Warm up Write down your favorite activities over the break. Write down what you wished you would have accomplished. Write down everything you know or believe regarding the 3 branches of government? Congress If progress is the advancement of society, what is congress? Congress US CAPITOL BUILDING Legislative Branch makes laws Founders Intentions 1.Strongest branch 2.Separation of lawmaking power from executive 3.Bicameralism balances large/small states House (2 yr term) Represents more the common man more connected to people Senate (6 yr term) Represents more the elite allows for independent thinking More prestigious and allows for greater political opportunity Important Differences House 435 members 2 year term 7 year citizen Initiate impeachment Revenue bills ($) Strict debate rules Senate 100 members 6 year term 9 year citizen Tries impeachment Approve presidential appointments Approve treaties Loose debate rules Important Differences Size and Rules The Senate traditionally permits extended debate on all issues In contrast, the House operates with an elaborate system in which its Rules Committee normally proposes time limitations for any bill and a majority of the entire body accepts or modifies those suggested time limits Important Differences Size and Rules Rules Committee (d) A standing committee of the House of Representatives that provides special rules under which specific bills can be debated, amended and considered by the House Important Differences Debate and Filibusters Filibuster Allowed in the Senate only (Stopped in the House in 1811) Allows for unlimited debate on the issue before the Senate Senators will employ a filibuster as a means of trying to talk a bill to death Once a senator has the floor, he does not have to surrender it Can be stopped only with a vote of cloture Strom Thurmond Filibustered for over 24 hours against The 1957 Civil Rights Act Important Differences Debate and Filibusters Cloture Debate on a Senate bill may be closed off if 16 senators sign a petition requesting so and if, after two days have elapsed, 3/5s of the entire membership vote to limit consideration of the bill. (Normally 60 Senators) Enumerated Powers Article I, Section 8 To lay and collect taxes, duties, imports To borrow money To regulate commerce (states and foreign) To establish rules for naturalization To coin money To create courts (except Supreme Court) To declare war To raise and support an army and navy Evolution of Powers Elastic clause (Necessary and Proper) -has extended powers of Congress Oversight of budget can restrict the fed. budget prepared by executive branch Appropriations set amount of money made available for various activity in a fiscal year Investigation Congress can launch investigations (Watergate, Clinton-Lewinski hearings, Steroids in baseball) Denied Powers 10 th Amendment Powers not delegatedreserved Congress may not: Suspend the writ of habeas corpus, unless necessary in time of rebellion or invasion Pass any law which condemns persons for crimes or unlawful acts without a trial Pass any law which retroactively makes a specific act a crime (ex: post facto) Levy direct taxes on, except on the basis of a census already taken Tax exports from any one state Give specially favorable treatment in commerce or taxation to the seaports of any state or to the vessels using them Authorize any titles of nobility House Leadership SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE MINORITY LEADER MINORITY WHIP MAJORITY LEADER MAJORITY WHIP Senate Leadership PRES. PRO TEMPORE MINORITY LEADER MINORITY WHIP MAJORITY LEADER (MOST POWERFUL) MAJORITY WHIP PRESIDENT of the SENATE (VICE PRESIDENT) Leadership Majority party controls the most significant leadership positions House - Speaker of the House Allows people to speak on floor Assigns bills to committees Influences which bills are brought to a vote Appoints members of special and select committees Senate Majority Leader Schedules Senate business Prioritizes bills A. Leadership in the House Speaker of the House The only leadership position mandated by the Constitution is the Speaker of the House Third in line in presidential succession Traditionally, the most senior member of the majority party serves as the Speaker Formal Leadership A. Speaker of the House The major formal duties of the Speaker include 1) Presiding over meetings of the House 2) Appointing members of joint committees and conference committees 3) Scheduling legislation for floor action 4) Deciding points or order and interpreting the rules with the advice of the House Parliamentarian 5) Referring bills and resolutions for the appropriate standing committees of the House 18 Formal Leadership A. Leadership in the House Majority Leader Elected by a caucus of the majority party to foster cohesion among party members and to serve as a spokesperson for the party Majority leader influences the scheduling of debate and generally acts as the chief supporter of the Speaker Formal Leadership A. Leadership in the House Minority Leader The candidate nominated for position by a caucus of the minority party but has no actual powers Responsible for maintaining unity within party ranks speaks on behalf of the president of the minority party if they do not control