Pump Primer Name both houses of the legislation and how many members are in each house. 11

Congress

Biblical Integration 11 As Christians we need to remember that these policymakers are placed in a role of servanthood. Greatness comes through giving, serving, and following Christ's example (Matt. 20:26-27)

Video: The Big Picture 11 IA_1/polisci/presidency/Edwards_Ch11_Congress_Seg1_v 2.html

11 Learning Objectives Characterize the backgrounds of members of Congress and assess their impact on the ability of members of Congress to represent average Americans Identify the principal factors influencing the outcomes in congressional elections

11 Learning Objectives Compare and contrast the House and Senate, and describe the roles of congressional leaders, committees, caucuses, and staff Outline the path of bills to passage and explain the influences on congressional decision making

11 Learning Objectives Assess Congress’s role as a representative body and the impact of representation on the scope of government 11.5

Video: The Basics 11 IA_1/polisci/presidency/Seg2_Congress_v2.html

Representatives and Senators  Members  Why Aren’t There More Women in Congress? 11.1

Members  Not a glamorous job, but there are perks Power $174,000 annual salary Generous retirement and health benefits  Constitutional requirements House: 25, citizen for 7 years Senate: 30, citizen for 9 years Reside in state 435 Representatives; 100 senators 11.1

TABLE 11.1: Portrait of the 113th Congress: Some statistics 11.1

Members How important are the personal characteristics of members of Congress? Can a group of predominantly white, upper-middle- class, middle-aged, Protestant males adequately represent a much more diverse population? Descriptive versus substantive representation Descriptive representation is representing constituents by mirroring their personal, politically relevant characteristics. Substantive representation is representing the interests of groups. 11.1

Arab-American Heritage festival 11.1 Does it matter if a representative doesn’t share the ethnic or religious background of his constituents?

Why Aren’t There More Women in Congress?  Fewer women running Childcare Risk averse – odds of winning are lower  Bias Must be more qualified than male opponent 11.1

11.1 How old do you have to be to run for the office of senator? a.25 b.35 c.30 d

11.1 How old do you have to be to run for the office of senator? a.25 b.35 c.30 d

Congressional Elections  Who Wins Elections?  Advantages of Incumbency  Role of Party Identification  Defeating Incumbents  Open Seats  Stability and Change 11.2

 Incumbents Over 90% win reelection in House Senators do not have it as easy  Incumbents perceive themselves as vulnerable Hence fundraising and campaigning Who Wins Elections? 11.2

Americans disapprove of the performance of Congress as a whole, but tend to think that their own representatives are an exception and reelect them. This makes it hard to change the makeup of Congress in a given election. FIGURE 11.1: Incumbency factor in congressional elections 11.2

Advantages of Incumbency  Do Americans reelect their representatives because they agree with their voting record? ■Hardly. Only 11% of Americans have any idea of how their representatives voted on a given issue. If not policy, what gives incumbents their electoral advantage?  Visibility ■Technology to maintain contact ■Franking privilege - mail  Credit claiming ■Casework - claim credit for services to individual constituents ■Pork barrel projects - refers to expenditures on federal projects, grants, and contracts 11.2

Big Dig 11.2 Because claiming credit may be important for reelection, members of Congress rarely pass up the opportunity to increase federal spending in their state or district. The Big Dig in Boston is an example of an expensive earmark for which members of Congress could claim credit.

Advantages of Incumbency  Position taking - when they believe they are certain how the majority of their constituents feel about the issue  Weak opponents - who lack the visibility and experience of incumbents  Campaign spending ■House campaigns typically more than a million dollars ■Senate campaign costs average ten times more the House 11.2

Role of Party Identification  Parties and districts Drawn for one-party dominance  To ensure that they’re safe seats for one party or the other remain 11.2

Defeating Incumbents  Challengers are naïve about winning ■But sometimes incumbents are vulnerable due mainly to scandals  Redistricting ■Every ten years - census ■Reflect population shifts ■State legislatures ■Change House elections  Public mood ■Clean house – dissatisfaction with incumbents  Mostly midterm elections – especially party that holds the presidency 11.2

Open Seats and Stability and Change  Vacant seat = no incumbent running Most turnover occurs here  Stability from incumbency Development of expertise Does this expertise outweigh the lack of responsiveness that results from career politicians in safe seats? Some people have proposed term limits for members of Congress. Do you think that’s a good idea? 11.2

