Legislative Branch Congress Founders Intentions 1 Strongest branch

Legislative Branch: Congress

Founders’ Intentions 1. Strongest branch 2. Lawmaking – most important power given to Congress o o Separation of lawmaking power from executive Feared abuse of power 3. Apportionment o After each U. S. census o Adjusts number of House seats allocated to each state

Founders’ Intentions 4. Bicameralism balances large/small states (“Great Compromise”) • House – more connected to people (2 yr term) – Why is the House often thought of as being “closer” or “more connected” to the people? • Senate – allows for independent thinking (6 yr term) – How were Senators originally elected per the Constitution? – Which amendment changed this & how are they now elected? – What was the original intention of the framers with respect to the Senate?

Founders’ Intentions • Why did Founders create a bicameral legislature? – “Great Compromise” – compromise btwn lg. states (Virginia Plan) and sm. states (New Jersey Plan) – Compromise btwn competing interests – to protect minority interests (i. e. , the small states interests) – An intrabranch check – to prevent majority tyranny – Provide for different types of representation – state vs. smaller districts – Slow the process of making laws – to protect against whims (wild swings) of public opinion and make sure all new ideas are well deliberated (safeguard against the tyranny of the masses)

Characteristics of Congress • With your partner: – Complete the worksheet titled “Section Review” (Chapter 9, Section 1) – Read the sentence and decide whether it describes the House of Representatives, the Senate or both houses of Congress – Write the answer in the space provided

House vs. Senate

House vs. Senate House Senate Term length Minimum age Citizenship required Residency Apportionment Representation Impeachment 2 years 25 7 years In state (customary w/in district) Changes with population District w/in state only Impeaches official Treaty-making power Presidential appointments Revenue/Tax/Budget Bills Chose President when Electoral College fails No authority Originate Yes 6 years 30 9 years In state Fixed at 2/state Entire state Tries impeached official 2/3 approval Majority approval May not originate No 435 members 20 Approx. 6 Yes (strict rules) 100 members 16 Approx. 11 No No (filibuster) Constitutional Differences Organizational Differences Size Number of standing committees Total committee assignments per member Rules Committee Limits on floor debate possible) Source: Roger Davidson and Walter Oleszek, Congress and Its Members, 11 th ed. (Washington, D. C. : CQ Press, 2008), 63, 209; Federal Election Commission data compiled by Center for Responsive Politics; calculations by authors – as edited by Ms. Joyce.

Powers of Congress • With your partner: – Complete the worksheet titled “Section Review” (Chapter 9, Section 3) – Read the sentence and decide whether it describes a power granted to the House, Senate, Congress as a whole or to neither house – Write the answer in the space provided

Congress Review – 5 Questions • • What were the intentions of the founders? What are the benefits of bicameralism? Describe the organization of Congress? What are the characteristics of each body in the United States Congress? • What current events reflect our current Congress?

Evolution of Congressional Powers • Elastic clause has extended Congress’ powers; they have the “Implied power” to make all laws “necessary and proper” to carry out delegated powers o Oversight of budget – can restrict the fed. budget prepared by executive branch o Appropriations – set amount of money made available for various activity in a fiscal year by Congress o Investigation – Congress can launch investigations o Ex. Watergate, Clinton-Lewinski hearings, steroids in baseball

Limits on Congressional Powers (Article I, Section 9) Congress cannot: 1. Take away citizens’ right to a writ of habeas corpus: paper that orders police to bring you into court so you won’t be held in jail without a judge or trial 2. Pass bills of attainder: Laws that convict a person of a crime without a trial 3. Pass ex post facto laws: Law that makes a particular act a crime, and then punishes people who committed the act before the law was passed

Functions of Congress • The United States Congress essentially serves four major roles: – Representation – Lawmaking – Budget – Oversight

Representing the American People • Policy Representation: work to advance the issues and ideological preferences of constituents • Allocative Representation: work to secure projects, services, and funds for the represented district – Pork Barrel Projects: public works projects and grants for specific districts paid for by general, national revenues (also known as “ear-marks”)

