Chapter 12
Congress
Qualifications
• HOUSE 25 years old; citizen for 7 years;
live in the state you represent
• SENATE 30 years old; citizen for 9 years;
live in the state you represent
American Bicameralism
• The House
– 435 members, 2-year
terms of office
– Initiates all revenue
bills, more influential
on budget
– House Rules
Committee
– Limited debates
• The Senate
– 100 members, 6-year
terms of office
– Gives “advice &
consent,” more
influential on foreign
affairs
– Unlimited debates
(filibuster)
Bicameral Legislature
• Two house Congress
• House of Reps. = 435
members
• 5 non-voting members =
Puerto Rico, Virgin
Islands, Guam,
Washington D.C.,
American Samoa
• Senate = 100 members
Connecticut Compromise @
the Constitutional
Convention
Congressmen from Arizona
Representative Jeff Flake
http://www.house.gov/flake/
Senator Jon Kyl
http://kyl.senate.gov/
Senator John McCain
http://mccain.senate.gov/
The Representatives and Senators
• The Job
–
–
–
–
Salary of $168,500 with retirement benefits
Office space in D.C. and at home with staff
Travel allowances and franking privileges
Requires long hours, a lot of time away from
family, and pressure from others to support
their policies
Incumbency in Congress
Individuals who already
hold office usually win
90% of elections
Congressional Elections
• The Advantages of Incumbents
– Advertising:
• The goal is to be visible to your constituents
• Frequent trips home, use of newsletter, and
technology
– Credit Claiming:
• Service to constituents through:
– Casework: specifically helping constituents get what they
think they have a right to
– Pork Barrel: federal projects, grants, etc. made available in
a congressional district or state
Congressional Elections
• The Advantages of Incumbents
– Position Taking:
• Portray themselves as hard working, dedicated individuals
• Occasionally take a partisan stand on an issue
– Weak Opponents:
• Inexperienced in politics, unorganized, and underfunded
– Campaign Spending:
• Challengers need to raise large sums to defeat an incumbent
• PACs give most of their money to incumbents
• Does PAC money “buy” votes in Congress?
Servicing the Constituency
• Constituents: citizens that
the Congressperson
represents
• Casework: helping
constituency as
individuals (cutting
through red tape to give
people what they think
they have a right to get
• Pork Barrel: List of
federal projects, grants
and contracts available to
cities, businesses, colleges
and institutions
Money in electing Congressmen
• Most of the turnover in the
membership in Congress
results from vacated seats,
particularly in the House
• It costs a great deal more
money to elect a
congressperson than to
elect a president
• 2000, all presidential
candidates spent a total of
$200 million
• 2000, general election
Senate races alone cost
$350 million
Comparing the Senate and the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives
• More centralized,
hierarchical, less anarchic
• Party loyalty to leadership
and party-line voting more
prevalent
• Leaders do more leading
• Speaker appoints
committee members
• Five calendars based on
kind of bill
• House can impeach
officials (16 so far)
House Rules Committee
• Most important committee in the House
• Reviews most bills coming from a house committee before
they go to the full House (traffic cop)
• Gives each bill a “rule”, which schedules the bill on the
calendar, allots time for debate, and can even specify what
kind of amendments to bill can be offered
• Initiates all revenue bills in House
Senate
• Less disciplined, less
centralized
• Ratifies treaties
• Confirms important
presidential nominations
• Tries impeached officials
• Party leaders schedule
bills
• Pro Tempore seniority rule
Congressional Leadership
How Congress is Organized
to Make Policy
Congressional Leadership
• The House
– Led by Speaker of the
House—elected by House
members
– Presides over House
– Major role in committee
assignments and legislation
– Assisted by majority leader
and whips
• The Senate
– Formally lead by Vice
President
– Really lead by Majority
Leader—chosen by party
members
– Assisted by whips
– Must work with Minority
leader
Speaker of the House
• Most important person
in Congress
– Presides over House
– Makes committee
assignments
– Appoints party’s
legislative leaders
– Exercises substantial
control over which
bills get assigned to
which committees
•
•
•
Other
Congressional
Leaders
Majority Leader in each
house
Minority Leaders in each
house
Whips: A member of a
legislative body, charged
by his or her party with
enforcing party
discipline and ensuring
attendance
»
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D)
Daniel Inouye
(D)
Minority Leader: Mitch McConnell (R)
Whips…in the Senate
• Richard Durbin (D) Majority whip
• Jon Kyl (R) Minority whip
Whips...in the House
• Kevin McCarthy (R) majority whip
• Steny Hoyer (D) minority whip
Legislative Oversight
• Congress’s monitoring of the bureaucracy
and its administration of policy (hearings)
Committees in Congress
Committees in Congress
• Standing committees: Permanent committee in a
legislative body to which bills in a specified subject matter
area are referred
• Joint committees: Legislative committee composed of
members of both houses (usually permanent also)
• Conference committees: Temporary joint committee
created to reconcile any differences between the two
houses’ versions of a bill
• Select committees: Legislative committee created for a
limited time and for some specific purpose; also known as
a special committee
House STANDING Committees
• There are 19 standing
committees in the House
of Representatives.
• Representatives are
normally assigned to one
or two standing
committees.
• The most important
committees in the House
are: Rules, Ways and
Means, Appropriations,
Armed Services, Judiciary,
International Relations,
and Agriculture
Senate STANDING Committees
• There are 17 standing
committees in the Senate.
• Senators are normally
assigned to three or four
committees.
• The most important
committees in the Senate
are: Foreign Relations,
Appropriations, Finance,
Judiciary, Armed Services,
and Banking, Housing and
Urban Affairs.
Important Facts about
Committees
Committees are where most bills
receive thorough consideration.
The fate of most bills is decided
in the various standing
committees.
Most bills DIE in the
committees (action) to which
they are referred!!!
Congressional Caucus
• Informal organization
of Congresspersons
who share some
interest on
characteristics
• Promote the interests
around which they are
formed
• Interest group within
Congress
Congressional process
The Congressional Process