Chapter 11: Congress



I. The “first branch”

A. 1st one defined in the Constitution (Article I)

B. Most powerful?

C. Closest to the people?

II. Congress versus Parliament

A. Parliamentary candidates are selected by party

1. Members of Parliament select prime minister and other leaders

2. Party members vote together on most issues

3. Re-nomination depends on loyalty to party

4. Principal work is debating national issues

5. Very little power, very little pay

B. Congressional candidates run in a primary election, with little party control

1. Vote is for the man or woman, not the party

2. Result is a body of independent representatives

3. Members do not choose the president (who is selected by electoral college)

4. Principal work is representation and action

5. Great deal of power, high pay; parties cannot discipline members

C. Congress is a decentralized institution

1. Members more concerned with their views and views of their constituents

2. Members less concerned with organized parties and program proposals of president

D. Congress is unpopular with voters but individual members have higher approval rating

III. The evolution of Congress

A. Bicameral legislature

1. Two house legislature – Senate & House of Representatives

2. Borrowed idea from Great Britain

3. Checks & balances

4. Opposed concentration of power in a single institution

5. Great Compromise -- balance large and small states

B. Traditional criticism: Congress is too slow

1. Centralization needed for quick and decisive action

2. Decentralization needed if congressional constituency interests are to be dominant

C. Development of the House

1. Phase 1 = powerful House

2. Phase 2 = divided House – slavery issue

3. Phase 3 = rise of powerful Speaker

4. Phase 4 = revolt against Speaker (1910)

5. Phase 5 = empowerment of individual members (1960’s-1970’s)

6. Phase 6 = return of strong leadership

7. Problem of being big & strong as group vs. big & strong as individuals

D. Development of the Senate

1. Structural advantages over the House

a. Small enough to be run without giving authority to small group of leaders

b. Interests more carefully balanced

c. No time limits on speakers or committee control of debate

d. Senators selected by state legislators until passage of the 17th amendment; today elected by voters

e. Filibuster restricted by Rule 22 (cloture) - though tradition of unlimited debate remains

IV. Basic structure

A. Terms & sessions

1. Term lasts 2 years

a. Numbered consecutively from the 1st one

b. Current term is the

c. Begins at noon January of every odd numbered year

2. Session refers to period of time in which Congress assembles & conducts business

a. 2 regular sessions per term (or 1 session per year)

3. Special sessions may be called by the President but rarely used since Congress meets year round today

B. House of Representatives

1. Membership based on population – each state must have at least 1

2. 435 voting members – max size as required by Reapportionment Act of 1929

3. Reapportionment (redistribution of House seats)

a. Occurs after the national census is conducted every 10 years

b. Last census conducted in 2000

c. If gain population, then gain representatives; if lose population, then lose representatives

d. Hurts small states with more than 1 representative

4. Current make up

a. Democrats

b. Republicans

c. Independents

C. Senate

1. Membership is equal – 2 senators per state

2. 100 voting members

3. Originally selected by state legislators until passage of the 17th amendment

4. Current make up

a. Democrats

b. Republicans

c. Independents

V. Powers of Congress

A. Defined in Article I, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution

1. Expressed powers

a. Lay & collect taxes

b. Borrow money

c. Regulate international and interstate commerce

d. Establish rules for naturalization and immigration

e. Coin money

f. Fix standard of weights and measures

g. Establish post offices

h. Issue patents and copyrights

i. Create federal courts inferior to the Supreme Court

j. Declare war

k. Raise and support armed forces

l. Exercise legislative powers over D.C. and other federal facilities

2. Special House powers

a. All revenue bills must originate in the House

b. Power to impeach (or charge) with high crimes & misdemeanors

3. Special Senate powers

a. Must confirm major presidential appointments (federal judges, ambassadors & Cabinet Secretaries) by 2/3 vote

b. Must approve treaties with foreign nation by 2/3 vote

c. Tries impeachment charges against officials

B. Necessary and proper clause (elastic clause) allows Congress to make other laws that are deemed “necessary & proper” for carrying out their powers

1. Today that means “convenient & useful”

2. Congressional oversight of the budget prepared by the executive branch has increased

a. Authorization bills state the maximum amount of money available for a new federal program

b. Appropriation bills set the actual amount of money available in a fiscal year for each program that has been authorized

