congress the roots of the legislative branch colonial assemblies bicameral legislative bodies one...

Congress

The Roots of the Legislative Branch Colonial Assemblies

Bicameral legislative bodies One popularly elected house One Crown-appointed council

Served as Advisory Council To the King-appointed governors

Power Limited Increasingly over taxation & spending Legislation on religious matters Regulate production of goods in colonies

The Roots of the Legislative Branch 1st Continental Congress (1774)

1st National Legislature To respond to the Coercive Acts Advised building of colonial militia Organized colonial boycott of British goods

2nd Continental Congress (1775) Prepared the colonies for war with Britain Raised a colonial army Adopted Declaration of Independence Directed the war & run a national

government

The Roots of the Legislative Branch Congress Under the Articles of Confederation

Unicameral legislature Each state represented by 2 to 7 delegates Each state had one vote (“ equal representation”) Congress = National government

No President & National Court created Members of Congress sent by state legislatures Limited Powers

Maintaining an army and navy Supervising trade with Indians Coining money

The Roots of the Legislative Branch Limitations of Congress under the Articles

Weak national government vs states Missing link btwn people & nat’l government

Low standing in international affairs Foreign relations conducted by states Foreign trade regulated by states

individually Financially incapacitated

No taxation power Reliance on state for financial resources

Congress & Constitution (1789) Constitutional convention of 1787

Structure of Congress Unicameral or Bicameral

New Jersey Plan “equal representation”One state, one vote

Virginia Plan “proportionate representation” # of seats proportional to

population

Congress & Constitution (1789)

Constitutional convention of 1787 Unicameral or Bicameral

Great Compromise Bicameral Congress

Proportional representation (House)

Equal representation (Senate)


Sources of Power: How Should Congress Be Elected? Lower house: popularly elected Upper house: sent by state

legislatures Powers of Congress

Does Congress elect President? No, Electoral College does Yes, when no candidate receives a

majority votes in the College


Powers of Congress “Power of the Purse”

Appropriation of money Authorization of borrowing taxation

Regulatory Power Regulation of currency Punishment of counterfeiting Regulation of inter-state & int’l trade


Powers of Congress Law-making Power

Establishing rules of naturalization Making patent & copy-right laws Making bankruptcy laws Making amendments to Constitution

War-making & Military Power War declaration Raising & supporting armed forces Providing for militia


Powers of Congress Power of Personnel Appointment

Confirmation of executive appointments Secretary of State US ambassador to the UN

Confirmation of federal judge nomination Federal court judges US Supreme Court justices

Power of Impeachment Bringing impeachment charges (House) Trying impeachments (Senate)


Powers of Congress Other Powers

Establishing post office & post roads Fixing weights and measures Providing for the government of D.C. Admitting new states Establishing lower federal courts

Senate vs. the House Size

435 members in the House (since 1911) 106 members in 1791 representing 3.5 million

residents 100 Senators in the Senate

Qualifications House

25 years of age Citizenship for at least 7 years Residency in district: 1 year Term of service: 2 years 1 member per 550,000 people

How often is Congressional election? How many Members face election each

time?

Senate vs. House Congress & Constituency

House of Representatives Closer to the voters More reflective of voter preferences More answerable to constituents

Senate More remote to the voters

Allows for political stability & policy continuity Less responsive to temporal changes in

popular sentiments Can act as a dispassionate counter-weight to

the more popular & radical House

Qualifications Senate

30 years of age 9 years of citizenship Residency requirement in state: 1 year Term: 6 years 2 seats per state in Senate

How often is Senatorial election? How many Senators face election each

time?

Senate vs. House

Legislative role differences Senate

More deliberative Why?

Less structured House of Representatives

More centralized & organized Why?

More routine & structured

Senate vs. House

Does Congress mirror the American society?

In religious belief (2001-2003) Protestant 341 Catholics 149 Jewish 37 Mormon 16

Policy implications Abortion Same sex marriage

Congress vs. US Society

Congress vs. US Society Minorities in Congress

Women

911

1711

2024

59 63 6772

7782

0

20

40

60

80

100

Number of Women in US Congress

Congress vs. US Society Minorities in Congress

Race

637 23

371

0

100

200

300

400

Number of Minorities in US Congress (2001)

Congress vs. US Society Professional background

209183

108

154

31 1628

1756

050

100150200250

Members of Congress by Professional Background (2001)

A typical member of Congress Middle-aged Male White Lawyer Whose father is of the professional

or managerial class Native born or from northwestern or

central Europe, Canada

Congress vs. US Society

2000 Senatorial Race of New York

To run for Congress…

Three success factors #1: Who the person to run

Candidate characteristics have an edge over others

A record of prior public service National name recognition

Hillary Clinton versus Rep. Rick Lazzio Fund-raising capability


To run for Congress… Why members of Congress easily win re-

election?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2002

Success Rate of Congressional Election

Senate

House

To run for Congress… #2: Incumbency Advantages

Visibility Advertise thru contacts with constituents Stay visible thru trips to home districts

