Institutions of American

Government

Module 4.1: CongressSection 5: Congressional

Leadership

Lesson Objectives

• Identify the two organizing principles in legislative bodies• Define the following:

– Majority– Minority– Congressional Caucus– Whip

• Describe the leadership structure in the US Congress• Explain the functions of floor leaders in both the US

House and the US Senate• Compare and Contrast the roles of the Speaker of the

US House and the President of the US Senate

The Tension

Two Organizing Principles of Legislative Bodies– Centralization

• Concentration of power into a few hands• Sometimes called the ‘oligarchic’ tendency• Focus on principal officers and leadership

– Decentralization• Diffusion of power across the entire body• Sometimes called the ‘democratic’ tendency• Focus on committees and subcommittees

Question #1

• Centralization in legislative bodies is sometimes called

a. The democratic impulse

b. The republican principle

c. The autocratic impulse

d. The oligarchic impulse

Centralization in the US Congress

• US House of Representatives– Principal Officers

• Speaker of the House• Majority Leadership

– Floor leader– Principal Whip– Deputy Whips

• Minority Leadership– Floor leader– Principal Whip– Deputy Whips

Speaker of the US House• Mode of appointment

– Technically chosen by an election in the House– Almost always from the Majority Party– Rare unanimity of majority

• Roles & Powers– Presides over House Proceedings

• Recognizes speakers on the House floor• Determines points of order• Maintains House schedule

– Refers all bills to committees– Appointment power

• House members to select committees• House members to joint committees

– Speaks for the Congress as a whole– Liaison to the President of the United States

• Only when both Speaker and President are from the same party– 2nd in line of succession to the President of the United

States behind Vice President• Historical Trend of Speakers suggests a reduction in

power

Question #2

• The person(s) formally responsible for scheduling floor action in the US House of Representatives is

a. the Speaker

b. the majority and minority leaders

c. the Calendars Committee

d. the Rules Committee

Question #3

• Which of the following is true of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives?

a. The Speaker is nearly always a member of the Majority party caucus in the House

b. The Speaker may only vote to break a tie in the House

c. The Speaker serves as liaison to the President when the Speaker is a member of the Majority party caucus

d. The Speaker appoints committee chairmen to their posts

The Floor• Members of the House split into Majority and Minority Congressional

caucuses– Majority- Party with the most members– Minority- Party with the Second-most members– Third party and independents typically must choose one or the other to

secure committee appointments• Roles of Majority and Minority caucuses

– Choose principal officers• Speaker candidate • Floor leader• Principal whip

– Establish party legislative agenda for the session– Assign members to steering committees

• Committees that assign members to legislative committees• Follows a seniority system• Committee membership in proportion to representation

Question #4

• What is a Congressional caucus?a. A meeting in a congressional district where party

members choose delegates to attend the state and national party convention

b. A meeting of Congressmen who organize to appoint leaders and formulate a legislative agenda

c. A meeting of Congressmen from the same party to submit candidates to leadership positions in the House

d. A meeting of delegates who select candidates to run for leadership positions in the House

Question #5

• Where do ‘third party’ and independent Congressmen fit into the Congressional caucus structure?

a. They don’t; third-party and independent Congressmen have no voice whatsoever

b. They form a third Congressional caucus to ensure their legislative agenda is heard

c. They must caucus with the Minority in both the House and the Senate

d. They must choose to caucus either with the Majority or the Minority

Question #6

• The formal leadership organization of Congress

a. is voted on directly by voters in congressional districts

b. is political-party based

c. is dependent on the president

d. a and b

US House Floor Leaders

• Principal voice of their respective parties in the House• Chief legislative strategist for their parties

– Develops legislative strategy• How to accomplish legislative agenda

– When and how often to submit bills– When to find support– How many speakers to find

• How to block opposition agenda– When and how to oppose bills– When and how to compromise

– Communicates strategy with their party through House whips

• Minority Floor leader may be liaison to the President if they belong to the same party

Question #7

• How is the minority leader determined in the US House of Representatives?

a. The party with the fewest members chooses through a congressional party caucus

b. The party with the second most members chooses through a congressional party caucus

c. The party with the most members of an ethnic minority chooses through a congressional caucus

d. The floor decides through an ‘up-or-down’ vote

Whips• Encourages party unity • Communicates legislative agenda to party members• Communicates legislative strategy to party members• Manages legislative strategy• Encourages party members to

– attend or not attend floor debate– speak or not speak– yield their allotted speaking time to other house members– support bills consistent with the legislative agenda– oppose bills inconsistent with the legislative agenda

• Coordinates efforts by deputy whips on specific bills and resolutions

The US Senate• Two principal officers mentioned in the Constitution

– President of the Senate• Vice President of the United States• Few formal roles

– Casts deciding vote in case of a tie – Opens and reads electoral college ballot results

• Stripped of most presidential powers in the First Congress– President pro tempore of the Senate

• Member of the majority party with the longest continuous service in the Senate• Few formal roles

– Formal power to refer all bills to committees» Usually defers to Senate Majority leader

– Presides over the Senate in the Vice President’s absence– 3rd in line of succession to the President of the United States (behind House Speaker)

• Majority and Minority floor leaders– Share most procedural powers – Actual referral to committees

• Scheduling Senate action– Principal voice of their respective parties– Chief legislative strategist for their parties

Question #9

• The president pro tempore isa. The vice president of the United States

b. The Deputy Speaker of the House

c. The member from the majority party with the longest continuing service in the Senate

d. The oldest member from the majority party in the Senate

Question #10

• The Debate Schedule on the US Senate floor is managed by

a. The Majority and Minority floor leaders

b. The President pro tempore

c. The Rules Committee

d. The Speaker

Activity

Which of the following best describes you?a)I stand my ground, even if my opinion is unpopular

b)I can get people to do what I ask

c) I can easily get sidetracked and take others with me

d)I like breaking things down into manageable chunks

e)I like setting down the rules and delegating responsibility

Activity

Here are the Congressional roles that generally fit your answers:

a)Minority leader, either Chamber

b)Majority whip, either Chamber

c)Minority whip, either Chamber

d)Either Senate majority leader or House Rules Committee chair

e)Speaker of the House