Congress

“Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat

myself.”- Mark Twain, a Biography

Office and Qualifications• Structure–House of Representatives– Senate

• Qualifications–House– Senate

Powers of Congress• The authority to make laws is shared by both

chambers of Congress– Bill • A proposed law

• Other shared powers– Declare war – Raise an army and navy – Coin money – Regulate commerce– Establish the federal courts and their jurisdiction – Establish rules of immigration and naturalization – Make laws necessary and proper to carrying out the

powers previously listed• Special powers– House – origination of revenue bills• Mandate has blurred over time• Impeachment authority (but Senate tries; 2/3 vote)

– Senate – treaties, presidential appointments

Congressional Organization

• New Congress is seated every two years– Elect new leaders

• Each house has a hierarchical leadership structure• Political Parties

– Organization of both houses of Congress closely tied to political parties and their strength in each chamber.

– Majority Party– Minority Party– Role in the committee system

• Controlled by the majority party– Party caucus or conference

• Variety of roles and specialized committees

House Leadership• Speaker of the House

– Presides over House– Official spokesperson for the House– Second in line of presidential succession– Great political influence within the chamber

• Majority Leader– 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

– Elected leader of the party with the second highest number of elected representatives in the House of Representatives or the Senate

• Whips– Keep close contact with all members and take nose counts on key

votes, prepare summaries of bills, etc.• Party caucus or conference

– A formal gathering of all party members

Senate Leadership• The Constitution specifies the vice president

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).– 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

Senate Operation• Senate rules give tremendous power

to individual senators– Offering any kind of amendment– filibuster

• Because Senate is smaller in size organization and formal rules have not played the same role as in the House

Committee System• Congress operates by committee

– Rationale– Growth

• Members often seek assignments to committees based on– Their own interests or expertise (specialization)

• Subcommittees– Appointment Process

• Role of Seniority

• A committee’s ability to help their prospects for reelection – Pork/earmarks: legislation that allows representatives to

bring home the “bacon” to their districts in the form of public works programs, military bases, or other programs designed to benefit their districts directly

– Access to large campaign contributors

Committee System• Standing Committees

– Continue from one Congress to the next—bills referred here for consideration

– Powerful– Discharge petitions

• Joint Committees– Includes members from both houses of Congress, conducts

investigations or special studies• Conference Committees

– Joint committee created to iron out differences between Senate and House versions of a specific piece of legislation

• Select (or special) Committees– Temporary committee appointed for specific purpose, such

as conducting a special investigation or study

The Legislative Process• Markup• Pigeonhole• Discharge

Petition• Hold• Filibuster• Cloture• Veto• Earmark• Rider• Pork• Logrolling• Omnibus

Checking for Understanding

1. What is a key difference between how the House and Senate operate?

2. Identify and briefly describe three ways in which a bill can die in Congress.

3. What are two advantages of the “committee system” in Congress?

Apportionment and Redistricting

• Apportionment• Redistricting– Gerrymandering– Baker v. Carr (1962)–Majority-minority districts• Shaw v Reno (1993)• Strict Scrutiny

Theories on Representation

• Why do members of Congress vote the way they do?

• Trustee• Delegate• Politico

Why Congress Votes • Party– Divided government

• Constituents• Colleagues and Caucuses– Logrolling (vote trading)

• Interest Groups, Lobbyists, and PACS• Staff and Support Agencies– Congressional Research Service (CRS)– Government Accountability Office (GAO)– Congressional Budget Office (CBO)