1. Bell ringer
#63 – Party Leadership

2. Congress 1
AP GOV

3. 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

4. FRQ Practice
2011 short answer #3

5. 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

7. 1. Party Organization of the Senate
Majority Party
President
President Pro-Tempore
Majority Leader
Majority Whip
Minority Party
Minority Leader
Minority Whip

8. 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

9. 2. Party Organization of House
Majority Party
Speaker of the House
Majority Leader
Majority Whip
Minority Party
Minority Leader
Minority Whip

10. 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)

11. 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

12. 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?

13. 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

14. 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)

15. 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

16. 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.

17. 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

18. Standing Committees Permanent w/specific legislative responsibilities
Most are subject related: Judiciary, Foreign Policy, Armed Services
Majority party holds majority membership of each committee
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

19. 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
Woodrow Wilson book on Congress 19

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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)

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

27. 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