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Chapter 11
- 1. Lecture Slides AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY FIFTH EDITION By Bianco Canon Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company
- 2. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION American Politics Today Chapter 11 Congress
- 3. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Congress
- 4. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Congress’s Place in Our Constitutional System • The “first branch” and vast enumerated powers • Bicameralism: the system of having two chambers within one legislative body, like the House and the Senate in the U.S. Congress – Two-year terms in the House – Six-year terms in the Senate
- 5. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Women and Minorities in Congress: Women
- 6. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Women and Minorities in Congress: Minorities
- 7. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Representation • Descriptive – “Does my member of Congress look like me?” • Substantive – “Does my member of Congress vote the right way? – Trustee versus delegate – Politico
- 8. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Fenno’s Concentric Circles
- 9. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION The Job of a Member of Congress
- 10. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Members of Congress Are Motivated by Reelection • The electoral connection explains members’ behavior • “Running scared” – Members of Congress never know what issue will be used against them in next election • Promoting re-election – Advertising – Credit claiming – Position taking
- 11. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Incumbency Reelection Rates, 1948–2016
- 12. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Elections and Member Behavior • Campaign fund-raising – Can cost more than $1 million to run a credible challenge – Helps scare away potential challengers • Home style: a congressperson’s way of relating to their district – “Tuesday-to-Thursday club”
- 13. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Redistricting • Ensure that districts are equal in population – Carried out by the states – Begins after apportionment • Gerrymandering: using redistricting for political advantage
- 14. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION North Carolina Redistricting, 1992
- 15. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Responsiveness and Responsibility • Gridlock: an inability to enact legislation because of partisan conflict within Congress or between Congress and the president • Two separate factors – Little public consensus on how to handle important issues, leading to impasse – Politicians prioritize local needs over national ones because their voters are local
- 16. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Congressional Structure • Informal structure (norms) – Universalism – Logrolling and earmarks – Specialization – Seniority • Formal structure – Parties and party leaders – Committees – Staff
- 17. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION The Structure of Party Leadership
- 18. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Party Votes in Congress, 1962–2015
- 19. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Ideological Polarization in Congress, 1879–2015
- 20. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Party Leadership
- 21. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION The Committee System • Standing committee: a permanent part of the House or Senate structure with more authority than other committees • Select committee: created to address a specific issue • Joint committee: contains members of both houses but with limited authority • Conference committee: created to negotiate differences between the House and Senate versions of legislation
- 22. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Passing Legislation • Passing legislation is difficult • For a piece of legislation to become law, must be passed in identical form by both chambers and signed by the president • Only 2–4 percent of the 10,000+ bills introduced each year become law
- 23. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Congressional Rules • Open rules: allows the addition of relevant amendments to a bill • Closed rules: prohibits the addition of amendments to a bill • Modified rules: allows certain amendments to a bill while barring others
- 24. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Oversight
- 25. How it works: in theory
- 26. In the House... In the Senate... She added things. He added things. Meanwhile... House passes its version. Senate passes its version. So then... The House added things. But... Amended! Passed! Signed into law. How it works: in practice
- 27. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Public Opinion Poll: Q1 Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job? a. strongly approve b. approve c. disapprove d. strongly disapprove
- 28. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Public Opinion Poll: Q2 Do you approve or disapprove of the way your member of Congress is handling his or her job? a. strongly approve b. approve c. disapprove d. strongly disapprove
- 29. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Public Opinion Poll: Q3 Do you believe we should have term limits for members of Congress? a. yes b. no
- 30. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Public Opinion Poll: Q4 Do you believe state legislatures should consider the racial makeup of a district when redistricting? a. yes b. no
- 31. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Public Opinion Poll: Q5 Do you think it is important that the demographics of Congress represent the social, racial, and economic demographics of the country? a. yes b. no
- 32. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Public Opinion Poll: Q6 When members of Congress cast a vote, which of the following factors should typically most influence their decision? a. the interests of the country as a whole b. the interests of their district or state
- 33. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Public Opinion Poll: Q7 Which of the following do you believe should be the most influential factor in the voting decisions of members of Congress? a. the preferences of their constituents b. the preferences of the president c. the preferences of the members’ party leadership d. the members’ own ideology
- 34. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Additional Information Following this slide, you will find additional slides with photos, figures, and captions from the textbook.
