Bell Ringer What characteristics make for a good Congressperson?

Bell Ringer

• What characteristics make for a good Congressperson?

CongressChapter 13

Introduction

• Congress is the “first branch” of the government– It is also viewed as the most broken and distrusted– Surprisingly, incumbents still win re-election

• While we view Congress as an integral part of a democracy; there is another option--Parliament

Congress versus Parliament

• There are two areas that separate Congress from Parliament– How they become members– What they do as a member

• In parliamentary governments a candidate is backed by the national party, so when you vote for a candidate, you are actually voting for their party

• In Congress, we vote for a person based on their goals/promises, (hopefully) not their party


• In Parliament, the members of the legislative branch choose the head of the executive branch (Prime Minister, cabinet members)– If they lose faith in this person, they will issue a

“vote of no confidence” and the person is terminated

• In Congress, they have no control over who the President is and the only way they can eject him is through impeachment


• Parliament is designed to assist the government with carrying out its goals– Parliament is paid poorly for this job and has very

little space assistance to do the job• Congress is designed to represent its

constituents and put new ideas into law– The typical Congressman makes $169K/year plus

has budget to pay for up to 20 staffers and their office is paid for


• Because Congresspeople answer to their constituents they are not as concerned with political parties

• Americans dislike politics, especially all the bickering between parties/candidates– Yet we want answers to: spend/save, raise/lower

taxes, yes/no abortion, etc.– Congress must argue in order to answer these

questions

Powers of CongressKnow this ENTIRE list!!!!!

1. Create/collect taxes2. Borrow money3. Regulate trade4. Create naturalization/

bankruptcy rules5. Coin money, punish

counterfeiters6. Establish post

offices/roads7. Set standard

weights/measures

8. Create inferior courts9. Define and punish

piracies10. Declare war11. Raise/support army/navy12. Create a militia13. Exercise legislative

powers14. Make all laws “necessary

and proper”

Evolution of Congress

• The Founders knew that the only way to get the states to approve the Constitution was to have a legislative branch that protected states’ interests– Thus a bicameral (two-chamber) legislature

• The House of Representatives were directly elected by the people and were responsible to them for re-election

• The Senate was chosen by the House members (Seventeenth Amendment, 1913, created direct election of Senators)

• Congress must share their powers with the president and Supreme Court through vetoes and the Court’s ability to declare constitutionality of acts of Congress


• We complain about how slow Congress is to react, BUT—– In order to make them more efficient we would

have to have strong central leadership, restrict debates, do not allow for stalling tactics, and reduce the roles of committees

– If we want to maintain a representative legislative body we have to keep weak decentralized body that allows for open debate and delay if time is needed, as well as active committees


• While debate is a necessary tool for the House and Senate to function bills can be “talked to death” in the Senate– Filibuster is a prolonged speech designed to delay

action on a bill• It has been used many times including 55 days of debate on

the Treaty of Versailles

– A cloture motion is the only thing that can end a motion• This means that 60 Senators have to agree to end

discussion of the topic

Who is in Congress

• The typical Congressperson is: male, white, middle-late aged, married, Protestant, lawyer, with 2 children– Note: most of them are not in the upper-upper class, many

of them depend on their paycheck to pay the bills, etc. (more so in the House than Senate)

• Used to be that people only served one term in Congress because it didn’t pay well, no one wanted to live/travel to Washington, D.C., and because the federal government didn’t play as big a role in politics as the states did

Who is in Congress

• As more “professional politicians” joined Congress people began calling for term limits for Congress– In 1995 the House passed a term limit bill, but the

Senate defeated it– US Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton (1995)—AR tried to issue

term limits within its own border and the Supreme Court said it was unconstitutional because “States have no authority "to change, add to, or diminish" the requirements for congressional service enumerated in the Qualifications Clauses”• Can you make an argument against this ruling?

Who is in Congress

• In the Senate 92% of incumbents seeking re-election win

• In 2000 out of the 339 Representatives that ran for re-election, only 6 did not win– In districts where the winner does not get more

than 55% of the vote it is called a marginal district– In districts where the winner gets 55%+ it is called

a safe district

Who is in Congress

• Incumbents have the upper hand during election periods– They have free mailing privileges– They can travel frequently– They can make headlines by sponsoring/voting for

bills– And most importantly, they can fund local projects

(pork barrel) such as education grants, build roads, etc.

Who is in Congress

• From 1933-1998 there were 33 Congresses (a new one convenes every two years—we are on the 111th Congress that started in Jan. 2009)– In that time the Democrats have controlled both houses for 25

of them, and at least one house for 28 of them• Some say this occurred because of gerrymandering, or redrawing

district lines to favor one group over another• Others say that it is because the Democrats tend to do well in low

voter turnout districts while Republicans do better in high voter turnout districts

• What really happened was the Democrats were in charge during a significant number of scandals leading to an “anti-incumbent” mood which led to the rise of Republican power in the 1990s

Who is in Congress

• In the past the Democrats were more deeply divided than the Republicans– The Southern [conservative] Democrats voted with

Republicans creating what was called the conservative coalition• When this group came together it usually won due to its

large size• Since 1994 this group has disappeared since the

conservatives Democrats joined the Republican party and the other Democrats joined forces with the liberal Northern Democrats

Do Members Represent their Voters?

