Pearson Longman PoliticalScienceInteractive Shea, Green, and Smith Living Democracy, Second Edition Chapter 7: Congress

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman The Nature and Style of Representation “To say the sovereignty rests in the people, and that they have not a right to instruct and control their representatives, is absurd to the last degree.” Elbridge Gerry The Delegate Model of Representation Legislators must “act in the same manner as the whole body would act, were they present.” –Thomas Paine (1776)

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman The Nature and Style of Representation Trustee Model of Representation The legislator should consider the will of the people, but then should do what he or she thinks is best for the nation as a whole and in the long term.

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman The Nature and Style of Representation Politico Model The legislator should be a trustee and vote how he sees fit until the public gets involved, at which point he should return to the delegate mode. Conscience Model The legislator is a delegate most of the time, but if an issue keeps her head off the pillow at night, she turns into a trustee.

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Congress and the Constitution Bicameral Legislature

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Congress and the Constitution Who Can Serve in Congress? 30 years old Resident of the state represented

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Congress and the Constitution Congressional Elections Congressional elections primarily decided by states – e.g. the Voting Rights Act of 1965 Each house manages its own procedures

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Congress and the Constitution Lawmaking The elastic or necessary and proper clause Implied versus explicit powers – McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) Pocket Veto President kills a bill simply by not signing it.

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Redistricting In almost all states, the process of redistricting must be undertaken every ten years to reflect: Changes in the state’s overall population relative to the rest of the country Population shifts within the state

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Redistricting Packing Lumping opposition voters in one area Cracking Splitting up groups of voters so they do not constitute a majority in any district Gerrymandering The drawing of legislative districts for partisan advantage

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman The Gerrymander

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman House Majority Leader Tom DeLay worked with Republican state legislative leaders to increase the number of Republican congressional districts in Texas from 15 to 22. Supreme Court ruled that the plan was, for the most part, constitutional. Pathways of Action: The Texas Redistricting Battle

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Redistricting The Iowa model of districting Positive gerrymandering The number of residents per district – Baker v. Carr (1961) Reapportionment –670,000 residents for each House district

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Standing Committees: The Work Horses of the Legislature Advantages to the standing committee system: The Members can become policy experts. More issues can be considered. Legislators can be on committees relevant to constituents. “Safety valve” function

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Standing Committees Subcommittees Select Committees Conference Committees Standing Committees: The Work Horses of the Legislature

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman What Do Committees Do? 1946: Legislative Preauthorization Act –Every piece of legislation introduced for consideration must first be referred to a committee. 1970s: House adopted process of multiple referrals. Referral and Jurisdiction

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman What Do Committees Do? Ninety percent of all measures get tabled in committee. Measures not tabled are given a hearing, occasionally with celebrity witnesses. Hearings and Investigations

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman What Do Committees Do? In this stage, the actual language of the bill is forged. Prime sponsor: member responsible for crafting the language Markup

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman What Do Committees Do? Report: summarizes bill’s provisions and the rationale behind it. Rules Report: stipulates whether a bill is open, closed, modified, or subject to the time-structured rule. Reports and Rules Report

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman What Do Committees Do? Special committees may conduct investigations or hold hearings, such as Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Bureaucratic Oversight

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman What Do Committees Do? The Importance of Committee Staff Staffers do most committee work. Carry out research, provide information to legislators Staffs grew greatly in the late 1900s – from 600 in 1967 to more than 3,000 in 1994

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Organizing Congress: Political Parties and Leadership Orientation function Agenda setting Voting cues Committee appointment Majority leadership

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Organizing Congress: Political Parties and Leadership Speaker – House of Representatives – power of referral Majority Leader – Senate The Importance of Majority Status

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Legislative Leadership

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Pathways Profile: Nancy Pelosi Elected to the House of Representatives in 1986 Selected as Speaker of the House in 2006

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Organizing Congress: Political Parties and Leadership Formal powers – referral – preside over proceedings – appoint committees – set rules for debate Informal powers – personal persuasion – e.g. Newt Gingrich Leadership Powers

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Until recently, many norms guided the behavior of members of Congress. Members were supposed to specialize in a small number of issues, defer to members with longer tenure in office, never criticize anyone personally, and wait their turn to speak and introduce legislation. Organizing Congress: Rules and Norms

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Organizing Congress: Rules and Norms Filibuster Unlimited debate in Senate used to avoid voting on legislation or confirmation. Cloture Rule declaring the end of a debate in the Senate. Three-fifths of the Senate necessary. Hold Senator indicates that he or she will use delaying tactics to prevent a final vote. Can be overruled by three-fifths majority.

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Organizing Congress: Rules and Norms Unwritten Rules Seniority Apprenticeship norm Civility Specialization Reciprocity Logrolling Earmarks

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Pathways of Change From Around the World: Global Youth Connect College students wishing to stop crimes against humanity Organized in 1999 Began programs to encourage youth activism – e.g. Iraqi Refugee Solidarity Initiative to help Iraqi refugees in Jordan

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Congress approves spending for two bridges in Alaska: $423 million Ted Stevens (R, Alaska) chair of Appropriations Committee and Don Young (R, Alaska) wielded great power. Pathways of Action: Bridges to Nowhere?

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman How a Bill Becomes a Law

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Who Sits in Congress?

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Who Sits in Congress? Gender

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Who Sits in Congress? Race and Ethnicity 1870, First black elected to House of Representatives: Joseph Hayne Rainey 1870, First black elected to Senate: Hiram Rhodes Revels Latinos underrepresented in both houses of Congress

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Who Sits in Congress?

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman First black representative from Texas Active in using amendments to legislation to support civil rights Member of hearings leading to Nixon’s impeachment Pathways Profile: Barbara Jordan

Chapter 7: Congress Shea, Green, and Smith, Living Democracy, Second EditionCopyright 2009 Pearson Longman Congressional Ethics Tom DeLay –indicted on criminal charges of conspiracy to violate election laws in 2002 – resigned from office June 2006