ap u.s. congress
TRANSCRIPT
The U.S. CongressAP UNIT 4
About the U.S. Congress
The chief policymaking institution of gov’t
535 members total (435 in House of Representatives, 100 in Senate)
1 term of Congress = 2 years
Year 1 = 1st Session, Year 2= 2nd Session
Ex: we are in 115th Congress, 1st Session
Salary: $174,000/year
Meets on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.
U.S. House of Represent atives
U.S. Senate
Congressional Distr icts
Members of the House each represent a congressional district (section) of their state
Senate does NOT have districts (represent the whole state)
435 members of House = 435 districts across U.S.
Single-member plur al i ty system (SMP) - the candidate who gets more votes than opponent(s) wins (not always majority)
Encourages two-party system (third parties cannot compete to get most votes)
Congressional districts are reassigned and redrawn every 10 years (after the census)Based on state population (more population = more
districts)Every state guaranteed at least one districtEach district must have about the same population (around
710,000 people) reappor t ionment - the reassigning of congressional
districts/seats to a state redistr ict ing - the redrawing of districts to reflect
reapportioned districts/seats
States can lose or gain districts depending on population changes
ex: many people move out of state, state loses districts after next census
Affects a state’s influence in Congress and its # of electoral votes (thus, influence in an election)
Gerr ymandering
state legislatures are responsible for drawing congressional districts (party in power uses this to their advantage)
gerr ymandering - tactical drawing of congressional districts to benefit a particular political party or group
If more voters of your party live in district = more likely your party will win that district and a seat in House
Districts must be as compact as possible (solid lines, not spread out) and contiguous (in one piece)
Our St ate
TN has 9 districts (and so has 9 representatives in the House of Representatives)
We live in U.S. House District 1
packing - technique where voters of one party are packed into one district (so they can only win one
district, while the other party wins the rest)
cr acking - technique where voters of one partyare spread out to prevent them from getting a majority in any
district(other party gets majority in as many districts as possible)
kidnapping - drawing an incumbent out of their old district to prevent their reelection (they lose their voting base)
hijacking - forcing two incumbents of same party into the same district to fight for one seat
bleaching - (aka racial gerrymandering) drawing districts to keep minority populations from having a majority in any district
Congressional Elect ions
incumbents - individuals currently in office
have a greater advantage of getting re-elected than challengers (incumbents usually win)
House incumbents have better chance of keeping seats than Senate incumbents (easier to get a district to vote for you again than an entire state)
Advant ages of Incumbency
1.) Adver t ising/Visibi l i ty
voters get to know their elected representatives (incumbents have an established “brand”)
incumbents make frequent trips back home to visit constituents (the people they represent) and gain visibility
f r anking priv i lege – official congressional mail sent to constituents that is paid by taxpayers
incumbents use previous voting data and contacts to gain advantages in elections
2.) Credit Claimingincumbents actively serve people in their state/district
and build up their recordcasewor k - intervention/services members of
Congress provide their individual constituentsEx: need help with questions about gov’t, filling out
gov’t forms, receiving owed benefits, communicating problems to federal agencies, etc.
por k barrel - projects or grants that directly benefit a Congressperson’s district or state
Often used to build support for reelection in a constituency (more pork = possibly more popular?)
3.) Posit ion Taking incumbents can point to their voting record and positions on issues
while in office
4.) Opponent Weakness challengers are usually weaker than incumbents (don’t have
experience, record, funding, etc.)