the White House consults with both the Speaker and the Majority leader on recognizing members who wish to speak on the floor, on House rules and procedures and on the scheduling of legislation. Formal Leadership A. Leadership in the House Whips assistants to the majority and minority leaders are known as whips pass information down from the leadership to party members ensure that members show up for floor debate and cast their votes on important issues Formal Leadership B. Leadership in the Senate President of the Senate The Constitution makes the vice president the president of the Senate his only constitutionally defined job But normally vice president only come into the Senate to break ties on important votes Formal Leadership B. Leadership in the Senate Senate President Pro Tempore Position usually filled by the most senior Senator from the majoritys party The Senate President Pro Tempore is the ceremonial head of the Senate when the Vice President is not in attendance Formal Leadership B. Leadership in the Senate Majority/Minority Floor Leader The floor leaders have the right to be recognized first in floor debates and generally exercise the same powers available to the House majority and minority leaders They control the scheduling of debate on the floor in conjunction with the majority partys Policy Committee, influence the committee assignments for new members or for senators transferring, and influence the selection of other party officials. Formal Leadership B. Leadership in the Senate Whips Senate whips, like their House counterparts, maintain communication within the party on issue positions and attempt to ensure that party colleagues are present for floor debate and important votes Formal Leadership Members of Congress receive an annual salary of $165,200 Leadership receives $183,500 Legislators also have many benefits that are not available to most workers 27 Pay, Perks and Priviledges Special Benefits Access to private Capitol gym facilities Free, close-in parking at National and Dulles Airports near Washington Six free parking spaces in Capitol Hill garages plus one free outdoor Capitol parking slot Special license plates which make them exempt from parking tickets Pay, Perks and Priviledges Special Benefits They eat in a subsidized dining room Free plants for their offices from the national Botanical Gardens Free medical care Inexpensive but generous pension plan Liberal travel allowances Special tax considerations Pay, Perks and Priviledges Personal Professional Staffs Over 18,000 people are employed in the Capitol Hill bureaucracy About half of these are personal committee staff members The personal staff includes office clerks and secretaries; media relation specialist; legislative specialists; caseworkers; and staffers who maintain local offices in the district Pay, Perks and Priviledges Personal Professional Staffs The average Senate office employs about 30 staff members Senators from the more populous states may have twice that number Pay, Perks and Priviledges Immunities Under Law Members of Congress also benefit from a number of special constitutional protections. Under Article 1, Section 6, it states they shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech of Debate in either House, They shall not be questioned in any other Place. Immunities Under Law The arrest immunity clause is not really an important provision today The Speech or Debate clause, however, means that a member may make any allegations or statements he wishes in connection with official duties and normally not be sued for slander or libel Whos in Congress? 110 th Congress ( ) 85% male 85% White 40% Lawyers 109 th Congress ( ) 29 accused of spousal abuse 7 have been arrested for fraud 19 arrested for writing bad checks 117 have bankrupted at least 2 businesses 8 have been arrested for shoplifting In 1998 alone, 84 were stopped for drunk driving Source: Congressional Quarterly, various years. 113 th Congress House of Representatives Elections House members directly elected All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election every two years Senators directly elected after 17 th Amend Senate terms are for six years and one- third of the seats are up for election every two years Candidates To run for Congress, a candidate needs simply to get the required number of signatures on a petition and pay the registration fee the average cost of winning Senate campaigns now being approximately $5 million and a winning House campaign being approximately $770,000 Once in office, legislators spend some time almost every day raising money for their next campaign Candidates Congressional candidates are always hopeful that a strong presidential candidate will have coattails that will sweep members of the same party into office. In reality, though, coattail effects have been quite limited, appearing only in landslide elections such as Lyndon Johnsons victory in 1964 or Barack Obama in 2008 Power of Incumbency Members can use their status, as incumbents to their benefit The three main ways are: 1. Advertising - Franking Priviledge 2.Credit claiming 3.Position taking This can be done through use of the media, making personal appearances and sending out newsletters all to produce a favorable