibility

f r anking priv i lege – official congressional mail sent to constituents that is paid by taxpayers

incumbents use previous voting data and contacts to gain advantages in elections

2.) Credit Claimingincumbents actively serve people in their state/district

and build up their recordcasewor k - intervention/services members of

Congress provide their individual constituentsEx: need help with questions about gov’t, filling out

gov’t forms, receiving owed benefits, communicating problems to federal agencies, etc.

por k barrel - projects or grants that directly benefit a Congressperson’s district or state

Often used to build support for reelection in a constituency (more pork = possibly more popular?)

3.) Posit ion Taking incumbents can point to their voting record and positions on issues

while in office

4.) Opponent Weakness challengers are usually weaker than incumbents (don’t have

experience, record, funding, etc.)

5.) Campaign Funding incumbents have established donors and PACs = steady source of

income (challengers do not) More money spent = more advertising = more visibility

Key Dif ferences Between the U.S. House and Senate

HOUSE

Closer to the people (more easily influenced by individual citizens)

435 members, lower chamber (less prestigious)

2 year term, 25 years old, 7 years a citizen, resident of state and district

SEN ATE

Farther away from people (not as easily influenced by individual citizens)

100 members, upper chamber (more prestigious)

6 year term, 30 years old, 9 years a citizen, resident of state

represents less people (district only)

More formal rules, time limits on debate and amendments, stronger leadership, more organized

More focused on budget, specialized topics

Represents more people (whole state)

Less formal rules, no time limits on debate*, weaker leadership, less organized

More focused on foreign policy, general topics

bills of revenue (raising money) must start in House

only House passes articles of impeachment

has Rules Committee

cannot filibuster

elected directly by people

Individual reps have less influence

approve presidential appointments, treaties

hears impeachment trial, can convict official

does not have Rules Committee

can filibuster

Originally elected by state legislatures (17th Amendment - Senate elected directly by people)

Individual senators have more influence

Leader ship in the House

Speaker of the House

Highest leadership position in House

Member of majority party, 3rd in line to presidency

Presides over House in session, assigns bills to committees, assigns committee positions, influences which bills are debated

Currently Paul Ryan

(R-WI) ---->

House Majori ty Leader

floor leader of the majority party, assistant to Speaker

schedules bills on House calendar and leads party to vote/debate by party position

Currently Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) --->

House Minori ty Leader

Highest leadership position of minority party in House, floor leader for minority

(same as majority leader, only for minority party)

Currently Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) ----->

House Majori ty Whip

Works as a “messenger” between party leaders (Speaker, Majority Leader) and rest of party

Makes sure party members are present to vote, influence undecided votes

Currently Steve Scalise (R-LA) ---->

House Minori ty Whip

(same as majority whip, only for minority party)

Currently Steny Hoyer (D-MD) ------>

President of the Senate

highest leadership position in Senate held by Vice-President

acts as President of Senate (rarely present)

cannot debate or vote unless to break tie

not senate member

Currently Mike Pence ----->

President Pr o TemporeServes in the absence

of the Vice-President

4th in line to presidency

Usually one of the most senior members of Senate

Currently Orrin Hatch (R-UT) ---->

Senate Major i ty Leader

Schedules bills for debate on floor, leads party in voting/debate by party position

Currently Mitch McConnell (R-KY) --->

Senate Minori ty Leader

(same as majority leader, only for minority party)

Currently Chuck Schumer (D-NY) ----->

Senate Major i ty Whip

(same role as House majority whip)

Currently John Cornyn (R-TX) --->

Senate Minori ty Whip

(same role as House minority whip)

Currently Dick Durbin (D-IL) ---->

Key Power s of Congress

LawmakingLay and collect taxesSpend, borrow, and coin moneyRegulate commerce (international trade and

trade between the states)Declare warOverride presidential vetoesApprove presidential appointments and

treaties (Senate only)

Impeach (accuse), convict, and remove federal officials (president, federal judges, etc.)

Create courts (below the SC), create post offices, and raise and maintain an army and navy

Involved in amending the Constitution (2/3 vote in both chambers)

Involved in approving petitions and constitutions for statehood

Committees in Congress

Most work in Congress is done in committees (“Congressional group work”)

Hold hearings, read/edit/rewrite/vote on bills, guide legislation and agendas, hold hearings

Types of Committees

st anding committee - permanent; reviews bills having to do with the committee’s specialized policy area

select committee - most are temporary; formed to investigate issues

joint committee - permanent; based on a few policy areas; have members of both House and Senate

conference committee – (type of joint committee); formed as needed; when House and Senate pass two different versions of a bill, this committee must make ONE compromise bill; has members of both House and Senate

Congressional Over sight

Congressional over sight - the power of Congress to monitor the executive branch’s implementation of laws and to hold hearings in committees to investigate problems

Legislat ive veto – a resolution by Congress that overrides rules made by an executive agency to enforce a law (has been declared unconstitutional)

Committees and Member s

Reps serve on about 2 com./4 subcom.; Senators on about 3 com./7 subcom.

