1. Congress

2. The Roots of the Legislative Branch
Colonial Assemblies
Bicameral legislative bodies
One popularly elected house
One Crown-appointed council
Served as Advisory Council
To the King-appointed governors
Power
Limited
Increasingly over taxation & spending
Legislation on religious matters
Regulate production of goods in colonies

3. The Roots of the Legislative Branch
1st Continental Congress (1774)
1st National Legislature
To respond to the Coercive Acts
Advised building of colonial militia
Organized colonial boycott of British goods
2nd Continental Congress (1775)
Prepared the colonies for war with Britain
Raised a colonial army
Adopted Declaration of Independence
Directed the war & run a national government

4. The Roots of the Legislative Branch
Congress Under the Articles of Confederation
Unicameral legislature
Each state represented by 2 to 7 delegates
Each state had one vote (“ equal representation”)
Congress = National government
No President & National Court created
Members of Congress sent by state legislatures
Limited Powers
Maintaining an army and navy
Supervising trade with Indians
Coining money

5. The Roots of the Legislative Branch
Limitations of Congress under the Articles
Weak national government vs states
Missing link btwn people & nat’l government
Low standing in international affairs
Foreign relations conducted by states
Foreign trade regulated by states individually
Financially incapacitated
No taxation power
Reliance on state for financial resources

6. Congress & Constitution (1789)
Constitutional convention of 1787
Structure of Congress
Unicameral or Bicameral
New Jersey Plan
“equal representation”
One state, one vote
Virginia Plan
“proportionate representation”
# of seats proportional to population

7. Congress & Constitution (1789)
Constitutional convention of 1787
Unicameral or Bicameral
Great Compromise
Bicameral Congress
Proportional representation (House)
Equal representation (Senate)

8. Congress & Constitution (1789)
Sources of Power: How Should Congress Be Elected?
Lower house: popularly elected
Upper house: sent by state legislatures
Powers of Congress
Does Congress elect President?
No, Electoral College does
Yes, when no candidate receives a majority votes in the College

9. Congress & Constitution (1789)
Powers of Congress
“Power of the Purse”
Appropriation of money
Authorization of borrowing
taxation
Regulatory Power
Regulation of currency
Punishment of counterfeiting
Regulation of inter-state & int’l trade

10. Congress & Constitution (1789)
Powers of Congress
Law-making Power
Establishing rules of naturalization
Making patent & copy-right laws
Making bankruptcy laws
Making amendments to Constitution
War-making & Military Power
War declaration
Raising & supporting armed forces
Providing for militia

11. Congress & Constitution (1789)
Powers of Congress
Power of Personnel Appointment
Confirmation of executive appointments
Secretary of State
US ambassador to the UN
Confirmation of federal judge nomination
Federal court judges
US Supreme Court justices
Power of Impeachment
Bringing impeachment charges (House)
Trying impeachments (Senate)

12. Congress & Constitution (1789)
Powers of Congress
Other Powers
Establishing post office & post roads
Fixing weights and measures
Providing for the government of D.C.
Admitting new states
Establishing lower federal courts

13. Senate vs. the House Size Qualifications House
435 members in the House (since 1911)
106 members in 1791 representing 3.5 million residents
100 Senators in the Senate
Qualifications
House
25 years of age
Citizenship for at least 7 years
Residency in district: 1 year
Term of service: 2 years
1 member per 550,000 people
How often is Congressional election?
How many Members face election each time?

14. Senate vs. House Congress & Constituency House of Representatives
Closer to the voters
More reflective of voter preferences
More answerable to constituents
Senate
More remote to the voters
Allows for political stability & policy continuity
Less responsive to temporal changes in popular sentiments
Can act as a dispassionate counter-weight to the more popular & radical House

15. Senate vs. House Qualifications Senate
30 years of age
9 years of citizenship
Residency requirement in state: 1 year
Term: 6 years
2 seats per state in Senate
How often is Senatorial election?
How many Senators face election each time?

16. Senate vs. House Legislative role differences Senate
More deliberative
Why?
Less structured
House of Representatives
More centralized & organized
More routine & structured

17. Congress vs. US Society Does Congress mirror the American society?
In religious belief ( )
Protestant
Catholics 149
Jewish 37
Mormon 16
Policy implications
Abortion
Same sex marriage

18. Congress vs. US Society
Minorities in Congress
Women

19. Congress vs. US Society
Minorities in Congress
Race

20. Congress vs. US Society
Professional background

21. Congress vs. US Society A typical member of Congress Middle-aged Male
White
Lawyer
Whose father is of the professional or managerial class
Native born or from northwestern or central Europe, Canada

22. To run for Congress…
2000 Senatorial Race of New York

23. To run for Congress… Three success factors #1: Who the person to run
Candidate characteristics have an edge over others
A record of prior public service
National name recognition
Hillary Clinton versus Rep. Rick Lazzio
Fund-raising capability

