Wtp9 lecture ch12

Chapter 12

Congress

Congress

House and Senate:Differences in Representation

• Bicameral system: two chambers– Result of the Connecticut Compromise– Each state has two senators.– Each state’s number of House representatives is

determined by state population.

• Predicated on different representation models– Senate: states, with longer terms– House: districts, with shorter terms

House and Senate: Differences in Representation

• Senate: 100 senators– Since 1913, directly elected by voters statewide– Six-year terms– Two per state (fixed)

• House of Representatives: 435 members– Elected by districts– Two-year terms– Population determines number per state (varies).


• Congressional districts can be relatively homogeneous by many standards.– Ideal for organized interests claiming to represent

constituents– Members tend to specialize in one committee.

• States are far more heterogeneous.– Senators have to be generalists.– More open to a wider array of interests


• How representatives “represent”:– Sociological representation: shares demographic traits,

experiences, and interests with constituents

– Agency representation: representative has electoral incentive to act on constituent interests.

Women, African Americans, andLatinos in Congress (1971–2008)

Sociological

Representation

WHO ARE AMERICANS?

Who are the Members of Congress?

CHAPTER 12

WHO ARE AMERICANS?

SOURCE: Jennifer E. Manning, “Membership of the 112th Congress: A Profile,” CRS Report R41647, March 1, 2011, www.senate.gov (accessed 8/15/12).

Gender

U.S. PopulationKey

House of Representatives

Senate

49%Male 83% 83%

U.S. Pop.

51%Female

House

17%

Senate

17%

WHO ARE AMERICANS?


Race

U.S. PopulationKey


Senate

U.S. Pop.

64%White

House

82%

Senate

96%

13% 10% 0%Black

16% 7% 2%Hispanic

5% 3% 2%Asian/Pacific

1% .002% 0%NativeAmerican

WHO ARE AMERICANS?


Religion

U.S. PopulationKey


Senate

U.S. Pop.

51%Protestant

House

57%

Senate

56%

24%Catholic 30% 24%

2%Mormon 2% 5%

21%All Others 4% 4%

2%Jewish 6% 12%

WHO ARE AMERICANS?


Education

U.S. PopulationKey


Senate

U.S. Pop.

15%< High school

House

0

Senate

0

18%Bachelor’s degree

26% 24%

2%Professional/law degree

38% 55%

8%Other advanced degree

28% 20%

58%High school grad.

8% 1%

WHO ARE AMERICANS?


Average Age

Senate 62

House 57

U.S. Pop. 37

The Electoral Connection

• Who gets elected?– Who decides to run– Incumbency advantage– Districting and gerrymandering issues


• Who runs?– Candidates must “self select” to run.– Some encouraged by parties more than others.– Strong candidate qualities:

• Good name recognition• Success in prior elected offices• Ability to raise funds• Willingness to campaign• Ability to reach out to voters


• Incumbency advantage– Members of Congress have an array of tools to keep them

in office.• Constituency services• Ranking privilege• Name recognition and title• Pork-barrel spending for district

– Otherwise strong potential challengers do not run

The Power of Incumbency


• Districting and Redistricting– Congressional districts are typically drawn in a manner that

clearly benefits one party or the other.

– The vast majority of incumbents represent “safe districts,” where most voters support one party.

– Primaries are the critical election in safe-seat districts because there is little party competition.

Results of Congressional Reapportionment


Apportionment


• Direct patronage– Pork-barrel spending

• Earmarks– Patronage

• Some local and state elected officials have jobs to offer to constituents.

– Constituent services– Private bills

How Members of Congress Represent Their Districts

The Organization of Congress

• Building blocks of Congress– Parties– Committees– Staff– Caucuses– Parliamentary rules


• Speaker of the House is the leader of the majority party.

• Both parties also elect a majority and minority leader and whip.

• The parties determine which of their members sit on various committees.


• The vice president officially chairs the Senate, but only presides at ceremonial events and in the event of a tie vote.

• The president pro tempore usually chairs the Senate, but often hands off to another member for routine business.

Majority Party Structure in the House of Representatives

Majority Party Structure in the Senate


• Committee system– Standing committees– Select committees– Joint committees– Conference committees


• Standing committees are permanent and are where the majority of legislation is written.


• Select committees– Formed temporarily to focus on a specific issue

• Cannot present bills to the chamber• Bring attention to a specific subject


• Joint committees– Formed from members of both chambers– Gather information– Cover issues internal to Congress


• Conference committees– For a bill to become a law, the same wording of the bill

must be passed by both chambers.– Conference committees are formed to write the final

wording when both chambers pass similar bills that need to be reconciled.


• The number of seats the minority party has on a committee is roughly proportionate to the seats it has in the House, but at an unfavorable rate.

