1. Chapter 9 Congress

2. Chapter 9: Congress

3. Women and Minorities in Congress

4. The Job of a Member of Congress

5. Congressional Behavior and Voter Behavior Voters are typically not informed enough to monitor their representatives. However, members of Congress behave as if voters were fully informed, because any issue might become salient in the next election.

6. Understanding Congressional (In)action Gridlock – an inability to enact legislation because of partisan conflict within Congress or between Congress and the president Electoral connection – the idea that congressional behavior is centrally motivated by members’ desire for re-election

7. North Carolina Redistricting, 1992

8. Origins of the Incumbency Advantage Gerrymandering – attempting to use the process of redrawing district boundaries to benefit a political party, protect incumbents, or change the proportion of minority voters in a district

9. Senate incumbency re-election rates, 1948– 2012*

10. Senate Incumbency Re-election Rates, 1948–2012

11. Elections and Member Behavior Home style: a congressperson’s way of relating to their district Many congresspeople are called the “Tuesday-to- Thursday club” because they spend so little time in Washington.

12. The Responsibility–Responsiveness Dilemma

13. Casework (“Constituency Service”) Constituency service includes: Using the franking privilege to stay in touch with voters Doing casework to help voters with large federal bureaucracy

14. Informal Norms Universalism: as many districts as possible should reap rewards or legislative benefits. Reciprocity (logrolling): “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.”

15. Informal Norms (continued) Specialization: members become experts on specific issues; this helps members claim credit Seniority: maintains order and helps incumbents win re-election

16. The Structure of Congress The Speaker, majority leaders, and whips are decided by straight party-line vote.

17. Party votes in congress, 1962–2011

18. Party unity in congress, 1962–2011

19. The Committee System Standing committee – permanent part of the House or Senate structure with more authority than other committees Select committee – created to address a specific issue Joint committee – contain members of both houses but with limited authority Conference committee – created to negotiate differences between the House and Senate versions of legislation

20. Congressional Staff Congressional staffs are four times larger than they were 40 years ago. Exploded in size in 1970’s and 80’s Since leveled off

21. Oversight

22. PASSING LEGISLATION: THE CONVENTIONAL METHOD HOUSE FLOOR* † SENATE FLOOR* † HOUSE BILLSENATE BILL SPEAKER OF HOUSE RECEIVES BILL PRESIDENT OF SENATE RECEIVES BILL COMMITTEE* † SUBCOMMITTEE* † RULES COMMITTEE* † MAJORITY LEADER* †

23. PASSING LEGISLATION: THE CONVENTIONAL METHOD HOUSE AMENDS SENATE BILL* † SENATE AMENDS HOUSE BILL † HOUSE FLOOR* † SENATE FLOOR* † CONFERENCE COMMITTEE* † CONFERENCE REPORT* † ADOPTION BY BOTH HOUSES † HOUSE APPROVES SENATE AMENDMENT † SENATE APPROVES HOUSE AMENDMENT †

24. PASSING LEGISLATION: THE CONVENTIONAL METHOD WHITE HOUSE* † VETOAPPROVE HOUSE AND SENATE FLOOR† VETO OVERRIDE LAW

25. DEVIATIONS FROM THE CONVENTIONAL METHOD: AN EXAMPLE THE 2010 AFFORDABLE CARE ACT (ACA) In the House, 3 committees crafted the bill. 5 committees worked on the Senate version. Speaker Nancy Pelosi assumed a central role in shaping the final bill, adding things that weren’t in the committee version. After a deadlock between two committees, Majority Leader Harry Reid pushed through a merged version of the bill, adding things that weren’t in the committee version. President Obama was intensely involved. The White House held daily meetings with the committees.

26. DEVIATIONS FROM THE CONVENTIONAL METHOD: AN EXAMPLE Floor Action No conference committee. Instead, committee leaders, White House staff, and party leadership negotiated the details of the bill. The Senate version of the bill was passed by the House, but then the House also passed a separate reconciliation bill that included many amendments to the Senate version. That reconciliation bill was then passed by the Senate. President Obama signed the ACA into law.

27. PASSING LEGISLATION: POP QUIZ! 1. A conference committee’s job is to a.draft an original bill. b.determine whether a bill should be considered by Congress. c.determine whether a bill is constitutional. d.reconcile differences between House and Senate versions of a bill. e.convince the president to sign the bill.

28. PASSING LEGISLATION: POP QUIZ! 1. A conference committee’s job is to a.draft an original bill. b.determine whether a bill should be considered by Congress. c.determine whether a bill is constitutional. d.reconcile differences between House and Senate versions of a bill. e.convince the president to sign the bill.

29. PASSING LEGISLATION: POP QUIZ! 2. One way the passage of the ACA differed from the conventional process is that a.committees were not involved. b.President Obama and party leaders were directly involved in shaping the bill. c.no floor action took place. d.only one house voted on the bill. e.the president signed it into law.

30. PASSING LEGISLATION: POP QUIZ! 2. One way the passage of the ACA differed from the conventional process is that a.committees were not involved. b.President Obama and party leaders were directly involved in shaping the bill. c.no floor action took place. d.only one house voted on the bill. e.the president signed it into law.

31. Public Opinion Poll Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job? a)Strongly approve b)Approve c)Disapprove d)Strongly disapprove

32. Public Opinion Poll Do you approve or disapprove of the way your member of Congress is handling his job? a)Strongly approve b)Approve c)Disapprove d)Strongly disapprove

33. Public Opinion Poll Do you believe we should have term limits for members of Congress? a)Yes b)No

34. Public Opinion Poll Do you believe state legislatures should consider the racial makeup of a district when redistricting? a)Yes b)No

35. Public Opinion Poll Do you think it is important that the demographics of Congress represent the social, racial, and economic demographics of the country? a)Yes b)No

36. Public Opinion Poll When members of Congress cast a vote, which of the following factors should typically most influence their decision? a)The interests of the country as a whole b)The interests of their district or state

37. Public Opinion Poll Which of the following do you believe should be the most influential factor in the voting decisions of members of Congress? a)The preferences of their constituents b)The preferences of the president c)The preferences of the members’ party leadership d)The members’ own ideology

38. Chapter 9: Congress Practice quizzes Flashcards Outlines wwnorton.com/studyspace

39. Following this slide, you will find additional slides with photos, figures, and captions from the textbook.

40. Congress