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Overview
• Structure• Organization• Functions
– Legislative Process– Representation
• Reapportionment and Redistricting• Gerrymandering
• Elections/Demographics/Democracy
Structure
Congress
House of Representatives Senate
Structure
Congress
House of Representatives Senate
435 members2 year term
local districts
100 members6 year term
state
Structure
Congress
House of Representatives Senate
Must be 25 years oldUS citizen for 7 yearsResident of state
Must be 30 years oldUS citizen for 9 yearsResident of state
Demographics
Congress
House of Representatives (435)
Senate(100)
257 Democratic178 Republican
56 Democratic41 Republicans2 Independents
1 race undecided yet
Demographics
Congress
House of Representatives (435)
Senate(100)
360 Men75 Women
83 Men17 Women*
*Highest total ever
Demographics
Congress
House of Representatives (435)
Senate(100)
364 White42 Black
25 Hispanic4 Asian
94 White1 Black
3 Hispanic2 Asian
Demographics
Congress
House of Representatives (435)
Senate(100)
Average age: 57 Average Age: 62
Powers
Congress
House of Representatives Senate
Impeach federal officalsOriginates all revenue raising bills
Convict federal officals forimpeachable offensesAdvise and Consent role on presidential powers
Procedures
Congress
House of Representatives Senate
More formal rulesMore partisan
Fewer rules and restrictionsMore individualistic
Prestige
Congress
House of Representatives Senate
More local/regional power baseMore local media exposure
Greater national leadershipMore national media exposure
Organization
• Both chambers rely on two overlapping organizational features to get work done:– The Party System– The Committee System
Organization
• Parties determine leadership in both chambers
• Leadership determines committee structure and assignments
Party System in House
• Majority Elects– Speaker– Leader– Whips
• Minority Elects– Leader– Whips
Official House Leadership Webpages: http://www.house.gov/house/orgs_pub_hse_ldr_www.shtml Campaign Finance of Leadership
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/index.asp
Nancy Pelosi(D, CA)
John Boehner(R, OH)
Party System in Senate
• Majority elects:– President Pro
Tempore– Leader– Whips
• Minority Elects– Leader– Whips
Official Senate Leadership Webpages:http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/senators/a_three_sections_with_teasers/leadership.htmCampaign Finance of Leadershiphttp://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/index.asp
President of the Senate
(Vice President)
Mitch McConnell (R, KY)
Robert Byrd (D, VA)
Harry Reid(D, NV)
Party in Congress
• Over the past 20 years we have seen a marked increase in partisan divide in Congress
• Party unity scores (the number of times that members of party vote with other members of the party) have increased dramatically
• Bipartisan agreements are more difficult to obtain (e.g., stimulus package vote)
Committee System
• Three (3) types of committees– Standing– Select– Joint
Committee System
• Three (3) types of committees– Standing
• Semi-Permanent (they can be changed, but rarely are) committees in House and Senate devoted to relatively narrow area of public policy
links: http://www.house.gov/house/CommitteeWWW.shtmlhttp://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/committees/d_three_sections_with_teasers/committees_home.htm
Committee System
• Three (3) types of committees– Select
• Temporary committee established for a limited time period and for a specific purpose
– House select committeeshttp://www.house.gov/house/CommitteeWWW.shtml
– Senate select committeeshttp://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/committees/d_three_sections_with_teasers/committees_home.htm
Committee System
• Three (3) types of committees– Joint
• Legislative committee composed of members of both chambers of Congress
• Most common is the “Conference Committee” which reconciles competing House and Senate versions of a bill
Functions of Congress
• Lawmaking• Representation• Constituent Service• Oversight• Public Education• Conflict Resolution
Functions of Congress
• Lawmaking– Enumerated Powers
(most are in Article I, section 8)
– Implied powers of “necessary and proper” clause
Legislative Process
• Click here for a quick video description of the legislative process
link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dVo3nbLYC0
Representation
• Basic Theories of Representation– Delegate: Elected
official attempts to determine as best as possible the views of the electorate and vote accordingly
Representation
– Trustee: Elected official attempts to determine what is in the best interest of the electorate and vote accordingly
Representation
• Politico: Combination of the preceding two
Representation
• Representation in the House requires states to divide themselves into legislative districts, based on a number determined by the state’s population– Each state required (Art. I, clause 3) to
have at least one (1) representative
Reapportionment
• Up through 1910 census, size of the House membership expanded as the population expanded
• 1911 Congress capped the membership at 435, so since 1920 census Congress must reapportion seats among the states to reflect shifts in population growth rates
Redistricting
• Redrawing legislative districts within states to reflect population shifts and reapportionment results
• Occurs every 10 years, after the decennial census
• Next census is 2010• Districts are drawn according to state
government plans (some states use the legislature, some use special “commissions”
Gerrymander
• Drawing congressional districts for partisan advantage
Gerrymander
Packing
1
2
3
4
Gerrymander
Cracking
1
23
4
Redistricting
• Since the 1960s though, districts are required to contain roughly the same number of people– Baker v. Carr (1964)– Wesberry v. Sanders (1964)– Drawing gerrymandered districts is more
difficult now than it was, but it can still be done
Elections
• Impact of districting:– fewer “competitive” seats
• 2008 New Jersey datahttp://www.opensecrets.org/states/election.asp?State=NJ&year=2006
– higher re-election rates for incumbents
• see chart in text for data from 1946 through the 2004 election
• 2008 results: 95.3% of incumbents reelected
Elections
• Other factors contributing to incumbent advantage:– Fundraising
• Check the Center for Responsive Politics website for the spending differentials among challengers and incumbents
http://www.opensecrets.org/races/index.asp
Elections
• Other factors contributing to incumbent advantage– Name recognition among electorate– Easier access to media– Easier access to electorate
• “franking” privilege
Useful Links
• Overview of the Legislative Process:http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html
• Rules of the 110th Congress (House)http://www.rules.house.gov/ruleprec/house_rules.htm
• Process in the Senate Legislativehttp://thomas.loc.gov/home/enactment/enactlawtoc.html