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Received mail from I

Saw I on TV

Read about I

Heard I on radio

Met I personally

Contact with Members of House(blue=Incumbents; brown=challengers)

#2: Incumbency Advantages Visibility Campaign contributions

Donations go to those in office Donations to challengers offend incumbents

Credit claiming thru services to individuals & district

Casework Attend to voter concerns, requests and problems Help cut thru bureaucratic red tape to get what one

believes he has a right to get Pork barrel

List of federal projects, grants & contracts Help obtain or make known such projects to district


#2: Incumbency Advantages Visibility Campaign contributions Credit claiming thru services to individuals &

district Incumbent resources

Institutional connections and access to channels of communications

“franking privilege” (free use of the US mails) Tax-funded travel allowance to stay visible in

one’s own district Incumbents scaring challengers away

*calls for “term limits” aim to eliminate incumbency advantage


Congressional DistrictsDistrict 23 (Texas) and District 3 (Florida in ’92 and ’96)


#3: Redistricting Congressional districts redrawn every 10

years To avoid under- or over-representation

Re-drawing districts is highly political Can create open seats Can pit incumbents of the same district

against one another, ensuring one of them to lose

Can create advantage for one Party Putting people of the same party in one district Or separating them into two or more districts.


Cost to Get Elected Congressional elections are getting

more costly Jon Corzine (NJ-D), $63 million own money

on Senate race $928 million spent on 1999-2000

Congressional election Incumbents outspend their opponents

E.g., $7.5 million spent by Newt Gingrich’s reelection in 1998

Candidates of major states spend more $85 million attracted in Hillary-Lassio race,

2000

Cost of Congressional Race…

Cost of Congressional Race… Cost to Get Elected

Spending on House race Winners: $800,000 Losers: at least $300,000

Spending on Senate race Winners: $7 million up to $40 million or

more

Rising Cost

Senate 1998 2000

Average winner spent $5,227,761 $7,266,576

Average loser spent $2,839,813 $3,864,638

Most expensive campaign $27,159,681

$63,000,000 (Jon Corzine, D-NJ)

House

Average winner spent $650,428 $840,300

Average loser spent $210,614 $307,121

Most expensive campaign $7,578,716

$6,900,000 (James E. Humphrey, D-WV)

Cost of Congressional Race… Rising Cost

Rising Congressional Race Cost (in million dollars)

$0

$100$200

$300$400

$500

$600$700

$800$900

$1,000

1975-76 1979-1980 1985-1986 1989-1990 1995-1996 1999-2000

Congress not only represents, it also legislates.

Internal complexity makes it hard to conduct business without organization.

Congress is organized around: Political parties A committee system Parliamentary rules of the House & Senate And others…

Organization of Congress

Political Parties House leader election every two years Majority party leader = House Speaker Every party has a Committee on

Committees (Democrats call theirs: the Steering

& Policy Committee) Assign new legislators to committees Transfer incumbents to new committees on

request Majority & minority leaders jointly

control Senate calendars (agenda)


Organization of Congress Party leaders & legislative agenda

Leaders are enthusiastic for agenda To create consensus within party

1980 1994-1995

(when Congress not controlled by President’s party)

Committee SystemStanding Committees Important policy-making bodies Existing from Congress to Congress Paralleling executive agencies

Foreign Affairs Committee - State Department

Intelligence Committee – CIA & others Having power to report legislation


Select Committee Temporary committees No power to report legislation Set up to handle specific issues that fall

btwn the jurisdiction of existing committees

A special committee for investigating the Watergate scandal (1973)


Joint Committee With members from both parties Permanent No power to report legislation Four types of joint committees

Economic Taxation Library printing


Conference Committee Temporary Members appointed by Speaker &

Senate presiding officer For reconciling any differences on

legislation once it has been passed by House & Senate

The Committee System

A number of staff members for every legislator

Staff members (7,216 in House alone, 1999): Handle constituency requests Take care of legislative details Formulate & draft proposals Organize hearing, deal with administrative

agencies, reporters and lobbyists…

The Staff System

What is a caucus?Informal group or committee composed of Senators or Representatives who share opinions, interests or social characteristics. Ideological causes

Liberal Democratic Study Group Issue-oriented caucuses

Travel & Tourism Caucuses Congressional Friends of Animals

Common background caucuses The Congressional Black Caucus

The caucuses

What is a caucus? Objectives of the Caucuses

To advance interests of the groups they represent by promoting legislation, encouraging Congress to hold hearing, and pressing administrative agencies for favorable treatment

