THE CONGRESS

THE FOUNDERS’ DOMINANT BRANCH?

Bicameral Legislature

Compromise at the Constitutional Convention (representation of large vs. small population states)

Compromise among competing interests and protection of minority interests

Slow the process (no rush to judgement--be deliberate and thoughtful)

Different types of representation/federalism Intrabranch check and prevention of majority

tyranny

Unique Powers of House of Representatives

Initiate Revenue bills. Choose the President

when the electoral college is deadlocked.

Impeachment

Why? Closer to the people. More representative of

and responsive to the public.

Direct election to two-year terms.

Unique Powers of the Senate

Treaty Ratification Confirmation of judicial

and executive appointments.

Try impeachments/conviction/removal from office

Not filibuster, because that is a Senate “rule”, not a power.

Why? More mature and

“august” body. More insulated from

public opinion. Originally, indirectly

elected. Longer/staggered terms Reflects state interests

MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

Congress is not a true representative cross section of America.

The average member of Congress is a white male in his mid-50’s.

Most are married, have children, and attend a Christian church.

Most members are lawyers, though many have backgrounds in business, agriculture, education, journalism, or professional politics.

DUTIES OF JOB

Legislators Committee Members Representatives of their constituents Servants of their constituents Exercise oversight

OVERSIGHT

Ensure agencies are working efficiently and according to the law.

They do not run the agencies, though.

Control bureaucracy through Senate confirmation, authorizing programs, appropriating budgets, and investigating operations.

Types of Representation

Trustee--holders of the public trust and not influenced by others.

Delegate--agents of those who elected them.

Politico--elements of both--highly visible bills-delegate; no opinion back home-trustee.

Partisan--vote according to party platform and leaders

Service--non-legislative activities (casework); time-consuming.

Other Roles--servant to their constituents:

Make appointments to military academies

Help companies in their districts get government contracts

The congressional power most frequently contested by the Supreme Court is the power to regulate interstate commerce. (ex. U.S. v Lopez)

COMPENSATION

Senators and Representatives earn $174,000 per year. Leadership positions earn $193,400. Speaker receives $223,500.

Non-salary perks: free parking, low cost medical, generous pensions, free printing, franking privileges, etc.

Politics: Congress sets its own pay and benefits.

The President’s veto and voter backlash can act to limit salaries.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

435 members (since 1929) Total number of seats are apportioned Each state is guaranteed at least 1 seat Reps serve 2-year terms No term limits exist When they sit as one large committee, they

meet as the Committee of the Whole.

WESBERRY V. SANDERS (1964)

For many years rural congressional districts with few people were overrepresented in the House, at the expense of urban areas.

Supreme Court upheld the principle of “one person, one vote”. States cannot under-represent voters--districts must be equally populated. Lines must be contiguous. Cannot dilute minority voting strength. District lines can’t be racially drawn. Districts must be compact. Communities of interest must be protected.

QUALIFICATIONS

Members of the House must be at least 25 years of age, have been a citizen for at least 7 years, and must be an inhabitant of the State he or she represents.

House judges acceptability--censure/removal.

SENATE

100 members--2 from each state.

Prior to adoption of Amendment 17 in 1913, Senators were chosen by state legislatures.

6-year terms which are staggered so that only 1/3 stand for election every 2 years.

The Senate is generally called the “upper” house because it has more stringent requirements, more prestige, a longer term, and has historically been a stepping stone to higher political office.

Senators are expected to focus on the “big picture” more and on the entire State.

QUALIFICATIONS

Senators must be at least 30 years of age, must have been a citizen for at least 9 years, and must be an inhabitant of the State.

As in the House, the Senate judges the qualifications of a member-elect and may exclude with a majority vote. The Senate may punish members with a majority vote or expel them with a two thirds vote.

CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS

Elections occurring in non-presidential election years are called off-year elections, in which the party usually holding the presidency loses seats. http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2010/results/main.results/

Congressional districts have often been gerrymandered.

