Congress

Article I of the Constitution deals with Congress (Despite what Joe Biden says)

By far the longest Article

This suggests that the founders intended Congress to be the most powerful of the three branches of government

• Section One: Bicameral legislature

• Section Two: Length of terms for House members and qualifications for service

• Section Three: Selection of Senators, length of terms

• Section Four: Congressional election process

• Section Seven: How a bill becomes a law

• Section Eight: Powers of the legislative branch

Bicameral =

From www.lshm.net

Constitutional Requirements

Senate

Must be 30 years old

US citizen for 9 years

State Resident

House

Must be 25 years old

US citizen for 7 years

State Resident

Senate – 26 members from 13 statesHouse – 65 membersNo committees

100 Senators435 Representatives (capped in

1912)~670,000 residents per district

Can this Congress accurately represent the will of the people?

1st Congress – 144 bills consideredToday – 6000-9000 bills per Congress

3-5% passed into law

Allowances-Representatives- ~$750k per year for staff-Senators – based on population

Hours in session has gone from 800 to 1600

Congressional membership is largely dominated by:

Educated White

ProtestantMen

Can a body this different from society as a whole truly be

representative of the interests of all groups?

Does diversity matter?

The assigning by Congress of congressional seats after each

census. State legislatures reapportion state legislative

districts

The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines

following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as

possible in population

Reapportionment Redistricting

“Representatives…shall be apportioned among the several states…according to their respective Numbers”

Orders an “actual enumeration” (census) every ten years

Constitution does not specify the size of the House of Representatives

Current size of House membership set in 1912 Districts had about 200,000 people

Today, each Representative represents 670,000 people

The Constitution does not specifically require that all districts be of the same size

The U.S. Supreme Court originally declared issues of apportionment to be a “political thicket” that the courts should stay out of

Baker v. Carr (1961)

“One person, one vote”

Tennessee’s districts were dated (1901)

Memphis was 10x some other districts

Felt they were underrepresented

Wesberry v. Sanders (1964)-districts should have roughly

equal population

-The Senate faces this same legitimacy problem

Each state has 2 SenatorsRhode Island = California

A bill can be stopped with Senators representing only 19% of the U.S. population

In almost all states, the process of redistricting must be undertaken every

ten years to reflect

▪ changes in the state’s overall population relative the the rest of the country

▪ population shifts within the state

Gerrymandering

The drawing of legislative districts for partisan advantage

PackingLumping

opposition voters in one area

-Memphis

CrackingSplitting up groups

of voters so they lack a majority in

any district-Texas’ “Wars”

Former House Majority Leader Tom Delay worked with state legislative leaders to redraw districts every five years, bettering the Republican’s chances in upcoming elections

Affirmative Racial Gerrymandering

Drawing district boundary lines to maximize minority representation

Iowa uses a complex computer system administered by a non-partisan commission to draw geographically compact and equal districts

From www.legis.state.ia.us

Only Constitutional requirements deal with age, length of

citizenship, and residency

Informal Requirements

From www.wpclipart.com, rifuture.org, www.flashreport.org, projectlogic.blogspot.com

From www.flagandbanner.com

Political parties matter in multiple ways:

- Only candidates from the two major parties can win most elections

- If one party is dominant in a district, it is difficult to win from even the other major party

The recent Congressional elections show the importance of timing. Some incumbents lost reelection in relatively safe districts because of popular dissatisfaction.

From www.tull.no

Running against a well-know and powerful opponent often generates an unfair fight.

Incumbency AdvantageName RecognitionFranking PrivilegeAdministrative StaffConstituent servicePACs, Interest Groups and LobbyistsMedia Access

Average House term reached 3 years in 1900

National government once weak Pay was bad D.C. was a swamp Many quit on the job

In short, ambitious folks found happiness elsewhere

US Congress viewed as World’s most “professional legislature”

Prestige, pay, benefits are much better

High chance for re-election

Congress respected, yet hated

Twain: “There is no distinctively American criminal class except Congress”

“The opposite of progress is Congress”

RealClearPolitics (October 2008): 17% approve of Congress 26% approve of Bush

On par with used car salesmen in perceived ethics

But people overwhelmingly support their own representatives

Congressional members criticize the institution, claim they are different

Franking Privilege Members can mail newsletters, updates,

surveys, other self-promotions on Congress’ budget

Pork BarrelConstituent Service

Franking Privilege Members can mail newsletters, updates,

surveys, other self-promotions on Congress’ budget

Pork Barrel “bringing home the bacon” Get federal funds for a local project

Constituent Service

Franking PrivilegePork Barrel

“bringing home the bacon” Get federal funds for a local project

Constituent Service Have the staff to respond to

constituent’s needs

Lobby dollars provide incumbents with massive resources

Lobbyists will not “waste” money on challengers

Free advertising for incumbentsLaws have attempted to force equal

coverage

Familiarity is a major boost in elections Actors, athletes have faired well

Early on there were no true “leaders” in Congress

During this period all members were more or less equal

House of Representatives

Speaker of the House Majority Leader Majority Whip Minority Leader Minority Whip

Senate

President of the Senate President Pro Tempore Majority Leader Majority Whip Minority Leader Minority Whip