11.2 Why do incumbents have such a strong electoral advantage? a.They attract more campaign contributions b.They can use the congressional franking privilege c.They have more name recognition d.All of the above 11.2

11.2 Why do incumbents have such a strong electoral advantage? a.They attract more campaign contributions b.They can use the congressional franking privilege c.They have more name recognition d.All of the above 11.2

How Congress is Organized to Make Policy  American Bicameralism  Congressional Leadership  Committees and Subcommittees  Caucuses: Informal Organization of Congress  Congressional Staff 11.3

American Bicameralism  Bicameral legislature Two houses  49 states have bicameral legislatures  Nebraska - unicameral legislation Bills must pass both houses Checks and balances Result of Connecticut Compromise 11.3

American Bicameralism  House More institutionalized – party loyalty is more common in voting Seniority-based (status based on length of service) Rules Committee  Reviews most bills coming from a House committee before going to the full House  Gives each bill a “rule,” which schedules the bill on the calendar  Allots time for debate  Specifies what kind of amendments may be offered. 11.3

American Bicameralism  Senate Less centralized or seniority based  Junior senators can obtain plum committee assignments Filibuster  Senator takes the floor in a debate, he can keep talking, for days if necessary, until the proponents of the bill give up  Cloture – 60 senators vote to stop the filibuster 11.3

TABLE 11.2: House versus Senate: Some key differences 11.3

Congressional Leadership 11.3 John Boehner of Ohio was elected Speaker in 2011 Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada leads the Democrats in the Senate Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky

Congressional Leadership 11.3  Leadership assignments are chosen by party leaders  House Speaker of the House  Most powerful position  Third in line for presidency  Presides over the House when in session Majority and minority leaders  Persuade members to vote with their party on important bills Whips  Helps the majority and minority leaders

Congressional Leadership 11.3  Senate Vice president  Head of the Senate  Second in line for the presidency  Only appears to break tie votes  Active in representing the president’s views to senators. President Pro Tempore  Presides over the Senate in the absence of the Vice President  Fourth in line for presidency Majority leader  Position of real power and authority in the Senate  Rounds up votes and schedules the floor action  Influences committee assignments.

Committees and Subcommittees  Four types of committees Standing committees  Subject matter committees that handle bills in different policy areas. Joint committees  Few subject matter areas with membership drawn from House and Senate Conference committees  Formed when the Senate and the House pass a bill in different forms to iron out the differences and bring back a single bill Select committees  Created for a specific purpose 11.3

TABLE: 11.3: Standing committees in the Senate and in the House 11.3

Committees and Subcommittees  Committees at work: Legislation Legislative Oversight - Congress monitors bureaucracy  Bill becomes law – committee assigns budgets and monitors implementation by executive branch 11.3

Congressional committee at work 11.3 Most of the work of Congress occurs in committees. Here the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction holds a hearing on the budget

TABLE 11.4: Sharing oversight of homeland security 11.3

 Getting on a committee Three goals:  Reelection  Influence in Congress  Opportunity to make policy (in areas they think are important or that are important to their constituents) Appealing to leadership for their preferred assignment Committees and Subcommittees 11.3

Caucuses: Informal Organization of Congress  As important as formal (leadership and committee ) structure  Dominated by caucuses Group of members who share a policy interest and work together to advance their legislation and oppose legislation they don’t support 500 caucuses today  Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus, and Caucus for Women’s Issues Goal is to promote their interests 11.3

Congressional Hispanic Caucus 11.3 The proliferation of congressional caucuses gives members of Congress an informal yet powerful means of shaping policy. Composed of legislative insiders, caucuses—such as the Hispanic Caucus depicted here—exert a much greater influence on policymaking than most citizen- based interest groups can.

