Presentation by Dr. Kevin Lasher

Congress

• Bicameralism

• Enumerated powers

• Was primary branch

• Representative democracy

Organization of Congress

HOUSE• 435 Members (7 for SC)

• Two year terms

• Individual districts

SENATE• 100 Members (2 SC)

• Six year terms (staggered terms)

• State-wide districts

• More prestigious body

Organization of Congress

111th Congress (2009-2010)

House 255 Democrats

179 Republicans

1 Vacant

Senate 57 Democrats

41 Republicans

2 Independent (Democrats)

Organization of Congress

112th Congress (2011-2012)

House 241 Republicans

192 Democrats

2 Vacant

Senate 51 Democrats

47 Republicans

2 Independent (Democrats)

Organization of Congress

113th Congress (2013-2014)

House 234 Republicans

201 Democrats

Senate 53 Democrats

45 Republicans

2 Independents (Democrats)

Organization of Congress

114th Congress (2015-2016)

House 244 Republicans

188 Democrats

3 Vacant

Senate 54 Republican

44 Democrats

2 Independents (Democrats)

The Average CongressMAN

• Male

• Age 50+

• 95% College degree; 50% have law degrees

• Church Goer

• Prior Political Experience

• Fairly wealthy; 50% are “millionaires”

Diversity of Congress 113th

CongressHouse Senate %Congress %Country

Women79 20 19% 51%

African Americans

42 2 8% 13%

HispanicsAmericans

33 4 7% 14%

Asian Americans

12 1 2% 4%

Incumbency

• Sitting members of Congress have tremendous advantages in running for re-election

• Fund-raising, name recognition, media attention, constituency service

Incumbency

Incumbency

2010 – 85% 2012 – 90%

Incumbency

2010 – 84% 2012 – 91%

Incumbency

I hate Congress, but my Congressman is doing a good job

Major Functions of Congress

• Representation

• Constituency Service

• Policy-making and law-making

• Oversight

• Running for re-election

Representation: Theories

• Congressman as Delegate (Robot)Representative /Senator simply votes according

to wishes of his constituents; reflects “majority will”

Problems: uninformed constituents, lack of clear message from voters, 49% unhappy

Representation: Theories

• Congressman as TrusteeRepresentative /Senator is intelligent and

serious; we “trust” them to make good decisions; we can replace them if they disappoint us

Problems: High incumbency return rates suggest that we rarely replace our congressmen

Representation: Theories

• Both theories have problems

What Really Affects a Congressman’s Vote?

• Party ID/Ideology

• Staffers

• Colleagues

• Lobbyists

• President as Lobbyist

• Constituents

Constituency Service

• Bringing “pork” to district/state

• Assisting constituents with Washington “red tape”

• Meeting/communicating with constituents

• Publicizing achievements

Taking care of the people back home

Constituency Service

• This is a major reason why individual congressman are quite popular while Congress as a whole is rather unpopular

• Is this changing in 2014?

Major Functions of Congress

• Representation

• Constituency Service

• Policy-making and law-making

• Oversight

• Running for re-election