First to speak on legislation Gives permission to speak

Time limits on speaking Assigns the Rules Committee Assigns bills and time limits to

committees

Often considered the second strongest man in Washington

House of Representatives

Speaker of the House Majority Leader Majority Whip Minority Leader Minority Whip

Senate

President of the Senate President Pro Tempore Majority Leader Majority Whip Minority Leader Minority Whip

Members can become policy experts

More issues can be considered

Legislators can be on committees relevant to constituents

Members of Congress are assigned to one or more permanent committees

These committees – known as standing committees – are where the bulk of Congressional work takes place

1946: Legislative Preauthorization Act Every piece of legislation introduced for

consideration must first be referred to a committee

1970s: House adopted process of multiple referrals

Referral and Jurisdiction

Standing Committees

Standing Committees

Subcommittees

Ninety percent of all measures get tabled in committee

Measures not tabled are given a hearing, occasionally with witnesses/experts

Hearings

In this stage, the actual language of the bill is forged

Prime sponsor: member responsible for crafting the language

Markup

Report: summarizes bill’s provisions and the rationale behind it

Rules Report: stipulates whether a bill is open, closed, modified or subject to the time-structured rule

Reports and Rules Report

Standing Committees

Subcommittees

Select Committee

s

Select committees may conduct investigations or hold hearings, such as the investigations relating to the firing of several U.S. Attorneys, Iran-Contra, Watergate, etc.

Bureaucratic Oversight and Investigations

Standing Committees

Subcommittees

Select Committees

Rules Committee

s

Standing Committees

Subcommittees

Select Committees

Rules Committee

s

Joint Committee

s

Standing Committees

Subcommittees

Select Committees

Rules Committee

s

Joint Committee

s

Conference Committee

s

How a Bill becomes a Law

The Process: Bill Introduction

Any member of Congress can introduce a bill.

Individuals and groups outside of Congress also influence this process.

From www.aramnaharaim.org, www.hposoft.com, www.dcgiftshop.com

The lawmaker that introduces a bill Not necessarily the person that wrote it Can include co-sponsors

Tax bills MUST begin in the House

House – bill dropped in the hopperSenate – the Sponsor is recognized

by the presiding officer and announces the bill

The Process: Bill Introduction Committee Process

▪ Bill is referred to the appropriate committee

▪ Up to 90% of bills die here▪ If approved, is sent to a subcommittee

Hearings are scheduled“Witnesses” generally supportive of

the Subcommittee chairMarkupReport to the full committee

The Process: Bill Introduction Committee Process Floor Action

Filibuster A tactic by whereby a minority of

Senators prevent a bill from coming to a vote by holding floor, talking until other senators give in and bill is withdrawn from consideration

Cloture A 3/5 vote that limits debate on a bill to

30 hours

Change the Senate Rules

Can be changed with a simple majority

Speaker decides what to hear

Suspension of the Rules-requires 2/3 vote

Controversial bills go to the Rules Committee first

The Process: Bill Introduction Committee Process Floor Action Conference Committee

Members of each party from the House and Senate meet to iron out differences between the two versions of a bill

The Process: Bill Introduction Committee Process Floor Action Conference Committee Presidential Decision

Sign the bill into lawVeto

President Bush used the veto power very little compared with other modern presidents.

Presidential Decision

Bush – 12 (none in first term)Clinton - 37George H.W. Bush - 44Ronald Reagan – 78

Clinton also utilized the line item veto

Sign the bill into lawVetoTake no Action

-bill comes into law after 10 daysPocket Veto

-if Congress adjourns before this 10 days ends, the bill is dead; process restarts

Enumerated Powers

Congressional power specifically granted in Article I of the Constitution

Implied Powers

Powers not specified by the Constitution.

Implied as an extension of

enumerated powers

Examples of enumerated powers: Lay and collect taxes Borrow money Coin money Regulate interstate commerce Declare war Raise an army and navy Create inferior courts

The Congress shall have power …To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.

Necessary and Proper Clause

Article I, Section 8

The necessary and proper clause is also called the elastic clause

United Government

One political party controls the

presidency and Congress

Divided Government

One political party controls the

presidency and the other controls at least

one house of Congress