- 35. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION A Row in Congress
- 36. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Senator Mark Kirk
- 37. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Congressman Paul Ryan
- 38. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Congressman Jason Chaffetz
- 39. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Congressional Leadership
- 40. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Senator Ted Cruz
- 41. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Types of Legislation
- 42. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Typical Work Days for a Congressional Representative
- 43. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Keeping the “Folks Back Home” Happy
- 44. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Congressman Kevin McCarthy and Constituents
- 45. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Types of Gerrymanders
- 46. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION The President’s Signature
- 47. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Congress Leadership: The Speaker of the House
- 48. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Taking Care of the Fans
- 49. Copyright © 2017, W. W. Norton & Company AMERICAN POLITICS TODAY, FIFTH EDITION Congressional Committees
Editor's Notes
- Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) greets panel members testifying at a Senate hearing on sexual assault in the military. Senator Gillibrand is trying to change how the Pentagon handles the increase in sexual assaults. Here, Gillibrand shakes hands with air force lieutenant general Richard Harding before greeting army lieutenant general Dana Chipman, who is next to him.
- Congress is often highly responsive to its constituents’ needs; for example, by providing funding for transportation projects such as new highways. In reading the enumerated powers as well as the elastic clause (also known as the necessary and proper clause) in the Constitution, we can see that Congress was originally supposed to be the “first branch.” The House is meant to be more responsive to local constituencies and therefore more “passionate.” The Senate is designed to be more responsive to the “national good,” and, with its longer elected term, to take a more long-term view. Think about the individuals who represent you in the House and in the Senate. Do you feel they follow this pattern? Through the nineteenth century the role of Congress stayed closer to the Founders’ intentions. The twentieth century saw change. With the rise of New Deal economic regulation and increasing national security concerns, the president began to take a more central role in policy making. The rise of the “permanent campaign” for U.S. senators, whereby they seem to perpetually campaign for re-election, has decreased their responsible and nation-centered approach.
- WHAT DO THE NUMBERS SAY? Descriptive Representation in Congress Compared with a generation ago, the number of women and racial and ethnic minorities in Congress has increased. But on these dimensions, how representative of the people is Congress? How close does Congress come to “looking like us”? What do the numbers say? Sources: U.S. Census; Congressional Research Service
- Compared with a generation ago, the number of women and racial and ethnic minorities in Congress has increased. But on these dimensions, how representative of the people is Congress? How close does Congress come to “looking like us”? What do the numbers say?
- Descriptive representation is valuable, as it helps ensure greater trust in the political system, and there are benefits in being represented by someone who shares demographic characteristics with their constituency, particularly for historically disadvantaged minorities. Substantive representation focuses on a member’s policy positions. Depending on how a legislator votes, they may be upholding a trustee model or delegate model. Trustees act as responsibly as possible, balancing their district’s needs with national ones, and vote in what they believe to be their constituent’s best interests, even when unpopular. Delegates do not utilize any insight into what is “best.” Rather, they do what the majority of their constituents tell them to. Few members of Congress fit in these extremes. Accordingly, a “politico” acts as a delegate on issues salient to their constituents, and a trustee acts on issues on those that are less salient or more complex.
- The concentric circles of a congressional constituency illustrate the various parts of a district that a member represents. Can you think of an issue on which House members would be more responsive to their reelection constituency than to their geographic constituency?
- Members of Congress are often criticized for being out of touch with their constituents. Based on a USA Today poll, Americans seem to want their congressional members to vote in line with their constituents’ views, to work across party lines, and to spend more time in the district rather than Washington, D.C. But what happens if these goals conflict? What if the member represents a very partisan district where the majority does not want him or her to work with the other party? Also, is there no room for trustees who follow their conscience and stick to their principles?
- Part of the high incumbency re-election rate is that members are actively working to keep their jobs. They know that inattentiveness or wrong votes can cost them their position. Three ways members boost their electoral chance are getting their name out in a positive manner, taking credit for pork-barrel policies and through constituency casework, and making a public statement about something that is important to constituents.
