Chapter 11 Congress The Origin and Powers of

Chapter 11: Congress

The Origin and Powers of Congress • The Great Compromise – Representation in the House is based on population – Each state has two senators (equal representation for small states) Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 2

The Origin and Powers of Congress • Duties of the House and Senate – The House of Representatives • Initiates impeachment proceedings against a President or other government official • Originates revenue bills – The Senate • Votes to convict impeached President or other officials • Must approve major presidential appointments • Sole power to affirm treaties Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 3

Electing Congress • The Incumbency Effect – Incumbent: a current officeholder – Incumbents have a very high reelection rate – Yet the public does not hold Congress in very high esteem – Voters seem only to be satisfied with their own representatives Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 4

Electing Congress • The Incumbency Effect – Redistricting • Gerrymandering: redrawing a congressional district to intentionally benefit one party • May be done to benefit incumbents Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 5

Electing Congress • The Incumbency Effect – Name Recognition • Recognition increased by being member of Congress • Franking privilege: the right to send mail free of charge Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 6

Electing Congress • The Incumbency Effect – Casework • Casework: solving problems for constituents, especially problems involving government agencies • Structure of congressional offices is built around casework Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 7

Electing Congress • The Incumbency Effect – Campaign Financing • Incumbents have significant advantage in fundraising • PACs have strong preference for incumbents Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 8

Electing Congress • The Incumbency Effect – Successful Challengers • The opposing party and sympathetic PACs may target vulnerable incumbents, thus giving a challenger a better chance to succeed • Vulnerable incumbents bring out higher quality challengers Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 9

Electing Congress • The Incumbency Effect – 2002 and 2006 Elections • Off-year election: the congressional election between presidential elections • Traditionally not good for party holding the White House • 2002: only 3 rd time since the Civil War the President’s party has gained House seats at midterm Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 10

Electing Congress • Whom Do We Elect? – Most members of Congress are professionals – Women and minorities have long been underrepresented, but numbers are increasing • Descriptive representation: a belief that constituents are most effectively represented by legislators who are similar to them in such key demographic characteristics as race, ethnicity, religion or gender • Voting Rights Act of 1982 provided support for descriptive representation Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 11

Electing Congress • Whom Do We Elect? – Racial gerrymandering: the drawing of legislative districts to maximize the chance that a minority candidate will win election • Shaw v. Reno (1993) deemed racial gerrymandering unconstitutional • Supreme Court modified this position in 2001, saying race could be a consideration in drawing congressional districts Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 12

Not Exactly a Vote of Confidence Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 13

How Issues Get on the Congressional Agenda • Agenda: the broad, imprecise, and unwritten agenda comprising all the issues an institution is considering • Many issues have been on the agenda a long time • Other issues emerge suddenly, often due to technological change Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 14

How Issues Get on the Congressional Agenda • Issues may reach the agenda in many ways – A highly visible event (like Sept. 11 th) draws our attention to a problem – Presidential support – Congressional party leaders and committee chairs – Interest group efforts Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 15

The Dance of Legislation: An Overview • Series of specific steps, but legislation can be treated differently at each step • Introduction Assigned to committee Assigned to subcommittee – Subcommittee may hold hearings; bill is modified or revised; if passed is sent to full committee – Bill approved by full committee is reported to the entire chamber – Chamber may debate, amend, and pass or defeat Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 16

The Dance of Legislation: An Overview • Bills coming out of House committees go to Rules committee – Rules committee attaches rule to the bill that governs floor debate – On major legislation, rules can be complex • Senate does not have comparable committee Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 17

The Dance of Legislation: An Overview • Senate and House versions have to be reconciled by conference committee – Compromise version has to go to both houses for a vote – If both chambers approve, bill goes to president Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 18

The Dance of Legislation: An Overview • President’s action – Sign – Veto – Neither sign nor veto within 10 days bill becomes law – Neither sign nor veto within 10 days but Congress adjourns pocket veto • Content of bill can be changed at any time in legislative process Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 19

The Legislative Process Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 20

Committees: The Workhorses of Congress • Committees develop and use expertise in specific areas • Committee types – Standing – Joint – Select – Conference Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 21

Committees: The Workhorses of Congress • Congressional Expertise and Seniority – Influence on committees grows formally with seniority – Influence on committees grows informally with increased expertise – Senior member of the majority party usually becomes the committee chair Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 22

Committees: The Workhorses of Congress • Public policy decision-making takes place in committees – Committees hold hearings – Markup sessions: the meetings at which committees debate and amend legislation Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 23

Committees: The Workhorses of Congress • Oversight: the process of reviewing the operations of an agency to determine whether it is carrying out policies as Congress intended – Oversight has become more difficult – Congress has added resources to perform the oversight function • Majoritarian and Pluralist Views of Committees Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 24

Leaders and Followers in Congress • The parties’ leadership hierarchy • Rules of Procedure – Amendments • House: amendments must be germane • Senate: non-germane amendments are generally accepted – Floor debate • House: Rules Committee governs floor debate • Senate: Debate governed by unanimous consent agreement Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 25

Leaders and Followers in Congress • Norms of Behavior – Unwritten codes of behavior to keep things running • Members show respect for their colleagues • Members should be willing to bargain with one another – Some norms have changed in recent years Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 26

The Legislative Environment • Political parties – Have limited, but important, resources to influence members of Congress – Party leaders can help or hinder rank-and-file members in many ways – Partisanship is rising Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 27

The Legislative Environment • The President – Presidents capitalize on nationwide popular election – Public expects president to be legislator-in-chief – Hundreds of legislative liaison personnel work for executive branch Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 28

The Legislative Environment • Constituents – Constituents: people who live and work in a government official’s district – Members have to think about what the voters at home want Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 29

The Legislative Environment • Interest groups – A way for constituents to influence Congress – Sources of useful information – Recent scandals raise concerns about conflicts of interest Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 30

The Dilemma of Representation • Presidents and Shopping Bags – Members of Congress live in two worlds • Washington: dealing with great issues of national concern • Back in the district or state: meeting with constituents, giving speeches to local groups – Legislators work hard to keep in touch with constituents Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 31

The Dilemma of Representation • Trustees or Delegates? – Trustee: a representative who is obligated to consider the views of constituents but is not obligated to vote according to those views if he or she believes they are misguided – Delegate: a legislator whose primary responsibility is to represent the majority view of his or her constituents, regardless of his or her own view Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 32

Pluralism, Majoritarianism and Democracy • The Dilemmas of Members of Congress – If legislators act as delegates, policymaking is more pluralistic – If legislators act as trustees, policymaking is still not guaranteed to reflect majority interests – True majoritarianism requires paramount role for political parties Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 33

Pluralism, Majoritarianism and Democracy • Parliamentary Government – Parliamentary system – Fit the majoritarian model of democracy to a much greater extent than does Congress Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 34

Pluralism vs. Majoritarianism in Congress • Congress’s inability to reduce the budget deficit reflects the pluralistic nature of congressional policymaking • Growing partisanship represents trend toward majoritarianism Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 11 | 35