Congressional Staff  Personal staff Drafting legislation Meeting with lobbyists and administrators Negotiating agreements on behalf of their bosses Writing questions to ask witnesses at committee hearings Summarizing bills Briefing legislators 11.3

Congressional Staff  Committee staff 2,000 staff members Organize hearings Research legislative options Draft committee reports on bills Write legislation Engage in legislative oversight 11.3

Congressional Staff  Staff agencies Congressional Research Service (CRS)  Administered by the Library of Congress  Responds each year to more than 250,000 information requests from members of Congress Government Accountability Office (GAO)  Handles legislative oversight Congressional Budget Office (CBO)  Analyses the president’s budget  Makes economic projections 11.3

11.3 How many staff members does Congress employ to help it do its job? a.More than 11,000 b.3,200 c.Less than 2,000 d.Staff are volunteers from the member’s constituency, and their numbers vary 11.3

11.3 How many staff members does Congress employ to help it do its job? a.More than 11,000 b.3,200 c.Less than 2,000 d.Staff are volunteers from the member’s constituency and their numbers vary 11.3

Video: In Context IA_1/polisci/presidency/Seg3_Congress_v2.html

Congressional Process and Decision Making  Presidents and Congress: Partners and Protagonists  Party, Constituency, and Ideology  Lobbyists and Interest Groups 11.4

Congressional Process  Bills  About 9,000 bills are introduced in each Congress.  A bill is a proposed law, drafted in legal language.  Anyone can draft a bill, but only a member of the Congress can introduce a bill. 11.4

FIGURE 11.2: How a bill becomes a law 11.4

Presidents and Congress: Partners and Protagonists  President’s legislative agenda (Chief Legislator) Executive staff work to persuade Congress Work at the margins  Usually lose or compromise  Popular presidents often win legislative battle Yet Congress is quite independent as the Framers intended 11.4

Party, Constituency, and Ideology  Party influence Economic and social welfare policies Republican legislators have become more conservative Democratic legislators more liberal  Polarized politics Parties more internally harmonized Party leaders cannot force party members to vote a particular way, but many do vote along party lines Less likelihood of compromise 11.4

FIGURE 11.3: Increasing polarization in Congress 11.4 Differences between Democrats and Republicans in Congress have grown considerably since Polarized parties make for clear choices for the voters but also make compromise more difficult. Is America best served by this party polarization? Why or why not?

Video: Thinking Like a Political Scientist IA_1/polisci/presidency/Seg4_Congress_v2.html

Party, Constituency, and Ideology  Constituency opinion versus member ideology Trustees versus instructed delegates  Trustee model - legislators are elected to use their best judgment  Instructed delegate model of representation - representatives must mirror the preferences of their constituents 11.4

Lobbyists and Interest Groups  D.C. is crawling with lobbyists 35,000 registered lobbyists represent 12,000 organizations Spent $3 billion in 2011 Former members of Congress  How lobbyists persuade Provide policy information Provide promises of money Ghost-write legislation Status quo usually wins  Disclosure requirements required 11.4

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11.4 On what tactics do lobbyists rely to influence policy in Congress? a.Promising money for reelection campaigns b.Providing expert policy information c.Ghostwriting legislation d.All of the above 11.4

11.4 On what tactics do lobbyists rely to influence policy in Congress? a.Promising money for reelection campaigns b.Providing expert policy information c.Ghostwriting legislation d.All of the above 11.4

Explore Congress: Can Congress Get Anything Done? a_16/pex/pex11.html

 Congress and Democracy  Congress and the Scope of Government 11.5 Understanding Congress

Congress and Democracy  Democracy depends upon successful representation  Congress unrepresentative Members are elites Leadership chosen, not elected Senate based on states, not population  Obstacles to good representation Constituent service Takes up a proportion of time, could use time for policy making Reelection campaigns 11.5

Congress and the Scope of Government  Does size of government increase to please public? Pork barrel spending  Contradictory preferences Against large government, for individual programs  More policies = more programs Everybody wants government programs cut, but just not their programs. 11.5

11.5 How does the Senate undermine democratic representation? a.Its members tend not to show up for roll call votes b.It is forbidden from overriding a presidential veto c.It represents states rather than people d.None of the above 11.5

11.5 How does the Senate undermine democratic representation? a.Its members tend not to show up for roll call votes b.It is forbidden from overriding a presidential veto c.It represents states rather than people d.None of the above 11.5

Video: In the Real World IA_1/polisci/presidency/Seg5_Congress_v2.html

Discussion Questions Based on what you have learned in this chapter, do you prefer the trustee or instructed delegate model of representation? Which model is closer to the system we have now? 11

Video: So What? 11 IA_1/polisci/presidency/Edwards_Ch11_Congress_Seg6_v. html

Works Cited: School House Rock: How A Bill Becomes Law. YouTube.com 8 Dec Web. 9 Sep =FFroMQlKiag 11