Chapter 13: Congress

“Congress: Bingo with Billions” - Red Skelton

AP US Government and PoliticsBoucher

How Do We Explain These?

Incumbency Advantages for MOC’s

• Advertising = Visibility– Franking privilege

• Credit Claiming– “I paved your road!”– Casework and pork!

• Weak Opponents• Campaign Financing/Spending• Should MOC’s have term limits?

Evolution of the House of Reps.• Phase One: “Powerful House”

– Leadership supplied by Executive Branch• Phase Two: “Divided House” (late 1820s)

– Jackson asserts veto power; Slavery divides• Phase Three: “Speaker Rules”

– Thomas Reed rules, Joseph Cannon doesn’t• Phase Four: “House Revolts”

– Alternative sources of power emerge• Phase Five: “Members Rule”

– Staffs grow, more member powers granted• Phase Six: “Leadership Returns”

– Speaker sets agenda, “Contract with America”

Evolution of the Senate• Less shifts and

tensions than the H.R.

• Early on, why would the Senate have less drama? (Think Constitution!)

• Biggest issue: The Filibuster (restricted in 1917 by rule 22)

Can Mr. B. Get to Congress??!?

…Only With a Visitor’s Pass!• House has become

less male and less white; Senate is slower to change

• Does Congress really represent the public that it is supposed to represent?– Descriptive v.

substantive representation

Do Members Represent Voters?• Representational View

(Delegate):– Applies when constituents

have clear view and member can attract attention

• Organizational View:– Party preferences are priority

• Attitudinal View (Trustee):– “On an island”

• Which is on the rise? Which is on the decline? What are the effects of this?

Organization of the Senate• President pro tempore is presiding

officer (Who gets it? What do they do?)

• Majority and minority leaders– Schedules Senate business

• Party Whips– Help bills work through Congress

• Who handles committee assignments? (Is there really a Committee on Committees?)– What factors lead to committee

assignments?• Unique features of the Senate

– Filibuster– Less formal than HR

Party Structure of House• Speaker of the House

– Decides who to recognize on the floor

– Assigns bills to committee

– Influences bills brought up for vote

• Majority and minority leaders

• Whips!• How are committee

assignments set?

Caucuses• Created to advocate a

political ideology or a set interest– Intra-party caucuses– Personal interest caucuses– Constituency caucuses

(BCC)

• Pick the fake caucus!– Irish Caucus– Tuesday Lunch Bunch– Casual Friday Caucus– Boating Caucus– Bourbon Caucus

Organization of Congress: Staff• Tasks of staff members

– 1/3 of staff work in district– Legislative functions – devising

proposals, organizing hearings, meeting with lobbyists

– Congressional members must rely on staff more than ever now

• Equates to more legislative work• More individualistic Congress

• Staff agencies – Work for Congress as a whole– CRS, GAO, OTA, CBO

You Can’t Spell Congress Without Committees!

• Why are committees the most important organizational feature of Congress?

• Types of committees– Standing Committees (examples?)– Select Committees (examples?)– Joint Committees– Conference Committees

• Which committee is the most important?

Committee Practices• Legislative Oversight –

Process of administering policy and bureaucracy

• H.R. members usually serve on 2 standing committees or 1 exclusive; Senators on two “major” one “minor”

• What is the Subcommittee Bill of Rights? What was its impact?

• The $1,000,000 Question: Does Congress really represent the United States?