5.) Campaign Funding incumbents have established donors and PACs = steady source of
income (challengers do not) More money spent = more advertising = more visibility
Key Dif ferences Between the U.S. House and Senate
HOUSE
Closer to the people (more easily influenced by individual citizens)
435 members, lower chamber (less prestigious)
2 year term, 25 years old, 7 years a citizen, resident of state and district
SEN ATE
Farther away from people (not as easily influenced by individual citizens)
100 members, upper chamber (more prestigious)
6 year term, 30 years old, 9 years a citizen, resident of state
represents less people (district only)
More formal rules, time limits on debate and amendments, stronger leadership, more organized
More focused on budget, specialized topics
Represents more people (whole state)
Less formal rules, no time limits on debate*, weaker leadership, less organized
More focused on foreign policy, general topics
bills of revenue (raising money) must start in House
only House passes articles of impeachment
has Rules Committee
cannot filibuster
elected directly by people
Individual reps have less influence
approve presidential appointments, treaties
hears impeachment trial, can convict official
does not have Rules Committee
can filibuster
Originally elected by state legislatures (17th Amendment - Senate elected directly by people)
Individual senators have more influence
Leader ship in the House
Speaker of the House
Highest leadership position in House
Member of majority party, 3rd in line to presidency
Presides over House in session, assigns bills to committees, assigns committee positions, influences which bills are debated
Currently Paul Ryan
(R-WI) ---->
House Majori ty Leader
floor leader of the majority party, assistant to Speaker
schedules bills on House calendar and leads party to vote/debate by party position
Currently Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) --->
House Minori ty Leader
Highest leadership position of minority party in House, floor leader for minority
(same as majority leader, only for minority party)
Currently Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) ----->
House Majori ty Whip
Works as a “messenger” between party leaders (Speaker, Majority Leader) and rest of party
Makes sure party members are present to vote, influence undecided votes
Currently Steve Scalise (R-LA) ---->
House Minori ty Whip
(same as majority whip, only for minority party)
Currently Steny Hoyer (D-MD) ------>
President of the Senate
highest leadership position in Senate held by Vice-President
acts as President of Senate (rarely present)
cannot debate or vote unless to break tie
not senate member
Currently Mike Pence ----->
President Pr o TemporeServes in the absence
of the Vice-President
4th in line to presidency
Usually one of the most senior members of Senate
Currently Orrin Hatch (R-UT) ---->
Senate Major i ty Leader
Schedules bills for debate on floor, leads party in voting/debate by party position
Currently Mitch McConnell (R-KY) --->
Senate Minori ty Leader
(same as majority leader, only for minority party)
Currently Chuck Schumer (D-NY) ----->
Senate Major i ty Whip
(same role as House majority whip)
Currently John Cornyn (R-TX) --->
Senate Minori ty Whip
(same role as House minority whip)
Currently Dick Durbin (D-IL) ---->
Key Power s of Congress
LawmakingLay and collect taxesSpend, borrow, and coin moneyRegulate commerce (international trade and
trade between the states)Declare warOverride presidential vetoesApprove presidential appointments and
treaties (Senate only)
Impeach (accuse), convict, and remove federal officials (president, federal judges, etc.)
Create courts (below the SC), create post offices, and raise and maintain an army and navy
Involved in amending the Constitution (2/3 vote in both chambers)
Involved in approving petitions and constitutions for statehood
Committees in Congress
Most work in Congress is done in committees (“Congressional group work”)
Hold hearings, read/edit/rewrite/vote on bills, guide legislation and agendas, hold hearings
Types of Committees
st anding committee - permanent; reviews bills having to do with the committee’s specialized policy area
select committee - most are temporary; formed to investigate issues
joint committee - permanent; based on a few policy areas; have members of both House and Senate
conference committee – (type of joint committee); formed as needed; when House and Senate pass two different versions of a bill, this committee must make ONE compromise bill; has members of both House and Senate
Congressional Over sight
Congressional over sight - the power of Congress to monitor the executive branch’s implementation of laws and to hold hearings in committees to investigate problems
Legislat ive veto – a resolution by Congress that overrides rules made by an executive agency to enforce a law (has been declared unconstitutional)
Committees and Member s
Reps serve on about 2 com./4 subcom.; Senators on about 3 com./7 subcom.
