2. The Constitution and the Legislative Branch
of the Government
• Article I describes structure of
Congress
– Bicameral legislature
• Divided into two houses
• Each state sends two Senators
regardless of population.
• Number of representatives each
state sends to the House is
determined by state population.
3. The Constitution and the Legislative Branch
of the Government
• Constitution sets out requirements for membership in the
House and Senate
– House – 25 years of age; reside in U.S. at least 7 years; serve 2
year terms
• Directly elected, thus more responsible to the people
– Senate – 30 years of age; reside in U.S. at least 9 years; serve 6
year terms ; originally chosen by state legislators, until 17th
Amendment (1913)
– Congressional members must be legal residents of their states.
4. The Representatives and Senators
• The Job
– Salary of $158,100 with retirement benefits
– Office space in D.C. and at home and staff to fill it.
– Travel allowances and franking privileges.
– Often requires 10 to 14 hour days, lots of time
away from the family, and lots of pressure from
different people to “do the right thing.”
8. Congressional Elections
• The Advantages of Incumbents
– Advertising:
• The goal is to be visible to your voters.
• Frequent trips home & newsletters are used.
– Credit Claiming:
• Service to individuals in their district.
• Casework: specifically helping constituents get what they think
they have a right to.
• Pork Barrel: federal projects, grants, etc. made available in a
congressional district or state.
9. Congressional Elections
• The Advantages of Incumbents
– Position Taking:
• Portray themselves as hard working, dedicated individuals.
• Occasionally take a partisan stand on an issue.
– Weak Opponents:
• Most opponents are inexperienced in politics.
• Most opponents are unorganized and underfunded.
– Campaign Spending:
• Challengers need to raise large sums to defeat an incumbent.
• PACs give most of their money to incumbents.
• Does PAC money “buy” votes in Congress?
10. Congressional Elections
• The Role of Party Identification
– Most members represent the majority party in
their district.
• Defeating Incumbents
– Some incumbents face problems after a scandal or
other complication in office.
– They may face redistricting.
– They may become a victim of a major political
tidal wave.
11. Congressional Elections
• Open Seats
– Greater likelihood of competition.
• Stability and Change
– Incumbents provide stability in Congress.
– Change in Congress occurs less frequently through
elections.
– Are term limits an answer?
12.
13. How Congress is Organized to Make
Policy
American Bicameralism
–Bicameral: Legislature divided into two
houses.
• The House • The Senate
– 435 members, 2 year – 100 members, 6 year
terms of office. terms of office.
– Initiates all revenue – Gives “advice &
bills, more influential consent”, more
on budget. influential on foreign
– House Rules affairs.
Committee – Unlimited debates.
– Limited debates. (filibuster)
From Table 12.3
14. How Congress is Organized to
Make Policy
Congressional Leadership
The House The Senate
– Lead by Speaker of the – Formerly lead by Vice
House - elected by President.
House members. – Really lead by
– Presides over House. Majority Leader-
– Major role in chosen by party
committee assignments members.
and legislation. – Assisted by whips.
– Assisted by majority – Must work with
leader and whips. Minority leader.
15. The House of Representatives
www.house.gov
• Speaker
– Presides over House
– Official spokesperson for the House
– Second in line of presidential succession (Others?)
– House liaison with president
– Great political influence within the chamber
• Henry Clay, first powerful speaker (1810)
• Joe Cannon (1903-1910), was so powerful, that a revolt emerged
to reduce powers of the speakership.
• Newt Gingrich (1995)
• Nancy Pelosi – first woman speaker
• John Boehner – current speaker
16. Other House Leaders
• Majority Leader (Eric Cantor, R-VA)
– Elected leader of the party controlling the most seats in the House or
the Senate
– Second in authority to the Speaker—in the Senate, is the most
powerful member
• Minority Leader (Nancy Pelosi, D-CA)
– Elected leader of the party with the second highest number of elected
representatives in the House of Representatives or the Senate
• Whips (Kevin McCarthy, R-CA, Steny Hoyer, D-MD)
• Party caucus or conference
– A formal gathering of all party
members
17. Party Structure in the House -
Summary
• Speaker of the House is leader of majority
party and presides over House
• Majority leader and minority leader: leaders
on the floor
• Party whips keep leaders informed and
round up votes
• Committee assignments and legislative
schedule are set by each party
18. The Senate
www.senate.gov
• The Constitution specifies the vice president (Joe
Biden) as the presiding officer of the Senate.
– He votes only in case of a tie.
• Official chair of the Senate is the president pro
tempore (pro tem), currently Daniel Inouye (D-
Hawaii) Primarily honorific
– Generally goes to the most senior senator of the majority
party
– Actual presiding duties rotate among junior members of
the chamber
– True leader is the majority leader, but not as powerful as
Speaker is in the House
19. Party Structure in the Senate
• President pro tempore presides; this is the member
with most seniority in majority party (a largely
honorific office)
• Leaders are the majority leader (Harry Reid, D-NV) and
the minority leader (Mitch McConnell, R-KY), elected
by their respective party members
21. Party Structure in the Senate
• Party whips: keep leaders informed, round
up votes, count noses (Jon Kyl, R-AZ, Dick
Durbin, D-IL)
• Each party has a policy committee: schedules
Senate business, prioritizes bills
• Committee assignments are handled by a
group of Senators, each for their own party
22. The Senate
• Senate rules give tremendous power to
individual senators.