image and to make the incumbents name a household word Franking privileges are particularly helpful for incumbents to send free mail Advertising If a congressperson is voting on high profile issues in a way the voters of his district/state approve then they will vote retrospectively (remembering good things) to re-elect their representative This can be a huge advantage over challengers who are not usually known to voters and have no proven track record in Congress Credit Claiming The Congressman will use their name recognition and attach it to various popular positions Not only must a Congressman project an image as being experienced, hard working, and trustworthy they must eventually defend the stances they take on policy-making decisions Position Taking Figure 13.1 Percentage of Incumbents Reelected to Congress Copyright 2011 Cengage Source: Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Niemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics, 19992000 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2000), table 1-18; 2004 update by Marc Siegal. Other Factors: 1.Pork Barreling 2.Casework 3.Money Power of Incumbency Examples of pork-barrel spending in fiscal year 2000 include: $700,000 for the Admiral Theater in Bremerton, Washington, the district of House appropriator Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), despite a $4.2 million privately-funded facelift; and $500,000 for the Olympic Tree Program in the state of Senate appropriator Robert Bennett for the 2002 Winter Olympics Pork Barrel (d) - The public projects that a congressman can claim credit for that benefit his/her district or state (federal projects, grants, contracts, etc.) Casework (d) - Helping constituents as individuals cutting through some bureaucratic red tape to help out individual people in their districts Money When an incumbent is not running for reelection and the seat is open, there is a greater likelihood of competition in the election Generally, these close elections are called MARGINAL DISTRICTS elections in which the winner gets less than 55% of the vote. Money Incumbents have a huge advantage when it comes to money and thats what it takes to win The 1994 Senate races alone cost at least $234 million, and the House candidates spent another $327 million Although most of the money spent in congressional elections comes from individuals (70%) the rest comes from PACs who usually give their money to the incumbent Elections Divided Government (d) A government in which the president and the majority party in Congress are not from the same party Republicans lost control of the Senate in 2001 and the House in 2007 Democrats won the Presidency in 2009 but then lost the House in 2011 and the Senate in 2015 Congressional Reapportionment The Constitution requires that representation in the House be reapportioned by Congress every 10 years, or whenever a new census is taken This is why census taking is so important Redistricting is done by state legislatures The party in control in the state legislature thus has a big advantage they have the right to gerrymander districts in order to give their partys candidate an advantage What was the total loss in both the House and the Senate over the course of these 6 years? Californias Districts Representation Malapportionment unequal population in districts Baker v. Carr, 1962 Wesberry v. Sanders (1963) found unequal district pop. unconstitutional 14 th amend Baker v. Carr, 1962 The Court ruled that malapportionment violated the equal protection clause of the 14 th Amendment Case stemmed from the fact that the Tennessee Legislature had not redistricted itself since the turn of the century Baker v. Carr decision enshrined the constitutional concept of one man, one vote Court and Legislative Action Wesberry v. Sanders The Court decided to look at a case involving severe malapportionment in Georgia in which some urban and liberal district were two and three times the size of rural districts, thus diluting the votes of those who lived in the cities The Court ruled this practice illegal and stated that Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution, made it clear that districts must be made equal size to insure equal representation Today, districts cannot vary in size by more than 1.5%. Voting Right Act of 1965 Congress passed historic legislation in 1965 to protect Black voters in the South This Act stated two things: 1.States cannot restrict somebody the right to vote on the basis of race 2.States have to check with the Justice Department before they institute new voting procedures including redistricting. 