3. Congressional power to investigate has grown in scope

a. Issues that warrant study and wrong doings by public officials

b. Watergate, Clinton-Lewinsky hearings, 9/11 commission, destruction of CIA interrogation tapes

VI. Who is in Congress?

A. Representatives

1. Qualifications

a. At least 25 years old

b. U.S. citizen for 7 years

c. Resident of state from which elected

d. Custom to live in district that represent

2. Serve unlimited number of 2 year terms

B. Senators

1. Qualifications

a. At least 30 years old

b. U.S. citizen for 9 years

c. Resident of state from which elected

2. Serve unlimited number of 6 year terms

3. Called a continuous body because only 1/3 of senators are up for reelection every 2 years

C. Typical member

1. 90% are male

2. Most are well-educated

3. Most are upper middle class

4. Most are Protestants

5. Most are white with a handful of minorities

6. Average age is 60 for senators and 55 for representatives

7. 40% are lawyers

8. Not representative of United States – an elite group?!

a. House has become less male and less white

b. Senate has been slower to change, but several blacks and Hispanics hold powerful positions

D. Incumbency

1. Low turnover rates and safe districts common in Congress before 1980’s

a. Marginal districts have close elections where winners gets less than 55% of vote

b. Safe districts have elections where winners get 55% or more of vote

2. By 1980’s incumbents increasingly viewed as professional politicians and out of touch with the people -> call for term limits

3. Influx of new members in 1990’s (but incumbents still hold advantage)

E. Fair representation in House

1. Not problem in Senate because represent entire state

2. Problem of malapportionment – districts of different sizes can “water down” power of votes

3. Corrected by Wesberry v. Sanders (1964) – “one person, one vote”

4. Problem of gerrymandering – drawing of district boundaries in bizarre manner to favor a particular group

5. Majority-minority districts – congressional districts designed to make it easier for minority citizens to elect minority representatives

a. “Good” gerrymandering/ like affirmative action??

b. Shaw v. Reno (1993) – race is acceptable factor in drawing district lines if there is a compelling governmental interest

c. Easley v. Cromartie (2001) – race can’t be the dominant & controlling factor in redistricting

d. Question of using descriptive representation (demographic characteristics of representative match constituents) or substantive representation (representative’s opinions match those of constituents)

F. The beliefs and interests of members of Congress can affect policy

1. Constituent’s views

a. Visit home districts & states to keep “in touch”

b. Read mail, e-mail etc.

c. Keep in touch with local and state political leaders

2. Party views

a. Congress organized along party lines so…

b. Party actively pressures members to vote the party line

c. Members vote along party lines about 40% (Wilson) 75% (supplement) of the time

3. Personal views

a. If seriously disagree with constituents & party, then vote conscious

b. Take risk of not being re-elected

G. Voters rarely punish members

1. Usually gain power and votes 2nd time elected – sophomore surge

VII. Do members represent their voters?

A. Representational view assumes that members vote to please their constituents

1. Voters do not hold clear views on majority of issues

2. Constituency influence more important in Senate votes

B. Organizational view assumes members of Congress vote to please colleagues

1. Influence of party and ideology

2. Problem is that party does not have a clear position on all issues

3. On minor votes most members influenced by party members on sponsoring committees

C. Attitudinal view assumes that ideology affects a legislator's vote

1. House members tend to have opinions similar to those of the public more than senators do

D. Ideology and civility in Congress

1. Members of Congress more sharply divided ideologically than they once were

2. New members of Congress are more ideological

3. Members of Congress more polarized than voters

a. Democrats more liberal/Republicans more conservative

b. Voters closer to center of political spectrum

4. Members of Congress (especially the House) do not get along as well as they once did – bipartisanship!

VIII. The organization of Congress: parties and caucuses

A. Party that wins the most representatives is designated the “majority” in each house; the other party becomes the “minority”

B. Party organization of the Senate

1. President of the Senate

a. Vice President

b. Hold very little power in Congress

c. Votes in case of a tie

d. Currently Dick Cheney (R)