• Seniority determines committee assignments.– Chairs can be removed by the party caucus.– Chairs are term-limited.


• Congressional staffers– Specific topic or issue expertise – Constituent services

• Over 11,500 staff in D.C. and district offices• Another 2,000 staff for committees


• Congressional Research Service– Research arm of Congress

• Congressional Budget Office (CBO)– Assess program costs and income from tax plans

• General Accounting Office– Audits federal agencies and programs


• Congressional caucuses– Groups of senators or representatives who share common

goals or interests; may be bipartisan.

– Organized around issue, ideological, party, and/or demographic traits

– Some have large budgets and staffs, and are capable of pressuring Congress and the executive branch.

How a Bill Becomes a Law


• A bill is a proposed law that has been sponsored by a member of Congress and submitted to the clerk of the House or Senate.

• The bill is given a number and assigned to a committee, which typically refers it to a subcommittee.

• Bills taken seriously are given a hearing.– Most bills (95 percent) do not get through committee.


• The subcommittee and/or full committee writes the language of the bill.

• The full committee sends the bill to the floor.– Bill must pass through the Rules committee in the House

first.– Rules committee gives bill an open or closed rule– Senate requires a consent agreement


• The House rule determines how much time is allocated for floor debate.

• The debate time is divided equally between those for and against the bill.

• The Senate allows for unlimited discussion, requiring 60 votes to end a filibuster via cloture.


• Once a bill clears in one chamber, it is sent to the other where the process starts over.

• If both chambers pass the same wording, the bill is sent to the president.

• If not, both chambers create a conference committee.


• The president is given 10 days to veto a law.– Vetoes can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in each

chamber.– Pocket veto: if there are less than ten days left in the

congressional calendar and the president does not sign the bill into law, it dies and must begin again from scratch in the next session.

How Congress Decides


• Many factors influence members of Congress.• Constituents

– Legislators take constituents seriously if they believe it will affect their support at the next election.

– This includes voters as well as industries with a large presence in the district.

– Electoral incentives make constituents a priority.


• Interest groups– Can supply legislators with very detailed information and

data about pending bills– Can make sizeable donations– Do they represent the interests of constituents?

Party Discipline


Party Discipline: Congress increasingly partisan since 1990s


• Tools party leaders have at their disposal:– Leadership PACs– Committee assignments– Access to the floor– The whip system– Logrolling– Presidency

Oversight

Beyond Legislation

• Oversight– Congress is expected to oversee the activities of the

executive branch in order to ensure funding is spent and laws are enforced properly.

• Advice and consent– The Senate must confirm top-level executive

appointments, ambassadors, and federal judges.– Approves all treaties

Impeachment

Beyond Legislation

• Impeachment– If high officials are thought to have committed “Treason,

Bribery or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors,” they can be impeached.

– The House acts as a grand jury.– The Senate conducts the actual trial.

Debate

The Legislator’s Dilemma

• Delegate or trustee?

– What should a legislator do when she disagrees with her constituents about an important issue?

– She may know more about the issue than her constituents, and if they knew as much, they may also think differently.

Public Opinion Poll

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is

handling its job?

a) Strongly approve

b) Approve

c) Disapprove

d) Strongly disapprove

Public Opinion Poll

Do you approve or disapprove of the way your member

of Congress is handling his or her job?

a) Strongly approve

b) Approve

c) Disapprove

d) Strongly disapprove

Public Opinion Poll

Do you believe we should have term limits for

members of Congress?

a) Yes

b) No

Public Opinion Poll

Do you believe elected officials should be responsible

for drawing congressional districts?

a) Yes

b) No

Public Opinion Poll

Do you think it is important that members of Congress

reflect national economic demographics?

a) Yes

b) No

Public Opinion Poll

Do you think it is important that members of Congress

reflect national gender demographics?

a) Yes

b) No

Public Opinion Poll

When members of Congress cast a vote, which of the

following factors should most influence their decision?

a) The interests of the country as a whole

a) The interests of their district or state

Public Opinion Poll

When a member of Congress casts a vote, which of the following factors should most influence his decision?

a)Constituents’ preferences

b)The president’s preferences

c)The member’s party leadership preferences

d)The member’s own ideology

Chapter 12: Congress

• Quizzes

• Flashcards

• Outlines

• Exercises

wwnorton.com/we-the-people

http://www.wwnorton.com/college/polisci/we-the-people8/texas/ch/12/studyplan.aspx

Following this slide, you will find additional images, figures, and tables from the textbook.

Differences between the House and the Senate

The Social Composition of the U.S. Congress

The Staff System: Staffers and Agencies

America in the World

New Media and Women Candidates for Congress

Wtp9 lecture ch12

Documents

Transcript of Wtp9 lecture ch12