1
During the Constitutional
Convention, there were two schools
of thought pertaining to the role
Congress would play
2
 Some
thought the legislative branch
would be relatively unimportant
 People in this camp believed
Congress would concern itself
largely with external affairs, leaving
domestic matters to state and local
governments
3
Others believed that the bulk of
power held by the federal
government would and should be in
the hands of the legislative branch
 Obviously, the latter is the one that
came to pass

4
The two chambers of Congress
reflected the social bias of the
founders
 Members of the House would
represent the common people
 The Senate would be members of
the elite

5
6
A. House Qualifications
 Age:
 Citizenship:
 Residency:
7
B. Senate Qualifications
 Age:
 Citizenship:
 Residency
8
 Enumerated
Powers
 Some functions are restricted to
only one chamber
 Must originate in the House:
All
revenue bills
Charges of misconduct that could lead
to impeachment
 Must
originate in Senate:
Confirm
Presidential appointments
Ratify treaties
Power to try impeachment cases
9
B. Necessary and Proper Clause
 Where Congress gets their real
power
 The Elastic Clause set the stage for
a greatly expanded role for the
national government relative to the
states
 It also constitutes, at least in theory,
a check on the expansion of
presidential powers
10
C. Denied Powers
 10th Amendment
 Denied Powers
11
C. Denied Powers
 Congress may not:
Suspend the writ of habeas corpus, unless
necessary in time of rebellion or invasion
 Pass any law which condemns persons for
crimes or unlawful acts without a trial
 Pass any law which retroactively makes a
specific act a crime (ex: post facto)
 Levy direct taxes on, except on the basis of a
census already taken
 Tax exports from any one state
 Give specially favorable treatment in
commerce or taxation to the seaports of any
state or to the vessels using them
 Authorize any titles of nobility
12

A. Lawmaking Function
 Congress does not initiate all or
even most of the ideas for
legislation
 Most of the bills Congress acts on
originate in the executive branch,
and many other bills are traceable
to interest groups and political party
organizations
13
A. Lawmaking Function
 Through the process of compromise
and logrolling – as well as debate
and discussion, backers of legislation
attempt to fashion a winning
majority coalition.
 Logrolling – (d) Offering to support a
fellow member’s bill in exchange for
that member’s promise to support
your bill in the future.
14
15
B. Service to Constituents
 Members of Congress are expected
to act as brokers between private
citizens and the imposing, often
faceless federal government
 Casework is the usual form taken by
this function of providing services to
constituents.
 Casework (d) – Personal work for
constituents by members of
Congress
16
B. Service to Constituents
 Ombudsperson (d) – A person who
hears and investigates complaints by
private individuals against public
officials or agencies
17
C. Representative Function
 The representation function carries
with it some danger the legislator
could alienate constituents and as
result, lose his bid for reelection
 Generally, representation means
that many competing interests in
society should be represented in
Congress
18
C. Representative Function
 There are basically two views on how
representation is achieved: Trustee and
Delegate
1. Trustee
A member of Congress fills the role
of trustee (d) – when he acts
according to his conscience and the
broad interests of society as a
whole
This would involve, at times and if
necessary, voting against the narrow
interests of their constituents
19
C. Representative Function
2. Delegate
A member of Congress fills the role of
delegate (d) – when he votes according to
the view of his constituents, regardless of
his personal feelings
For delegate representation to be
effective, though, constituents need to
well-versed on the issues. This is not
usually the case.
20
D. Oversight Function
 Another function of Congress is
overseeing the bureaucracy and the
executive branch
 Oversight (d) – The responsibility
Congress has for following up on
laws it has enacted to ensure they
are being enforced in the way
Congress intended.
21
D. Oversight Function
In regards to bureaucratic agencies,
Congress has three oversight functions:
 1)
No agency may even exist (with the
exception of some presidential offices
and commissions) without congressional
approval
 2) Even if an agency can operate, it can’t
spend money without committee
authorization
 3) Just because a committee authorizes
the spending, that doesn’t mean the
agency is appropriated the full amount
22
D. Oversight Function
Prior to 1983, Congress had legislature veto
power
 This allowed either house to prevent the
enforcement of an executive rule by a simple
majority vote against it within a specified
amount of time
 This power was created by Congress in 1932
 In 1983, though, the Court ruled that such a
power was unconstitutional because it
violated the separation of powers mandated
by the Constitution. The president had no
power to veto the legislative action

23
D. Oversight Function
Some examples of congressional oversight
in action would include:
1949 – Senate subcommittee investigation
revealed high level corruption in the Truman
administration
 1960s – Senate Foreign Relations
Committee’s televised hearing helped to
mobilize opposition to the Vietnam War
 1973 – Watergate investigation exposed
White House officials who illegally used their
positions for political advantage
24

D. Oversight Function

1975-76 – Select Committee inquiries
identified serious abuses by intelligence
activities.

