Congress

Congress

• “Pro and con are opposites, that fact is clearly seen. If progress means to move forward, then what does congress mean?” - Nipsey Russell

• “The only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets.” - Will Rogers

Congress

US CAPITOL BUILDING

Legislative Branch – “makes laws”

Founders’ Intentions

1. Strongest branch2. Separation of lawmaking power from

executive3. The process was intentionally design to

move slowly4. Bicameralism balances large/small states

• House – more connected to people (2 yr term)• Senate – allows for mature, independent thinking (6

yr term)• The “cooling saucer”

Constitutional Powers

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

Evolution of Powers

Elastic clause has extended Congress powers• Oversight of budget – can restrict the

federal budget prepared by executive branch• Appropriations – set amount of money made

available for various activity in a fiscal year• Investigation – Congress can launch

investigations (Watergate, Clinton-Lewinski hearings, Steroids in baseball, Bengazi)

113th Congress

The Members– 535 Members – 100 Senators and 435

Representatives.– House members – At least age 25 and U.S.

citizens for 7 years.– Senators – At least age 30 and U.S. citizens

for 9 years.– All members must reside in state (and district)

from which they are elected.

The Members

• Most members were lawyers (211) or business persons (214) – this includes some overlap, released exams have stress

LEGAL as the most common profession• 93% of House Members and 99% of Senators

hold at least a Bachelor’s Degree• 98% of current members cite a specific

religious affiliation

The Members continued

Of those with specific affiliation:• 98% self identify as Christian

• 56% are Protestant (Baptist is most represented)• 31% are Catholic

• 6.2% are Jewish• 2.8% are Mormon• 3 members are Buddhist• 2 members are Muslim• 1 Member is Hindu

A RepresentativeDemocracy…

HOUSEMEMBERS

SENATEMEMBERS

% of 113th

Congress% of U.S.

Population

AFRICANAMERICAN 43 2 8.3 13.1HISPANIC 33 4 6.9 16.9ASIANAMERICAN 12 1 2.4 5.1NATIVEAMERICAN 2 0 .37 1.4FEMALE 81 20 18.7 50.8

Why Not More Women?????

•Women are the most under represented “minority” group in Congress.

• The 113th Congress is a record high for number of female members.

• Women with children run for office less than men because of child care responsibilities.

• Women are less likely than are men to run when they perceive their odds to be poor.

Elections• House members have always been

directly elected by the citizens• Senators are directly elected after

passage of the 17th Amendment• Incumbents have an advantage – Why?

– We tend to think very little of Congress, but we love our own congressman!

– This is the most frequently tested concept on the AP Government Exam!!

THE INCUMBENCY ADVANTAGE

• Incumbents – Those already holding office.

• In congressional elections, incumbents usually win.

• House elections – 90% of the incumbents seeking reelection win and most of them win with more than 60% of the vote.

• Senate elections - 75% of Senate incumbents seeking reelection win.

THE INCUMBENCY ADVANTAGE

• MONEY– Incumbents usually raise more than

challengers– PACs usually contribute to incumbents that

have a proven record of support instead of challengers

– Incumbents usually outspend challengers by a 2 to 1 margin

THE INCUMBENCY ADVANTAGE

• VISIBILITY– Incumbents usually are better known by the

voters than their challengers– Incumbents have more opportunities for

public appearances in their home districts and for more free media coverage than do challengers

– Senators tend to have state-wide visibility which can sometimes hurt them more than House members

THE INCUMBENCY ADVANTAGE

• CASEWORK (a.k.a. constituency service)– Incumbents have the opportunity to do things

that help their constituents and get a favorable reputation for taking care of the voters.

– This can be accomplished…• individually (application to a service academy or

cutting through bureaucratic “red tape”)• collectively with “pork” (bringing money and jobs to

their district through government contacts, business incentives, or special projects)

THE INCUMBENCY ADVANTAGE

• THE FRANKING PRIVILEGE– Members of Congress “don’t need no stinkin’

stamps!!” (with apologies to the The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and B. Traven)

– Members of Congress can send mail to their constituents at the government’s expense

– This has recently been extended to e-mails and recorded phone calls

THE INCUMBENCY ADVANTAGE

• GERRYMANDERING– district boundaries are redrawn in strange

ways to make it easy for candidate of one party to win

– Easley v. Cromartie (2001) – upholds the practice of redistricting for political ideology

– Gerrymandering remains constitutional and widely practiced

Illinois 4th District

Pa. 17th in 2008

Pa. 15th in 2012

Gerrymandering NOT

Incumbency through the years…

Congressional Turnover

• Incumbents lose when:• One tarnished by scandal or corruption becomes

vulnerable to a challenger.• Redistricting may weaken the incumbency advantage.• Major political tidal wave may defeat incumbents.

• Open Seats• Greater likelihood of competition.• Most turnover occurs in open seats.

Changing Congressional House Districts

• Reapportionment– House districts are redrawn to reflect the gain or

loss of seats as a result of a census– Reapportionment Act of 1929 set the permanent

size of the House at 435 seats– In 1842 Congress established that all House seats

would be filled from single-member districts– That same law established that state legislatures

would be responsible to draw the boundary lines of its congressional districts

Limits on Reapportionment

• Malapportionment – Baker v. Carr (1962) – established that the

courts could rule on reapportionment cases.– Wesberry v. Sanders (1964) - found unequal

district population totals unconstitutional based on the 14th amendment

– Reynolds v. Sims (1964) - established the idea of “one person, one vote”

****The exception is that each state is entitled to at least 1 seat in the house

Limits on Reapportionment

• Districts must be equally populated• Districts must be compact and have

contiguous boundary lines• Redistricting cannot dilute minority strength• District lines cannot be drawn solely on

basis of race (race can be one of a variety of factors that are considered)