The caucuses

How a Bill Becomes Law

Some facts: For a bill to become law, there are

many routine hurdles It is easier for opponents to kill a bill

than to pass it The law-making process is highly

political


The Law-making Steps1. Introducing legislation

Who can introduce legislative proposals? Members of Congress Executive branch Interest groups Constituents


The Law-making Steps2. Assignment to Committee

Given a number in House preceded by “H. R.” and by “S” in Senate

Bill referred to a committee Most bills assigned to the appropriate

committees Complex bills referred to several committees Controversial bills are sometimes handled by

temporary or ad hoc committees set up for that purpose


The Law-making Steps2. Assignment to Committee

Often, nothing happens to the bills in committee. Neglect leads to death of many bills

Bills to be acted on are often referred to the appropriate sub-committees.


The Law-making Steps3. Hearing

Once the sub-committee or full committee decides to act, hearings are held participated by: Executive agency representatives Academia Interest groups Other interested persons

In a typical two-year Congress Senate: 1200 hearings House: 2300 hearings


The Law-making Steps4. Reporting a Bill

When a sub-committee decides to act on a bill, it drafts it line by line

It reports it to the full committee The full committee accepts, rejects or

amends the bill.


The Law-making Steps5. Schedule Debate

When a committee agrees to submit a bill to the two houses, it is put on the House & Senate calendar, a list bills for action

Each house has different calendars for different bills In House, non-controversial bills are put on

the Consent Calendar or Private Calendar to be passed without debate


The Law-making Steps5. Schedule Debate

Each house has different calendars for different bills Controversial or important bills are placed

on the Union Calendar or house Calendar. Rules & procedures (length of debate) are requested from the Rules Committee.

Define the following:filibuster, cloture, open rule, closed rule.


The Law-making Steps6. Debate & Amendment

Opponents & proponents have equal debate time

Relevant amendments, if allowed, can be added

Floor debate seldom change views of others In Senate, debate can last long time In Senate, filibuster can be used Senators can propose amendments irrelevant

to the bill.

How a Bill Becomes LawThe Law-making Steps7. The Vote

How do members vote? What impact their voting behavior? Personal views Opinions of the constituents Advice of knowledgeable & trusted colleagues

Occasionally, President can win over wavering members of their Party to stick with the team or by cutting deals with pivotal members.

It is important for members to cast an explainable vote, one that is defendable in public when challenged.

How a Bill Becomes LawThe Law-making Steps7. The Vote

How do members vote? What impact their voting behavior?

It is important for members to cast an explainable vote, one that is defendable in public when challenged.

Not every vote has to please the constituents. But, too many “bad” votes are costly and show distance with one’s folks at home.

How a Bill Becomes LawThe Law-making Steps8. In Conference Committee Once passed, a bill is sent to the other

chamber for consideration If the 2nd chamber passes the bill, it is then

sent to the White House for action. But, controversial bills need to go to a

Conference Committee to reconcile the differences in the two versions of the bills

After Conference, details of the bill are reported back to each chamber before sending to the President.

How a Bill Becomes LawThe Law-making Steps7. To the President

Approve the bill into law Ignore it, with the result it becomes law in

10 days (not including weekend & when Congress is still in session)

Veto it (& facing override in Congress) Pocket veto it (if Congress adjourns before

the 10 days are up)When President vetoes a bill, he usually explains why he does so.

How a Bill Becomes LawThe Law-making Steps7. Congressional Override of Veto

A two-thirds majority is required in each chamber to override the Presidential veto

There are two major forces impacting Congressional law-making

External influences Constituency Interest groups

Internal/governmental influences Party leadership Congressional colleagues President/executive branch

Influences on Law-making

Influence from the Constituency Members of Congress comply with views

of constituents due to re-election need They voluntarily anticipate or find out

constituents’ positions 1998, 31 House democrats crossed the party

line and voted in favor of an impeachment inquiry (e.g., Congressman Gary Condit)

Influences on Law-making

Mobilize followers in a member’s congressional districts “Astroturf lobbying”

Provide information

Influences from Interest Groups

Party leaders in Congress have influence over members

Party organizations have resources: Leadership PACs

PACs (1) raise funds and then (2) distribute to members for running for election

PACs enhance party power PACs create bond between leaders & members who

receive money Committee Assignments Access to Floor The whip system

communication network, with info on member intentions in voting

Logrolling

Influences from Party Org

Since 1940s, President submitted yearly legislative proposals to Congress

Since mid-1950s, Congress has looked to the President for legislative proposals

Influences from the President

congress the roots of the legislative branch colonial assemblies bicameral legislative bodies one...

Documents