2. President pro tempore

a. Presides over the Senate in absence of VP

b. Usually the member with most seniority in majority party

c. Selected by party’s caucus

d. Currently

3. Real leaders are the majority leader and the minority leader

a. Elected by their respective party members

b. Majority leader determines agenda and committee assignments

c. Current majority leader is

d. Current minority leader is

4. Party whips

a. Keep leaders informed by acting as go-betweens between leaders and members

b. Round up votes & count noses

c. Put pressure on members to support the leadership

d. Current majority party whip is

e. Current minority party whip is

C. Party structure in the House

1. Speaker of the House is most important leadership position in House

a. Member of majority party; presides over House

b. Decides whom to recognize to speak on the floor

c. Rules on germaneness of motions

d. Assigns bills to committees

e. Appoints members to special and select committees

f. Has some patronage power

g. Currently

2. Majority leader and minority leader

a. Same functions as Senate

b. Current majority leader is

c. Current minority leader is

3. Party whips have same function as in Senate

a. Current majority whip is

b. Current minority whip is

D. The strength of party structure

1. Loose measure is ability of leaders to determine party rules and organization

2. Tested in 103d Congress: 110 new members

a. Ran as outsiders

b. Yet reelected entire leadership and committee chairs

3. Senate different since transformed by changes in norms, not rules: now less party-centered, less leader-oriented, more hospitable to new members

E. Party unity

F. Caucuses

1. Informal network or grouping of members sharing the same interests or points of view

2. Rivals to parties in policy formulation

3. No longer supported by public funds

4. More than 70 exist today like the Congressional Black Caucus

5. Types (Hammond)

a. Intraparty

b. Personal interest

c. Constituency concerns, national

d. Constituency concerns, regional

e. Constituency concerns, state/district

f. Constituency concerns, industry

IX. The organization of Congress: committees and subcommittees

A. Most important organizational feature of Congress

1. Consider bills or legislative proposals

2. Maintain oversight of executive agencies

3. Conduct investigations

B. Types of committees

1. Select committees

a. Appointed for a limited & specific purpose and limited duration (temporary)

b. Examples include Select Committee on Aging

2. Joint committees -- those on which both representatives and senators serve

3. Conference committee -- a joint committee appointed to resolve differences in the Senate and House versions of the same piece of legislation before final passage

4. Standing committees

a. Most important type of committee

b. Majority party has majority of seats on the committees

c. Each member usually serves on two standing committees

d. Chairs are elected, but usually the most senior member of the committee is elected by the majority party (seniority rule)

e. Subcommittee "bill of rights" of 1970s changed several traditions

1. Opened more meetings to the public

2. Allowed television coverage of meetings

3. Effort to reduce number of committees in 1995-1996

I. Senate has 16 standing committees

I. Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry

II. Appropriations

III. Armed Services

IV. Banking, housing & Urban Affairs

V. Budget

VI. Commerce, Science & Transportation

VII. Energy & Natural Resources

VIII. Environment & Public Works

IX. Finance

X. Foreign Relations

XI. Governmental Affairs

XII. Health, Education, Labor & Pensions

XIII. Judiciary

XIV. Rules & Administration

XV. Small Business & Entrepreneurship

XVI. Veteran Affairs

II. House has 19 standing committees

I. Agriculture

II. Appropriations

III. Armed Services

IV. Budget

V. Education & Workforce

VI. Energy & Commerce

VII. Financial Service

VIII. Government Reform

IX. House Administration

X. International Relations

XI. Judiciary

XII. Resources

XIII. Rules

XIV. Science

XV. Small Business

XVI. Standards of Official Conduct

XVII. Transportation & Infrastructure

XVIII. Veteran Affairs

XIX. Ways & Means

C. Work of committees

1. Handle bills for different policy areas (11,000 bills introduced over single term)

2. Pigeonholed (stuff in drawer & forget it) – happens to majority of bills

3. Submitted to subcommittee for discussion & hearings

4. Marked up (changed or re-written) by subcommittee

5. Returned to full committee who can also change & amend

D. Committee membership

1. Controlled by parties, primarily the majority party

2. Chairman & majority of members come from majority party

3. Remaining members come from minority party & are the minority on the committee

4. House

a. Committee on Committees assigns Republicans

b. Steering & Policy Committee assigns Democrats

5. Senate Steering Committees for both parties make assignments

6. Emphasize ideological and regional balance

7. Other factors: popularity, effectiveness on television, favors owed

E. Committee styles

1. Decentralization has increased individual member's influence

a. Less control by chairs

b. More amendments proposed and adopted

2. Ideological orientations of committees vary, depending on attitudes of members

3. Certain committees tend to attract particular types of legislators

a. Policy-oriented members

b. Constituency-oriented members

X. The organization of Congress: staffs and specialized offices

A. Tasks of staff members

1. Constituency service: major task of staff

2. Monitoring hearings, devising proposals, drafting reports, meeting with lobbyists

3. Staff members consider themselves advocates of their employers

B. Growth and influence of staff

1. Rapid growth: a large staff itself requires a large staff

2. Larger staff generates more legislative work

3. Members of Congress can no longer keep up with increased legislative work and so must rely on staff

4. Results in a more individualistic Congress

C. Staff agencies offer specialized information

1. Congressional Research Service (CRS) – part of the Library of Congress that provides information to members of Congress