Representing the American People • Casework: work on behalf of individual constituents to solve their problems with government agencies and programs – Discussion: Talk with your partner and come up with three different examples. – “Franking privilege” • Symbolic Representation: stand for American ideals or to identify with common constituency values

Representing the American People • Congressional Demographics – Better Educated than General Population • Two-thirds of members hold advanced degrees. – Wealthier than General Population • Senate “Millionaires Club” – Recent Increases in Minority Representation

Representing the American People • Delegate (Representational) – Representative follows wishes of constituents. • Trustee (Attitudinal) – Representative uses own judgment. • Organizational (Party) – Representative follows the party

Representational Strategies • Delegate (Representational) View – Assumes that members vote to please their constituents bc they want to be reelected. – This view has merit when constituents have a clear opinion on an issue • Very strong correlation on civil rights & social welfare bills • BUT very weak correlation on foreign policy – Weakness of representational explanation: often no clear opinion in the constituency – May be conflict between legislator and constituency on certain measures: gun control, abortion • Generally found members from “marginal districts” to be as independent-minded as those from “safe districts” – Marginal district – candidates elected to House win in close elections by less than 55% of the vote; Safe district – incumbents win by margins of 55% or more

Representative Strategies • Trustee (Attitudinal) View of Representation – Assumes that members of Congress vote based on their own ideology (views). – House members tend more than senators to have opinions similar to those of the public. – Senators tend to be less in tune with public opinion. • What might be a valid explanation for this difference? • Politico – an elected representative who acts as a trustee or delegate, depending on the issue

Representative Strategies • Organizational View – Assumes members of Congress vote to please the colleagues from their political party. • Problem is that party and other organizations do not have a clear position on all issues – What party a member belongs to explains more about a member’s voting record than any other single factor.

Running for Congress • Who can run? – Age, citizenship, and residency qualifications • Why would anyone want this job? – Sense of duty, policy, ideology – Pay, perks, power – Downside: hard work, low job security, expensive

Running for Congress Strategic politicians – office-seekers who base the decision to run on a rational calculation that they will be successful. They ask themselves… 1. Is this the right district or state for me? 2. What is the strategic situation in the district? • Incumbency advantage or “open- seat” 3. Do I have access to the funds necessary to run a vigorous campaign? 4. How are the national tides turning? • Coattail effect, Midterm loss (“off-year” elections) phenomenon

Staying in Congress • Incumbency – Incumbency Rates – 96% of incumbents who seek reelection win • HOR – higher re-election – “Sophomore surge” - increase in votes that HOR candidates usually receive when running for their first reelection • Senate – lower than house, still high • Question: Why do Incumbents have such an advantage?

Incumbency Advantage Name recognition. Members’ names have been on the ballot before, and voters may associate their names with programs or social services they have brought to the district. Credit claiming. Members may claim to be responsible for federal money brought to the district. Casework. Members and their staffs help constituents solve problems with the government, including navigating red tape and tracking down federal aid. Franking privilege. Members may send mail or newsletters for free by using their signature in place of a stamp. Access to media. Members and their staffs may have relationships with reporters and may find it easy to spin stories or give quotes. Ease in fund-raising. Incumbents’ high reelection rates make them a safe bet for individuals or groups wanting to give donations in exchange for access. Experience in running a campaign. Members have already put together a campaign staff, made speeches, and come to understand constituent concerns. Redistricting. In the House, a member’s district may be drawn to enhance electability.