Majority party has more members on most committees than minority party
Committee chairman is member of majority party (highest rank on committee)
Ranking member - highest rank of minority party on committee
Congressional caucus – a group of members of Congress who share a certain interest/belief and have common legislative goals
Congressional St af f
Members of Congress and committees have staff that aid in drafting legislation, research and scheduling hearings/meetings
Congressional staff members also handle casework and communications with constituents
Congressional St af f A gencies
Congressional Resear c h Ser vice (CRS) - run by Library of Congress; helps fulfill Congressional requests for research for bills; summarizes bill info for public
Government Account abi l i ty Of f ice (G AO) - involved in oversight of executive branch
Congressional Budget Of f ice (CBO) - nonpartisan agency that analyzes president’s budget, congressional spending, and projects economy performance (including taxing and spending)
How a Bi l l Becomes a Law
bil l - a legally drafted proposal for a law
1.) Introduced and numbered in one chamber of Congress (H.R. # if it’s a House bill, S. # if it’s a Senate bill)
2.) Sent to appropriate standing committee
3.) Committee usually sends to subcommittee for research/consideration
4.) Sent back to standing committee for markup/amendments and voting
Committee Votes
do pass - the bill is passed/agreed torefuse to repor t - the bill is ignored and diesrepor t as amended - the bill is passed with
editsrepor t committee bi l l - committee has
written a replacement bill
5.) sent to Rules Committee (House ONLY) - puts the bill on the calendar, sets up time limits for debate, rules for amending bill, etc.
6.) debated on the floor of the chamber (amendments added here) and voted on
7.) If passed, sent to opposite chamber for same process all over again
Bills are usually changed by one or both chambers = two versions of one bill
Bill must be sent to conference committee to make one version of the bill for both chambers to approve
Then sent to president for approval
A Bi l l and the President
President can:Sign bill into lawVeto (reject) billPut bill aside for 10 days; if Congress is still in session,
it automatically becomes lawpoc ket veto - Put bill aside for 10 days; if Congress
adjourns the session, bill automatically dies
Ways a Congressper son Votes
1.) t rustee - vote according to personal beliefs and convictions
2.) delegate - vote according to the desires of their constituents
3.) par t isan - vote according to political party’s stance on an issue
4.) pol it ico - try to balance all three methods
Other Legislat ive Terms
logr ol l ing - vote-trading between members of Congress; one member promises to vote on another’s legislation if the other votes on his/hers (or one important to them)
germaneness - subjects must pertain to the topic at hand (usually a bill in this case)
All amendments must be germane in House
Amendments in Senate do not have to be germane (a few exceptions)
hold - when a senator asks party leadership to postpone action on a bill; Senate ONLY
r ider - an amendment/measure added to a bill that has nothing to do with the bill (nongermane) but will be passed if the bill is passed
wouldn’t pass if it was a bill on its own
unanimous consent agreement - used by Senate majority and minority leaders to set rules and limits on the debate of a bill (in place of Rules Committee); Senate ONLY
senatorial cour tesy - when the President seeks the consent of Senators of a state from which his appointee comes from
Ex: President appoints judge from NY; President seeks approval of NY senators
f i l ibuster - prolonged speech on the Senate floor by a member who wishes to block passage or voting on a bill (to “talk a bill to death”) until it is changed or dropped; Senate ONLY
cloture - rule voted on by at least 60 senators that ends a filibuster/limits debate; caps action on measure to 30 hours; each senator can debate for only an hour
authorization bi l l - a bill that authorizes a program and describes how it will be run and paid for
appr opriations bi l l - a bill that officially funds an authorization bill
ONLY CONGRESS has the Constitutional power to appropriate (set aside for use) funds for government spending
Congress and Interest Gr oups
Coalit ion bui lding - when groups or parties work together to accomplish a common goal in government
Interest groups and lobbyists are always trying to influence congressional decision-making
Congressional committees are the second side of an i r on tr iangle (strong alliance between an interest group, a congressional committee, and an executive agency)
Polar izat ion in Congress
Congress has increasingly become more polarized
conservatives are more conservative, liberals more liberal, and the gap between political ideologies is wider with less chance for compromise
Reasons:
Districts drawn to favor one party --> constituents are more likely to favor this party --> elect polarizing candidates --> Congressional behavior reflects ideological attitudes of constituencies
House more likely to be more extreme in political views than Senate because of district interests