– Offering any kind of amendment even if not
germane
– Filibuster (What was the change in 1975?)
• Because Senate is smaller in size organization
and formal rules have not played the same role
as in the House.
23. How Congress is Organized to Make
Policy
• The Committees and Subcommittees
– Four types of committees:
• Standing committees: subject matter committees
handle different policy areas.
• Joint committees: few policy areas- made up of House
& Senate members.
• Conference committees: resolve differences in House
and Senate bills.
• Select committees: created for a specific purpose.
24. How Congress is Organized to Make
Policy
• The Committees and Subcommittees
– The Committees at Work: Legislation and
Oversight
• Committees work on the 11,000 bills every session.
• Some hold hearings and “mark up” meetings.
• Oversight involves hearings and other methods of
checking the actions of the executive branch.
• As the size of government grows, oversight grows too.
25. How Congress is Organized to Make
Policy
• The Committees and Subcommittees
– Getting on a Committee
• Members want committee assignments that will help
them get reelected, gain influence, and make policy.
• New members express their committee preferences to
the party leaders.
• Support of the party is important in getting on the right
committee.
• Parties try to grant committee preferences.
26. How Congress is Organized to Make
Policy
• The Committees and Subcommittees
– Getting Ahead on the Committee: Chairs and the
Seniority System.
• The chair is the most important position for controlling
legislation.
• Chairs were once chosen strictly by the seniority
system.
• Now seniority is a general rule, and members may
choose the chair of their committee.
27. How Congress is Organized to Make
Policy
• Caucuses: The Informal Organization of
Congress
– Caucus: A group of members of Congress sharing
some interest or characteristic.
– Caucuses pressure for committee meetings and
hearings and for votes on bills.
– Caucuses can be more effective than lobbyists.
28. Congressional Caucuses
• Caucus: an association of members of Congress created
to advocate a political ideology or a regional or economic
interest
• Intra-party caucuses: members share a similar ideology
• Personal interest caucuses: members share an interest
in an issue
• Constituency caucuses: established to represent groups,
regions or both
30. How Congress is Organized to Make
Policy
• Congressional Staff
– Personal staff: Work for the member. Mainly
providing constituent service, but help with
legislation too.
– Committee staff: organize hearings, research &
write legislation, target of lobbyists.
– Staff Agencies: CRS, GAO, CBO provide specific
information to Congress.
31. The Growth in Staffs of Members
and Committees in Congress, 1930-
2000
32.
33. Constitutional (Formal) Powers of Congress
• The authority to make laws is • Other shared powers
shared by both chambers of – Declare war
Congress. – Raise an army and navy
– Coin money
– No bill (a proposed law) – Regulate commerce
can become a law without – Establish the federal courts and their
the consent of both jurisdiction
houses. – Establish rules of immigration and
naturalization
– Each chamber also has
– Make laws necessary and proper to
special, exclusive powers
carrying out the powers previously listed
as well.
• Special powers
– House – origin of revenue bills,
impeachment, (but Senate tries)
– Senate – treaties (2/3 vote), presidential
appointments
35. Three types of legislative action
Distributive Legislation
Redistributive Legislation
Regulatory Legislation
36. The Congressional Process
• Legislation:
– Bill: A proposed law.
– Anyone can draft a bill, but only members of
Congress can introduce them.
– More rules in the House than in the Senate.
– Party leaders play a vital role in steering bills
through both houses, but less in the Senate.
– Countless influences on the legislative process.
38. The Congressional Process
• Presidents and Congress: Partners and
Protagonists
– Presidents have many resources to influence
Congress (often called the “Chief Legislator”).
– In order to “win” in Congress, the president must
win several battles in each house.
– Presidential leadership of Congress is at the
margins and is most effective as a facilitator.
39. The Congressional Process
• Party, Constituency, and Ideology
– Party Influence: Party leaders cannot force party
members to vote a particular way, but many do
vote along party lines.
– Constituency versus Ideology: Most constituents
are uninformed about their member. It is difficult
for constituents to influence their member, but on
controversial issues members can not ignore
constituents.
40. The Congressional Process
• Lobbyists and Interest Groups
– There are several thousand lobbyists trying to
influence Congress - the bigger the issue, the
more lobbyists will be working on it.
– Lobbyists can be ignored, shunned and even
regulated by Congress.
– Ultimately, it is a combination of lobbyists and
others that influence members of Congress.
41. Understanding Congress
• Congress and Democracy
– Leadership and committee assignments are not
representative.
– Congress does try to respond to what the people
want, but some argue it could do a better job.
– Members of Congress are responsive to the
people, if the people make clear what they want.
42. Understanding Congress
• Congress and Democracy
– Representation versus Effectiveness
• Congress is responsive to so many interests that
policy is uncoordinated, fragmented, and
decentralized.
• Congress is so representative that it is incapable of
taking decisive action to deal with difficult
problems.
• Defenders argue because Congress is decentralized,
there is no oligarchy to prevent comprehensive
action.
43. Understanding Congress
• Congress and the Scope of Government
– The more policies Congress works on, the more
ways they can serve their constituencies.
– The more programs that get created, the bigger
government gets.
– Everybody wants government programs cut, just
not their programs.