House members are chosen from single-member districts drawn by State legislatures.

WHO USUALLY WINS?

Incumbents--those already holding office. Even in a year of political realignment such as

1994, in which the GOP gained 8 seats in the Senate and 53 in the House, 92% of the incumbents won their bids for reelection.

A major advantage that an incumbent has over a challenger is the money the incumbent receives from PACs and lobbyists.

House: Not only do more than 90% of incumbents seeking reelection win, but most win with more than 60% of the vote.

Senate: Even though senators have a better than equal chance of winning reelection, they typically have much narrower margins.

And, one reason for the greater competition is that the entire state is much more diverse than a single district.

Incumbents still feel vulnerable, so they have been raising and spending more campaign funds, sending more mail to voters, traveling to their home districts and states, and staffing more local offices than ever before.

INCUMBENT ADVANTAGES

Voters are not very aware of how their senators and reps actually vote.

Members of Congress utilize 3 primary activities to increase their reelection bids: advertising, credit claiming, and position taking.

CREDIT CLAIMING

Casework: helping constituents as individuals such as helping them deal with bureaucratic “red tape”.

Pork barrel: increase federal spending in their state or districts.

$ IN CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS

Candidates spend enormous sums on campaigns.

Average cost to winning a 2010 House race was $1.09 million and Senate seat was $8.28 million. http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2010/11/bad-night-for-incumbents-self-finan.html

In 2006 Incumbent Rick Santorum (R-PA) spent $24,100,000 in a losing bid against Bob Casey (D-PA) who spent $13,700,000.

The most expensive race in the country in 2006 was the $45.7 million Senate race in New York between the winning incumbent Hillary Clinton ($35.9 million) and Republican John Spencer ($4.8 million). Clinton still had $14 million left in the bank unspent.

In 2008:

http://www.opensecrets.org/bigpicture/elec_stats.php?cycle=2008

STABILITY

One result of incumbents winning reelection is the stability it provides Congress. They gain expertise in dealing with public policy.

Unfortunately, it can also insulate them from political change.

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) was the longest serving member of Congress and the Senate since 1959. He died in June of 2010 at 92. He served a total of 57 years and 176 days.

Currently, Michigan Congressman John Dingell has served 55 years and 350 days.

HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW

CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP

Party leadership--those that have real power in Congress are those whose party put them there.

Power is widely dispersed. Leaders need to appeal to wide range.

112th Congress Leadership: http://www.thecapitol.net/FAQ/cong_leadership.html

HOUSE LEADERSHIP

The Speaker of the House is second (after the Veep) in line for the presidency. The current Speaker is John Boehner (R-OH).

At one time the Speaker had almost total control. Many powers were removed in 1910.

Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was the first woman ever to become Speaker.

FORMAL POWERS OF SPEAKER

Presiding over the House Assigning members of Congress to committees Appointing the party’s leaders Exercising substantial control over which bills

get assigned to which committees

Speaker’s principal partisan ally is the Majority Leader. Responsible for rounding up votes on party legislation and for scheduling bills in the House (Eric Cantor R-VA).

Majority Whip works with the majority leader to round up votes and report the views of the party rank and file back to the leadership (Kevin McCarthy R-CA).

The minority party is also organized in this way and is prepared to take over key posts if it should win a majority in the House.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi(D-CA)

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer(D-MD)

House and Senate Rules Differences

House More formal

procedures/rules Germaneness

requirement Rules Committee

Senate Less formal

procedures/rules Filibuster Holds Unanimous consent

agreements

Other Major Differences

House Shorter term of office Narrower constituency Originates all revenue bills Policy specialists Less press and media

coverage Less reliance on staff More partisan Strict limits on debate Method of operation

stresses majority rule

Senate Longer term of office Broader, more varied

constituency Sole power to ratify treaties Advise and consent to

presidential nominations Policy generalists More press and media

coverage More reliance on staff Unlimited debate on nearly

every measure Traditions and practices

emphasize minority rights

Rules Differences can Kill Bills

Filibuster: Senate can kill a House-passed bill Holds: Senate can delay/stop a House-passed bill

