11 congress. representatives and senators 11.1 the members not a glamorous job, but there are perks...
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11
Congress
Representatives and Senators
11.1
The Members
Not a glamorous job, but there are perks Power $174,000 annual salary Generous retirement and health benefits
Constitutional requirements House: 25, citizen for 7 years Senate: 30, citizen for 9 years Reside in state 435 Representatives; 100 senators
11.1
TABLE 11.1: Portrait of the 113th Congress: Some statistics
11.1
The Members
Demographics Descriptive representation = representing constituents by
mirroring their personal, politically relevant characteristics
Substantive representation = representing interests of groups which they themselves are not members of
Does this matter?
11.1
Why Aren’t There More Women in Congress?
18% of House and 25% of Senate are women
Fewer women running Childcare Risk averse
Bias Must be more qualified
11.1
Congressional Elections 11.2
Incumbents Those already holding office Over 90% win reelection in House Senators do not have it as easy (60%)
Attract better competitors, have larger constituencies, attract more attention
Incumbents perceive themselves as vulnerable Hence fundraising and campaigning
Who Wins Elections? 11.2
Do you know your representatives? Most Americans do not – therefore are not voting
based on where their members of Congress stand on key issues
Who Wins Elections? 11.2
Who Wins Elections? 11.2
Who Wins Elections? 11.2
Senators Michael Bennet (D) and Cory Gardner (R)
Representatives 1 – Diana DeGette 2 – Jared Polis 3 – Scott Tipton 4 – Ken Buck 5 – Doug Lamborn 6 – Mike Coffman 7 – Ed Perlmutter
Who Wins Elections? 11.2
Presidential “Coattails” When voters support congressional candidates
because of their support for the president
Who Wins Elections? 11.2
FIGURE 11.1: Incumbency factor in congressional elections
11.2
Advantages of Incumbency
Advertising Being visible Constituent contact
Credit claiming Casework Pork barrel projects
11.2
Advantages of Incumbency
Credit claiming Telling voters about all of the things they have
accomplished for them while in Congress Casework – Activities of members of Congress that
help constituents as individuals, particularly by cutting through bureaucratic red tape to get people what they think they have a right to get.
Pork barrel – Federal projects, grants, and contracts available to state and local governments, businesses, colleges, and other institutions in a congressional district
11.2
Big Dig 11.2
Advantages of Incumbency
Position taking Taking positions on topics that are important to voters,
which voters use to decide if they want to reelect them
Weak opponents Strong ones are scared off by the benefits of being an
incumbent
Campaign spending Spending money gets name recognition. Incumbents
already have name recognition, so they don’t have to spend money on that. That name recognition gets them donations sooner than challengers.
11.2
Role of Party Identification Parties and districts
Drawn for one-party dominance Gerrymandering
11.2
11.2
11.2
Defeating Incumbents
Challengers are naïve But sometimes incumbents are vulnerable
Redistricting
Public mood
11.2
Open Seats and Stability and Change Vacant seat = no incumbent running
Most turnover occurs here
Stability from incumbency Development of expertise
Term limits Limitations on the number of terms that someone in Congress is allowed
to serve
11.2
How Congress is Organized to Make Policy
11.3
American Bicameralism
Bicameral legislature A legislature that is divided into two house. US
Congress and all state legislatures except Nebraska – because Nebraska
Bills must pass both houses Checks and balances Result of Connecticut Compromise
11.3
American Bicameralism
House More institutionalized and seniority-based Rules Committee
The committee in the House that reviews most of the bills coming from a committee before they go to the full House
Puts bills on calendar, chooses how long debates will last
11.3
American Bicameralism Senate
Less centralized and seniority-based Filibuster
A strategy unique to the Senate whereby opponents of a piece of legislation use their right to unlimited debate to prevent the Senate from ever voting on a bill. 60 members present and voting can halt a filibuster
Allows Senators to halt almost any legislation with the threat of a filibuster
Can’t get rid of it because what if you become the minority some day?
Cloture A vote to end unlimited debate on a bill in the Senate and
bring it to a vote
11.3
TABLE 11.2: House versus Senate: Some key differences
11.3
Congressional Leadership
Chosen by party
House Speaker of the House
An office mandated by the Constitution. Is chosen in practice by the majority party, has both formal and informal powers, and is second in line to succeed to the presidency.
