2. Structure of Congress
United States United States
House of Representatives Senate
25 years old 30 years old
7 years a citizen of the US 9 years a citizen of the US
2 year term 6 year term
A citizen of the state A citizen of the state
represented
represented
No term limits
No term limits
Original number was 65; in
1911, the size was limited to 2 Senators per state,
435. originally elected by State
The 435 are reapportioned legislatures; in 1913, the
among the states every 10 17th Amendment provided
years after the census is taken for direct election of
Senators
3. Constitutional Powers
Article I, Section 8: (Enumerated Powers)
Lay and collect taxes, duties, imports and excises
Borrow money
Regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the states
Establish rules for naturalization and bankruptcy
Coin money
Fix the standard of weights and measures
Establish a post office and post roads
Issue patents and copyrights
Create courts
Define and punish piracies
Declare war
Raise and support an army and navy
Provide for a militia
Exercise exclusive legislative powers over the District of Columbia and other
federal facilities
4. Constitutional Powers – Elastic Clause
Elastic Clause – Necessary and Proper Clause –
allowed government to “make all laws which shall be
necessary and proper for carrying into execution the
foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this
Constitution in the government of the United
States.”
McCulloch v. Maryland – creation of the National Bank using
the Elastic Clause and Commerce Clause
5. Exclusive Powers of the House
Exclusive Powers given to the House
Revenue Bills – must originate in the House.
Although still around today, it has become blurred
over the years. Often budget bills are considered
simultaneously in both houses and tax policy has
become a major initiative of the president.
Impeachment Power – the authority to charge the
president, vice president, and other “civil officers”
with “high crimes and misdemeanors”
6. Exclusive Powers of the Senate
Exclusive Powers given to the Senate
Major Presidential Appointments – must be
confirmed by the Senate. The Senate offers “advice
and consent” to the president by a majority vote
regarding the appointments of federal judges,
ambassadors, and Cabinet positions.
Treaties with other nations – entered into by the
president must be approved by a 2/3 vote of the
Senate.
7. Evolutionary Powers
Based of the Elastic Clause
Oversight of the Budget – Congress reviews and restricts
the annual budge prepared by the executive branch.
When a law is passed setting up a government program,
Congress must pass an authorization bill that states the
maximum amount of money available. When the
nation's budget is set, only Congress can set the
appropriations – the actual amount available in a fiscal
year – for each program that is authorized.
Investigation – Congress may investigate both issues that
warrant study and wrong doings by public officials.
(Examples: Watergate and Clinton-Lewinksy Hearings)
8. Congressional Leadership
Current US House of Representatives
Speaker of the House – John Boehner (R - OH)
Majority Leader – Eric Cantor (R - VA)
Minority Leader – Nancy Pelosi (D - CA)
Majority Whip – Kevin McCarthy (R - CA)
Minority Whip – Steny Hoyer (D - MD)
Current US Senate
President of the Senate - Joe Biden (D)(VP)
Majority Leader – Harry Reid (D - NV)
Minority Leader – Mitch McConnell (R - KY)
President Pro Tempore – Daniel Inouye (D - HA)
Majority Whip – Dick Durbin (D - IL)
Minority Whip – Jon Kyl (R - AZ)
*Usually the same party holds both houses, occasionally there is a split
Examples: 1983-1985, 2001, 2010-?
9. The Speaker of the House
Most important leadership position in the House
Position is provided for in the constitution, “the House shall
choose their Speaker and other Officers”
Today the majority party does the choosing
Around the turn of the century, the speaker was all-powerful –
a revolt by membership in 1910 gave some of the Speaker‟s
powers to committees, but today‟s speaker still:
Recognizing members who wish to speak
Ruling on questions of parliamentary procedure
Appointing members to select and conference committees
Directing business on the floor
Exercising political and behind-the-scenes influence
Appointing members of the committees who appoint members to
standing committees
Exercising substantial control over which bills get assigned to which
committees
10. House Leadership
Majority Leader / Minority Leader / Whips
Majority Leader
Often a stepping stone the Speaker‟s position
Responsible for scheduling bills and rounding up votes for bills the
party favors
Minority Leader
Spokesperson for the minority party, and usually steps in the
position of Speaker when and if his or her party gains a majority in
the House.