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30166.html Unanimous consent agreements: Senate can ease

passage of a bill, but the House has no such mechanism Germaneness: Senate can add unrelated content that

the House finds objectionable Rules Committee: Committee can hinder passage of a

Senate-passed bill in the House

House Majority Party Advantages

Holds committee chairs Controls Rules Committee Sets the agenda Controls debate Chooses Speaker of the House Holds majority on each committee Assigns bills to committee And, of course, floor voting

SENATE LEADERSHIP

The Constitution names the vice president as President of the Senate. With the exception of Al Gore and Dick Cheney, vice presidents typically have little power or influence in the Senate except in the rare case when their vote can break a tie. Joe Biden continues this new tradition.

PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE

The second-highest ranking official of the Senate and the highest-ranking senator is Daniel Inouye (D-WV).

Elected by the Senate, but, by custom, he or she is the most senior senator in the majority party.

Third in line of succession to the Presidency.

The Senate Majority Leader is the position of real power and authority in the Senate. He rounds up votes, schedules the floor action, and influences committee assignments (Harry Reid D-NV).

HARRY REID (D-NV) MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY)DICK DURBIN (D-IL) JOHN KYL (R-AZ)

Party Leadership

Assignment of members to committees Assignment of committee chairs Scheduling Agenda-setting (Rules Committee) Party discipline Leadership use of media Recognition on floor Leadership control of electoral support

CREATING and INTRODUCING BILLS

Most bills do not originate with individual members of Congress, but are suggested by the executive branch, after coordination by OMB.

Special interest groups also suggest ideas for bills and often actually write them.

The president’s task is to persuade Congress that his agenda should also be theirs.

Presidents may try to influence members directly, but more often will leave White House lobbying to the congressional liaison office.

All revenue-raising bills must begin in the House; all other bills may be introduced in either chamber.

TYPES OF BILLS and RESOLUTIONS

Bills are proposed laws presented to Congress. Public bills apply to the entire nation; private bills pertain to certain persons or places.

Joint resolutions deal with temporary or unusual matters, have the possibility of gaining the force of law, must be passed by both houses, and must be signed by the President.

Like this JR from 1985 designating April 24, 1985 as “National Day of Remembrance of Man’s Inhumanity to Man” (Armenian Genocide).

Concurrent Resolutions deal with common concerns of both houses, do not have the force of law, and do not require the President’s signature. Examples include an adjournment for more than three days or providing for a Joint Session of Congress.

Resolutions have no force of law, are usually concerned with house rules, and do not require the President’s signature.

A rider is a provision not likely to pass on its own merit, so it is attached to another piece of legislation.

THE COMMITTEE SYSTEM

Most significant decisions in the legislative process usually transpires in committees.

Committees dominate congressional policy-making with parties pushing their own agendas.

They regularly hold hearings to investigate problems and possible wrongdoing, and to investigate the executive branch.

Specialization occurs as members develop policy expertise and greater independence from the executive branch.

Reciprocity/logrolling develops as bargaining speeds process. Government becomes more expansive, though could have pork barrel implications.

4 TYPES OF COMMITTEES

Standing committees, by far the most important, are permanent subject-matter committees, formed to handle bills in different policy areas, and do the most work on the bills. Each chamber has its own committees and subcommittees.

A typical representative serves on two committees and four subcommittees, while senators average three committees and seven subcommittees each.

Joint committees are study committees that exist in a few policy areas, with members drawn from both the Senate and the House.

Conference committees are formed to reconcile the differences when the House and Senate pass different versions of the same bill.

Select committees are temporary committees appointed for a specific purpose (for example, Watergate). They don’t submit bills, but primarily investigate.

FUNCTION OF COMMITTEES

More than 11,000 bills are submitted to Congress every two years that are then whittled down by committees.