1987 – Oversight efforts disclosed
statutory violations in the executive
branch’s secret arm sales to Iran

1998 – Special Committee investigation of
President Clinton led to his impeachment.
25
26
E. Public-Education Function
 Educating
the public is a function
exercised whenever Congress holds
public hearings, exercises oversight
over the bureaucracy, or engages in
committee and floor debate
27
E. Public-Education Function
 Congress
also decides what issues
will come up for discussion and
decision; agenda-setting is a major
facet of its public-education
function
 Agenda-setting (d) – Determining
which public-policy questions will be
debated or considered by Congress
28
F. Conflict Resolution Function
 People
and groups look on Congress
as an access point for airing their
grievances and seeking help
 This puts Congress in the role of
trying to resolve the differences
among competing views by passing
laws to accommodate as many
interested parties as possible
29
F. Conflict Resolution Function
 To
the extent Congress meets pluralist
expectations in accommodating
competing interests, it tends to build
support for the entire political process
by all branches of government
 Pluralism (d) – Theory that views
politics as a conflict among interest
groups. Political decision making is
characterized by bargaining and
compromise
30
G. Informal Practices of Congress
 Members
of Congress owe their
positions to their local and state
electorate: not to the national party
leadership nor to their congressional
colleagues
31
G. Informal Practices of Congress
 As
a result, the legislative behavior
of representatives and senators
tends to be individualistic and
idiosyncratic, reflecting the great
variety of electorates represented
and the freedom that comes from
having built a loyal personal
constituency
32
G. Informal Practices of Congress
 Congress
is thus a collegial and not a
hierarchal body
 Power does not flow from the top
down, as in a corporation, but
practically in every direction
 There is only minimal centralized
authority, since the power to reward or
punish is slight
 Congressional policies are made by
shifting coalitions which vary from
issue to issue
33
G. Informal Practices of Congress
 There
are informal or unwritten
norms of behavior that often
determine the assignments and
influence of a particular member
 “Insiders,” members who
concentrate on their legislative
duties, may be more powerful within
the halls of Congress than
“outsiders,” who gain recognition by
speaking out on national issues
34
G. Informal Practices of Congress
 Members
are expected to show
courtesy toward their colleagues and
to avoid personal attacks, no matter
how extreme or unpalatable their
opponent’s policies may be
 Members are also expected to
specialize in a few policy areas
rather than claim expertise in the
whole range of legislative concerns
35
G. Informal Practices of Congress
 Those
who conform to these
informal rules are more likely to be
appointed to prestigious committees
or at least to committees that affect
the interests of a significant portion
of their constituents
36
A. Size and Rules
 The House, with 435 members, is
much larger than the Senate, at 100
members
 The size difference means that a
greater number of formal rules are
needed to govern activity in the
House, whereas correspondingly
looser procedures can be followed in
the less crowded Senate
37
 1.
What is the function of the Rules
Committee
 2.
Which chamber, House or Senate, is more
formal? Explain why.
38
A. Size and Rules
 The Senate traditionally permits
extended debate on all issues
 In contrast, the House operates with
an elaborate system in which its
Rules Committee normally proposes
time limitations for any bill and a
majority of the entire body accepts
or modifies those suggested time
limits
39
A. Size and Rules
 Rules Committee (d) – A standing
committee of the House of
Representatives that provides
special rules under which specific
bills can be debated, amended and
considered by the House
40
B. Debate and Filibusters
 Filibuster (d) – Allowed in the Senate
only
 Allows for unlimited debate on the
issue before the Senate
 Senators will employ a filibuster as a
means of trying to talk a bill to death
 Once a senator has the floor, he does
not have to surrender it
 Can be stopped only with a vote of
cloture
41
42
B. Debate and Filibusters
 Cloture (d) – Debate on a Senate bill
may be closed off if 16 senators sign
a petition requesting so and if, after
two days have elapsed, 3/5s of the
entire membership
43
B. Debate and Filibusters
 The tradition of filibuster in the
Senate is as old as Congress itself
 The House had unlimited debate
until 1811
44
C. Prestige
 As a consequence of the greater size of
the House, representatives cannot
generally achieve as much personal
recognition and public prestige as can
members of the Senate
 Senators, especially those who openly
express presidential ambitions, are
better able to gain media exposure and
to establish careers as spokespersons
and advocates for large national
constituencies
45
C. Prestige
 To gain such recognition in the
House, members must do one of two
things:
 Survive
in office long enough to join the
ranks of party or committee leadership
 Become an expert on some specialized
aspect of legislative policy
46
 Historically,
Congress, or any branch
of government for that matter, has
never looked like America
 It is older, whiter, richer and more
male than the population as a whole
47
In terms of numbers, women are the most
underrepresented group; more than half of
the population is female, but only 16/100
(+3) Senators and 74/435 (+13)
representatives are women
 1 (+1) African-American and 2 (+2) Hispanic
Senator
 42 (+3) African-Americans and 28 (+10)
Hispanics are in the House
 1 (+1) Asian Senator and 4 (-1) Asian
Representatives
 No Native Americans (-) Senators and 1 (+1)
Native American Representative
48