- The whole House is up for reelection every two years, so the line showing the reelection of House members in a given election year represents the percentage of the entire House. Since senators are up for reelection every six years, only one-third of the members are seeking reelection every two years. The line for the Senate represents the percentage of those who won who were up for reelection in that election year. Why do you think that House members have an easier time getting reelected than senators?
- The goal of re-election is central to understanding congressional behavior. Home style helps explain high incumbency safety. Different constituencies expect different kinds of home styles. Do members of Congress spend too much time at home? Should they spend more time in Washington? Campaign fund-raising: it takes $1–$2 million to mount a credible challenge in the House. Former House Speaker Tip O’Neill said, “Money is the mother’s milk of politics.” Is this a problem? If so, what can be done about it? Why do they need so much money? Like challengers, incumbents need money to pay for campaign staff, travel, and advertising. Advocates of campaign finance reform say the existence of so much money in politics is corrupting and undemocratic. Opponents of campaign finance reform say that when you take the money spent and divide it by the number of voters in the district, it’s not very much at all. (Imagine that the incumbent and the challenger each spend $1 million on a campaign in a district with 700,000 eligible voters. (That’s $2.86 per eligible voter.) Money scares off some challengers: congressional incumbents with large campaign funds and high name recognition are commonly described as “unbeatable.” Despite their electoral safety, most incumbents still “run scared.” A little example explains why. In 1998, Representative Mike Pappas (R-NJ) took to the floor of the House of Representatives to sing an approving self-composed ditty about the president’s special prosecutor. The song was called “Twinkle, Twinkle, Kenneth Starr.” Although he had been serving in a strongly Republican district, Pappas lost his election to Rush Holt, a former Princeton professor of astrophysics and political neophyte.
- Partisan gerrymanders: redistricting that benefits candidates from one party and hurts candidates from other parties Racial gerrymanders: redistricting to help or hurt the chances of minority legislative candidates. The Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 mandated that districting plans for many parts of the South be approved by the U.S. Department of Justice or a Washington, D.C., district court. Candidate gerrymanders: redistricting to favor certain individual candidates, particularly state legislators planning to run for the U.S. House Critics of the practice of gerrymandering say, “In every democracy, the people choose their leaders. But only in America do the politicians choose their constituents!” Is this a fair criticism? But, first, does gerrymandering work? Let’s look at the next slide.
- This set of House districts was the subject of the landmark Supreme Court ruling Shaw v. Reno (1993), in which the Court said that “appearances matter” when drawing district lines. Do you agree? Should other factors such as race, party, and competitiveness play a greater role than district shape?
- However, maybe Congress is getting a bad rap. Maybe Congress is doing its best at the job of fulfilling mutually exclusive wants. Consider the possibility that the electorate wants: national issues to be addressed local districts to get their “fair share” (e.g., more) of the available projects and funding individuals to receive help in dealing with the bureaucracy, such as help in getting the Social Security benefits or military pension to which a constituent is entitled Gridlock is often blamed when Congress is not accomplishing anything on issues that everyone wants addressed (e.g., the national debt or immigration reform).
- Universalism is the idea that all members of Congress get some piece of the pie, when divvying up pentagon weapons deals or highway transportation bills. Logrolling is the idea that a Representative votes for a bill that they don’t particularly like, in exchange for winning a vote on their bill. Sometimes, supporters can be bought off, by incorporating targeted spending “pork-barrel” projects in a particular district. Example for specialization: as a veteran and a former secretary of the Navy, Sen. Jim Webb has considerable authority on veterans’ affairs; Sen. Richard Lugar has developed an expertise on nuclear disarmament. Explanation for seniority: this norm works heavily in favor of incumbents who accumulate power and thus deliver more for their districts. More on the formal structure follows in the next several slides.
- (A) Party votes are said to occur when a majority of one party opposes a majority of the other party, and (B) party unity refers to the percentage of the party members who vote together on party votes. These two graphs make two important points. First, partisanship has increased in the last two decades, in terms of both the proportion of party votes and the level of party unity. Second, despite these increased levels of partisanship, only about two-thirds of all votes in the House and Senate divide the two parties. Given these potentially conflicting observations, how would you assess the argument that partisanship in Congress is far too intense?