2. General Accounting Office (GAO) – audits money spent by executive departments, investigates agencies and makes financial policy recommendations

3. Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) – evaluated programs that used or impacted technology; abolished in 1995

4. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) – advises Congress on the economic effects of spending programs as well as information re: costs of proposed programs

XI. How a Bill becomes a Law

A. Bills & resolutions

1. Bill is a proposed law

a. Public bills apply to the nation as a whole

b. Private bills deal with individuals or individual places

2. Resolution relates to the rules or business of either house of Congress

a. “Resolved by the Senate, that…”

b. Simple resolution

1. Establishes rules, regulations or practices

2. Not a law

3. Passed by either house

c. Concurrent resolution

1. Passed by both houses

2. Often settle housekeeping or procedural matters

3. Not a law

d. Joint resolution

1. Requires approval of both houses and signature of president

2. Same force as a law

3. Reaction to an important issue that needs immediate attention

3. Example – resolution granting G.W. Bush the authority to take Congressional Research Service (CRS) – part of the Library of Congress that provides information to members of Congress

4. General Accounting Office (GAO) – audits money spent by executive departments, investigates agencies and makes financial policy recommendations

5. Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) – evaluated programs that used or impacted technology; abolished in 1995

1. Congressional Budget Office military action in response to 9/11 attacks

6. Rider is a provision that is unlikely to pass on its own so it’s attached to another bill that is more likely to pass

B. Where do bills come from?

1. Executive branch or President

2. Special interest groups

3. Standing committees

4. Constituents who say “there ought to be law…”

C. Bills travel through Congress at different speeds

1. Bills to spend money or to tax or regulate business move slowly

2. Bills with a clear, appealing idea move fast

Examples: "Stop drugs," "End scandal"

D. Introducing a bill

1. Introduced by a member of Congress in either house: hopper in House, recognized in Senate

2. EXCEPTION: revenue bills must be introduced in House

3. Most legislation has been initiated in Congress by members of Congress

4. Bill must be passed by both houses and be signed by the president within the life of one Congress (one term) or it is dead and must be presented again during the next term

E. Study by committees

1. Bill is referred to a committee for consideration by either Speaker or presiding officer

2. Most bills die in committee -- pigeonholing

3. Hearings are often conducted by several subcommittees: multiple referrals (replaced by sequential referral system in 1995)

4. Markup of bills--bills are revised by committees

5. Committee reports a bill out to the House or Senate

a. If bill is not reported out, the House can use the discharge petition

b. If bill is not reported out, the Senate can pass a discharge motion

F. Placed on calendar

1. House has 5 calendars

a. Union – bills to raise revenue or spend money

b. House – non-money bills of major importance

c. Private – private bills that do not affect general welfare

d. Consent – noncontroversial bills

e. Discharge – discharge petitions

2. Senate has 2 calendars

a. Executive – presidential nominations & proposed treaties

b. Calendar of business – all legislation

G. House Rules Committee sets the rules for consideration

1. Closed rule: sets time limit on debate and restricts amendments

2. Open rule: permits amendments from the floor

3. Restrictive rule: permits only some amendments

4. Use of closed and restrictive rules growing

5. Rules can be bypassed by the House

6. No direct equivalent in Senate

H. Floor debate

1. Quorum (or majority) must be present to conduct official business (218 of 435 in House; 51 out of 100 in Senate)

2. Committee of the Whole

a. Procedural device for expediting House consideration of bills but cannot pass bills

b. Committee sponsor of bill organizes the discussion

c. Needs 100 members instead of 218

3. Senate

a. No rule limiting debate or relevance

b. Filibuster – talking a bill to death prevents the discussion and vote on a bill

c. Cloture (Rule 22) sets a time limit on debate but three-fifths of Senate must vote for a cloture petition

