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