Congress Balancing National Goals and Local Interests Chapter
Congress: Balancing National Goals and Local Interests Chapter 10
Congress as a Career: Election to Congress l Using incumbency to stay in Congress l The service strategy: taking care of constituents l Campaign fund-raising: raking in the money l Redistricting: favorable boundaries for incumbents © 2011, The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 2
Recent Reelection Rates of House and Senate Incumbents © 2011, The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 3
Congressional Campaign Expenditures, by Decade © 2011, The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 4
Allocation of PAC Contributions between Incumbents and Challengers in Congressional Races That Included an Incumbent, 1980– 2010 © 2011, The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 5
Congress as a Career: Election to Congress l Pitfalls of incumbency l Disruptive issues l Personal misconduct l Turnout variation: the midterm election problem l Primary election challengers l General election challengers: a problem for senators © 2011, The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 6
Congress as a Career: Election to Congress l Safe incumbency and representation l Who are the winners in congressional elections? © 2011, The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 7
Parties and Party Leadership l Parties and party leadership l Party caucus—closed session l Party unity in Congress l Heightened unity seen through roll-call votes l Party leadership in Congress l Demonstrated leadership ability l Ability to gain trust © 2011, The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 8
The Number of Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate, 2001– 2012 © 2011, The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 9
Parties and Party Leadership l House leaders l Speaker of the House l Elected by the House membership l By default a member of the majority party l Said to be the second-most-powerful official in Washington, after the president l House majority leader l House majority whip © 2011, The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 10
Percentage of Roll-Call Votes in House and Senate in Which a Majority of Democrats Voted against a Majority of Republicans © 2011, The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 11
Party Leadership in Congress l Senate leaders l Majority party leader is the most powerful senator l The vice president presides over the Senate; however, has power only to cast tie-breaking vote l Senate president pro tempore presides over the Senate in the vice president’s absence l Largely an honorary position held by the majority party’s senior member © 2011, The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 12
Committees and Committee Leadership l Committee jurisdiction l Bills introduced must be referred to the proper committee for deliberation l Committee membership l Typically mirrors the party ratio of the body l Committee chairs l Typically the senior member of the majority party l Committees and parties: Which is in control? © 2011, The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 13
The Standing Committees of Congress © 2011, The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 14
How a Bill Becomes a Law l Committee hearings and decisions l Most work on legislation is done in committee l From committee to the floor l Rules for debate are defined l Leadership and floor action l Debate, changes, and vote by full membership l Conference committees and the president l Reconcile differences between similar legislation © 2011, The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 15
How a Bill Becomes a Law © 2011, The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 16
Congress’s Policymaking Role l Lawmaking function of Congress l Makes laws authorizing federal programs l Broad issues: fragmentation as a limit on Congress’s role l Congress in the lead: fragmentation as a policymaking strength © 2011, The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 17
The Major Functions of Congress © 2011, The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 18
Congress’s Policymaking Role l The representation function of Congress l Representation of states and districts l Representation of the nation through parties l Oversight function of Congress l Sees that executive branch carries out the laws faithfully © 2011, The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 19
Public Confidence in Congress © 2011, The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 20
Congress: Too Fragmented? l Pro (advantages): l Culturally representative of nation l Diverse interests represented l Cons (disadvantages): l National interest subjugated to special interests l Disproportionate influence of the minority © 2011, The Mc. Graw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 21
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