24. To run for Congress…
Why members of Congress easily win re-election?

25. To run for Congress… #2: Incumbency Advantages Visibility
Advertise thru contacts with constituents
Stay visible thru trips to home districts

26. To run for Congress… #2: Incumbency Advantages Visibility
Campaign contributions
Donations go to those in office
Donations to challengers offend incumbents
Credit claiming thru services to individuals & district
Casework
Attend to voter concerns, requests and problems
Help cut thru bureaucratic red tape to get what one believes he has a right to get
Pork barrel
List of federal projects, grants & contracts
Help obtain or make known such projects to district

27. To run for Congress… #2: Incumbency Advantages Visibility
Campaign contributions
Credit claiming thru services to individuals & district
Incumbent resources
Institutional connections and access to channels of communications
“franking privilege” (free use of the US mails)
Tax-funded travel allowance to stay visible in one’s own district
Incumbents scaring challengers away
*calls for “term limits” aim to eliminate incumbency advantage

28. To run for Congress… Congressional Districts
District 23 (Texas) and District 3 (Florida in ’92 and ’96)

29. To run for Congress… #3: Redistricting
Congressional districts redrawn every 10 years
To avoid under- or over-representation
Re-drawing districts is highly political
Can create open seats
Can pit incumbents of the same district against one another, ensuring one of them to lose
Can create advantage for one Party
Putting people of the same party in one district
Or separating them into two or more districts.

30. Cost of Congressional Race…
Cost to Get Elected
Congressional elections are getting more costly
Jon Corzine (NJ-D), $63 million own money on Senate race
$928 million spent on Congressional election
Incumbents outspend their opponents
E.g., $7.5 million spent by Newt Gingrich’s reelection in 1998
Candidates of major states spend more
$85 million attracted in Hillary-Lassio race, 2000

31. Cost of Congressional Race…
Cost to Get Elected
Spending on House race
Winners: $800,000
Losers: at least $300,000
Spending on Senate race
Winners: $7 million up to $40 million or more
Rising Cost
Senate
1998
2000
Average winner spent
$5,227,761
$7,266,576
Average loser spent
$2,839,813
$3,864,638
Most expensive campaign
$27,159,681
$63,000,000 (Jon Corzine, D-NJ)
House
$650,428
$840,300
$210,614
$307,121
$7,578,716
$6,900,000 (James E. Humphrey, D-WV)

32. Cost of Congressional Race…
Rising Cost

33. Organization of Congress
Congress not only represents, it also legislates.
Internal complexity makes it hard to conduct business without organization.
Congress is organized around:
Political parties
A committee system
Parliamentary rules of the House & Senate
And others…

34. Organization of Congress
Political Parties
House leader election every two years
Majority party leader = House Speaker
Every party has a Committee on Committees (Democrats call theirs: the Steering & Policy Committee)
Assign new legislators to committees
Transfer incumbents to new committees on request
Majority & minority leaders jointly control Senate calendars (agenda)

35. Organization of Congress
Party leaders & legislative agenda
Leaders are enthusiastic for agenda
To create consensus within party
1980
(when Congress not controlled by President’s party)

36. Organization of Congress
Committee System
Standing Committees
Important policy-making bodies
Existing from Congress to Congress
Paralleling executive agencies
Foreign Affairs Committee - State Department
Intelligence Committee – CIA & others
Having power to report legislation

37. Organization of Congress
Select Committee
Temporary committees
No power to report legislation
Set up to handle specific issues that fall btwn the jurisdiction of existing committees
A special committee for investigating the Watergate scandal (1973)

38. Organization of Congress
Joint Committee
With members from both parties
Permanent
No power to report legislation
Four types of joint committees
Economic
Taxation
Library
printing

39. The Committee System Conference Committee Temporary
Members appointed by Speaker & Senate presiding officer
For reconciling any differences on legislation once it has been passed by House & Senate

40. The Staff System A number of staff members for every legislator
Staff members (7,216 in House alone, 1999):
Handle constituency requests
Take care of legislative details
Formulate & draft proposals
Organize hearing, deal with administrative agencies, reporters and lobbyists…

41. The caucuses
What is a caucus? Informal group or committee composed of Senators or Representatives who share opinions, interests or social characteristics.
Ideological causes
Liberal Democratic Study Group
Issue-oriented caucuses
Travel & Tourism Caucuses
Congressional Friends of Animals
Common background caucuses
The Congressional Black Caucus

42. The caucuses What is a caucus? Objectives of the Caucuses
To advance interests of the groups they represent by promoting legislation, encouraging Congress to hold hearing, and pressing administrative agencies for favorable treatment

43. How a Bill Becomes Law Some facts:
For a bill to become law, there are many routine hurdles
It is easier for opponents to kill a bill than to pass it
The law-making process is highly political

