Congress

Who they are• Occupation (111th Congress ‘09-’10)

– 269 members (227 Representatives, two Delegates, and 40 Senators) served in state or territorial legislatures

– 214 members (182 Representatives and 33 Senators) list their occupation as public service/politics

– 225 (168 Representatives and 57 Senators) list law– 201 (175 Representatives and 27 Senators) list

business– 94 (78 Representatives and 16 Senators) list

education• Party Breakdown (113th Congress ’13-’14)

– Senate: Republicans – 45; Democrats – 53; Independent – 2 (vote with Democrats)

– House: Republicans – 233; Democrats – 200

More on the 113th

http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/influencealley/2012/11/5-milestones-in-congressional-demographics-09

DiversityCongress will have 43 African American members (all but 1 in the House of Representatives), a record high number of female (100) and LGBT (7) members

Do Members Represent Their Voters?

• Representational view–members vote to please their constituents

• Organizational View–members vote to please fellow members of Congress

• Attitudinal View–members vote on the basis of their own beliefs

Keith Ellison (D., MN), the first Muslim elected to Congress

Ohio’s Senators

Senator Rob Portman (R) - Elected in 2010

Senator Sherrod Brown (D) - Elected in 2006

Single member district• Census: determines

number of districts in a state– Drawn by state

legislatures • Our district: 12th • Our representative:

Pat Tiberi

ApportionmentReapportionment: allocation of seats in the House of Representatives to each state after each census

Redistricting: redrawing of the boundaries of the congressional districts within each state

Gerrymandering: practice of drawing lines to favor one party over the other

Percentage of Incumbents Reelected to Congress

Source: Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Niemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics, 1999–2000 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2000), table 1-18; 2004 update by Marc Siegal.

A Polarized Congress• A more ideological perspective has been

brought to Congress.• Congress’ most liberal members are

Democrats.• Congress’ most conservative members

are Republicans.• Voters are closer to the center of political

spectrum.

Functions of Congress• The Lawmaking Function.

– deciding the legal rules that govern our society.– Establish broad national policies by building majority coalitions

through political tactics like logrolling, debate, and compromise.

• The Representation Function. – The Trustee.– The Instructed-Delegate.– The “Politico”

• Service to Constituents.– Casework: includes assisting constituents in getting

governmental services denied to the constituent

Functions of Congress• The Oversight Function.

– following up to ensure laws and actions are enforced as intended

– inquiries to determine effectiveness of the bureaucracy and whether the bureaucracy is fulfilling the needs of the public.

– investigations into alleged wrongdoing.

• The Public-Education Function. – holds public hearings, exercises oversight, and engages in

debate on major issues.

• The Conflict-Resolution Function. – brokering disputes between opposing viewpoints or resource

demands.

Differences Between the House and Senate

Pay and Perks of Office• Until the last century, membership was not considered a

career– First members of Congress = $6 a day

• Modern members of Congress are well compensated– Personal benefits include:

Sa

lary

$174,000 base

$49,500 for Speaker

$19,400 for majority/minority leaders

He

alth

care

Great healthcare plans; free out-patient care at one of two military hospitals.

Pe

nsi

on

s Four pension plans from which to choose

Can collect at 50 if they have served 20 years

Only felony conviction can keep them from collecting

Benefits that Help Reelection Chances

• House members may hire staff members out of their allowance– $1.5 million (on average) per year

• 2/3 taken up for salary of staff• Rest used for mailing, travel, and office expenses

– Senator’s annual allowances vary with the population of their state.

• $3 to 5 million on average per year

• Committee chairs & leadership positions are allowed additional staff and more for expenses.

