Chapter 7

Congress

Pearson Education, Inc. © 2008

American Government: Continuity and Change9th Editionto accompany Comprehensive, Alternate, Texas, and Essentials Editions

O’Connor and Sabato

The Constitution and the Legislative Branch of the Government

Article I describes structure of Congress Bicameral legislature

Divided into two houses Each state sends two Senators regardless of

population Number of representatives each state

sends to the House is determined by state population

The Constitution and the Legislative Branch of the Government

Constitution sets out requirements for membership in the House and Senate House – 25 years of age; reside in U.S. at

least 7 years; serve 2 year terms Directly elected, thus more responsible to

the people Senate – 30 years of age; reside in U.S.

at least 9 years; serve 6 year terms Congressional members must be legal

residents of their states

Apportionment and Redistricting

Apportionment Proportional process of allotting

congressional seats to each state following the ten year census

Redistricting Redrawing of congressional districts to

reflect increases or decreases in seats allotted to the states, as well as population shifts within a state

1929: House size fixed at 435

Constitutional Powers of Congress The authority to make

laws is shared by both chambers of Congress Bill

A proposed law No bill can become a

law without the consent of both houses

Each chamber also has special, exclusive powers as well.

Other shared powers Declare war Raise an army and navy Coin money Regulate commerce Establish the federal courts and their

jurisdiction Establish rules of immigration and

naturalization Make laws necessary and proper to

carrying out the powers previously listed Special powers

House – origination of revenue bills Mandate has blurred over time Impeachment authority (but Senate

tries; 2/3 vote) Senate – treaties, presidential

appointments

How Congress is Organized New Congress is seated every two years

Elect new leaders Each house has a hierarchical leadership structure

Political Parties Organization of both houses of Congress closely tied

to political parties and their strength in each chamber.

Majority Party Minority Party Role in the committee system

Controlled by the majority party Party caucus or conference

Variety of roles and specialized committees

The House Always the larger of the two chambers

Organized more tightly; increased role for party leadership Speaker

Presides over House Official spokesperson for the House Second in line of presidential succession House liaison with president Great political influence within the chamber

Henry Clay, first powerful speaker (1810) Joe Cannon (1903-1910), was so powerful, that a revolt

emerged to reduce powers of the speakership. Newt Gingrich (1995) Dennis Hastert – replaced Gingrich; wrestling coach and social

studies teacher; largely unknown Republican With Democrats taking control of the House, Nancy Pelosi (CA),

became the first woman Speaker of the House.

Other House Leaders Majority Leader

Elected leader of the party controlling the most seats in the House or the Senate

Second in authority to the Speaker—in the Senate, is the most powerful member

Minority Leader Elected leader of the party with the second highest

number of elected representatives in the House of Representatives or the Senate

Whips Keep close contact with all members and take nose

counts on key votes, prepare summaries of bills, etc. Party caucus or conference

A formal gathering of all party members

The Senate The Constitution specifies the vice

president as the presiding officer of the Senate. He votes only in case of a tie.

Official chair of the Senate is the president pro tempore (pro tem). Primarily honorific Generally goes to the most senior senator of the

majority party Actual presiding duties rotate among junior

members of the chamber True leader is the majority leader, but not as

powerful as Speaker is in the House

The Senate

Senate rules give tremendous power to individual senators Offering any kind of amendment filibuster

Because Senate is smaller in size organization and formal rules have not played the same role as in the House

Committee System Organization and specialization of committees

is very important in the House due to size Subcommittees allow for even greater specialization

Institutionalized system created in 1816 More committees added over time

1995 Republican committee system reform Result may have weakened the committee system

How chairs are appointed Devaluation of seniority Shift of power from chairs to party leaders Reduction in resources to subcommittee chairs Imposition of term limits on committee chairs

Committee System Standing Committees

Continue from one Congress to the next—bills referred here for consideration

Powerful Discharge petitions

Joint Committees Includes members from both houses of Congress, conducts

investigations or special studies Conference Committees

Joint committee created to iron out differences between Senate and House versions of a specific piece of legislation

Select (or special) Committees Temporary committee appointed for specific purpose, such

as conducting a special investigation or study

Committee Membership Members often seek assignments to

committees based on Their own interests or expertise A committee’s ability to help their prospects for

reelection Pork/earmarks: legislation that allows

representatives to bring home the “bacon” to their districts in the form of public works programs, military bases, or other programs designed to benefit their districts directly

Access to large campaign contributors

Committee Chairs These individuals have tremendous power

and prestige. Authorized to select all subcommittee chairs Call meetings Recommend majority members to sit on

conference committees Can kill a bill by not scheduling hearings on it Have staff at their disposal

Seniority still important in the Senate

The Members of Congress Find the job exciting Relish the work Recent impact of partisanship

Makes work more stressful, intense

Can make more money in private sector Must work to appease two constituencies

Home Washington

Running for Office and Staying in Office

Incumbency The fact that being in office helps a person stay

in office because of a variety of benefits that go with the position Name recognition Access to free media Inside track on fund-raising District drawn to favor incumbent

1980 to 1990, an average of 95 percent of incumbents who sought reelection won their primary and general election races.