Majority party has more members on most committees than minority party

Committee chairman is member of majority party (highest rank on committee)

Ranking member - highest rank of minority party on committee

Congressional caucus – a group of members of Congress who share a certain interest/belief and have common legislative goals

Congressional St af f

Members of Congress and committees have staff that aid in drafting legislation, research and scheduling hearings/meetings

Congressional staff members also handle casework and communications with constituents

Congressional St af f A gencies

Congressional Resear c h Ser vice (CRS) - run by Library of Congress; helps fulfill Congressional requests for research for bills; summarizes bill info for public

Government Account abi l i ty Of f ice (G AO) - involved in oversight of executive branch

Congressional Budget Of f ice (CBO) - nonpartisan agency that analyzes president’s budget, congressional spending, and projects economy performance (including taxing and spending)

How a Bi l l Becomes a Law

bil l - a legally drafted proposal for a law

1.) Introduced and numbered in one chamber of Congress (H.R. # if it’s a House bill, S. # if it’s a Senate bill)

2.) Sent to appropriate standing committee

3.) Committee usually sends to subcommittee for research/consideration

4.) Sent back to standing committee for markup/amendments and voting

Committee Votes

do pass - the bill is passed/agreed torefuse to repor t - the bill is ignored and diesrepor t as amended - the bill is passed with

editsrepor t committee bi l l - committee has

written a replacement bill

5.) sent to Rules Committee (House ONLY) - puts the bill on the calendar, sets up time limits for debate, rules for amending bill, etc.

6.) debated on the floor of the chamber (amendments added here) and voted on

7.) If passed, sent to opposite chamber for same process all over again

Bills are usually changed by one or both chambers = two versions of one bill

Bill must be sent to conference committee to make one version of the bill for both chambers to approve

Then sent to president for approval

A Bi l l and the President

President can:Sign bill into lawVeto (reject) billPut bill aside for 10 days; if Congress is still in session,

it automatically becomes lawpoc ket veto - Put bill aside for 10 days; if Congress

adjourns the session, bill automatically dies

Ways a Congressper son Votes

1.) t rustee - vote according to personal beliefs and convictions

2.) delegate - vote according to the desires of their constituents

3.) par t isan - vote according to political party’s stance on an issue

4.) pol it ico - try to balance all three methods

Other Legislat ive Terms

logr ol l ing - vote-trading between members of Congress; one member promises to vote on another’s legislation if the other votes on his/hers (or one important to them)

germaneness - subjects must pertain to the topic at hand (usually a bill in this case)

All amendments must be germane in House

Amendments in Senate do not have to be germane (a few exceptions)

hold - when a senator asks party leadership to postpone action on a bill; Senate ONLY

r ider - an amendment/measure added to a bill that has nothing to do with the bill (nongermane) but will be passed if the bill is passed

wouldn’t pass if it was a bill on its own

unanimous consent agreement - used by Senate majority and minority leaders to set rules and limits on the debate of a bill (in place of Rules Committee); Senate ONLY

senatorial cour tesy - when the President seeks the consent of Senators of a state from which his appointee comes from

Ex: President appoints judge from NY; President seeks approval of NY senators

f i l ibuster - prolonged speech on the Senate floor by a member who wishes to block passage or voting on a bill (to “talk a bill to death”) until it is changed or dropped; Senate ONLY

cloture - rule voted on by at least 60 senators that ends a filibuster/limits debate; caps action on measure to 30 hours; each senator can debate for only an hour

authorization bi l l - a bill that authorizes a program and describes how it will be run and paid for

appr opriations bi l l - a bill that officially funds an authorization bill

ONLY CONGRESS has the Constitutional power to appropriate (set aside for use) funds for government spending

Congress and Interest Gr oups

Coalit ion bui lding - when groups or parties work together to accomplish a common goal in government

Interest groups and lobbyists are always trying to influence congressional decision-making

Congressional committees are the second side of an i r on tr iangle (strong alliance between an interest group, a congressional committee, and an executive agency)

Polar izat ion in Congress

Congress has increasingly become more polarized

conservatives are more conservative, liberals more liberal, and the gap between political ideologies is wider with less chance for compromise

Reasons:

Districts drawn to favor one party --> constituents are more likely to favor this party --> elect polarizing candidates --> Congressional behavior reflects ideological attitudes of constituencies

House more likely to be more extreme in political views than Senate because of district interests