American Politics and Foreign Policy

Prof. Jaechun KimAmerican Congress and the Prob-

lem of Divided Government

Notable Things about American Congress

Which branch was the first branch? The First Branch of the American Government

The founders of the American republic believed that the bulk of the power that would be exercised by a national (federal) gov-ernment should be in the hands of the legislature (not in the executive branch)!

The leading role envisioned for Congress in the new government is apparent from its primacy in the Constitution (Article I) the most important branch of government

Remember! Congress was the central government under the Ar-ticles of Confederation!

Congress was the dominant institution (vis-à-vis Presidency) until the turn of the 19th century!!

Congressional leaders were dominant politicians…!

American Congress

The intention of Founding Fathers was to design a system that would prevent one person (King) from holding too much power.

One way to do was to take law-making power from the executive branch and to put it in the hands of legislature… com-posed of a group of people…

Power of Congress

Power to make laws

“All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.” These leg-islative powers are spelled out in detail in Article I and elsewhere in the Constitution.

Bureaucracies seized a great deal of legislative power…in recent years, though…

Advice and Consent: Special Senate Powers Under Article II, Section 2, the Senate must advise

on, and consent to, the ratification of treaties and must accept or reject presidential nominations of am-bassadors, Supreme Court justices, and “all other Of-ficers of the United States.”

President make treaties and appoint top executive of-ficers, ambassadors, and federal judges, but only “with the Advice and Consent of the Senate”

Confirmation of appointees and ratification of treaties (important scrutinizing mechanism)

The Oversight Function Hearings; Investigation; Impeachment

Power of Purse: Budgetary Power

Power to declare war ??

Power to regulate international commerce…!

Very powerful foreign policy authority!!

It is Congress that is responsible for organizing the executive branch… which means…

Setting up executive departments such as the DoD and Depart-ment of Homeland Security

Setting up executive agencies such as FRB… quite independent from the President…

Setting up independent regulatory commissions such as the FEC…. More independent from the President…

Organization of these bodies can be altered by an Act of Con-gress…

The US Congress is more powerful than any other legislative bodies in other countries that adopted presidential system…

Bicameralism

Why Bicameralism? To ensure the fair representation of the small states For check and balance between the two chambers…

Different constituencies Senate – cf. 7th amendment to the constitution in 1913 House

They have to agree on the exact wording of any bills…

Different terms! cf. staggered term (Senate)

House-Senate Differences

Senate is more deliberative – powerful in making more important decisions…

Filibuster...

House is more centralized and organized… cf. Senate

House – constituencies are small and homo-geneous serve agents of well-organized local interests with specific legislative agen-das…!

Senate – large constituencies… more na-tional outlook..

Leadership in the House

The Speaker (the de facto leader of the majority party)cf. The major formal powers of the Speaker include the

following: Presiding over meetings of the HouseAppointing members of joint committees and confer-

ence committeesScheduling legislation for floor actionDeciding points of order and interpreting the rules with

the advice of the House parliamentarianReferring bills and resolutions to the appropriate stand-

ing committees of the House

The Majority Leader

The Minority Leader

Whips

Leadership in the Senate president pro tempore – the longest continuous term of service in the

Senate Strom Thurmond (SC) – 1954- 2003

majority floor leader and minority floor leader and their respective whips

http://www.thecapi-tol.net/FAQ/cong_leadershipWpics.html

Party Leaders in the 112th Con-gress (House, 2011~2013)

Position Incumbent Party/ State Leader since

Speaker John Boehner R./ OH. (8th). Jan./ 2011

Majority Leader Eric I. Cantor R./ VA. (7th). Jan./ 2011

Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy R./ CA. (22nd). Jan./ 2011

Republican Confer-ence Chairperson

Jeb Hensarling R./ TX. (5th). Jan./ 2011

Republican Confer-ence Vice-Chairper-

son

Cathy M. Rodgers

R./WA. (5th). Jan./ 2009

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi D./ CA. (8th). Jan./ 2011

Minority Whip Steny Hoyer D./ MA. (5th). Jan./ 2011

Democratic Caucus Chairperson

John B. Larson D./ CT .(1st). Jan./2009

Democratic CaucusVice-Chairperson

Xavier Becerra D./ CA. (31st). Jan./ 2009

Party Leaders in the 112th Con-gress (Senate, 2011~2013)