Congressional Demographics Members tend to be:

Better educated than the population in general All but three are college graduates; over 2/3’s have advanced

degrees. Richer

Nearly 200 are millionaires; 21 Senators are worth at least 3.1 million. 29 House members worth that much as well.

Male White Average age is 60 for Senators; 54 for House members. Adam Putnam (R-FL) elected in 2000 at age of 25. Still the

youngest member of Congress. John Sununu (R-NH) is the youngest Senator (41) Minorities in the House and Senate Occupations

No longer overwhelmingly lawyers

Theories of Representation Trustee

Role played by elected representatives who listen to constituent’s opinions and then use their best judgment to make final decisions

Delegate Role played by elected representatives who vote

the way their constituents would want them to, regardless of their own opinions

Politico Role played by elected representatives who act

as trustees or as delegates, depending on the issue

How Members Make Decisions

Party Divided government

Constituents Colleagues and Caucuses

Logrolling (vote trading)

Interest Groups, Lobbyists, and PACS Staff and Support Agencies

How a Bill Becomes A Law

Only members of the House or Senate can submit a bill.

Once a bill is introduced: usually a dead end Of about 9,000 or so bills introduced

during a session of Congress, fewer than 10 percent make it into law.

System of multiple vetoes; power is dispersed as the Framers intended.

How a Bill Becomes a Law: The Textbook Version Introduction (sponsorship) Sent to clerk of chamber

Bill printed, distributed, and sent to appropriate committee or committees (referred by Speaker in House)

Committee refers bill to one of its subcommittees Subcommittee researches bill and decides on hearings

Hearings provide opportunity for both sides of issue to voice their opinions

Bill then revised in subcommittee and vote is taken If vote is positive, the bill is returned to full committee

Markup Full committee either rejects bill or sends it to House

or Senate floor with a recommendation

How a Bill Becomes a Law: Textbook Version Next stage of action takes place on the floor In House, goes to Rules Committee, given a rule,

placed on calendar (but not budget bills) Rules limit debate and determine what kind, if any,

amendments are allowed House may choose to form a Committee of the Whole

Allows for deliberation with only 100 members present

On the floor, bill debated, amendments offered, and a vote taken

If bill survives, it is sent to the Senate for consideration—if it was not considered there simultaneously.

How a Bill Becomes a Law: Textbook Version

In the Senate, bill may be held up by: A hold – a tactic by which a senator asks

to be informed before a particular bill is brought to the floor

A filibuster – a formal way of halting action on a bill by means of long speeches or unlimited debate on the Senate Cloture: Mechanism requiring sixty senators

to vote to cut off debate

How a Bill Becomes a Law: Textbook Version

Third state of action takes place when the two chambers of Congress approve different versions of the SAME bill

Conference committee Returns to each chamber for final vote. If it

does not pass in each chamber it dies If the bill passes, it is sent to the president.

How a Bill Becomes a Law: Textbook Version President can either sign it or veto it. The president has 10 days to consider a bill. Four options:

Can sign the bill, at which point it becomes law Can veto the bill; congress can override the veto with

a 2/3 vote in each chamber Can wait the full ten days, at the end of which time

the bill becomes law without his signature IF Congress is still in session

If Congress adjourns before the ten days are up, the president can choose not to sign the bill. The bill is then pocket-vetoed. Bill would have to be reintroduced and go through the

entire process again in order to become a law

Congress and the President Constitution envisioned that Congress and

the president would have: Discrete powers One branch would be able to hold the other in

check Since the 1930s, the president has had the

upper hand But Congress still has ultimate legislative

authority to question executive actions and Congress can impeach and even remove him

from office

Shifting Balance of Power Congressional Oversight

Congressional review of the activities of an agency, department, or office

Foreign Policy and National Security War Powers Act

Passed by Congress in 1973: Limits the president in the deployment of troops overseas to a sixty day period in peacetime unless Congress explicitly gives its approval for a longer period

Confirmation of Presidential Appointments The Impeachment Process

Congress and the Judiciary Congress exercises its control over the

judiciary in several ways. Can establish the size of the Supreme Court, its

appellate jurisdiction, and the structure of the federal court system

Senate also has the authority to accept or reject presidential nominees for the federal courts Senatorial courtesy: process by which

presidents, when selecting district court judges, defer to the senator in whose state the vacancy occurs