U S Congress Bicameral House Two house legislative
U. S. Congress Bicameral House – Two house legislative branch
Differences Between the House and Senate House • Larger (435 members) Based on population • Shorter electoral cycle ( 2 year terms) • Narrow constituency (congressional districts) • Less Prestigious • Originates all revenue bills • Less reliant on staff • Power vested in leaders and committee chairs Senate • Smaller (100 Members) equality • Longer electoral cycle (6 year terms) • Broad constituency ( Entire State) • More Prestigious • Ratifies treaties/confirms presidential nominees/Foreign relations • More reliant on staff • Power distributed more evenly
Congressional Districts
Reapportionment: reallocation of seats in the House of Representatives based upon population change since the last census
Redistricting- • redrawing of congressional district boundaries based upon reapportionment
Gerrymandering: the drawing of district boundaries to benefit an incumbent, political party or another group
Majority-minority district - district in which a racial minority group or groups district comprise a majority of the district's total population.
Gerrymandering Court Cases Baker v. Carr (1961) • Established federal authority to oversee voting redistricting to enforce equal protection of 14 th Amendment • “one person one vote” doctrine -all votes should be equal- same amount of people per district Shaw v. Reno (1993) • Established redistricting and gerrymandering must be non-racial and compliant with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 • Race cannot be predominant factor in creating districts
Functions of Congress: Article I : Lawmaking and policy making: “All Legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in Congress” I. Represent the people and manage social conflict with compromise - Trustee Model: model of representation in which representatives vote their conscience (do what I think is best for the people) - Delegated Model: model of representation in which representatives vote the will of their constituents (do what the people want) - Politico Model: combination of Trustee on small issues and Delegated on large issues
II. Oversight : Check on the Executive Branch by making sure the laws passed by Congress are being enforced by the President and the Federal Bureaucracy • - Congress can hold Congressional hearings of government officials • - Confirmation hearings on presidential appointees • - Investigation of Government officials and bureaucrats • - Budget appropriations that determine funding “Control the purse strings” III. Agenda Setting/ Legislative Process • -Congress determines which public issues the government should consider for legislation
• • Pass a Federal Budget Raise Revenue and coin money Declare War Enact Legislation
Legislative Process 1. Introduction • The House of Representatives OR Senate formally proposes a bill • • 2. Committee Review Majority Party controls committees and chairs Committees within the House and Senate with expertise review the bill’s subject matter Rules of Committee – House decides the length of debate and amount of markups allowed Standing Committee – permanent committee with legislative jurisdiction Select Committee -- created to consider specific concerns or policies Joint committee – committee composed of both chambers of Congress Conference Committee – bicameral bipartisan committee whose job is to reconcile two versions of a bill – if no compromise then bill dies Discharge Petition- means of bringing a bill out of committee without a vote
• • 3. House and Senate approval in BOTH Houses If the bill makes it out of committee it must pass a majority vote in both the House and the Senate Conference Committee – bicameral bipartisan committee whose job is to reconcile two versions of a bill – if no compromise then bill dies House of Rep has limits on length of debate Senate has unlimited debate and can use a filibuster
Filibuster • Can halt voting or stop a bill by speaking unlimited amount of time on the Senate floor • A filibuster can end with a Cloture, a supermajority of senators vote to end the filibuster (60 -40) • The Nuclear Option can eliminate the filibuster and put the vote up to a simple majority (51 -49)
4. Presidential Approval • The President can sign the bill into a law • The President can Veto a bill and kill it , and Bill goes back to both houses • Congress can override a veto with 2/3 majority in both House and Senate
Factors Influencing Congress • Logrolling– exchanging votes for each others bills • Pork Barrel Legislation - funds added to a bill for special projects located in a district in exchange for votes • Interest Groups-- NRA on gun issues • President’s Influence on issues– Obamacare and Repeal of Obamacare • Constituents-- the will of the people
Reasons for 90% re-election of Incumbents (Standing office holder) • Name recognition • Access to Media coverage • Redistricting and gerrymandering • Campaign contributions $$$ • Casework of solutions problems solved • Franking—(privilege of sending mail for free) free
Leadership in the Senate • President Pro-Tempore: majority party leader, longest record of service, mostly honorary position 1. Senate Majority Leader: Most powerful position in the Senate, manages the legislative process and schedules debates 2. Senate Minority Leader: Leader of the minority party who works with majority to negotiate legislation 17 th Amendment – Direct election of U. S. Senators Gave citizens greater impact on lawmaking in the U. S. Senate
Leadership in the House of Representatives 1. Speaker of the House --leader of the House chosen by majority party 2. House Majority leader – leader of the majority party , develops and implement strategy 3. Majority Whip -- a go –between with the majority leader and the other party members 4. House Minority Leader – Leader of sets strategy for the minority party 5. Minority Whip -- a go – between with minority leader and other party members
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