The document provides an overview of the structure and organization of Congress, including differences between the House and Senate such as term lengths and rules, as well as leadership positions and committees. It discusses the role of committees in considering legislation, oversight, and investigations and different types such as standing, select, joint, and conference committees. Party structure and unity are also examined.

1. How Congress Works
Part I
Structure, Organization,
& Legislative Process

2. Who’s in Congress?

3. Demographic Profile of the 111th Congress
Age Groups
Source: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/demographics.tt
Party
Gender Ethnicity

4. House-Senate Differences
House
 435 members; 2 yr
terms
 Low turnover
 Speaker bill referral
hard to challenge
 Scheduling/rules
controlled by majority
party with powerful
Rules Committee
(controls time of debate,
amends., etc)
Senate
 100 members; 6 yr
terms
 Moderate turnover
 Referral decisions easily
challenged
 Scheduling/rules agreed
to by majority & minority
leaders

5. House-Senate Differences
House
 Debate limited to 1
hour
 Members policy
specialists
 Emphasizes tax &
revenue policy
 More formal &
impersonal
Senate
 Unlimited debate
unless cloture
invoked
 Members policy
generalists
 Emphasizes foreign
policy
 More informal &
personal

6. Party Leadership

7. HOUSE LEADERSHIP
Speaker (majority
party)
Majority Leader
• Majority Whip
• Chairman of the
Caucus
• Steering & Policy
Committee
• Democratic
Congressional
Campaign Committee

8. HOUSE LEADERSHIP
• Minority Leader
• Minority Whip
• Chairman of
Conference
• Policy Committee
• Committee on
Committees
• National Republican
Congressional
Committee
• Research Committee

9. SENATE LEADERSHIP
President of the Senate
(Vice President)
President Pro Tempore
(majority party)
• Majority Leader
• Majority Whip
• Chairman of Conference
• Policy Committee
• Steering Committee
• Democratic Senatorial
Campaign Committee
President of the Senate
Joe Biden (D-DE)

10. SENATE LEADERSHIP
• Minority Leader
• Minority Whip
• Chairman of
Conference
• Policy Committee
• Committee on
Committees
• Republican Senatorial
Committee

11. Strength of Party Structure?
• Measure of party strength:
1. Ability of leaders to control party rules
and organization
2. Extent to which party members vote
together in the House and Senate
• Senate: less party-centered and leader
oriented

12. Party Unity
• Lower today than 100 years ago, but…..
• Ideology important variable explaining party
voting (members vote with their party 80% of
the time)
• Party polarization - vote in which majority of
democrats oppose majority of republicans
• Polarization trends:
o 1976 HR = 36%; S = 37%
o 1995 HR = 73%; S = 69%
o 2000 HR = 43%; S = 49%

13. CAUCUSES
• Groups (may be bipartisan) meeting to pursue
common legislative objectives
• Rivals to parties in policy formulation
• Examples: Democratic Study Group,
Congressional Black Caucus, Tuesday Lunch
Bunch, Human Rights, Congressional Caucus for
Women’s Issues, Out of Iraq Caucus,
Rural Caucus, Travel & Tourism Caucus, House
Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children

14. "Congress in session is Congress on
public exhibition, whilst Congress in its
committee-rooms is Congress at work.”
- Woodrow Wilson

15. Legislative Committees:
Function and Purpose

16. Legislative Committees:
Function & Purpose
1. Consider bills (a.k.a. “mark-up” bills)
A bill with a member’s mark-up notes

17. Legislative Committees:
Function & Purpose
2. Maintain oversight of executive agencies
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld testifies before a Senate Appropriations
Committee hearing re: the Department of Defense Budget (May, 2006)

18. Legislative Committees:
Function & Purpose
3. Conduct investigations
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin testified before the Senate Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs Committee on Hurricane Katrina (Feb., 2006

19. Types of Committees
Standing Committees - permanent panel with full
legislative functions and oversight responsibilities
• Subcommittees – formed to tackle very specific tasks
within the jurisdiction of the full committees
Select or Special Committees - groups appointed for a
limited purpose and limited duration
Joint Committees - includes members of both chambers
to conduct studies or perform housekeeping tasks
Conference Committee - includes members of House &
Senate to work out differences between similar bills

20. Standing Committees

21. House Standing Committees
Agriculture
Appropriations
Armed Services
Budget
Education & Workforce
Energy & Commerce
Financial Services
Government Reform
House Admin.
International Relations
Judiciary
Resources
Rules
Science
Small Business
Standards of Official
Conduct
Transportation &
Infrastructure
Veterans Affairs
Ways & Means

22. Senate Standing Committees
Agriculture, Nutrition, &
Forestry
Appropriations
Armed Services
Banking, Housing, & Urban
Affairs
Budget
Commerce, Science,
Transportation
Energy & Natural Resources
Environment and Public
Works
Finance
Foreign Relations
Governmental Affairs
Health, Education, Labor
& Pensions
Judiciary
Rules and Administration
Small Business and
Entrepreneurship
Veterans Affairs

23. Special, Select Committees
• House Select
Committee on
Energy
Independence &
Global Warming
• Senate Select
Committee on Ethics
• House & Senate
Select Committees
on Intelligence
Gen. Michael Hayden is sworn in during a full
committee hearing of the Senate Select
Intelligence Committee on his nomination to be
director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

24. Joint Committees
• Joint Economic Committee
• Joint Committee on Printing
• Joint Committee on Taxation
Joint Committee on
Taxation hearing

25. Title: Resolution Artist: Bob Gorrell
Date: 12/28/06 Source: http://www.gorrellart.com/

26. Artist: R.J. Matson, New
York Observer & Roll Call
Date: 1/18/07
Source:
http://www.cagle.com