Post on 25-Dec-2015
The The CongressCongress
Bicameralism: the two chambers reflect the social biases of the founders (Great Compromise).
House of Representatives – population (represents interests of large states)
Senate – 2 per state (represents interests of small states)
Representatives + Senators=electoral votes
The Nature of Congress
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Parliament v. CongressCandidates selected by partyVoters choose between
national parties, not between multiple candidates
Members of Parliament select prime minister and other leaders
Party members vote together on most issues
Renomination depends on remaining loyal to party
Principal work is debate over national issues
Candidates run in a primary election, with little party control over nomination
Vote is for candidate/not party
do not choose executive/president
principal work is representation and action
Great deal of power, high pay, and significant staff resources (perks and privileges)
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Perks and PrivilegesPermanent professional staffs
Average Senate office employs around 30 people. Total number of all congressional staffers has grown dramatically since 1960.
Franking privilegesUse of signature instead of a postage stamp to allow
for free mailingsCosts taxpayers up to $10-$15 million per year
Privileges and immunities under the lawSpecial constitutional protection from the “speech or
debate” clause under Article 1, Section 6Cannot be sued for libel or slander based on
statements made during official duties4
So… how much do Congressmen make? Take a guess!!!!Pay as of 2009… (and other privileges)
27th amendmentNo law, varying the compensation for the services
of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of Representatives shall have intervened. (No law that would pay representative more or less in salary or other income will be allowed to take effect until after there has been another election)
Pay keeps increasing due to COST-OF-LIVING increases…
The Nature and Functions of Congress
The lawmaking functionMakes binding rules (laws) for all Americans
Sets broad national policies by compromise and logrolling/ reciprocity (agreeing in advance to support one another's bills)Divided government: when different political parties control
different chambers. Earmarks (pork): provide federal funding to companies,
projects, groups and organizations often in specific congressional districts
Representation Function – represent constituents’ views but also should represent views of whole society
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Olympia Snow and Susan Collins (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach)
Continued…
Continued…Service to constituents
Casework – assisting private citizens in dealing with their individual problems and questions regarding government actions
Ombudsman – investigating and resolving the complaints of constituents against noncompliant officials, programs, etc.
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Continued…The oversight function
the follow up on laws it has enacted to make sure that they are being enforced and administered in the way Congress intended.
Has become increasingly partisan Hearings and investigations – inquiries often eased up if
president from own party and cracks down when president is from different party
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Continued…The public-education function
Congress presents a wide range of views when it holds public hearings, exercises oversight, and engages in debate.
Agenda setting – deciding what issues will come up for debate and consideration
The conflict-resolution functionCongress tries to resolve differences among competing
points of view by passing laws to accommodate many interested parties.
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Getting Elected to CongressMembers of Congress are directly elected by registered
voters.Do not receive government funds for campaigns (only
President)Incumbents – those in office now…the most important
variable in determining the outcome of an election for a member of the HouseName recognitionCredit claiming: service to constituents through:
Casework – specifically helping constituents get what they think they have a right to
Pork Barrel spending
PACs give most of their money to incumbents12
House and Senate Differences Size and Rules
of the House25 years old435 members (plus delegates
from D.C. and U.S. territories) Apportionment – later PowerPoint
slides
2 year terms (all up for reelection every 2 years)
Many more formal rules govern activities in the House
Rules Committee (rules of floor debate, stricter time limits so pass bills more quickly)
Each state has at least 1 representative
Size and Rules of the Senate
30 years old100 membersMore prestige 6 year terms staggered (1/3rd
of Senate is up for reelection every 2 years)
The Senate is less crowded, so procedures are more informal
Filibuster – unlimited discussion and delay to block bills (dating back to 1790)..next slide
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Rules Committee (House)controls what bills go to the House Floor and the
terms of debatemakeup of the Rules Committee has traditionally
been weighted in favor of the majority party, and has been in its current configuration of 9 majority and 4 minority members since the late 1970s.Open rules permit the offering of any amendment that
otherwise complies with House rules, and allows debate under the 5-minute rule.
Closed rules effectively eliminate the opportunity to consider amendments, other than those reported by the committee reporting the bill.
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The Filibuster (Senate only)Can be stopped through cloture (Senate Rule 22)
http://www.senate.gov/CRSReports/crs-publish.cfm?pid=%26%2A2%3C4QLS%3E%0A (what is cloture)
Cloture is the only procedure by which the Senate can vote to set an end to a debate without also rejecting the bill, amendment, conference report, motion, or other matter it has been debating.
vote by 3/5s of Senators (60) after two days of filibustering then debate is limited to a maximum of one hour per senator
Increased used of the filibuster
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remember….based on population so you have to decide how many seat allocated to each state
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Reapportionment – allocation of seats in the House to each state after each 10 year census (MS lost one House seat in 2000… MS presently has 4 representatives)Important to states because it determines how many
House seats states getsMore representatives – more influence
Redistricting – redrawing congressional district boundaries within each state
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How boundary lines are drawn can affect electionsMalapportionment – results from having districts of
unequal sizeIf one district is twice the size of the other, twice as
many cotes are needed to elect a representative. Thus, a citizen’s vote in the small district is worth twice as much as a vote in the larger district
Gerrymandering – drawing district lines in favor of one party over another
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Supreme Court casesLook up the following cases and answer the
following questions:Summary of case (why did it reach Supreme Court)Question in the caseOutcome of the case (the ruling)
Supreme Court Cases
Baker v. Carr
Wesberry v. SandersCopyright 2012 Cengage Learning 21
4 Problems to solve in deciding who gets represented in the House
Establish total size in House In 1911, Congress decided the House was large enough and fixed its
size to 435 members.
