Which of the following institutions do you trust the most?

A.CongressB.The presidencyC.The Supreme Court

Institutional Approval Ratings

Gallup – September 5–11, 2011• Do you approve or disapprove of the way

Congress is handling its job?Approve – 15%Disapprove – 82%

• Do you approve or disapprove of the job that Barack Obama is doing as president?

Approve – 43%Disapprove – 49%

• Do you approve or disapprove of the way the Supreme Court is handling its job?

Approve – 46%Disapprove – 40%

Congress is the First Branch• The U.S. Congress is more independent and powerful than legislatures in other industrialized democracies

• It is no accident that the makeup and powers of Congress are outlined in Article I of the Constitution and that Article I is, by far, the longest Article of the Constitution

The Powers of Congress:Article I, Section 8• Congress is given a vast array of powers:– Power to tax and spend– Power to raise an army/navy and declare war– Power to regulate commerce– Power to coin money (regulate the currency)– Power to make all laws “necessary and proper” (elastic clause)

• Today, presidents play a bigger role in each of these areas

Special Senate Powers

• Senate has special powers over foreign relations– In its “advise and consent” capacity, the Senate

ratifies treaties and confirms presidential appointments

– The Framers believed that the more “aristocratic” and insulated of the two houses would keep a steadier eye on the nation’s long-term interests.

Achieving Balance

• In distributing power between the House and Senate, the delegates sought a proper balance of authority– Much debate was given to which chamber would

have the authority to raise and spend money– Final compromise required that bills raising

revenue originate in the House, with the Senate having an unrestricted right to amend them.

Achieving Balance

• Finally, the president was used as a means to further balance of power by giving the executive branch the authority to:– Recommend new laws– Call Congress into special session– Power to veto laws passed by Congress, killing

them unless 2/3 of each chamber votes to override the veto.

The Electoral System

• Two choices made by the Framers have profoundly affected Congressional electoral politics– Members of Congress and presidents are elected

separately• Unlike parliamentary systems where the legislature

chooses the executive.

– Members of Congress are elected from states and Congressional districts by plurality vote.• Many parliamentary systems use proportional

representation

Single Member Districts/Plurality Winners

• Under PR a party wins a share of seats in the legislature matching the share of votes it wins.

• Voters choose among parties, not individuals.– They need not have a geographic connection

• MoC are elected from states and districts by plurality vote—that is, whoever gets the most wins.

• Congressional candidates get party’s nomination directly from

voters.

Congressional Districts

• After the 1790 census, each state was allotted one House seat for every 33,000 inhabitants, for a total of 105 seats

• Total membership was fixed at 435 in 1911 when House leaders concluded that further growth would impede work

• However, each state’s delegation may change after a census as populations shift.

Congressional Districts

• Federal law may apportion House seats after census

• But each state draws the lines that divide its territory into the requisite number of districts

• This has been the focus of several Supreme Court cases, as politics has intruded the process of drawing new districts

Redistricting and the Law

• Gerrymandering:– Drawing a district so as to concentrate the

opposition party’s voters in a small number of districts that the party wins by large margins, thus “wasting” many of its votes while creating as many districts as possible where one’s own party has a secure, though not overwhelming, majority

Senate Representation

• The 50 Senate constituencies—entire states-may not change boundaries with each census, though population does vary:– Senator Feinstein of California: 35 million people– Senator Enzi of Wyoming: 494,000 people– Average House member: 669,000 people

• The nine largest states are home to 51% of the U.S. population– Leads to unequal representation.

Senate Representation

• Until the ratification of the 17th amendment in 1913, senators were chosen by state legislatures.

• Most Americans had long since concluded that this method was undemocratic and corrupt– Charges of bribery, for example

• Progressive era lead to Senators agreeing to an amendment to change selection.

The Electoral Connection

• The modern Congress is organized to serve the goals of its members– Primary goal: keep their jobs!• Members are single-minded seekers of re-election

• Thus, a career in Congress depends on getting elected and re-elected again and again.

Candidate and Party Centered Elections

• The post-WWII era of Democratic majorities in Congress coincided with the emergence of candidate-centered pattern of electoral politics

• Similarly, the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994 coincided with a resurgence of party-centered electoral politics

• Neither was accidental

Candidate and Party Centered Elections

• Two different strategies:

– An electoral politics in which candidates operate largely as independent political entrepreneurs.

– An electoral politics in which candidates run more as a party team, emphasizing national issues and a common program of action.

Candidate and Party Centered Elections

• During 19th century, mostly party centered.– Party-line voting was prevalent– Voters based their choices on the top of the ticket– Congressional candidates fates were decided by national

trends.

• Changes in electoral laws encouraged split-ticket voting—voting for different parties for different offices.