• There are three ways a Congress member can behave:– Representational: they vote based on what will please

their constituency – Organizational: Since constituency doesn’t know how

they vote, the Congressperson feels its more important to do what the party/other Congresspeople want

– Attitudinal: there are so many conflicting issues that cancel each other out that the Congressperson is free to vote however they see fit

Ideology and Civility in Congress

• Congress used to get along in the “good ol’ days”– Used to socialize after hours and be polite to one another

• Today they attack each other verbally– Due to party line disputes over ideology liberals and

conservatives to not get along– The media inflames the situation whenever possible– Congress now spends a great deal of time investigating

members for various crimes/misconduct

The Organization of Congress: Parties and Caucuses

• The majority party in the Senate gets to chose the President pro tempore (2nd in command of the Senate)– First in command?– Vice President– Today: Joe Biden


• Our current President Pro Tempore is Patrick Leahy (VT-Dem.)

• His job: to serve in place of the V.P.s absence

• When acting as presiding member of Senate he cannot participate in debates/votes—he can choose a replacement temporarily


• The real power in the Senate is with the Majority Leader and the Majority Whip– The minority party also has a Leader and a Whip

• The Majority Leader schedules the business of the Senate, is recognized first during debates, and can convince other Congressmen to “focus” on particular issues

• The Majority/minority whip helps the party leader stay informed about what other party members think and assists in pushing certain agendas


Majority LeaderHarry Reid, Dem. NV

Majority WhipDick Durbin, Dem. Ill


Minority LeaderMitch McConnell, Rep. KY

Minority WhipJohn Cornyn, Rep. TX


• A Policy Committee assists the Majority Leader in scheduling business

• The Democrats have a Steering Committee and the Republicans have a Committee on Committees that assigns Senators to certain committees


• The House of Representatives has a similar setup

• The leader of the House is the Speaker of the House– Today that person is

John Boehner– He’s a Republican from

Ohio


Majority LeaderEric Cantor, Rep. VA

Majority WhipKevin McCarthy, Rep. CA


Minority LeaderNancy Pelosi, Dem. CA

Minority WhipSteny Hoyer, Dem. MD


• Caucuses are like special interest groups within Congress– Congressional Caucuses are groups of members

who unite to push legislative or ideological agendas

– Some examples include: Congressional Black Caucus (liberal Black Democrats), The Blue Dog Coalition (moderate/conservative Democrats who favor centrist fiscal policy)


• Other caucuses:– The Irish Caucus– Senate Children’s Caucus– Conservatives Opportunities Society– Boating Caucus– Tuesday Lunch Bunch (House Moderate

Republicans)

Bell Ringer

• Explain the different ways a Congressperson represents you?

The Organization of Congress:Committees

• Committees are where the bulk of Congress’ work is conducted

• There are three types of committees:– Standing committees (permanent)– Select committees (limited purpose, short lived)– Joint committees (both House and Senate members

serve on the committee)• Conference committee—designed to resolve differences

between the House and Senate on a piece of legislation before final passage


• Usually the committees reflect the ratio of Republicans to Democrats, however the majority party could take more seats if they want to

• Some changes have taken place in the last decade to try to simplify the process:– Banned proxy voting– Limited committee chair terms to 6 years, Speaker’s to

eight years– More frequent floor debate– Reduced number of committees


• Standing Committees in the Senate:– Agriculture, Nutrition, and

Forestry– Appropriations– Armed Services– Banking, Housing and Urban

Affairs– Budget– Commerce, Science, and

Transportation– Energy and Natural Resources– Environment and Public Works– Finance

– Foreign Relations– Governmental Affairs– Health, Education, Labor, and

Pensions– Judiciary– Rules and Administration– Small Business– Veteran’s Affairs

• Select Committees– Aging– Ethics– Indian Affairs– Intelligence


• Standing Committees in the House– Appropriations*– Rules*– Ways and Means*– Agriculture– Armed Services– Education and the Workforce– Energy and Commerce– Financial Services– International Relations– Judiciary

– Transportation and Infrastructure

– Budget– Government Reform– House Administration– Resources– Science– Small Business– Standards of Official Conduct– Veteran’s Affairs

• *Means that members can only serve on this committee

The Organization of Congress:Staffs and Specialized Offices

• Staffers play a large role in Congress today by being the ones to negotiate deals and do most of the research

• Congress has thus become less collegial and more individualistic

• Congress has also created Staff Agencies to assist Congress as the President’s Cabinet assists him

The Organization of Congress:Staffs and Specialized Offices

• Congressional Research Service (CRS): Keeps track of every major bill and looks up data for and against bills (www.thomas.gov)

• General Accounting Office (GAO): Audits money spent by the executive branch and agencies as well as makes recommendations– Led by the General Comptroller (appointed by President)

• Office of Technology Assessment (OTA): abolished in 1995• Congressional Budget Office (CBO): Prepares economic

analysis of the president’s budget and provides projections based on economic trends

http://www.thomas.gov/

Assignment

• Congressional Committee Research Project

Bell Ringer

• Video clip “I’m Just a Bill”• Write down the steps that “Bill” explains

during his song.

How a Bill Becomes a Law

• Assignment: Get into groups of 2-3 • Make a poster displaying how a bill becomes a

law• Use pages 342-43 in the AP book• Creativity is encouraged!!!

Bell Ringer What characteristics make for a good Congressperson?

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