Topic 8.1 Congress at Work

I. Congressional Caucuses Any group that organizes itself within Congress are generically known as congressional caucuses (they may not always use the term caucus in their name) and are organized as congressional member organizations (cmo’s) They may include members of just one house or may include members of both houses Congressional Black Caucus Two largest and most important are the two political parties: Republicans “conference” together in each house (House Republican Conference) Democrats “caucus” together (House Democratic Caucus)

II. Leadership of Congress House Senate President of Senate - VP of US - only job is to vote to break tie President Pro Tempore - “for the time being” - filled by most senior member of majority party by custom - rarely presides, job is usually shared by junior members of majority party Majority (real head of Senate) & Minority Leaders Majority & Minority Whips all are elected within the party caucuses http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/senators /a_three_sections_with_teasers/leadership. htm Speaker of the House - elected by majority vote of entire House - goes to majority party Majority & Minority Party Leaders Majority & Minority Party Whips (party enforcers) - all are elected within the party caucuses http://www.house.gov/leade rship/

III. Committee System “Congress in session is Congress in public exhibition, while Congress in its committee rooms is Congress at work” Most of the work in Congress is done in committees and subcommittees Certain committee positions are very sought after Most members of Congress sit on multiple committees House members must sit on at least one major Senators can sit on no more than two major

IV. Types of Committees 1. Standing – permanent committees within each house 2. Joint – permanent (usually) committees made up of members of both houses for issues that require joint consideration 3. Select (or special) – temporary committee within a house created to perform a specific function (HUAC) 4. Conference – created to work out compromises on different versions of same bill passed by both houses http://www.house.gov/committees/ http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/committees/d_three _sections_with_teasers/committees_home.htm

V. Standing Committee Composition and Appointments how many seats each party will get on each committee is decided by the majority leadership in the House and by agreement between the majority and minority leadership in the Senate however, it is customary for the proportion to reflect that of the entire house Once the number of seats for each party is decided, actual member assignments are chosen by party committees (yes there is actually a Republican Committee on Committees for each house)) Members of all standing committees are elected by a vote of full house, but its just a ratification of choices already made within the party committees Committee Chairman is selected by the majority party on each committee Seniority rule – majority party member with longest tenure on that committee (starting to get away from this rule)

VI. Congress’s Investigative Powers As part of its legislative powers, Congress also has the implied power to investigate and provide oversight these are commonly known as the “watchdog and oversight” function Congress may launch investigations and hold congressional hearings to : Gather info necessary for the framing of legislation Provide oversight of the executive branch Focus public attention on some matter Expose the questionable activities of some group Congress has the power to subpoena Can force people to testify under oath

VII. To Assist Congress… Congressional Budget Office (CBO) – performs budget calculations and reviews the president’s budget Congressional Research Service – staff of several hundred that work at the Library of Congress that conduct research for Congressmen Government Accountability Office (GAO) – conducts audits of government agencies to track spending, etc.