Incumbency Advantages • What might be consequences (both positive & negative) that arise from incumbency advantage? – Positives: • • Continuity over time Less radical change More experienced political leaders Policy specialization – Negatives: • Discourages challengers • Limits infusion of new ideas • Lack of responsiveness

Choosing Members • Everything is political… – Reapportionment – a reallocation of congressional seats among the states every ten years following the census

Choosing Members

Choosing Members • Everything is political… – Redistricting – process of dividing or drawing states into legislative districts after each census; done by state legislatures • Gerrymandering – redistricting to benefit a particular group

Gerrymandering • READ NOW! “Gerrymandering 101” (http: //pjmedia. com/zombie/2010/11/10/gerrymandering-101/? singlepage=true) • While reading, answer the following questions: – – – – What happened in 2010 with respect to state legislatures that has people concerned? What do people fear will happen as a result? Who is responsible for redrawing Congressional district lines? On what part of government might this have a huge impact? What type of gerrymandering is at issue here? Why are Democrats keeping silent about this fear? What would happen if the Republicans refrained from redistricting? What is the origin of the word “gerrymander” – i. e. , what two words is it made up of and why? Read about “fair redistricting”, “majority districting”, and “minority districting” and be able to explain to the entire class how it each works (with a possible demonstration). Explain how majority districting or minority districting can thwart the will of the voters. Explain the two aims of gerrymandering (also known as “packing” and “cracking”) How can gerrymandering backfire on a party? Explain the concept of “defensive gerrymandering” and the potential pitfall of it.

3 Types of Gerrymandering • Pro-incumbent gerrymandering – creating districts that reinforce the current power structure (state legislature is so closely divided). • Partisan gerrymandering – drawing districts to maximize the number of house seats a party can win. • Racial gerrymandering – redistricting to enhance or reduce the chances that a racial group will elect members to the legislature. – “Majority-minority districts” after Voting Rights Act (1982) • But bad for Democrats – why? – Deemed unconstitutional by Supreme Court

Supreme Court & Redistricting • Baker v. Carr – “one person, one vote”(1963) • Westberry v. Sanders (1964) – found unequal district pop. unconstitutional because of the 14 th amendment • “Malapportionment” – unequal population in districts • Districts must have equal population (average size district is approx. 700, 000)

Supreme Court & Gerrymandering • Shaw v. Reno (1993) – NC’s 12 th district held unconstitutional bc redistricting based solely on race is unconstitutional. • Remember: race is a “suspect classification” subject to “strict scrutiny” (whenever a law treats citizens differently, the law must fulfill a compelling state purpose – regardless of whether it hurts or benefits them) • Easley (Hunt) v. Cromartie (2001) – redistricting of NC’s 12 th district for political ideology was constitutional, led to increase in minority reps • Moral of the story: – Racial gerrymandering BAD; Partisan gerrymandering OK.

N. C. Congressional Districts after 1990 Census

Republican Gerrymandering Success

N. C. Congressional Map

Practice Essay • DO NOW! 2008 #1 Free Response Essay – You have 20 minutes to write an essay responding to this question. – Compare and contrast your answers with your partner, noting similarities, differences, anything you realized you might have missed in your essay. – Using the AP rubric, grade your own by underlining, circling or highlighting at each place where you feel that you earned a point according to the rubric.

Practice Essay 1. Congressional reapportionment and redistricting are conducted every ten years. When redistricting is conducted, politicians often engage in gerrymandering. a) b) c) d) Define congressional reapportionment and explain one reason why it is important to states. Define congressional redistricting. Explain two goals of politicians when they gerrymander during redistricting. Describe two limits that the United States Supreme Court has placed on congressional redistricting. How did you do?

How Congress Works: Organization • Parties are central to how Congress functions. – Parties frequently vote in unison in Congress – Majority party controls leadership structure (as a result, has significant advantages in lawmaking especially in the HOR) • Majority party: party with the most seats in a house of Congress – Who currently is the majority party in the House? – Who currently is the majority party in the Senate? • Minority party: the party with fewer seats in a house of Congress – Rise in polarization and hyperpartisanship

How Congress Works: Organization

Leadership • Speaker of the House (Nancy Pelosi, D-CA) – – – – Chosen by majority party members in HOR 2 nd in line for Presidency Rules on motions Allows people to speak on the floor Announces order of business Assigns bills to committees Influences which bills are brought to a vote – Appoints members of special and select committees – Speaker has more power in House than majority leader has in Senate

