Slides

1. POL 375 / SOC 400
Fall 2018

7.  The Legislative Process
 The Committee System
 Political Representation
 Congressional Leadership

11.  Bill Introduction
 Committee and Subcommittee Work
 Majority of work done in Congress
 Floor Debate
 House Rules Committee; Senate Holds and Filibusters
 FloorVote – How do members decide how to vote?
 Conference Committee
 Presidential Action – Sign,Veto, PocketVeto
 Congressional Override (2/3’s majority in both houses)

13.  Committee Chair and Ranking Member
 BasicTypes of Committees:
 Standing Committees – Permanent; Main Policy Issues (Health
Care, Budget)
 Select Committees -Temporary; Handle political investigations,
current events (e.g. 9/11)
▪ Write report with findings; once issue solved, committee disbands
 Joint Committees – Made up of both House and Senate
members
 Conference Committees – Iron out differences between the
House and Senate versions of proposed legislation

15.  Delegate andTrustee Representation
 Allocative Representation
 Favorable Policies for District/State; “Pet Projects”
 “Bringing Home the Bacon” to Constituents
 Symbolic Representation – Ideals andValues
 Examples: Importance ofVoting, Good Citizenship, etc.
 Descriptive Representation – Does Congress look like
America? Emphasis on Race, Ethnicity, and Gender
 Substantive Representation – Representing larger group
interests

17.  President of the Senate: VP Mike Pence
 Senate Majority Leader: Mitch McConnell (R)
 Senate Minority Leader: Charles Schumer (D)

18.  Managing party membership
 Scheduling Senate business for members
 Monitoring deliberations on Senate floor
 Intermediary for Congress andWhite House
 Representing party/Senate to media