Bell ringer #63 – Party Leadership

Congress 1 AP GOV

Today we will … OBJ/ Agenda Agenda Explore how political parties help to organize the government and the role they play in politics. FRQ practice – comparative electoral systems Slide/notes - review questions for organization of Congress Congress Venn diagram HW: set 2 RQs – quiz next block

FRQ Practice 2011 short answer #3

Warm Up - Article I List all of the powers of Congress you remember House? Senate? List the size, terms, member qualifications of the House List the size, terms, member qualifications of the Senate

1. Party Organization of the Senate http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/e_one_section_no_teasers/org_chart.htm Majority Party President President Pro-Tempore Majority Leader Majority Whip Minority Party Minority Leader Minority Whip

Selecting the Leaders: Ideology popularity, effectiveness on television, favors owed Policy Committee schedules Senate business Committee Assignments: Democratic Steering Committee Republican Committee on Committees Assignments emphasize ideological and regional balance New Senators want opportunities to help constituents & supporters

2. Party Organization of House http://www.house.gov/leadership/ Majority Party Speaker of the House Majority Leader Majority Whip Minority Party Minority Leader Minority Whip

2b. Speaker of the House Leader of majority party; presides over House Decides whom to recognize to speak on the floor Rule on relevancy of motions Decides to which committee bills go Appoints members of special and select committees Has some patronage power (ex: Capitol jobs & office space) http://www.speaker.gov/about

Students assume that parties want to get along, “fair” OR no communication at all, surprised about talking across the aisle. President pro tempore presides; member with most seniority in majority party Leaders are the majority leader and the minority leader, elected by their respective party members Party whips keep leaders informed, round up votes, count noses 11 11

Check for understanding What other job does the US Vice President have? Who takes over if the VP is busy? What is the leader of the House called? Which one of these 3 positions would you like to have? Why?

3. Newt Gingrich Loose measure is ability of leaders to determine party rules and organization Tested in 103d Congress: 110 new members Ran as outsiders Yet reelected entire leadership and committee chairs Congress would be subject to its own laws. It would be streamlined and transparent, committee chairs would be term-limited and tax increases would require super majorities. Well, that November, the GOP took the House. Four years later, in November 1998, the Republican majority was so badly reduced, Gingrich was forced to resign. He changed the structure of the House of Representatives Measure of leaders ability to determine party rules & organization Committee chairs would have term limits (6 yrs) Transparency

4. Civility and Polarization Increasingly divided by political ideology Role of political elites & caucuses in forming policy Staffers often take the lead to negotiate between their bosses, less personal contact Yet, voters are close to the center of the political spectrum Polarization leads to less civility, more attacks Are We Doomed to Polarization? | The Center On Congress at Indiana University Recent trends Party unity voting higher between 1953 and 1965 and lower between 1966 and 1982 Party unity voting increased since 1983 and was norm in the 1990s Party unity voting lower today than in the 1800s and early 1900s Party splits today may reflect sharp ideological differences between parties (or at least their respective leaders)

5. Congressional Caucuses Association of members of Congress created to advocate a political ideology or a regional or economic interest Rivals to parties in policy formulation Types: Intra-party Personal interest Constituency concern

Check for understanding When else have we talked about caucuses? What is the same and different between these types of caucuses? A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement.

6. The Committee System Where Congress does its work Helps to develop specialization among members Standing Committees Select or Special Committees Joint Committees Conference Committees Woodrow Wilson book on Congress 17

Standing Committees Permanent w/specific legislative responsibilities Most are subject related: Judiciary, Foreign Policy, Armed Services Majority party holds majority membership of each committee http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/committees/d_three_sections_with_teasers/committees_home.htm Standing committees--most important type of committee Majority party has majority of seats on the committees Each member usually serves on two standing committees Chairs are elected, but usually the most senior member of the committee is elected by the majority party 18

Select/Special Committees Temporary - appointed for a limited purpose and time, or cross purposes Oversight functions – to keep things from going wrong in gov. Investigations http://www.house.gov/committees/ Woodrow Wilson book on Congress 19

Joint Committees Both Representatives and Senators serve Permanent House-keeping CONFERENCE COMMITTEE: “Third House” representatives and senators to resolve differences in the Senate and House versions of the same piece of legislation before final passage; creates a “compromise bill” before its sent to the president 20

Committee Structure Number of committees varies between houses Majority party has majority of seats and names chair Usually most senior member is elected Assignments Members usually serve on 2 standing committees or 1 exclusive committee Subcommittee Bill of Rights 1970s Secret ballot election of committee chairs No Rep can chair more than one committee All House committees w/ 20+ members to have at least 4 subcommittees Large staffs, open to the public unless vote too close Decentralization has increased individual member's influence Less control by chairs More amendments proposed and adopted

Roles of Committees Rules Legislation Appropriations - handles all discretionary federal spending bills. Appropriates money to the department. Oversight Fast and the Furious Oversight can also be in the form of Appropriations to the Executive Departments

What committees do representatives want to be on? Policy-oriented members = finance or foreign policy committees Constituency-oriented members = small business or veteran's affairs committees Robert Walker Larry Craig Ideological orientations of committees vary, depending on attitudes of members Certain committees tend to attract particular types of legislators Policy-oriented members Constituency-oriented members

Check for understanding Why is the committee structure more important to the House, instead of the Senate? (hint: think size) the House is so large that more work can be accomplished in committees than on the floor

7. Congressional Staff 1/3 of a staff members work in the district, full-time district office. Constituency Casework Legislative functions: Devise proposals & draft reports Organize & monitor hearings Meet with lobbyists & program administrators Consequences of larger staff More legislative work in the chamber Results in more individualistic Congress Tasks of staff members Constituency service: major task of staff Legislative functions: monitoring hearings, devising proposals, drafting reports, meeting with lobbyists Staff members consider themselves advocates of their employers Growth and influence of staff Rapid growth: a large staff itself requires a large staff Larger staff generates more legislative work Members of Congress can no longer keep up with increased legislative work and so must rely on staff Results in a more individualistic Congress Staff agencies offer specialized information Congressional Research Service (CRS) General Accounting Office (GAO) Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

8. Staff Agencies Offer specialized information Congressional Research Service (CRS) General Accounting Office (GAO) Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

How does the majority party have an advantage in the House above the sheer number advantage? Acceptable answers may include: • Holds committee chairs • Controls Rules Committee • Sets the agenda • Controls debate • Chooses Speaker of the House • Holds majority on each committee • Assigns bills to committees Closure