CONGRESS
If Men Were Angels….
Separation of Powers/ Checks and Balances “Ambition must be made to counteract
ambition… If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control to governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”
James Madison, Federalist 51
CONGRESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP
Representation of the People
Reapportionment: reassigning of seats in Congress based on the U.S. Census data
Redistricting: redrawing of U.S. congressional districts based on U.S. Census data. Redistricting occurs after seats are lost/gained in House or after significant population changes in state populations.
Reapportionment and Redistricting
Reapportionment and Redistricting Responsibility of the state legislatures Governor can veto Every ten years Drawing district lines to favor one
political party over another is gerrymandering.
Gerrymandering
Elbridge Gerry
Supreme Court Cases
Baker v. Carr 1962 U.S. Supreme Court ruled that voters have
the standing to challenge legislative apportionment in federal courts
Wesberry v. Sanders 1964 One man one vote decision Districts must be equitable in population
Campaigns in Congress
“Permanent Congress” Permanent Campaigns in House
House Spends Less than Senate Factors Affecting Reelection: President’s
Popularity, Economic Conditions “Safe Seats”
House v. Senate Incumbents House: Rare challengers, seats are safer
from election turnover than are Senate seats
95% win reelection in House Senate: More money spent on a Senate
election Tougher competition for reelection in the
Senate No term limits on House or Senate
Advantages for Incumbents
Franking privilege Right of members of Congress sot send mail to
their constituents at the government’s expense Staff Access to broadcast studios Media connections Committees to provide services for
constituents Name recognition Receive more campaign contributions
Demographics
Mostly male Well educated Middle and upper incomes Law is most common occupation Recently, rising number of women and
minorities making it closer to the general public
Why is not like the general public?
CONGRESSIONAL CASEWORK
Our View of Congress
Public opinion of Congress is EXTREMELY low
Who is responsible for national problems?
Congress is and they often fail Senators and Congressmen can directly
impact our lives, communities, etc. (“bringing home the bacon”)
Constitutional Powers of Congress See Article I of the Constitution (most
powers here) Power to impeach (House only) Power to confirm appointments and ratify
treaties (Senate only) Elastic Clause/ Effect on Congressional
Power Power to Regulate Interstate Commerce
Been Contested Most Frequently in Federal Courts
Internal Factors Affecting the Legislative Process Bicameralism: bills must pass BOTH
houses, role of conference committee? House Rules Committee: sets time limits
for debate; closed rule v. open rule; calendar
Quorum calls: 218, 51 Roll call votes: individual voice votes,
stalling tactic Committee system: bill assignment,
membership, more than one committee
Majority power: Leadership positions, committee membership, committee chairmanships
Senate filibuster: talking a bill to death
Internal Factors Affecting the Legislative Process
Internal factors affecting Congress Bicameralism – must pass both houses, conference
committee’s role? Majority power – leadership, committee
membership, committee chairs House Rules Committee – traffic cop of the house,
time limits, open/closed rule, calendar Senate filibuster – stalling tactic, cloture ends it
with 60 votes Quorum calls – stalling tactic, 218 in House, 51 in
Senate Roll call vote – stalling tactic, voice votes in Senate Committee system – bill assignment, # of
committees for a congressman
External Factors Affecting Congress
External Factors Affecting the Legislative Process Interest groups: lobbying, campaign
funding from PACs Staff:16,000 aides, home and DC, draft
bills, research, coalition building Coalitions: collective opinions on issues Caucus/Conference: party loyalty; Black
congressional caucus State delegation: may cross party lines Public opinion: re-election, delegate role
v. trustee role
Constituencies: delegate role Ideologies: conservative v. liberal values
can affect voting “logrolling”: vote trading to get legislation
passed Region: regional issues could trump party
loyalty President: divided government, his
approval ratings
External Factors Affecting the Legislative Process
External Factors Affecting Congress Nature of the issue -how pressing is it? Political parties -majority? Leadership?
Agenda? Staff members –workhorses, philosophies,
connections Voters -activism, awareness,
reelection/public opinion Other lawmakers -logrolling, regional/state
voting, coalitions, caucus/conference, President –his approval ratings, veto power Special Interest groups –lobbying, PAC
money, independent expenditures
Casework v. Pork Barrel
What is the difference? Casework is the responsibility of a
representative to constituents. Example? Cutting through the red tape of bureaucracy
Pork barrel includes the projects, grants and contracts a congressman brings to cities, districts, states, colleges, military bases, and businesses
PACs and Congress
Political Action Committees Fundraising, campaign contributing arm
of an interest group Criticisms in Congress?
“buy votes” Access to representatives and senators
Term Limits in Congress
Currently there are NO term limits in House or Senate
Constitutional amendment Pros?
Share responsibility in government, give others a chance to participate, keep Congress “fresh”
Cons? Want to keep good incumbents in office
Seniority System
Longest serving members of Congress Chairmen of committees President Pro Tem Seniority is more important in Senate
than House
INVESTIGATION AND OVERSIGHT
Investigative Power
Watergate, Whitewater, 911 Very long and time consuming process Ethics violations of government members Improper or unethical practices in government
(IRS) Committees are VERY important
Collecting information Interviewing witnesses
Results? New laws Changed or new federal programs Removal from office Damaged reputations
Legislative Oversight
Monitoring bureaucracy and implementing policy through hearings and committees
Evaluating effectiveness of the executive branch
Watchdog function of Congress Examples: FDA and Peanut Butter scare,
HHS and H1N1 vaccines
Examples of Oversight Function Appointment Confirmation Treaty Ratification Investigations Hearings Visits and Inspections Authorization of Spending/Funding
(Appropriations)
Limits on Oversight
Inconsistency Limited resources Does not equal more support from
voters Laws are vague and open to
interpretation by bureaucrats Many committees “go native”
THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS
President and Congress
Designed for Gridlock (Separation of Powers)
Party Politics and Divided Government Organization and the Rules of Congress Timetables May be Different Public Opinion “Stalemate”
Attempts to Influence Congress Using the media to draw attention to the
legislative program Assigning legislative liaisons in the Executive
Office of the President to lobby legislators Exploiting a partisan majority for the
President’s party in both the House and Senate
Reminding legislators of high popularity ratings for the President in public opinion polls
Attempts to Curb Presidential Power “imperial presidency” Budget and Impoundment Act (1974) War Powers Act (1973) Both vetoed by Nixon, vetoes overridden Seen as unconstitutional by those who
support a stronger executive
Budget and Impoundment Act Created the CBO Limits the president’s ability to withhold
funds from expenditure
War Powers Act
Forces can be committed after Congress declares war
Specific statutory authorization: President must bring troops home from hostilities within 60 to 90 days unless Congress extends the time
Notify congress within 48 hours Congressional resolution can end the
commitment at any time
THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS
The Legislative Process
Frequently lengthy Decentralized Characterized by compromise and
bargaining Rules:
House operates more by formal rules (size) Senate operates more on informal
understandings
The Committee System
Standing (20 in Senate, 25 in House) Permanent Subject-Matter Committees,
Oversee the Bureaucracy’s Implementation of Legislation
Ex: Rules Committee: In House, Sets the Conditions for Debate and Amendment for Most Legislation
Special or Select (Temporary) Joint (Library of Congress, Inauguration) Conference (compromise legislation;
reconcile differences in bills passed by the House and the Senate)
Committee Contributions to Legislation
Division of labor More important in the House; House is so
large that more work can be accomplished in committees than on the floor
Subject related experience
Subgovernments or “iron triangles” Networks on
congressional committees, bureaucratic agencies, and interest groups that strongly influence the policy process
Committee Contributions to Legislation