• Mailing privileges– 112th Congress = half billion dollars for office and franking

privileges (mailing costs)

• The Non-legislative powers of Congress – Electoral powers– Impeachment– Appointments (Sen)– Ratify treaties (Sen)– Amendments

• Powers denied– suspend the writ of

habeas corpus– pass bills of attainder

pass ex post facto laws– tax exports– Deny fundamental rights

Speaker of the House

1. Leader of majority party and presides over House.

a) Decides who to recognize to speak on the floor

b) Rules on germaneness of motions

c) Assigns bills to committees, subject to some rules

d) Influences which bills are brought up for a vote

e) Appoints members of special and select committees

Types of Congressional Committees

• Standing Committees– Where all bills are referred

• Select Committees– accomplish a particular task

• Joint Committees– members of each chamber

• Conference Committees– Settles differences between

versions of bills

• House Rules Committee– makes rules that will govern

what happens to the bill on the floor of the House

Committee Structure Legislative committees are most important organizational

feature of Congress.• Consider bills or legislative proposals, Maintain oversight of executive agencies, Conduct

investigations

Committee practices• Majority party has majority of seats on the committees and names the chair.

Assignments– House members : two standing committees or one exclusive committee.– Senators : two “major” AND one “minor” committee.

Chairs are elected -- Usually the most senior majority party member of the committee

Committee Reform Subcommittee “bill of rights” of 1970s changed several traditions.

– House committee chairs are elected by secret ballot in party caucus.– No House member or Senator may chair more than one committee.– All House committees over 20 members to have at least four subcommittees.– larger staffs; House members gained more personal staffers.– committee meetings open to the public

Decentralizing reforms made the House more inefficient, committee chairs utilized controversial practices to gain control

In 1995, House Republicans gave chairmen ability to select staff members, imposed term limits on leadership

In 1995, Senate Republicans imposed term limits on all committee chairmen; required members select chairmen by secret ballot.

Certain committees tend to attract particular types of legislators.– Policy-oriented members to finance or foreign policy .– Constituency-oriented members to small business or veterans’ affairs.

Law Making• A bill may begin in either house

• BUT... Revenue bills must begin in the House of Representatives.• Only a member of the House or Senate may introduce a

bill but anyone can write a bill.• Over 9,000 bills are proposed and fewer than 5 to 10%

are enacted.• A bill must survive three stages to become a law:

committees, the floor, and the conference committee. • A bill can die at any stage.

Law making process• Types of Bills

– Public Bill– Private Bill

• Types of Resolutions– Simple resolution– Joint resolution– Concurrent resolution

ProceduresCrafting the Bill• Hearings• Markups• Riders (Xmas tree bills)

Voting• Voice vote• Division (standing) vote• Teller and Roll call votes

Making the Vote

House of Representatives

Senate

Conference Committee

President/Veto

The Filibuster

• The Senate’s use of unlimited debate as a blocking tactic– Used during committee or on the

floor– Cloture: way to stop a filibuster,

requiring vote of 60 senators– Reconciliation: budget procedure,

cannot be filibustered– Double Tracking: keeps business

moving

Investigation & Oversight

• Investigations may lead to new legislation to deal with a problem, changes in a government program, or removal of officials from office– Hearings held in committee; often special or select committees– Power to subpoena witnesses, hold them in contempt– Subject of investigation retains same right as in criminal proceeding

• Oversight is the continuing review of how effectively the executive branch carries out the laws Congress passes– requiring executive agencies to report on their activities to Congress. – to ask a congressional support agency, such as the General Accounting

Office, to study an executive agency’s work. – The power to appropriate money – independent counsel law

Support agencies• Congressional Research office

– Part of Library of Congress, by request it answers questions and provides research

• General Accountability office– Investigates and monitors federal spending by the

executive agencies

• Congressional budget office– “scores bills” – second opinion on budget matters;

examines the cost and economic impact of legislation

Strict vs. Loose constructionist view

• Those who believe in the “strict construction,” interpretation believed that Congress does not have implied powers outside of their expressed powers

• U.S. v. Lopez & U.S. v. Morrison

• “loose constructionists” are those who argue that the necessary and proper clause gave Congress implied powers in addition to their expressed powers

• McCulloch v. Maryland & Gibbons v. Ogden

Congress and the President

Cooperation and Conflict• Constituents• Checks and Balances• Organization• Politics

Separation of Powers • Emergency powers• Impoundment• Legislative veto• Line-item veto