Leadership • Vice President – official head of Senate (per Constitution) – only votes to break a tie vote • President Pro Tempore – Presides over Senate when VP is absent – Chosen by members of the Senate – Usually the senior member of majority party – Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)

Leadership • Senate – Majority Leader (Mitch Mc. Connell, R -Ky. ) – Schedules Senate business & when legislation will be heard (crucial to a bill’s success) – Prioritizes bills – Can pull a bill from consideration

Leadership • Floor Leaders: (4; 2 in each house) – Guide bills through Congress – Persuade party members to accept compromises or tradeoffs in order to win votes – Senate majority floor leader makes comm. assignments • Whips: (4; 2 in each house) – Assistant floor leaders – Try to persuade members of their party to support party’s position and be present when it’s time to vote

Leadership • Minority Leadership

Leadership • Committee assignments (i. e. , which members from a party are assigned to which committee) are made by: – Steering Committee (Democrats) – Committee on Committees (Republicans)

Committee System • Committee System – Most real work happens here. – Bills are passed, changed, ignored, or killed. – Committees are further divided into subcommittees. – 4 types of committees: Standing, Select, Joint, and Conference

Committee System • Standing Committee – permanent committee responsible for legislation in particular policy areas (both drafting & oversight) • (ex. Appropriations, Agriculture, Armed Services, Science, etc. ) – most important and have been “standing” (existing) for a long time – every committee has Rep. and Dem. members, but a majority of members and chairperson come from majority party – Committee chairs wield considerable power: • which bills their committee will study • if and when committees will meet – getting on “right” committee essential for members of Congress

Committee System • Select Committee – formed for specific purposes and usually temporary – run investigations (ex. Aging, Intelligence) • Joint Committee – consist of both House and Senate members – formed to coordinate activities & expedite legislation in a certain area – meant to draw attention to issues • Conference Committee – consist of both House and Senate members – formed temporarily to hammer out differences between House and Senate versions of similar bills

Committee System

Committee System (HOR only) • House Rules Committee – Determines how and when debate on a bill will happen – A rule is provided for each bill which includes: • When it will be debated • How long debate will last (gen. no limit in Senate) • How it can be amended (gen. no limitations in Senate) – Bc comm’s are controlled by the maj. party, the rules that structure debate & amendments will reflect the priorities of the maj. party. – Question: Why does the House have a separate Rules Committee and place so many limitations on debate and amendments to a bill?

Work of Committees • 11, 000 bills introduced yearly, most die! • Committees can… – Report out favorably/unfavorably – Pigeonhole/table (do not discuss) – Amend / “mark up” (change or rewrite) – Send to sub-committee – Seek out information of others (who? )

Functions of Congress • The United States Congress essentially serves four major roles: – Representation – Lawmaking – Budget – Oversight

How A Bill Becomes A Law • Two aspects of Congressional policy to be considered include: (1) the agenda, and (2) the legislative process – Legislative agenda: slate of proposals and issues that representatives think it worthwhile to consider and act on – Policy entrepreneurship: practice of legislators becoming experts and taking leadership roles in specific policy issues

How A Bill Becomes a Law • Create legislation = make laws • Founders believed in a SLOW process • Founders believed efficiency was a trait of an oppressive government. • I’m just a bill

How a Bill Becomes A Law • Factors that influence the Legislative Agenda (i. e. , whether a bill (=proposed law) will be introduced): – President: promises, ideology, SOTU Address – Interest Groups: lobbying, experts, donations – Voters: polling data, protests, communication – Courts: laws declared unconstitutional – Member: personal beliefs and values – External events: national or statewide crisis – Media: coverage of dramatic occurrences

How a Bill Becomes a Law

Step 1 – Introduce Bill • Introduced in Senate or House (except tax) – HOR – the “hopper” (wooden box) – Given a number (i. e. , HR 238 or S 147) • Single or multiple reps can introduce bill