Position Incumbent Party/ State Leader since

President Pro Tem-pore

Daniel Inouye D./ Hawaii Jun./ 2010

Majority Leader Harry Reid D./ Nevada Jan. / 2007

Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin

D./ Illinois Jan./ 2007

Vice-Chair of the Democratic Confer-

ence

Chuck Schumer

D./ New York Jan./ 2007

Secretary of the Democratic Confer-

ence

Patricia ‘Patty’ Murray

D./ Washington Jan./ 2007

Minority Leader Mitch Mc-Connell

R./ Kentucky Jan./ 2007

Minority Whip Jon L. Kyl R./ Arizona Dec./ 2007

Chairperson of the Republican Confer-

ence

Lamar Alexander

R./ Tennessee Dec./ 2007

Vice-Chair of the Re-publican Conference

John Barrasso R./ Wyoming Jun./ 2010

Committee Structure

The Power of Committees Commonly known as "little legislatures," committees

usually have the final say on pieces of legislation. Seldom overturned on the floor…

Types of Congressional Committees Standing Committees In the 108th Congress, there were 68 subcommit-

tees in the Senate and 88 in the House Select Committees – limited time Joint Committees

cf. The House Rules Committee

• The selection of committee members – senior-ity system…!?

Potential Problems of American Presidentialism

Outside the US, presidentialism hasn’t really worked very well…

Dual Democratic Legitimacy

Both the president, who controls the executive and is elected by the people, and an elected legislature enjoy democratic legitimacy!

In parliamentary system, the only democratically le-gitimated institution is parliament! Parliament chooses the Prime Minister and the cabinet.

Problem of Divided Government

Legitimacy of Prime Minister and the cabinet is derived from the parliament… They are politically accountable to parliament. With vote of non-con-fidence, parliament can dismiss PM and the cabi-net.

In Presidential system, the president is not ac-countable to parliament (but directly to people!) Legitimacy of president is not derived from Par-liament… There is another institution, Parliament, which derives legitimacy from people!

The legislature (which is elected by the direct elec-tion) also enjoys democratic legitimacy. And the problem is that the legislature can be controlled by the opposition parties! divided government!

When President and the Legislature clash, which branch has more democratic legitimacy? Is there any democratic principle to resolve it? Who speaks better in the name of people?

“plebiscitary aura” of presidential election I, the President, have the full claim to democratic legitimacy….

Rigidity of the Presidentialism

Both the president and the congress are elected for a fixed term, the president’s tenure in office is independent of the legislature, and the survival of the legislature is indepen-dent of the president. This leads to “rigidity” of Presidential-ism.

Why does the system work in the US? Why there is no gridlock during the Divided Government? Divided Government and Unified Government in the post-

WWII American Politics

Unified Divided

1949-1952 Truman

1953-1954 Ike

1955-1960 Ike

1961-1968 JFK, LBJ

1969-1976 Nixon, Ford

1977-1980 Carter

1981-1988 Reagan

1989-1992 Bush

1993-1994 Clinton

1995-2000 Clinton

2001- Bush

During the Divided Government, presidential bills were passed and the opposition party didn’t launch any hostile investigations… or hold hearings… basically no difference between unified and divided governments… this is quite different from other presidential democracies…!

Why?

Lack of Party Discipline

cross voting – On substantive policy issues, even when party positions are clearly enunciated, members often vote against their own parties…

cf. Parliamentarism strong party discipline!

Why Lack of Party Discipline? Why is cross-voting possible in the US?

reflection of individualistic political culture?

Party nomination system for Congresspersons… based on open pri-mary!!!

This explains why the Congresspersons care about their constituency interests first!

constituency interests come first !!!

NAFTA bill under the Clinton administration; W. Bush’s initiative to amend Social Security Act ; KORUS

Once again, why would members of Congress be willing to give priority to local constituency interests?

Decentralized Party Leadership!

Lack of Party Disciple, hence Cross-Voting, ex-plains why divided government works in the US!!

But is this observation still valid in the US?