Allocating seats in the House among the statesCongress reapportioned every 10 years.A complex formula was developed in 1929 that makes it automatic…
states gain/lose based on changes in population
Determining size of congressional districts within statesIn 1964, the Supreme Court ruled that districts be drawn
according to the “one person-one vote” principle (Wesberry v. Sanders)
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Head person in House…voted in by majority party (major role in committee assignments)
The Vice President is head person in Senate – only votes in case of tie
Majority and Minority positions based on which political party has the most (or least) in a specific political party
This person heads Senate when Vice President is absent.
Real leader in Senate
Committees:where all the work occurs (next slide)
The Committee StructureMost of the work of Congress takes
place in committees and subcommittees.
Power of committeesThe committees have the final say on most
bills.
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4 Types of Congressional CommitteesStanding committee
It is permanent and given a specific area of subject matter.
Develops expertise in subject matter
Select committeeIt is created for a limited time and for a specific
legislative purpose.Example: Watergate investigation
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Types of Congressional CommitteesJoint committee
Formed by concurrent action of both houses and consists of members of each chamber.
Conference committeeFormed to resolve differences in House and
Senate bill; must write a bill in identical form
House rules committee (already discussed)
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Committees at Work: Legislation and OversightLegislation:
Committees work on about 11,000 bills every sessionLegislative Oversight:
Monitoring of the bureaucracy and its administration of policy through committee hearings
Oversight usually takes place after a catastrophe
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Getting on a CommitteeUsually, ratio of Dems and Reps on committees
roughly corresponds to ratio in House and SenateMembers want committee assignments that will
help them get reelected New members express their committee preferences
to party leaders
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Remember….Committees are the real place where work in
congress is done!!!!
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How Congress is Organized to Make Policy
Caucus: formed by Members to provide a forum for issues or legislative agendas (hundreds exist)There are a series of caucuses in Congress based on race, region,
ideology, and economics.Caucuses pressure for committee meetings and hearing and for
votes on bills
Congressional StaffCommunication between congressional representatives and
constituents occurs mainly through the personal staffs of representatives
Lobbyists and Interest GroupsThere are 35,000 registered lobbyists trying to influence CongressTries to influence legislator’s votes
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Now that we studied the basic characteristics of Congress AND we understand how many House
representatives each state receives, let us look at the POWERS OF CONGRESS…. (already studied in
Federalism unit)
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The Powers of CongressEnumerated/Expressed Powers (Article
1 Section 8)Important powers are collecting taxes, spending
money, regulating commerce, coin money, declare war, create federal courts…
Powers of the House (only House) Initiate revenue bills Choose President if tie in Electoral College
Powers of the Senate (only Senate) Ratification of treaties Confirmation of ambassadors, Supreme Court justices,
and other federal judges33
The Powers of CongressThe Necessary and Proper Clause
Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18Congress has the right under this clause to make all
laws which are necessary and proper to carry out powers in Article One and all other powers vested in the Constitution.
Also called the Elastic ClauseExpands the power of the national government
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Constitutional Amendments provide additional powers to Congress 12th amendment: certifying presidential election
(electoral process)16th amendment: levying an income tax20th amendment: presidential/congressional terms
(inauguration, term session, etc.)25th amendment: succession of president/vice
president in case of death or incapacitation (surgery, etc.)
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HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW
See handout…
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Bills introduced
Passed one chamber
Passed both chamber
Public Law
10,238
667667
590590
Reported by committee
How a Bill Becomes a LawKey things to remember…
A bill is a proposed law.Anyone can draft a bill but only members of
Congress can introduce them.More rules in House than in the Senate.Party leaders play a vital role in steering bills
through both houses, but less in the SenateCommittee Phase:
Most bills die in committeeAll revenue bills begin in House; Senate may add/amend
but only if House originated them 39
The House of RepresentativesDebate of a bill in the House under a “closed rule”
means that amendments to the bill may not be offered.
The House Rules Committee reviews all bills and adopts a rule that governs the procedures under which they will be considered by the House.
The Committee of the Whole is made up of whoever happens to be on the floor at the time of debate.A quorum is the minimum number of members who
must be available for business to be conducted
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The SenateThere is no rule limiting debate and members may
speak for as long as they stay on their feet.There is no Committee of the Whole, amendments need
not be germane (connected) to the purpose of the bill, and, thus, the Senate often attaches RIDERS to the bills. Rider - an “add-on” to a bill already under the
consideration of the Congress, having little connection with the subject matter of the bill.
A filibuster is difficult to break (already discussed).16 senators have to sign a petition to move cloture and
then 3/5s (or 60) Senators must vote for it. If it passes, Senator is limited to one hour.
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How Much Will the Government Spend?• Budget and Control Impoundment Act of
1974• President must spend the money Congress
appropriates.• Congress examines the tax and spend
process at least twice in each budget cycle.
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Preparing the BudgetThe federal government operates on a
fiscal year cycle.Runs Oct 1st to Sept. 30thProcess starts 18 months ahead of fiscal yearOffice of Management and Budget outlines the budget
and sends it to various departments and agencies.Each agency submits a formal request to the OMB.
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The Budget Cycle
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Figure 9-4