Organization of Congress  Party Organization of the Senate  President of the Senate  VP of the United States  President Pro Tempore  Has most seniority in majority party  Serves as presiding officer when VP not there  Majority Leader and Minority Leader  Elected by respective party members  Majority Leader schedules Senate business  Party Whips  Keep leaders informed  Round up votes, make sure party members are voting “correctly”  Counts noses

Organization of Congress  Party Organization of the Senate (cont.)  Committees  Each party has a policy committee to schedule Senate business and prioritize bills  Committee assignments handled by a group of Senators, each for their own party  Democratic Steering Committee  Republican Committee on Committees

Senate Leadership Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Arizona) Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) President of the Senate Joseph Biden President Pro Tempore Robert Byrd (D- West Virginia)

Organization of Congress  Party Structure in the House  Speaker of the House  Leader of Majority Party  Presides over House  Majority Leader and Minority Leader  Leaders on the Floor  Party Whips  Committees  Assignments and legislative schedule set by each party  Democrats have the Steering and Policy Committee, Republicans have the Committee on Committees and the Policy Committee

House Leadership Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-California) Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Nevada) Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-South Carolina) Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland)

Organization of Congress  Caucuses  Association of members created to advocate a political ideology or a regional or economic interest  Types  Intra-party caucus  Personal interest caucus  Constituency caucus

Organization of Congress  Committees Committees  Legislative committee the most important organization feature of Congress, and where all of the real work is done  Types of Committees  Standing committees  Select committees  Joint committees  Conference committees  Assignments  House members usually serve on two standing committees or one exclusive committee  Senators usually serve on two “major” committees and one “minor” committee

Organization of Congress  Staffs  Tasks of staff members  Constituency service  Legislative functions  Advocates for employers  Larger staff means more legislative work done in the chamber, and a more individualistic Congress

Organization of Congress  Staff Agencies  Work for Congress as a whole; provide specialized knowledge  Major agencies  Congressional Research Service  General Accounting Office  Office of Technology Assessment  Congressional Budget Office