4. Both filibusters and cloture votes becoming more common

a. Easier now to stage filibuster

b. Roll calls are replacing long speeches

c. But can be curtailed by "double tracking"--disputed bill is shelved temporarily so other bills can be discussed--making filibuster less costly

I. Voting

1. To investigate voting behavior one must know how a legislator voted on amendments as well as on the bill itself

2. Procedures for voting in the House

a. Voice vote – members shout “yea” or “nay”

b. Division vote – members stand to be counted

c. Teller vote – file past the clerk, first yeas and then nays

d. Roll call vote – members answer “yea” or “nay” when name is called

e. Electronic voting – members insert plastic card into slot to record vote; most common today

3. Senate voting is the same except no teller vote or electronic voting

J. Conference Committee action

1. Differences in Senate and House versions of a bill

2. If minor, last house to act merely sends bill to the other house, which accepts the changes

3. If major, a conference committee is appointed

a. Decisions are made by a majority of each delegation; Senate version favored

b. Conference reports back to each house for acceptance or rejection

4. Bill, in final form, goes to the president

K. Presidential action (has 10 business days to act)

1. President may sign it & becomes a law

2. President vetoes it, it returns to the house of origin

a. Override with a 2/3 vote by both houses

b. Bill becomes law without the president's signature

3. President does nothing within 10 days & it becomes a law

4. Pocket veto occurs when president does nothing and does not have 10 days to act because Congress has adjourned = bill dies

XII. Reducing power and perks

A. Many proposals made to "reform" and "improve" Congress

B. Common perception it is overstaffed and self-indulgent

1. Quick to regulate others, but not itself

2. Quick to pass pork barrel legislation but slow to address controversial questions of national policy

a. Pork refers to bills that benefit their district – usually seen as not important or frivolous like bridge to nowhere in Alaska

b. Logrolling occurs when member supports another member’s pet project in return for support for his own project

3. Trimming the pork

a. Main cause of deficit is entitlement programs, not pork

b. Some spending in districts represents needed projects

c. Members supposed to advocate interests of district

d. Price of citizen-oriented Congress is pork

4. Use of franking privilege to subsidize personal campaigns

C. Congressional Accountability Act of 1995

1. For years Congress routinely exempted itself from many of the laws it passed

2. 1995 Act

a. Obliged Congress to obey eleven major laws like Civil Rights Act, Equal Pay Act, Age Discrimination Act, etc.

b. Created the Office of Compliance so executive branch doesn’t have to enforce and violate separation of powers

c. Established an employee grievance procedure

XIII. Ethics and Congress

A. Separation of powers and corruption

1. Fragmentation of power increases number of officials with opportunity to sell influence. Example: senatorial courtesy offers opportunity for office seeker to influence a senator

2. Forms of influence

a. Money

b. Exchange of favors

B. Problem of defining unethical conduct

1. Violation of criminal law is obviously unethical

a. Since 1941, over one hundred charges of misconduct

b. Most led to convictions, resignations, or retirements

c. Ethics codes and related reforms enacted in 1978, 1989, and 1995 have placed members of Congress under tight rules (green box page 325)

2. Other issues are more difficult.

a. A substantial outside income from speaking and writing does not necessarily lead to vote corruption

b. Personal friendships and alliances can have an undue influence on votes

c. Bargaining among members of Congress may involve exchange of favors and votes (see logrolling)

XIV. Summary: The old and the new Congress

A. House has evolved through three stages

1. Mid-1940s to early 1960s

a. Powerful committee chairs, mostly from the South

b. Long apprenticeships for new members

c. Small congressional staffs

2. Early 1970s to early 1980s

a. Spurred by civil rights efforts of younger, mostly northern members

b. Growth in size of staffs

c. Committees became more democratic

d. More independence for members

e. Focus on reelection

f. More amendments and filibusters

3. Early 1980s to present

a. Strengthening and centralizing party leadership

b. Became apparent under Jim Wright

c. Return to more accommodating style under Tom Foley

4. Senate meanwhile has remained decentralized throughout this period

B. Reassertion of congressional power in 1970s

1. Reaction to Vietnam and Watergate

2. War Powers Act of 1973

3. Congressional Budget and Impoundment Act of 1974

4. Increased requirement for legislative veto

C. Congressional power never as weak as critics have alleged

D. Usurpation of congressional power by Bush presidency?!

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