Candidate and Party Centered Elections

• As party-ties weakened, candidate-centered approach emerged. – Members emphasized individual character,

legislative performance and constituency service.

• System favors incumbents

The Electoral System:Incumbency• Incumbency – holding a political office for which one is running – is a huge advantage in congressional elections

• Some of the advantages include:– casework– patronage– pork-barrel legislation– early money– name recognition– http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/

72021/july-20-2006/better-know-a-district---florida-s-19th---robert-wexler

Incumbency Advantage

• When members realized this advantage they sought to increase it by voting to give themselves more resources for servicing their districts.

• More money for staff, travel, local offices and communications:– In 2001 allowances ranged from $980,000 to $1.5

million in House.– $2 million to $3.3 million in the Senate.

The Power of Incumbency

Back to Party-Centered

• In the 70s and 80s, lots of split-ticket voting• Recently, much less common– In 2012, only 26 House districts delivered a split

decision

• Reflects the growth in party-line voting and decline in ability of incumbents to separate from the party.

• Electoral fortunes tied to presidential candidates.

National Politics and Congressional Elections

• National forces have always been a component of Congressional elections.– In general, congressional candidates are

advantaged when their presidential candidate wins.

– Today, winners by have shorter presidential coattails than they did in the 19th century, but they are still significant.

National Politics and Congressional Elections

• In midterm elections the president’s party almost always loses congressional seats, but the size of its losses depends in party on the performance of the national economy and the president.– Loses are fewer if the economy is strong and president is

popular.

• When a Dem is in the White House, Republicans do better in midterm elections and vice/versa.

Representation v Responsibility

• Different electoral processes produce different forms of representation.– Party-centered: legislators represent citizens by

carrying out the policies promised by the party and are held responsible for their party’s performance in governing• The work to ensure the success of the party in gov’t

– Candidate-centered: more incentive to be individually responsive rather than collectively.

Electoral Logic

• Electoral logic induces members to promote narrowly targeted programs, projects or tax breaks for constituents without worrying about the impacts on spending/revenues– Pork-barrel politics/earmarks

• Leads to logrolling:• Legislative practice in which members agree to support

each others’ vote-gaining projects or tax breaks

House and Senate:Differences in Representation• Congress is a bicameral legislative assembly – composed of two chambers, or houses

• The Senate is smaller and more deliberative

• The House is larger, and thus power is more centralized and the process is more organized

• http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-july-14-2005/headlines---homeland-security

House and Senate:Differences in Representation

Who serves in Congress?

• MoC’s are not truly representative of the population:– Most are college grads (~40% have law degrees)– Many have business backgrounds, but most come

from professional fields in general– Only a few have blue-collar backgrounds– Most held prior elected office

• Women and racial minorities remain underrepresented, but numbers are increasing

Who serves in Congress?

• After 2014 elections, the Senate included:– 14 women, 1 African American, 2 Hispanic, and 2 Asian

American• The House:– 61 women, 37 African American, 23 Hispanics, and 6 Asian

American

• Congress remains overwhelmingly white and male– White males dominate lower-level public offices and

private careers that lead to Congress

Problems of Legislative Organization• To exercise the powers conferred on them by the Constitution, the House and Senate had to solve some problems:– How to acquire information– How to coordinate action– How to resolve conflicts– How to get members to work for common good as well as personal goals

Legislative Organization:Parties• The majority party in the House is led by the Speaker of the House, whose chief assistants are the majority leader and the majority whip

• The minority party is led by minority leader/whip.

• The Rules Committee is, in effect, a tool of majority party

• Party members give House leaders resources for inducing cooperation/avoid free riding– Favors they may grant or withhold.

Increased Partisanship

• Party unity votes (those on which the parties took opposite sides)– Decreased in the late 60s and 70s due to internal

divisions– Increased in 80s and 90s with more homogeneity– Reached highest levels during W’s first term. • Republicans more conservative/Dems more liberal• Impact: helped unite and separate the parties and

gave more power to party leaders

Party organization in the Senate

• Senate is more collegial and less formal than the House

• The minority party has greater influence due to more unanimous consent agreements– These agreements govern things like the order in

which bills are considered and the time allotted for debate

• In general, party leaders in both chambers can only lead to the extent that members allow.

Party Unity on the Rise

Widening Ideological Gap Between Parties in Congress

Legislative Organization:Committees• Members also organize themselves into standing committees divided by policy jurisdiction– Standing committees exist from one Congress to the next, unless disbanded

• There are similar jurisdictional committees in the House and Senate

• Committees have gatekeeping authority – the right to decide if a change in policy will be considered

• Assignment to committees are made by party committees under control of leadership

• Members want assignments that allow them to serve their constituents and attain their own goals.

