CONGRESS!!

"Sex! Lies! Drugs! Money! Power! Corruption! God, I love Congress!"    -- Anonymous

First things first. We hate these people

Yes, it’s THAT bad

Congress is owned!

• Congressional yard sale. Everyone must go!

• Wonder why we hate them?

The Basics• Bicameral- Fed #51 stated the protection against giving Congress

too much power.. “To divide the legislature into different branches and to render them, by different modes of election and different principles of action, as little connected with each other”…..

House represents the will of the people, Senate would stem populist impulses.“Why did you pour that coffee into your saucer?” asked Washington. “To cool it,” said Jefferson. “Even so,” responded Washington, “we pour legislation into the senatorial saucer to cool it.”

What the &%*#& goes on in there?

• Stuff like this and that.

Constitutional roles

Article I section 8:• To lay and collect taxes, duties, imports• To borrow money• To regulate commerce (states and foreign)• To establish rules for naturalization• To coin money• To create courts (except Supreme Court)• To declare war• To raise and support an army and navy• Impeach ( House( Try ( Senate• Approve bills override vetoes

Constitution Shmonstitution?

• "Some scholars have argued [that] the Constitution clearly states only Congress can declare war, and they are not allowed to simply delegate that authority to the president. However, you can get around that with the legal technique of taking the word 'constitution' and adding the word 'shmonstitution' to the end of it." —Jon Stewart

7 functions

• Policy clarification- indentify issues• Reconcile various interests• Consensus building- the bargaining process• Law making- solve problems• Representation- do things for the public• Investigation- government oversight• Confirmation- approve appointments

Look at that face!

What’s the diff?

House• 435 members• 2 year term• 7 year citizen/25 yrs old

• Initiate impeachment• Revenue bills

• Strict debate rules

Senate• 100 members• 6 year term• 9 year citizen/30 yrs old

• Tries impeachment• Approve presidential

appointments• Approve treaties’• Loose debate rules

What’s the diff 2Procedural Differences

         Senate   House of Representatives

PROCEDURES AND RULES LESS FORMAL MORE FORMAL

FILIBUSTER/DOUBLE TRACKING

YES NO

HOLDS YES NO

UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGREEMENT

YES NO

GERMANENESS NO YES

RULES COMMITTEE NO YES

Fill a buster, buster!

• It aint this simple but........

Senate leadership

PRES. PRO TEMPORE

MINORITY LEADER

MINORITY WHIP

MAJORITY LEADER(MOST POWERFUL)

MAJORITY WHIP

PRESIDENT of the SENATE

(VICE PRESIDENT)

House leadershipSPEAKER OF THE HOUSE

MINORITY LEADER

MINORITY WHIP

MAJORITY LEADER

MAJORITY WHIP

Speaker Power

• Creates an agenda• Selects most members of the Committee on

Rules• Committee chairs chosen by Speaker• Bills assigned to committee by Speaker• When does a bill reach the floor?• Assigns members of conference committee

Where is the power?

• Committees rule baby!• Real work done there. Too much work to be

done. Full body can’t handle it• Allows Congress to address multiple issues

simultaneously • Members can represent their interests, states

or districts inertest

Standing committees….super powered

report out favorably or unfavorably...amend?

Committee characteristics

• Stable- very little turnover

Characteristics-2

• Self select assignments ( except Ways and Means/Finance because they control the $$$)

• Confusing process- ex Senate has three types of committees. Type A,B and C. A senator can serve on only 2 type A, one B and as many C’s as they wish

Other Committees

• Joint- Members of both Houses serve- examples: JC on the Library, JC on printing

• Select- Temporary for special purposes- example SC on Energy Independence and Global Warming

• Conference Committee- Joint committee to reconcile differences in bills

Other sources of power

• Congressional research Office- Policy research for Congress

• Government Accountability Office- Investigates the financial and administrative affairs of government agencies

• Congressional Budget office- Assess economic implications of federal proposals ( Obamacare costs what?)

Bill to a Law

• I'm JUST a bill?

• I'm just a bill, the remix

Bill to a Law

• Step 1:• Introduced in Senate or House (except tax)• Single or multiple reps can introduce bill

Bill to a Law

• Step 2:1. Bill is then placed in sub-committee2. Bills are debated and “marked up”3. Bill is assigned to a particular committee in its

category (Ex. Tax bill – Ways and Means Committee, Farm bill – Agriculture Committee)

4. Most bills die in committee, committee can vote to “report out” a bill

Bill to a law

• Step 3:• Before bill can go to floor in House, it must

first set time limits and amendment regulations.– Closed rule – sets time limits, restricts

amendments– Open rule – permits amendments– Restrictive rule – permits some amendments

Bill to a Law

• Step 4:Senate Debate• Less formal, no speaking limit• Filibuster – practice of stalling a bill w/ debate• Cloture – 3/5 of the Senate vote to stop

debateHouse Debate• More formal, no filibuster, strict rules

Bill to a Law

• Step 5:• Majority passes• If the bill passes, it must go through the same

process in the opposite chamber with a sponsor• If the bill passes one house and fails the other, it

must start over• If the Senate and House cannot come to

agreement over two versions, it goes to Conference Committee to fix it and resubmit the bill

Bill to a Law

• Step 6: The President• Sign – bill becomes law• Veto – bill returns to origin• Override – 2/3 vote in both houses can override

veto• Pocket Veto – President has 10 days to act on a

piece of legislation. If he receives the bill within 10 days of the end of the Congressional session, and doesn’t sign, it dies

Incumbency

• 19th Century a majority served one term and left, by 1950’s it becomes a career

• Term limits discussed- natural forces can do that:– Redistricting- ex 1980 17 districts shifted among

states– Voter disgust- toss the bums out!BUT………………….

Over and over and over again

Marginal or safe?

• Marginal district- get < 55% of vote• Safe district- get > 55% of vote• Seats getting safer- 1950’s 60% were safe, now 90%.

Why???– TV exposure– People less party affiliated– Franking– Power of legislation and constituent services– Challengers obscure- esp. in House– OINK!!!!!!!!

Over and over? But How?

This money thing aint new

Raise $, win elections

Congressional districts

• Malapportionment – unequal population in districts– Wesberry v. Sanders (1963) – found unequal district

pop. unconstitutional – 14th amend• Gerrymandering – district boundaries are redrawn

in strange ways to make it easy for candidate of one party to win– Easley v. Cromartie (2001) – redistricting for political

ideology was constitutional, led to increase in minority reps- Majority/minority districts!

Maryland’s 3rd- John Sarbanes-D

Illinois’s 4th- It isn’t even connected!

Voting

• “What I’ve lost in Congress is not my ideals, but my illusions. The good and the bad are often intertwined and sometimes the only way to get something good is to accept something bad- Congressman Stephen Solarz (D-NY)

• Representational- Not common. Can win support in other ways. Typically no voter consensus

• Organizational- Most do this 2/3 to ¾ of time. Influence can come from fellow party member more familiar with bill- voting cue!!

• Attitudinal- Vote own view- Typically tied to party ( see above). Less so with democrats

• Presidential influence- win ¾ of votes when party controls Congress

Did these people watch Sesame St?

Congress is a cesspool

• Hey Mom, I made the top 10• Jerks, a history

Can it be fixed?