44. How a Bill Becomes Law The Law-making Steps Introducing legislation
Who can introduce legislative proposals?
Members of Congress
Executive branch
Interest groups
Constituents

45. How a Bill Becomes Law The Law-making Steps 2. Assignment to Committee
Given a number in House preceded by “H. R.” and by “S” in Senate
Bill referred to a committee
Most bills assigned to the appropriate committees
Complex bills referred to several committees
Controversial bills are sometimes handled by temporary or ad hoc committees set up for that purpose

46. How a Bill Becomes Law The Law-making Steps 2. Assignment to Committee
Often, nothing happens to the bills in committee. Neglect leads to death of many bills
Bills to be acted on are often referred to the appropriate sub-committees.

47. How a Bill Becomes Law The Law-making Steps 3. Hearing
Once the sub-committee or full committee decides to act, hearings are held participated by:
Executive agency representatives
Academia
Interest groups
Other interested persons
In a typical two-year Congress
Senate: 1200 hearings
House: 2300 hearings

48. How a Bill Becomes Law The Law-making Steps 4. Reporting a Bill
When a sub-committee decides to act on a bill, it drafts it line by line
It reports it to the full committee
The full committee accepts, rejects or amends the bill.

49. How a Bill Becomes Law The Law-making Steps 5. Schedule Debate
When a committee agrees to submit a bill to the two houses, it is put on the House & Senate calendar, a list bills for action
Each house has different calendars for different bills
In House, non-controversial bills are put on the Consent Calendar or Private Calendar to be passed without debate

50. How a Bill Becomes Law The Law-making Steps 5. Schedule Debate
Each house has different calendars for different bills
Controversial or important bills are placed on the Union Calendar or house Calendar. Rules & procedures (length of debate) are requested from the Rules Committee. Define the following: filibuster, cloture, open rule, closed rule.

51. How a Bill Becomes Law The Law-making Steps 6. Debate & Amendment
Opponents & proponents have equal debate time
Relevant amendments, if allowed, can be added
Floor debate seldom change views of others
In Senate, debate can last long time
In Senate, filibuster can be used
Senators can propose amendments irrelevant to the bill.

52. How a Bill Becomes Law The Law-making Steps 7. The Vote
How do members vote? What impact their voting behavior?
Personal views
Opinions of the constituents
Advice of knowledgeable & trusted colleagues Occasionally, President can win over wavering members of their Party to stick with the team or by cutting deals with pivotal members.
It is important for members to cast an explainable vote, one that is defendable in public when challenged.

53. How a Bill Becomes Law The Law-making Steps 7. The Vote
How do members vote? What impact their voting behavior?
It is important for members to cast an explainable vote, one that is defendable in public when challenged.
Not every vote has to please the constituents. But, too many “bad” votes are costly and show distance with one’s folks at home.

54. How a Bill Becomes Law The Law-making Steps 8. In Conference Committee
Once passed, a bill is sent to the other chamber for consideration
If the 2nd chamber passes the bill, it is then sent to the White House for action.
But, controversial bills need to go to a Conference Committee to reconcile the differences in the two versions of the bills
After Conference, details of the bill are reported back to each chamber before sending to the President.

55. How a Bill Becomes Law The Law-making Steps 7. To the President
Approve the bill into law
Ignore it, with the result it becomes law in 10 days (not including weekend & when Congress is still in session)
Veto it (& facing override in Congress)
Pocket veto it (if Congress adjourns before the 10 days are up) When President vetoes a bill, he usually explains why he does so.

56. How a Bill Becomes Law The Law-making Steps
7. Congressional Override of Veto
A two-thirds majority is required in each chamber to override the Presidential veto

57. Influences on Law-making
There are two major forces impacting Congressional law-making
External influences
Constituency
Interest groups
Internal/governmental influences
Party leadership
Congressional colleagues
President/executive branch

58. Influences on Law-making
Influence from the Constituency
Members of Congress comply with views of constituents due to re-election need
They voluntarily anticipate or find out constituents’ positions
1998, 31 House democrats crossed the party line and voted in favor of an impeachment inquiry (e.g., Congressman Gary Condit)

59. Influences from Interest Groups
Mobilize followers in a member’s congressional districts
“Astroturf lobbying”
Provide information

60. Influences from Party Org
Party leaders in Congress have influence over members
Party organizations have resources:
Leadership PACs
PACs (1) raise funds and then (2) distribute to members for running for election
PACs enhance party power
PACs create bond between leaders & members who receive money
Committee Assignments
Access to Floor
The whip system communication network, with info on member intentions in voting
Logrolling

61. Influences from the President
Since 1940s, President submitted yearly legislative proposals to Congress
Since mid-1950s, Congress has looked to the President for legislative proposals