73 Gerrymandering district boundaries are redrawn in strange ways to make it easy for candidate of one party to win Easley v. Cromartie (2001) redistricting for political ideology was constitutional, led to increase in minority reps Illinois 4 th District Luis Guitierrez (D-IL) Gerrymandering The federal government began to encourage another type of gerrymandering in the 1990s The Justice Department issued orders to states to create congressional districts that would maximize the voting powers of minority groups Why - Stated reason: To ensure equality in representation for minority candidates, thus ensuring minorities more equal treatment from government. in the House of Representatives in the Senate if the House and Senate bills are not identical, then a Conference Committee tries to work out a compromise bill. then, the president either approves or vetoes the bill. Committees and Subcommittees Most real work happens here Bills are passed, changed, ignored, or killed There are four types of major committees: Standing Select Joint Conference 82 Types of Committees Standing committee handle bills in different policy areas (ex. Appropriations, Agriculture, Armed Services, Science, Ways and Means, Foreign Relations, etc.) most important and have been standing or existing for a long time (permanent) -There are 19 Standing Committees in the House and 16 in the Senate Select committee formed for specific purposes and usually temporary run investigations (ex. Aging, Intelligence) or Executive oversight -almost all legislative measures are considered by the appropriate Standing Committee Types of Committees Joint committee consist of both House and Senate members similar in purpose to Select committee they cannot report bills to the floor role is usually to fact find or create publicity on a certain area of the law or policy in Washington Conference committee consist of both House reps and Senators formed to hammer out differences between House and Senate versions of similar bills Their purpose is achieving agreement between the House and the Senate on exact wording of legislation, if passed in different forms by their respective chambers Committee Structure House Rules Committee Because of its special gatekeeping power over the terms on which legislation will reach the floor of the House of Representatives, the House Rules Committee holds a uniquely powerful position The committee sets the time limit on debate and determines whether and how a bill may be amended Committee Membership Controlled by majority party, committee membership divided proportionally Committee Chairman Senior member of committee of majority party Seniority System A custom followed in both chambers specifying that members with longer terms of continuous service will be given preference when committee chairpersons and other significant posts are selected Majority party controls membership and debate Work of Committees 11,000 bills introduced yearly, most die Committees can Specialize or a divide the legislative workload Report out favorably/unfavorably Pigeonholed/table (do not discuss) Amend / mark up (change or rewrite) Congress has over 200 committees and subcommittees Representatives, on average, serve on 5 committees; Senators on 11 House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Environmental and Public Works Committee on Foreign Relations (chair) Subcommittee on Aviation Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Product Safety and Insurance Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Subcommittee on National Ocean Policy Study Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps and Narcotics Affairs Congressional Caucuses Groupings of members pushing for similar interests Ex. Sunbelt, Northeast-Midwest, Congressional Black, Womens, Democratic Study Group, Boll Weevils, Steel Source: U.S. House of Representatives, 2009. How A Bill Becomes a Law Create legislation, make laws Founders believed in a SLOW process Founders believed efficiency was a trait of an oppressive government Step 1 Introduce Bill Introduced in Senate or House (except tax) Single or multiple reps can introduce bill Step 2 - Committee 1.Bill is assigned to a particular committee in its category (Ex. Tax bill Ways and Means Committee, Farm bill Agriculture Committee) 2.Bill is then placed in sub-committee 3.Bills are debated and marked up 4.Most bills die in committee, committee can vote to report out a bill Step 3Rules Committee Before bill can go to floor in House, it must first set time limits and amendment regulations. Closed rule sets time limits, restricts amendments Open rule permits amendments Restrictive rule permits some amendments Step 4 Floor Debate Senate Debate Less formal, no speaking limit Filibuster practice of stalling a bill w/ debate Cloture 3/5 of the Senate vote to stop debate House Debate More formal, no filibuster, strict rules Step 5 - Voting Majority passes If the bill passes, it must go through the same process in the opposite chamber with a sponsor If the bill passes one house and fails the other, it must start over If the Senate and House cannot come to agreement over two versions, it goes to Conference Committee to fix it and resubmit the bill Presidential Action Sign bill becomes law Veto bill returns to origin Override 2/3 vote in both houses can override veto Pocket Veto President has 10 days to act on a piece of legislation. If he receives the bill within 10 days of the end of the Congressional session, and doesnt sign, it dies Override There are six main influences on how representatives vote Constituency Interest Groups Party Discipline Committee Assignments Whip System Logrolling How Members of Congress Decide A. Constituency Voting on what their constituents want is not that simple First of all, more than 30% of the people in a congressional district cant name their representative Plus, voting at midterm