1. Congress: The People’s Branch
Chapter 11

2. Your Congressmen:

3. The Evolution of Congress
The intent of the Framers:
To oppose the concentration of power in a single institution
To balance large and small states
Bicameralism
They expected Congress to be the dominant institution

4. Reapportionment, 2000

5. The Original Gerrymander

6. Packing Lumping opposition voters in one area
Gerrymandering
Packing Lumping opposition voters in one area
Cracking Splitting up groups of voters so they do not constitute a majority in any district

7. Congress in Session

8. A Divided Branch
The architecture and floor plan of the Capitol building in Washington reflect the bicameral division of Congress

9. Party Structure in the House
Speaker of the House is leader of majority party and presides over House
Majority leader and minority leader: leaders on the floor
Party whips keep leaders informed and round up votes
Committee assignments and legislative schedule are set by each party

10. Leading the House of Representatives

11. Party Structure in the Senate
President pro tempore presides; this is the member with most seniority in majority party (a largely honorific office)
Leaders are the majority leader and the minority leader, elected by their respective party members

12. Party Structure in the Senate
Party whips: keep leaders informed, round up votes, count Senators present
Each party has a policy committee: schedules Senate business, prioritizes bills
Committee assignments are handled by a group of Senators, each for their own party

13. Leading the Senate

14. Who’s in Congress? The House has become less male and less white
Membership in Congress has become a career
Incumbents have a great electoral advantage

15. Diversity in the HOR

16. Number of Women in US House and Senate

17. Percentage of Incumbents Reelected to Congress
Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Niemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics, (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2000), table 1-18; 2004 updated by Marc Siegal.

18. Congressional Committees
Committees are the most important organizational feature of Congress
Purposes:
Consider bills or legislative proposals
Maintain oversight of executive agencies
Conduct investigations
Committees more important in House because the House is so large that more work can be done in committees

19. Types of Committees
Standing committees: permanent bodies with specified legislative responsibilities
Select (or special) committees: groups appointed for a limited purpose and limited duration
Ex.) to conduct an investigation

20. Types of Committees
Joint committees: those on which both Representatives and Senators serve
Conference committee: a joint committee appointed to resolve differences in Senate and House versions of the same piece of legislation before final passage

21. Types of Committees
Authorizing committees – pass the laws that tell govt. what to do
make the most basic decisions about who gets what, when, and how from govt.
Appropriations committees – make decisions about how much money govt. will spend on its programs and operations
Decide who gets how much from govt.
Have a lot of power to undo or limit decisions by authorizing committees
Appropriations bills often contain earmarks
no. of earmarks increased from 1,400 in 1995 to 16,000 in 2005

22. Types of Committees
Rules Committees – determine basic operations of their chamber
Ex.) How many staffers congressmen can have
House Rules Committee determines what amendments to a bill may be permitted

23. Types of Committees
Revenue and Budget committees – deal with raising the money that appropriating committees spend while setting the broad targets that shape the federal budget
House Ways and Means Committee is single most powerful committee in Congress because it both raises and authorizes spending
only committee in Congress that can originate tax and revenue legislation

24. Committee Practices
Majority party has majority of seats on the committees and names the chair
Seniority rule – practice in which chair of committee assigned to member of majority party with longest service on the committee

25. Congressional Committees
Bureaucratic Oversight and Investigations
Special committees may conduct investigations or hold hearings, such as Supreme Court confirmation hearings

26. The Growth in Staffs of Members and Committees in Congress, 1930-2000
Insert Figure 13.4 (formerly 11.4 in 9e)

27. Congressional Caucuses
Caucus: an association of members of Congress created to advocate a political ideology or a regional or economic interest
Ex.) Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus, Women’s Issues Caucus, Pro-Life Caucus, Children’s Caucus, Urban Caucus

28. How a Bill Becomes a Law (Step 1: Bill Introduction)
Bill must be introduced by a member of Congress
Bill is referred to a committee for consideration by either Speaker or presiding officer of the Senate
Revenue bills must originate in the House
Most bills die in committee

29. How a Bill Becomes a Law (Step 2: Committee Action)
After hearings and mark-up sessions, the committee reports a bill out to the House or Senate
Bill must be placed on a calendar to come up for a vote before either house
House Rules Committee sets the rules for consideration and amendment of legislation

30. How a Bill Becomes a Law (Step 3: Floor Action)
Bills are debated on the floor of the House or Senate
If there are major differences in the bill as passed by the House and Senate, a conference committee is appointed
The bill goes to the president

31. How a Bill Becomes Law (Step 4: Presidential Decision)
The president may sign it = Bill becomes law
If the president vetoes it, it returns to house of origin
Both houses must support the bill, with a two-thirds vote, in order to override the president’s veto

32. How Bills Become Laws

33. A Quick Word About Laws….
Amendments are usually added to popular bills
Remember that the President can not “line-item” veto
Amendments usually provide benefits to the Congressperson’s district. Known as “Pork”
Non-germane amendments are called “riders”
A bill with many riders is known as “Christmas Treed”

34. Congress in Your Life… Make the Laws Oversight Inform us of the laws
Constituent services