Step 2 - Committee • Bill is assigned to a particular committee in its category (ex. - tax bills – Ways and Means Com. , farm bill – Agriculture Com. ) – – – Speaker of the House does have some leeway in deciding which com to assign a bill to! “sequential referral” – process by which a Speaker may send a bill (or parts thereof) to a second com after the first is finished acting “discharge petition” – device by which any member of HOR, after a com has had the bill for 30 days, may petition to have it brought to the floor for a vote • Rarely used – need 218 votes to succeed in HOR

Step 2 - Committee • Bill is then placed in sub-committee – Hold hearings – testimony from experts, interest groups, exec dept, … • Bills are debated and “marked up” • Most bills die in committee, committee can vote to “report out” a bill – Most die because committee members: • • Don’t care enough about the issue enough; Actively campaign against it

Step 3–Rules Committee • Before bill can go to floor of House, bills must go from standing com to “Rules Committee” to set time limits for debate and amendment regulations: – Why only in the HOR? – Closed rule – sets time limits, restricts amendments • More common & majority pty gains more control that way • Textbook example: tax cut bill (although can have pos & neg consequences) – Open rule – permits any amendments so long as “germane” (relevant) – “germaneness requirement” – Restrictive rule – permits some amendments

Step 4 – Floor Debate Senate Debate: • “Open rule” by default – add ANY amendments (called “Riders”) to a bill • No germane rule (“ANY”) • Less formal, unlimited debate time • Filibuster – practice of preventing or delaying a vote on a bill w/ unlimited debate – “Double-tracking” – bill temporarily shelved – Importance? -allows for a minority of Senators to defeat the will of the majority • Cloture – 3/5 of the Senate vote to stop filibuster – Nuclear Option – only need a simple majority to end a filibuster • November 2013

Step 4 – Floor Debate House Debate: • More formal, no filibuster, strict rules (as per the Rules Com. ) BOTH House & Senate: • Quorum – minimum members (51 in Senate, 218 in HOR) who must be present for business to be conducted – Quorum Call – roll call in either house to see whether the min # of reps required to conduct business is present

Step 5 - Voting • Majority passes • If the bill passes, it must go through the same process in the opposite chamber with a sponsor • If the bill passes one house and fails the other, it must start over • If the Senate and House cannot come to agreement over two versions, it goes to Conference Committee to fix it and resubmit the bill

Step 5 - Voting • Methods of voting: – Voice vote – calling out “yea” or “nay” – Division/standing vote – stand to be counted – Teller vote – procedure by which members pass bwn 2 tellers, the “yeas” 1 st & “nays” 2 nd – Roll-call vote – members answering “yea” or “nay” to their names – allows recording of how members vote for the public. • Upon 1/5 th request by HOR members, any vote can be recorded.

Presidential Action • Sign – bill becomes law

Presidential Action • Veto – bill returns to Congress – Option: Congressional Override (2/3 rds of C) • Pocket Veto – President has 10 days to act. If he receives the bill w/in 10 days of the end of the Congressional session, and doesn’t sign, it dies. – Why? - bc Congress is not in session to override it

How a Bill Becomes a Law • One final opportunity to review the process of how a bill becomes a law. After watching this video and based on the information we have discussed… 1. Create a twenty line rap or poem about the process of how a bill becomes a law 2. Include as many vocabulary words, concepts, and content as possible. 3. Groups may choose to share their pieces with the class. 4. Ready, go!

Conflict between Representation and Lawmaking • An inherent conflict between these two functions often make it difficult for members of Congress to carry out both. – What is good for us and our local community is not always what is best for the nation (and vice-versa). • Examples? – Members most often favor representing their local constituencies. • Why? – Makes it difficult for members to fulfill their collective responsibility of national lawmaking. – Helps to explain why Americans hate Congress as a whole but love their own senators and representatives.

