Post on 25-Dec-2015
transcript
The Senate
The Senate
• 17th Amendment – senators elected by popular vote of people
• Each state has 2 Senators
• Senate has 100 voting members (no non-voting delegates)
• Senate elections are staggered – 1/3 elected every 2 years – each Senator term is 6 years
• No limit on number of times a Senator can serve
• Senators chosen by the entire state, not districts
• Has special treaty ratification powers and confirmation powers of presidential appointees
The Senate: Georgia’s Senators
Johnny Isakson (R) Saxby Chambliss (R)
The Senate - Chamber
The Senate:Leadership
Vice President
Majority Party Leader(Floor Leader)
Majority Party Whip(Assistant Floor Leader)
Minority Party Leader(Floor Leader)
President Pro Tempore
Committee Chairs
Minority Party Whip(Assistant Floor Leader)
The Senate:Leadership
• President of the Senate
• VP Joe Biden Presides over Senate, but
does not debate Also does not vote,
unless to break a tie Ceremonial position with
little power
The Senate:Leadership
• President Pro Tempore
• Robert V. Byrd (D-DL) Stands in as President when
VP is not present By tradition, usually the
most senior Senator of
the majority party Unlike the VP, is a voting
member
The Senate:Leadership
• Majority Floor Leader
• Harry Reid (D-NV) Most influential member
of the Senate and majority party spokesman
The Senate:Leadership
• Minority Floor Leader
• Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Same role as House
Floor Leader
The Senate:Leadership
• Assistant Majority Leader
(Democratic Whip)
• Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) Role is same as House
Majority
Whip
The Senate:Leadership
• Assistant Minority Leader
(Republican Whip)
• George N. Peterson (R-Mass) Same role as House Minority
Whip
The Senate:Committees
Standing• Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry • Appropriations • Armed Services • Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs • Budget • Commerce, Science, and Transportation • Energy and Natural Resources • Environment and Public Works • Finance • Foreign Relations • Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions • Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs • Judiciary • Rules and Administration • Small Business and Entrepreneurship • Veterans Affairs
• Special, Select, and Other • Indian Affairs • Select Committee on Ethics • Select Committee on Intelligence • Special Committee on Aging
• Joint • Joint Committee on Printing • Joint Committee on Taxation • Joint Committee on the Library • Joint Economic Committee
Congressional Committees
• Why a Committee System? High volume of legislation
(bills) – sending bills to corresponding committee helps speed up process
Allows study of legislation by specialists
• How the Committee System Works? Congress divides its tasks
among approximately 250 committees and sub committees.
The House and Senate each have their own committees, but they are similar
Congressional Committees• 4 Types1.) Standing : permanent committee that deals with specific policy
matters (agriculture, energy and natural resources, veterans affairs, etc…) ; divided into subcommittees that handle more specialized problems
2.) Select : temporary committee appointed for a specific purpose; most are formed to investigate a particular issue (Watergate Committee, Hurricane Katrina Committee, Y2K Committee, etc)
3.) Joint : made up of members of both houses of Congress; can be a select committee or perform routine duties
4.) Conference: temporary committee of members from both houses created to resolve differences in House and Senate versions of a bill; is a compromise committee
Congressional CommitteesStanding and Subcommittees -
ExamplesHouse of Reps.
Standing Committee:
Committee on Resources
Sub Committees:
Office of Native American Affairs
Energy and Minerals
Fisheries and Oceans
Forests and Forest Health
National Parks
Water and Power
SenateStanding Committee:
Environment and Public Works
Sub Committees:
Transportation and Infrastructure
Clean Air, Climate Change, Nuclear Safety
Fisheries, Wildlife, and Nature
Superfund and Waste Management
Congressional CommitteesMembership and Leadership
Membership• Percentage of each committee’s membership reflects the overall percentage of
Democrats and Republicans in each house Ex. – 53% of house is Republican, so 53% of all committee members
will be Republican
• Members try to serve on committees where they can influence public policy relating to their district or state, or influence national public policy issues Ex – Kansas senator on the agriculture committee Ex – Iowa representative on the foreign relations committee
Leadership• Committees are led by a chairperson who belongs to the majority party and is
chosen by majority party members of committee
Floor Debate
House• Rules Committee decides if debate will be open rule or closed rule and
how long debate can last
• Members can only propose amendments (when allowed) related to the topic of the bill
Senate• More casual; no limits on debating riders are allowed
Amendments not related to the topic of the bill
• Can filibuster Unlimited debate by Senators to stall a bill from being voted on Can only be ended by a cloture (petition signed by 60 Senators)
Why Do Incumbents Win?
• Better name recognition
• Can use franking privilege to sent out campaign letters
• Have greater access to media
• Raise campaign money more easily (have support of PACs and lobbyists)
• More campaign experience
• Have large staffs to help with casework and constituency services
• Take credit for federal money that gets allocated to their district or state
Criticisms of Congress
• Overstaffed and self-indulgent
• BRIBERY!!!!! Both houses have created rules and limits to help curb legal bribes
House rules allows only family and close friends to give gifts to representatives
Senate put a limit of $50 on any gift (including dinner) and a $100/year limit on gifts from a single source, unless the gift givers are family or “close personal friends”
How A Bill Becomes A Law