 All
435 seats in the House of
Representatives are up for election
every two years
 Senate terms are for six years and
one-third of the seats are up for
election every two years
49
A. Candidates
 To run for Congress, a candidate needs
simply to get the required number of
signatures on a petition and pay the
registration fee
 the average cost of winning Senate
campaigns now being approximately $5
million and a winning House campaign
being approximately $770,000
 Once in office, legislators spend some
time almost every day raising money
for their next campaign
50
51
A. Candidates
 Congressional
candidates are always
hopeful that a strong presidential
candidate will have “coattails” that will
sweep members of the same party into
office.
 In reality, though, coattail effects have
been quite limited, appearing only in
landslide elections such as Lyndon
Johnson’s victory in 1964
52
B. Power of Incumbency
 Members can use their status, as
incumbents to their benefit
 The three main ways are:
 Advertising
Credit claiming
Position taking
53
1. Advertising
 This can be done through use of the
media, making personal appearances
and sending out newsletters – all to
produce a favorable image and to
make the incumbent’s name a
household word
 Franking privileges are particularly
helpful for incumbents
54
55
2. Credit Claiming
 There is a close connection between
congressional service and success
 If voters are going to vote
retrospectively – they will remember
the good things you have done for
them or the district as a whole
56
3. Position Taking
 Not only must a Congressperson
project an image as being
experienced, hard working, and
trustworthy – they must eventually
defend the stances they take on
policy-making decisions
 Incumbents especially have to be
ready to defend their records and
explain why they voted a certain
way on bills
57
3. Position Taking
 If a congressperson is voting on high
profile issues in a way the voters of
his district/state approve – then
they will vote retrospectively to reelect their representative
 This can be a huge advantage over
challengers who are not usually
known to voters and have no proven
track record in Congress
58
B. Power of Incumbency
 Other Factors:
Pork Barreling
Casework
Money
59
Examples of pork-barrel spending in fiscal
year 2000 include:
$375,000,000 for an unrequested and
unneeded amphibious assault ship in the
state of Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott
(R-Miss.);
$700,000 for the Admiral Theater in
Bremerton, Washington, the district of
House appropriator Norm Dicks (D-Wash.),
despite a $4.2 million privately-funded
facelift; and
$500,000 for the Olympic Tree Program
in the state of Senate appropriator Robert
Bennett for the 2002 Winter Olympics
60
Pork Barrel
(d) - The public projects that a
congressman can claim credit for
that benefit his/her district or state
(federal projects, grants, contracts,
etc.)
61
Casework
(d) - Helping constituents as
individuals – cutting through some
bureaucratic red tape to help out
individual people in their districts
62
Money
 When an incumbent is not running
for reelection and the seat is open,
there is a greater likelihood of
competition in the election
 Generally, these close elections are
called MARGINAL DISTRICTS –
elections in which the winner gets
less than 55% of the vote.
63
Money
 Incumbents have a huge advantage
when it comes to money and that’s
what it takes to win
 The 1994 Senate races alone cost at
least $234 million, and the House
candidates spent another $327 million
 Although most of the money spent in
congressional elections comes from
individuals (70%) the rest comes from
PACs – who usually give their money to
the incumbent
64
C. Divided Government
 (d) – A government in which the
president and the majority party in
Congress are not from the same
party
 Republicans lost control of the
Senate in 2001 and the House in
2006
65