Functions of Congress • The United States Congress essentially serves four major roles: – Representation – Lawmaking – Budget – Oversight

The Budgetary Function • Congressional Budget Act of 1974 – Establishes levels of spending – Created the CBO – Reconciliation process to limit debates • Pork and Programmatic Requests – Pork: Reps bring money and jobs to their districts in the form of works, military bases, and other programs – Programmatic Requests: funds designed for special projects (also called earmarks)

Timeline for the Congressional Budgetary Process Date Action First Monday in February President submits budget to Congress—President’s budget is prepared by the Office of Management and Budget; includes requested levels of spending for the next fiscal year. February 15 Budget outlooks—Congressional Budget Office submits economic projections to the House and Senate Budget Committees. April 15 Budget resolution—Congress must complete action on the initial version of a budget resolution. May 15 Appropriation begins—House begins to consider appropriations bills. June 10 Appropriations Committee—House Appropriations Committee should conclude consideration of appropriations issues. June 15 Reconciliation ends—House must handle any reconciliation bills by this date. June 30 Appropriation ends—Full House should conclude consideration of all appropriation bills. October 1 Fiscal year begins—Government’s fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30.

Congressional Oversight • War Powers Resolution • Congressional Review • Confirmation of appointments – Senatorial courtesy • Impeachment

Congressional Oversight • 26, 000 employees – paid for by fed gov’t • Congressional Staff: Work for individual members or committees • Congressional Bureaucracy: Congress’ own research organizations & agencies to facilitate its work – Government Accountability Office (GAO) • Audits books of exec dept & conducts policy eval & analysis – Congressional Research Service (CRS) • Research for members – Congressional Budget Office (CBO) • Economic adviser; supposed to be nonpartisan

Checks and Balances: Congress and the President • Legislation – How does checks & balances work with respect to making legislation? – President’s State of the Union address formulates policy • However, dependent upon Congress to initiate. • Congressional Oversight – President implements (executes) laws and is in charge of administering executive branch, BUT Congress exercises oversight of executive branch activities to make sure laws are being carried out in the manner in which Congress intended. • “Advise and Consent” Role – Which chamber of Congress has the power of “advise and consent”? • 2/3 rds vote for treaties • Simple majority for appointments • Impeachment

Checks and Balances: Congress and the Judiciary • Setting up lower courts – Supreme Court set up by Constitution. • Determining salaries for judges • Establishing some issues of jurisdiction • Limiting courts’ discretion to rule or impose sentences – Ex. , mandatory sentencing • Impeachment • Remove judicial review through Constitutional amendment – Not yet been done

Congress: An Evaluation • Partisanship, Criticisms, & Debates

Role of Partisanship In National Lawmaking • Partisanship: the loyalty to a party that helps shape how members see the world, define problems, and identify appropriate solutions. • Members must juggle a commitment to their party with their need to represent voters. – Political parties in the United States have varied over time in their “polarization” • Party/Ideological Polarization - how great the ideological differences are btw the two parties & how much ideological agreement there is within them. • Today’s political climate – parties are very polarized resulting in “hyperpartisanship” – a commitment to a party so strong it can surpass other commitments

Criticisms of Congress 1. Changing nature of campaigns – Increased voter cynicism & candidates “running against Congress” 2. Negative media coverage of Congress 3. Role of $ in congressional elections – Costs have soared – more reliance on PACs 4. Congressional practices – “Pork-barrel legislation”/Christmas-tree bills – Logrolling – Congress members exchange votes, bills might pass for frivolous reasons

Criticisms of Congress 5. Dissatisfaction Congressional politics – Americans want: • • • Congressmen to get along Efficiency in lawmaking – no gridlock Reps to stand firm on principle Reps to not give way to compromise & deal making Gov’t to be responsive to their interests, at ALL TIMES. WHAT IS THE PROBLEM HERE? ? ? ? “Democracy is messy!!”

Term-limits Debate There is currently no limit on how many terms members of Congress can serve 1. Some argue this has weakened popular control of Congress, reps might be unresponsive to their constituents 2. Some argue most experienced reps have the expertise to bring home more benefits (pork, riders, etc. )