election is usually around 35% However, the advent of polling,and 800 numbers have all made communication easier How Members of Congress Decide B. Interest Groups Besides money, interest groups can mobilize public support or opposition on a given topic Sophisticated grassroots lobbying means interests groups will send out thousands of letters with names of constituents who have simply called into a toll-free number and reported their name and addresses How Members of Congress Decide C. Party Discipline At the turn of the century, party leaders could almost dictate to 90% of their members how to vote on an import bill (called a roll-call vote) Because of independent, privately funded campaigns, only 3% of all bills are still passed in that manner Now you have party votes in which half of the party may vote one way and the other half the other way Typically, party unity is greater in the House than in the Senate mainly because the House has stricter procedural rules about how to vote than the Senate How Members of Congress Decide D. Committee Assignments The growth in the number of committee and subcommittees (over 200 in 2003) has had a recent impact on how Congress votes House and Senate leaders can favor those who have voted their way in the past by awarding them committee chairmanships. After the Republican sweep in 1994, they eliminated the seniority system in assigning chairmanships, increasing the trend of rewarding faithful representatives with positions that would help them in their next election How Members of Congress Decide E. Whip System Serves mainly as a communications network The whips in both houses take polls of their members in order to tell leadership if they have enough support on certain bills How Members of Congress Decide F. Logrolling Logrolling Congress members exchange votes bills might pass for frivolous reasons How Members of Congress Decide Other Congressional Functions Oversight Function Another function of Congress is overseeing the bureaucracy and the executive branch Oversight (d) The responsibility Congress has for following up on laws it has enacted to ensure they are being enforced in the way Congress intended. Oversight Function In regards to bureaucratic agencies, Congress has three oversight functions: 1)No agency may even exist (with the exception of some presidential offices and commissions) without congressional approval 2)Even if an agency can operate, it cant spend money without committee authorization 3)Just because a committee authorizes the spending, that doesnt mean the agency is appropriated the full amount How Members of Congress Decide Oversight Function Some examples of congressional oversight in action would include: 1949 Senate subcommittee investigation revealed high level corruption in the Truman administration 1960s Senate Foreign Relations Committees televised hearing helped to mobilize opposition to the Vietnam War 1973 Watergate investigation exposed White House officials who illegally used their positions for political advantage D. Oversight Function Select Committee inquiries identified serious abuses by intelligence activities. 1987 Oversight efforts disclosed statutory violations in the executive branchs secret arm sales to Iran 1998 Special Committee investigation of President Clinton led to his impeachment. Clintons Impeachment Trial Other Congressional Functions Public-Education Function Congress also decides what issues will come up for discussion and decision; agenda-setting is a major facet of its public-education function Agenda-setting (d) Determining which public- policy questions will be debated or considered by Congress Criticisms of Congress Pork aka pork-barrel legislation bills to benefit constituents in hope of gaining their votes Logrolling Congress members exchange votes, bills might pass for frivolous reasons Christmas-tree bill bill with many riders (pork) in Senate, no limit exists on amendments, so Senators try to attach riders that will benefit their home state Term-limits Debate No current limit on how many terms members of Congress can serve 1.Some argue this has weakened popular control of Congress, reps might be unresponsive to their constituents 2.Some argue most experienced reps have the expertise to bring home more benefits (pork, riders, etc.) Trustee, Delegate, or Party Member Trustee (Attitudinal View) A member of Congress fills the role of trustee (d) when he acts according to his conscience and the broad interests of society as a whole Delegate (Representational View) A member of Congress fills the role of delegate (d) when he votes according to the view of his constituents, regardless of his personal feelings Party Member (Organizational View) A member of Congress fills the role of party member (d) when he votes according to the view of his party affiliation Trustee, Delegate, or Party Member Which way does Congress vote? Why? Be sure to be specific if the Senators and House of Representatives should vote the same or different. Which way should Congress vote? Why? Be sure to be specific if the Senators and House of Representatives should vote the same or different. Be sure to include Connstituency, Interest Groups, Party Discipline, Committee Assignments, Whip System, Logrolling