Party Whips
Serve as go-betweens for the members and the leadership. They
inform members when important bills will come up for a vote, do
head-counts and pressure members to support the leadership.
11. Senate Leadership
President of the Senate – Vice President of the US, can
vote only in case of a tie and seldom attends Senate
sessions.
President Pro Tempore – elected from majority party,
largely ceremonial position – official chair of the Senate,
but since it has no real powers, the job of presiding over
the Senate is usually given to a junior senator
Majority Leader – most influential person in the senate.
Has the right to be the first Senator heard on the floor
Determines the Senate‟s agenda and usually helps assign committees
Minority Leader – has as much power as the majority
party is willing to allow
Whips – same as the House
14. Committees and Subcommittees
Most of the real work goes on committees/subcommittees
Bills are considered in committees and they investigate
problems and oversee the executive branch.
More than 11,000 bills are introduced in the House and Senate
over the two-year life span of a Congress. (112th)
Each bill is submitted to a committee, the majority of bills are
pigeonholed (forgotten); most bills die on committee
About 3000 staff assist the various committees conducting
research, administrative and clerical work
The bills that survive the subcommittee phase are then
marked up (changed or rewritten) and returned to the full
committee where they may be altered further. If the
committee approves the bill, it will be sent first to the Rules
Committee in the House, and then to the floor. The bill is sent
directly to the floor in the Senate.
15. Types of Committees
Standing Committee (most important) – handle bills in
different policy areas, thus shaping legislation at a very critical
point. House has 20, Senate has 16.
Select Committees – formed for a specific purpose and are
usually temporary. Example: Watergate, Select Committee on
Aging and Select Committee on Indian Affairs. (SPECIAL)
Joint Committee – similar to Select committees, but consist
of members from both the House and Senate. Example, a Joint
Committee was formed to investigate Iran-Contra in the 1980s
and they oversee institutions such as the Library of Congress.
Conference Committee – also consists of members from
both chambers, but they are formed exclusively to hammer out
differences between House and Senate version of similar bills.
A bill goes to a conference committee after is has been
approved in separate processes in the two houses, and a
compromise bill is sent back to each house for final approval.
16. Standing Committees in Congress
Standing Committees Standing Committees
House of Representatives Senate
1. Agriculture
1. Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
2. Appropriations *
2. Appropriations
3. Armed Services
3. Armed Services
4. Budget
4. Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
5. Education and the Workforce
5. Budget
6. Energy and Commerce
6. Commerce, Science and Transportation
7. Ethics
7. Energy and Natural Resources
8. Financial Service
8. Environment and Public Works
9. Foreign Affairs
9. Finance
10. Homeland Security
10. Foreign Relations
11. House Administration
11. Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
12. Judiciary
12. Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
13. Natural Resources
13. Judiciary
14. Oversight and Government Reform
14. Rules and Administration
15. Rules *
15. Small Business and Entrepreneurship
16. Science, Space and Technology
16. Veterans Affairs
17. Small Business
18. Transportation and Infrastructure
19. Veterans Affairs
20. Ways and Means *
17. Committee Membership
Committee Membership is controlled by the parties, primarily the majority party
Each member of the House usually serves on two standing committees, unless he or
she is on an exclusive committee
Appropriations, Rules or Ways and Means
Each senator may serve on two “major” committees and one “minor” committee
The chairman and a majority of each standing committee come from the majority
party
The remaining committee members are from the minority party, but they are always
a minority on the committee.
Assignments are based on the personal and political qualities of the member, his or
her region and whether the assignment will help reelect the member.
Committee chairmen are the most important shapers of the committee agenda.