- Although party polarization in Congress has been high in the past, it lessened in the early twentieth century. Polarization has increased steadily in the last 70 years, and today’s Congress is more polarized than ever. What do you think causes this extreme polarization?
- A sitting president can be a powerful ally in a campaign. In 2016, President Obama campaigned with Senate candidate Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), who ultimately won her race.
- The committee system creates a division of labor that helps in the re-election of members of Congress by supporting members’ specialization and credit claiming. Distributive theory of committees: lawmakers seek committee assignments that will best serve their constituents, the party leaders accommodate their requests, and the other members on the floor will respect the committee’s recommendation via a large institutional logroll. Informational theory of committees: committees correct individualistic behavior of members by creating specialists on particular issues.
- Additional detail on the process is presented in How It Works.
- Filibuster: a tactic used by senators to block a bill by continuing to hold the floor and speak—under the Senate rule of unlimited debate—until the bill’s supporters back down. Cloture: a procedure through which the Senate can limit the amount of time spent debating. During the 2010 portion of the health care debate, the filibuster became a big issue when Scott Brown won a special election for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy’s old Senate seat. It soon looked as if the entire Affordable Care Act wouldn’t be able to pass even though the Democrats had a 59–41 advantage. Many Democratic-leaning commentators opined that the filibuster was badly undemocratic and that it should either be eliminated or cloture should be reduced to 55 votes. Republican-leaning commentators said that it was dangerous to cast aside time-tested rules for momentary convenience and this proposed move was just “sour grapes.” What do you think about the filibuster?
- Former secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton testifies before the House Select Committee on Benghazi in October 2015. Clinton faced tough questioning over her response to the attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi and her use of a private e-mail server while serving as secretary of state. #Benghazi @HillaryClinton
- The Founders viewed the House as more passionate than the Senate, or as the “hot coffee” that needed to be cooled in the “saucer” of the Senate. This perception probably did not include coming to blows over differences in policy as Congressmen Albert G. Brown and John A. Wilcox did in 1851 about whether Mississippi should secede from the Union.
- Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) is shown here campaigning for reelection. A Republican in a heavily Democratic state, Kirk lost to his Democratic challenger, Tammy Duckworth. @MarkKirk
- House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) with his constituents at a “listening session” in Kenosha, Wisconsin. @SpeakerRyan
- Members of Congress spend a good deal of time in their districts, developing relationships with constituents. Here, Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) meets constituents after a town hall meeting. @jasoninthehouse
- Party leadership is central in the legislative process. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY, left), Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI, right), and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA, behind) must work together and with other members of Congress to pass legislation.
- Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) held forth on the Senate floor for more than 21 hours expressing his opposition to the ACA in September 2013. @TedCruz
- Members of Congress are generally busy from morning until late at night, both in Washington, D.C., and in their districts, attending meetings and events. This is the actual schedule from Tammy Baldwin when she represented Wisconsin’s 2nd congressional district in the House.
- Members of Congress try to keep the “folks back home” happy with projects like this groundbreaking ceremony in New Jersey for an $8.7 billion tunnel. (The project was later canceled.)
- Members of Congress want to be reelected, and this goal explains much of their behavior. In 2016, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) won reelection. Given his leadership position within the party, McCarthy must be especially careful to balance local interests with the good of the nation as a whole. @KevinOMcCarthy
- President Obama signs the omnibus spending bill in Washington, D.C., in January 2014. This bill funded a broad range of military and discretionary programs.
- Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) discusses the policy battles Congress faced in November 2015, as they pushed to pass a $1.1 trillion spending bill and avoid a holiday season government shutdown. @SpeakerRyan
- The congratulatory resolution here is symbolic and commends the Denver Broncos for winning the Super Bowl in 2016. Why do you think members of Congress spend time passing seemingly trivial resolutions like this?
- There are equivalent committees in the House and Senate (and some joint committees) that work on similar problems and craft similar bills whose differences must be reconciled before a final bill becomes law. Equivalent or similar committees in both chambers are listed across from each other.