1. 11
Congress

2. Who Gets to Congress?
Middle-aged, white, Protestant, male lawyers: but not ideologically identical
Safe vs. Marginal districts and Incumbency
Incumbents have tremendous advantages
Dems used to control House. A shift?
Descriptive vs. Substantive Representation
Carol Swain
Senate more competitive- why?
Term limits? For/against?

3. Figure 11.1: Changing Percentage of First-Term Members in Congress
Sources: Data for 90th through 103rd Congresses are from Congressional Quarterly Weekly Reports. Data for 69th through 89th Congresses are adapted from Nelson W. Polsby, "The Institutionalization of the U.S. House of Representatives," American Political Science Review (March 1968): 146. Data for 1st through 68th Congresses are from Stuart A. Rice, Quantitative Methods in Politics (New York: Knopf, 1928), , as reported in Polsby, 146. Data for Senate are from N.J. Ornstein, TlJ. Mann, and M.J. Malbin, Vital Statistics on Congress, (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 1990), 56-57, 59-60; and Stanley Harold and Richard Niemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2001).
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4. Figure 11.2: Percentage of Incumbents Reelected to Congress
Source: Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Niemi, Vital Statistics on American Politics, (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2000), table 1-18.
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5. Table 11.2: Incumbents in Congress Reelected by 60 Percent or More
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6. Table 11.1: Blacks, Hispanics, and Women in Congress, 1971-2002
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7. Constituent Representation
Representational
Reelection important; affects visible issues
Organizational
Cues provided by fellow (party?) members
Ideological/party reps on sponsoring cmte., state delegations.
Attitudinal
Ideological perspectives amped up
Conflicting pressures lead to ideological voting

8. Organization and Procedures
Party: majority/minority leaders and whips
Leadership more important in House
Party vote pressures: MMM
Caucuses: ideological/interest-constituency
Committees: Standing, select, joint, conference. Subcommittees now powerful
Staff: typically 16 today
Staff Agencies: CRS, GAO, OMB

9. The U.S. Congress: The U.S. Congress
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10. Table 11.5: Congressional Caucuses
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11. Table 11.4: Party Polarization in Congressional Voting, 1953-2000 (percentage of all votes)
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12. How a Bill Becomes a Law Memorize This: roughly 5% become law
Introduction
Committee study (rules cmte in House)
Open vs. Closed debate in House
Floor Debate
Committee of Whole in House
Filibuster/Cloture in Senate; Christmas tree bills
Conference Committee
President’s Signature

13. How Things Work: How a Bill Becomes Law
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14. Ethics (Or lack thereof)
Scandals Recently:
Financial: Cuehlo, DeLay
Sexual: Frank, Packwood, Condit
Political: Keating 5, DeLay (again)
Impact:
Self-policing effective?
Image in public?
PAC abuse?
Redistricting?

15. Figure 11.3: Results of 1992 House Election by Turnout:
Source: "House Republicans Scored a Quiet Victory in '92," Congressional Quarterly (April 17, 1993): 967.
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16. Table 11.3: Republican Vote-Seat Gap, 1968-2002
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