Presides over the House when in session Major role in making committee assignments Appoints key legislative leaders Exercises control over where bills get assigned
11.3
Congressional Leadership
Senate Vice president
Technically is the president of the Senate, but really only casts votes to break ties
Majority leader The principal partisan ally of the Speaker, or the
party’s manager in the Senate. Responsible for scheduling bills, influencing committee assignments, and rounding up votes on behalf of the party’s legislative positions.
11.3
Congressional Leadership
House and Senate Whips
Party leaders who work with the majority leader or the minority leader to count votes beforehand and to lean on waverers whose votes are critical for a bill favored by the party
Minority leader Principal leader of the minority party
11.3
Congressional Leadership 11.3
Committees and Subcommittees Four types of committees
Standing committees Separate subject-matter committees in each house of
Congress that handle bills in different policy areas Joint committees
Congressional committees on a few subject-matter areas with membership drawn from both houses
Conference committees Congressional committees formed when the Senate
and the House pass a particular bill in different forms. Party leadership appoints members from each house to iron out the differences and bring back a single bill
Select committees Congressional committees appointed for a specific
purpose, such as the Watergate investigation
11.3
TABLE: 11.3: Standing committees in the Senate and in the House
11.3
Committees and Subcommittees
Committees at work: Legislation Legislative oversight
Congress’s monitoring of the bureaucracy and its administration of policy, performed mainly through hearings.
11.3
Congressional committee at work 11.3
TABLE 11.4: Sharing oversight of homeland security
11.3
Getting on a committee Constituent needs Appealing to leadership Membership is made up of members from each party, with
majority party having more
Committees and Subcommittees
11.3
Committee Chairs The most important influencers of the congressional agenda. They play dominant
roles is scheduling hearings, hiring staff, appointing subcommittees, and managing committee bills when they are brought before the full house.
Seniority system A simple rule for picking committee chairs, in effect until the 1970s. The member who
had served on the committee the longest and whose party controlled the chamber became chair, regardless of party loyalty, mental state, or competence.
Committees and Subcommittees
11.3
Caucuses: Informal Organization of Congress As important as formal structure
Caucus (congressional) A group of members of Congress sharing some interest or characteristic. Many are
composed of members form both parties and from both houses.
Dominant today 500 caucuses today Goal is to promote their interests Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus
11.3
Congressional Hispanic Caucus 11.3
Congressional Staff
Personal staff Casework Legislative functions
Committee staff 2,000 staff members Legislative oversight
11.3
Congressional Staff
Staff agencies Congressional Research Service (CRS)
Provides members of Congress with nonpartisan studies to provide information to members
Government Accountability Office (GAO) Oversees the activities of the Executive branch and
reports back to Congress Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
Analyzes the president’s budget
11.3
Congressional Process and Decision Making
11.4
Bills
Bill A proposed law, drafted in legal language. Anyone can draft a
bill, but only a member of Congress can formally submit a bill for consideration
Most are killed off early in the process
11.4
How a bill becomes a law 11.4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otbml6WIQPo
FIGURE 11.2: How a bill really becomes a law
11.4
Presidents and Congress: Partners and Protagonists
President’s legislative agenda Persuade Congress Work at the margins but usually win Yet Congress is quite independent
11.4
Party, Constituency, and Ideology
Party influence Economic and social welfare policies
Polarized politics Parties more internally homogeneous Less likelihood of compromise
11.4
FIGURE 11.3: Increasing polarization in Congress
11.4
Party, Constituency, and Ideology
Constituency opinion versus member ideology Trustees – using their best judgement to make policy
in the interests of the people Instructed delegates – Mirroring the preferences of
their constituents Politicos – doing a little of both Comes down to politically salient issues – if its
important enough for people in the district to know about and have an opinion on, then the member is an instructed delegate, if not, they are a trustee
11.4
Lobbyists and Interest Groups
D.C. is crawling with lobbyists 12,000 of them Spent $3 billion in 2011 Former members of Congress
How lobbyists persuade Provide policy information Provide promises of money Ghostwrite legislation Status quo usually wins
Disclosure requirements
11.4
11.5Understanding Congress
Congress and Democracy
Democracy depends upon successful representation
Congress unrepresentative Members are elites Leadership chosen, not elected Senate based on states, not population
Obstacles to good representation Constituent service Reelection campaigns
Representativeness versus Effectiveness
11.5
Congress and the Scope of Government
Does size of government increase to please public? Pork barrel spending
Contradictory preferences Against large government, for individual programs
11.5