Their positions were made powerful by the House 1910 revolt, which transferred
power from the Speaker to the chairmen.
From 1910 until the early 1970s, chairmen were strictly chosen by the seniority
system.
In the early 1970s, the House decided to select committee chairmen by secret ballots
from all of the majority members. (Further info on this later in PPT)
18. How are members assigned?
Before Members are assigned to committees, each committee's size and the
proportion of Republicans to Democrats must be decided by the party leaders. The
total number of committee slots allotted to each party is approximately the same as
the ratio between majority party and minority party members in the full Chamber.
Members are then assigned to committees in a three-step process.
Each of the two principle parties in the House is responsible for the assigning its
members to committees, and at the first stage, each party uses a committee on
committees to make the initial recommendations for assignments.
At the beginning of the new Congress, (1) Members express preferences for
assignment to the appropriate committee on committees. Most incumbents prefer
to remain on the same committees so as not to forfeit expertise and committee
seniority.
(2) These committees on committees then match preferences with committee slots,
following certain guidelines designed in part to distribute assignments fairly. They
then prepare and approve an assignment slate for each committee, and submit all
slates to the appropriate full party conference for approval. Approval at this second
stage often is granted easily, but the conferences have procedures for disapproving
recommended Members and nominating others in their stead.
(3) Finally, at the third stage, each committee submits its slate to the full Chamber
for approval, which is generally granted.
19. The Rules Committee in the House
Plays a key role in shaping legislation because it sets very
important rules for debate when the bill is presented to
the House after it leaves the committee.
A Closed Rule (sometimes called a „gag‟ rule) sets strict time limits
on debates and forbids amendments from the floor, except those
from the presenting committee. Under closed rule, members not on
the committee have little choice but to vote for or against the bill as it
is.
An Open Rule permits amendments and often has less strict time
limits, allowing for input from other members. The Rules committee
is controlled by the Speaker, and in recent years, has put more and
more restrictions on bills, giving Rules even more power.
A Restrictive Rule, permits certain kinds of amendments, but not
others to be made into a bill on the floor.
20. Congressional Reforms
Reforms on the 1970s that further democratized the workings of Congress, it became
known as the “Bill of Rights”
House:
Committee chairmen to be elected by secret ballot in party caucus (attempt to
replace seniority system)
No member to chair more than one committee
All committees with more than twenty members to have at least four subcommittees
(at the time Ways and Means had no subcommittees)
Committee and personal staffs to be increased in size
Committee meetings to be public unless members vote to close them
Senate:
Committee meetings to be public unless members vote to close them
Committee chairmen to be selected by secret ballot
Committees to have larger staffs
No senator to chair more than one committee
* This resulted in Proxy Voting… written authorization to cast another person‟s vote *
21. Congressional Reforms Cont.
House Reforms in 1995
Banned proxy voting
Limited committee and subcommittee chairmen‟s tenures to
three terms (6 years) and the Speaker‟s to four terms (8 years)
They allowed more frequent floor debate under open rules
They reduced the number of committees and subcommittees
They authorized committee chairmen to hire subcommittee
staffs
Senate Reforms in 1995
A 6 year term limit on all committee chairmen (no limit on the
majority leader‟s term)
A requirement that committee members select their chairmen
by secret ballot
22. Other Information
Multiple Referral – Congressional process whereby a
bill may be referred to several committees
Allows all voices to be heard, but often is time consuming and allows
for greater negative input as well
Committee of the Whole (only in the House),
technically the House is the largest committee and it can
act as a Committee, only needs 100 members.
Quorum for the House itself is 218
Discharge Petition – device by which any member of
the House after a committee has had the bill for 30 days,
may petition to have it brought to the floor. (needs 218
signatures) – only used 24ish times successfully
23. For Tomorrow
Vocab Quiz
HW: House Ways and Means, Rules, Appropriations
Resolutions, a Bill to Law and other options
