The Congress III

10/31/2011

Clearly Communicated Learning Objectives in Written Form

• Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:– discuss and critically analyze political events in the

United States government– identify and explain the role of formal

(congressional) institutions and their effect on policy.

Office Hours and Readings

• Chapter 8 on Congress

• Office Hours– Tuesday 8-12– Wednesday 8-10:30

CONGRESSThe Defining Features

Bicameralism

• The Defining Feature of our Congress

• Most parliamentary systems have only 1 branch

The House vs. The Senate

House• More hierarchical

• Stronger Committees and more policy specialists

• Strict control of the floor

• Debate is more formal, limited and controlled

Senate• More consensual

• Weaker committees, policy generalists

• Loose Control of floor

• informal and unlimited debate

Very Formal

• No Personal Attacks• Outrage in Congress

– Compared • UK • Australia • Outrage in Korea• Everywhere Else

LEADERSHIP POSITIONSThe House

The Speaker of the House

• John Boehner (R-Ohio)

• Elected From the Majority Party

• Leads the Debate

• Assigns Committee Positions

House Minority Leader

• Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

• Leader of the minority party (currently the Democrats)

House Majority Leader

• Eric Cantor (R-VA)

• Represents the GOP on the Floor

• Assists the speaker

Majority and Minority Whips

• Promote Party unity

• Assist with policy and leadership

SENATE LEADERSHIP

President of the Senate

• The Vice-President

• Breaks Ties in the Senate

• Not Much Else

The President Pro-Tempore of the Senate

• Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii)

• Mostly a ceremonial position

• Third in-line for the presidency

• Had to wait since 1959 to get the job

Senate Majority Leader

• The power position in the Senate

• Harry Reid (D-NV)

• Leads the Democratic Party

Senate Minority Leader

• Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

• Leads the Republicans

VOTING AND REPRESENTATION IN CONGRESS

Party Rules the Day

• You sit with your party

• You vote with your party

– 60% are straight party votes

– Members support their party <75% of the time

Other Guides to Voting

• Local Interests

• Voting as a trustee

• Logrolling

Voting in the House

• A Majority of votes moves legislation (218)

• You get a minimum winning coalition

• Omnibus Legislation

Voting in the Senate

• 51 votes in theory, 60 in reality– Filibuster– Cloture

• UCA’s

• Reconciliation

The Final Steps

• Must Pass both Houses in Identical Form– Conference Committee

• Sign or Veto

• Finally Becomes Law

COMMITTEES AND THE COMMITTEE SYSTEM

Why Committees

• Division of Labor

• Participation

• Specialization

The Role of Committees

• Process all the work

• Filter Legislation

• Where most legislation dies

Standing Committees

• Permanent entities• 19 in the House – about 42 per committee

• 16 in the Senate – 20 per committee

• Membership reflects party proportion.

Other Committees

• Conference Committee

• Joint Committees

• Select Committees

Subcommittees

• Within a standing committee

• Provides more expertise, but slows things down

NOT ALL COMMITTEES ARE CREATED EQUAL

You want to be a chair

• Selected by party leaders

• Chairs wield vast power

• PACS give money to chairs and ranking members

Committee Types

• Reelection

• Prestige/power within the body

• Policy

Committees- Good and Bad

• In the House

• In the Senate

• What you don’t want