The most important output is to mark up (revise and rewrite) a bill, and then submit it to the full House or Senate for consideration.

Members of the committee will usually serve as floor managers of the bill when it leaves the committee. They also become “cue-givers” to whom other members turn to to decide how to vote.

Legislative oversight is the process of holding the executive branch agencies accountable for their actions.

Oversight is handled primarily through hearings. The process exerts pressure or even cuts budgets to secure compliance with Congress.

Public attention is captured--Watergate, Iran-Contra, Whitewater, and Lewinsky.

Number of staff members have decreased since the 80’s.

GETTING ON A COMMITTEE

After an election, new members write to the party’s leaders to indicate their committee preferences (like incoming freshman Senator Al Franken, D-MN or returning Rep. Mike Honda, D-CA).

Members seek committee assignments that will help them achieve opportunity to make policy in areas they think important. For the first-term rep., concentrating on assigned committee work increases their power base in House. They can’t merely do constituent work--that just reelects them.

GETTING AHEAD

Committee Chairs like Patrick Leahy, D-VT, of the Senate Judiciary Committee and John Kerry, D-MA, of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are the most important influencers of the committee agenda.

Until the 1970’s, committee chairs were always selected through the seniority system. A system that resulted in those members of the majority party with the longest continuous service on a committee automatically becoming chairs. Until 1975, most of the congressional power was held by the chairs of the standing committees.

Chairs were so powerful that they could single-handedly “bottle-up” legislation in committee.

The system also gave a decisive edge to members from “safe” districts, where members were seldom challenged for reelection.

In the 70’s Congress faced a revolt of its younger members. Both parties then permitted members to vote on committee chairs. This has reduced the clout of chairs. In addition, chairs cannot remove committee members.

Today, seniority remains the general rule for selecting chairs, but there have been exceptions.

In the House, where all revenue bills must originate, the five top “exclusive” committees are Ways and Means, Appropriations, Energy and Commerce, Financial Services, and Rules.

They are considered prize slots because the panels put members in contact with industry and trade-association lobbyists, making it easier for lawmakers to quickly raise campaign cash.

CAUCUSES

A congressional caucus is a group of members sharing a specific interest or characteristic (such as the Black Caucus, the Hispanic Caucus, the Congresswomen Caucus, Sunbelt Caucus and the Blue Dog Coalition) http://www.house.gov/melancon/BlueDogs/

Caucuses include regional groupings, ideological groupings, economic groupings, and party groupings. House Dems: http://www.dems.gov/ House GOP: http://www.gop.gov/ Sen Dems: http://www.democrats.senate.gov/ Sen GOP: http://src.senate.gov/public/

The proliferation of caucuses (around 130) gives members an informal, yet strong say in the policy agenda.

THE FILIBUSTER

A process by which a single senator, or a group of senators, can talk a bill to death, thus blocking votes on proposed legislation. It does not apply to the House.

CLOTURE

Since 1975, sixty members present and voting can halt a filibuster by invoking cloture (closure) on debate. Previously, it required a supermajority (2/3).

In recent years a “nuclear option” threat existed to defeat filibusters. Essentially, through manipulations of the rules, the dominant GOP wished to reduce cloture to a simple majority vote. This would help them in the Senate confirmation process.

PRESIDENT ACTS

The president may sign the bill, veto it, allow the bill to become law by not signing it within ten days of receiving it while Congress is in session, or pocket veto the bill by not acting on it before Congress adjourns.

VETO OVERRIDE

Congress can vote to override the veto with a two-thirds vote in each chamber.

Historically, Congress has overridden only a very small number of presidential vetoes. In over 200 years there have been approximately 2,500 vetoes and only about a hundred have been overridden.

GAO--the WATCHDOG OF CONGRESS

The Government Accountability Office is the non-partisan audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of Congress, and an agency in the Legislative Branch.

Headed by the Comptroller General of the United States, currently Gene Dodaro. The term lasts 15 years and the appointment is made by the President, by, and with the advice and consent of the Senate.