Legislative Organization:Committees

Jurisdiction

• In the House, does international trade policy fall within the jurisdiction of the Commerce Committee or the International Relations Committee?

• Committees compete for jurisdiction over important policy areas

• Within Congress, the pressure to increase the number of committees arises out of:– Complexity, volume, and scope of legislation. Members’

desires to serve as chairs for political reasons.

Legislative Spending

• Legislative spending is a two-step process in each chamber. – In step one, the committee with jurisdiction over a

program authorizes expenditures for it.– In step two, the Appropriations Committee appropriates

the money -- that is, it writes a bill designating that specific sums be spent on authorized programs.

– Entitlements must be covered. If there is a shortfall, other areas must absorb the cuts.

Legislative Organization:Staffers and Agencies• Each member of Congress has a large staff that provides assistance on everything from writing legislation to correspondence with constituents

• Congress has also created staff agencies like CRS, GAO, and CBO to provide non-partisan policy advice to members

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-eYBZFEzf8

• Bills must first be introduced by a member of Congress and referred to committee(s)

• Most bills die in committee• Some are referred to a subcommittee, are amended, and are reported out to the full chamber

How a Bill Becomes a Law:Committee Deliberation

• If the subcommittee decides to act on a bill, it marks it up-- drafts it line by line -- and reports it to the full committee.

• The full committee then accepts, rejects, or amends the bill (usually in deference to the subcommittee).

• If accepted, it is reported out of committee. The written• report that accompanies it is the most important source of

information on legislation for members of Congress not on the committee as well as other people interested in the legislation.

• These reports summarize the bill’s purposes, major provisions, and changes from existing law.

How a Bill Becomes a Law:

Making Laws…

• When a committee agrees to report a bill to the floor, the bill is put on the House or Senate calendar.

• Then the bill goes to the Rules Committee to receive a rule that specifies when and how long a bill will be debated and under what procedures.

• The Senate does not have a Rules Committee.– Thus the leaders of both parties routinely negotiate unanimous

consent agreements (UCA’s) to arrange for the orderly consideration of legislation.

– In the absence of a UCA, anything goes.

Making Laws

• There is no limit on how long senators can talk or how many amendments they can offer

• Individuals or small groups can even filibuster.• The Senate requires three-fifths of the Senate

(60 votes) to invoke cloture, which allows an additional 30 hours of debate before a vote is taken.

Making Laws…• In the House the time for debate is divided equally between the

proponents and opponents of a bill. Each side’s time is controlled by a floor manager.

• If amendments to a bill are allowed under the rule, they must be germane (pertinent) to the bill.– Riders (extraneous matters) are not allowed.

• Floor debates do not change many minds because politicians are rarely swayed by words.– These activities are for the public. Why?

• In the Senate, floor action does more to shape legislation. And bills can change on the Senate floor more than they can in the House.– Here amendments need not be germane

Voting

• Killer Amendments?• Members have reason to listen to anyone who can supply

them with essential information.– Political information about how constituents and other supporters will

view their actions and technical information about what the legislation will do.

• Constituents, trusted colleagues, party leaders, even the president may influence a member’s vote.

• In the House, unrecorded voice votes may be case, but at the request of at least twenty members a recorded roll-call vote is taken.

• To become a law, a bill must be passed in exactly the same form in both chambers

• Frequently, the two chambers send the bill back and forth until one chamber passes a version passed by the other

• Sometimes, a conference committee is appointed with members from each chamber to work out differences

How a Bill Becomes a Law:

Reconciling Bills

The President

• Upon receiving a bill from Congress, the president has the choice of signing the bill into law; ignoring the bill, with the result that it becomes law in ten days (not counting Sundays); or vetoing the bill.

• If Congress adjourns before the ten days are up, the bill fails (“pocket veto”).

• When presidents veto a bill, they usually send a message to Congress, and therefore to all Americans, that explains why they took such action.

• Congressional override of a presidential veto requires a two-thirds vote in each chamber. If the override succeeds, the

• bill becomes law. This rarely occurs.

Bias against Action

• It is far easier to kill a bill than to pass one• Passage requires a sustained sequence of

victories• Opponents need only win once to defeat a bill• Dead bill, however, can be revived and

reintroduced• Defeats are never final, but neither are many

victories.

Beyond Legislation:Other Congressional Powers• Advice and Consent (Senate only)

• Ratification of Treaties (Senate only)

• Impeachment

Evaluating Congress

• Despite all of its faults (and the public’s general disdain for its occupants), the U.S. Congress is the most powerful and independent legislature in the world.

• But had Congress not evolved the organizational structure and tools to carry out the mandate given it by the Constitution, it could not have succeeded.

• While we often characterize congressional politics as gridlock at its best, the amazing fact is that Congress overcomes its collective action problems at all.