The Constitution requires that
representation in the House be
reapportioned by Congress every 10
years, or whenever a new census is
taken
This is why census taking is so
important
Following the 2000 census, nine
state lost seats in the House and
eight states gained seats
66
 Redistricting
is done by state
legislatures
 The party in control in the state
legislature thus has a big advantage
– they have the right to gerrymander
districts in order to give their party’s
candidate an advantage
67
68
 Gerrymandering
(d) – The drawing
of legislative district boundary lines
for the purpose of obtaining partisan
or factional advantage
 A district is said to be
gerrymandered when its shape is
manipulated by the dominate party
in the state legislature to maximize
electoral strength at the expense of
the minority party
69
A. Court and Legislative Action
 Baker
v. Carr, 1962
 The Court ruled that
malapportionment violated the equal
protection clause of the 14th
Amendment
 Case stemmed from the fact that the
Tennessee Legislature had not
redistricted itself since the turn of the
century
 Baker v. Carr decision enshrined the
constitutional concept of “one man,
one vote”
70
A. Court and Legislative Action
 2. Wesberry v. Sanders
 The Court decided to look at a case involving
severe malapportionment in Georgia in which
some urban and liberal district were two and
three times the size of rural districts, thus
diluting the votes of those who lived in the
cities
 The Court ruled this practice illegal and stated
that Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution,
made it clear that districts must be made
equal size to insure equal representation
 Today, districts cannot vary in size by more
than 1.5%.
71
A. Court and Legislative Action
3. Voting Right Act of 1965
 Congress passed historic legislation in
1965 to protect Black voters in the
South
 This Act stated two things:
 1.
States cannot somebody the right to
vote on the basis of race
 2. States have to check with the Justice
Department before they institute new
voting procedures – including
redistricting.
72
B. Gerrymandering
 The federal government began to
encourage another type of
gerrymandering in the 1990s
73
B. Gerrymandering
After the 1990 census, the Justice Department
issued orders to states to create congressional
districts that would maximize the voting
powers of minority groups
 Why did they do this:

1) Stated reason: To ensure equality in
representation for minority candidates, thus
ensuring minorities more equal treatment from
government.
2) Unstated reason: To isolate and split the
Democratic voter base in certain southern states to
ensure the Republican hold on the South
74
 Members
of Congress receive an
annual salary of $165,200
 Leadership receives $183,500
 Legislators also have many benefits
that are not available to most workers
75
A. Special Benefits
 Access to private Capitol gym facilities
 Free, close-in parking at National and
Dulles Airports near Washington
 Six free parking spaces in Capitol Hill
garages – plus one free outdoor Capitol
parking slot
 Special Congressional license plates
which make them exempt from parking
tickets
76
A. Special Benefits
 They eat in a subsidized dining room
 Free plants for their offices from the
national Botanical Gardens
 Free medical care
 An inexpensive but generous pension
plan
 Liberal travel allowances
 Special tax considerations
77
78
A. Special Benefits
 Members of Congress are also granted
generous franking privileges that permit
them to mail items to their constituents
at no cost
 Franking (d) – A policy that enables
members of Congress to send materials
through the mail by substituting their
facsimile (frank) signature for postage
79
B. Personal Professional Staffs
 Over 18,000 people are employed in the
Capitol Hill bureaucracy
 About half of these are personal
committee staff members
 The personal staff includes office clerks
and secretaries; media relation
specialist; legislative specialists;
caseworkers; and staffers who maintain
local offices in the district
80
B. Personal Professional Staffs
 The average Senate office employs
about 30 staff members
 Senators from the more populous states
may have twice that number
81
C. Immunities Under Law
 Members of Congress also benefit from a
number of special constitutional
protections. Under Article 1, Section 6, it
states they “shall in all Cases, except
Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace,
be privileged from Arrest during their
Attendance at the Session of their
respective Houses, and in going to and
returning from the same; and for any
Speech of Debate in either House, They
shall not be questioned in any other
Place.”
82
C. Immunities Under Law
 The arrest immunity clause is not really
an important provision today
 The “Speech or Debate” clause,
however, means that a member may
make any allegations or statements he
wishes in connection with official duties
and normally not be sued for slander or
libel
83
 The
vast majority of legislative work
done by congress is done in committee
 Over 12,000 pieces of legislation are
introduced every session of Congress
 Not single member can possibly be
adequately informed on all 12,000
 The committee system is a way to
provide for specialization or a division
of the legislative workload
84
 Members
of a committee can focus on
several topics and develop sufficient
expertise to draft appropriate
legislation when needed
 Congress has over 200 committees and
subcommittees
 Representatives, on the average, serve
on five committees; Senators, 11
85
 House
Committee on Energy and
Commerce
 Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade
and Consumer Protection
 Subcommittee on Energy and Air
Quality
 Subcommittee on
Telecommunications and the
Internet
86










Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
Committee on Environmental and Public Works
Committee on Foreign Relations (chair)
Subcommittee on Aviation
Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Product Safety
and Insurance
Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and
Merchant Marine
Subcommittee on National Ocean Policy Study
Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and
Merchant Marine
Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South Asian
Affairs
Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Peace
Corps and Narcotics Affairs
87
 There
are four types of major
committees:
 Standing
 Select
 Joint
 Conference
88
1. Standing Committees
 By far the most important committee in
Congress
 They are permanent bodies that
continue from session to session
 There are 19 Standing Committees in
the House and 16 in the Senate
89
1. Standing Committees
 Each Standing Committee is given a
specific area of legislative policy
jurisdiction and almost all legislative
measures are considered by the
appropriate Standing Committee
90
1. Standing Committees
 Because of the nature of their work, some
Standing Committees are considered to be
more prestigious than others
 Those considered among the most
prestigious are the Appropriation
Committee in either chamber, the Ways
and Means Committee in the House, the
Education and the Workforce Committee
in the House and the Senate foreign
Relations Committee
91
2. Select Committees
 A Select Committee normally is created
for a limited period of time and for a
specific legislative purpose, namely for
oversight of the executive branch
 For example, a Select Committee was
formed to investigate a potential
wrongdoing in Richard Nixon’s
reelection campaign during Watergate
92
2. Select Committees
 Select Committees may also be formed
to investigate a public problem, such as
child malnutrition or aging
 Select Committees are disbanded when
they have reported to the chamber that
created them
 They rarely create original legislation
93
3. Joint Committees
 These are committees made up of
House and Senate members
 These committees are weaker than
Standing Committees because they
cannot report bills to the floor
 Their role is usually to fact find or
create publicity on a certain are of the
law or policy in Washington
94
4. Conference Committees
 For
any bill to become law, it must be
passed in exact form by both Houses of
Congress
 Conference Committees are special
types of joint committees
 These committees are formed for the
purpose of achieving agreement
between the House and the Senate on
exact wording of legislation, if passed
in different forms by their respective
chambers
95
5. House Rules Committee
 Because
of its special “gatekeeping”
power over the terms on which
legislation will reach the floor of the
House of Representatives, the House
Rules Committee holds a uniquely
powerful position
 The committee sets the time limit
on debate and determines whether
and how a bill may be amended
96
B. Selection of Committee Members
 In
the House, representatives are
appointed to standing committees by the
Steering Committees of their respective
parties
 Majority–party members with longer terms
of continuous service on a standing
committee are given preference when the
committee chairperson – as well as other
significant posts in Congress – is selected
97
B. Selection of Committee Members
 This is not a law, but an informal
traditional process
 The seniority system, although unequal,
provides a predictable means of
assigning positions of power within
Congress
98
B. Selection of Committee Members
 Seniority System (d) – A custom
followed in both chambers specifying
that members with longer terms of
continuous service will be given
preference when committee
chairpersons and holders of other
significant posts are selected
99
B. Selection of Committee Members
 The majority party in each chamber
controls committees
 They will have majority representation
on the committee and a member of the
majority party will serve as the chair of
every committee
100
 Congress
is organized by political party
 When the Democratic Party, for
example, wins a majority of seats in
either the House or the Senate,
Democrats control the official positions
of power in that chamber
 The same holds true for the Republicans
when they are in power
101
A. Leadership in the House
 Speaker
 Majority Leaders
 Minority Leaders
 Party Whips
102
Speaker,
Nancy Pelosi
Majority Leader,
Steny Hoyer
Majority Whip
James Clyburn
Minority Leader,
John Boehner
Minority Whip,
Roy Blunt
103
A. Leadership in the House
Speaker of the House
 The only leadership position mandated
by the Constitution is the Speaker of
the House
 Third in line in presidential succession
 Traditionally, the most senior member
of the majority party serves as the
Speaker
104
A. Leadership in the House
Speaker of the House
 The Speaker is the foremost power holder in the
House. The major formal duties of the Speaker
include
1) Presiding over meetings of the House
2) Appointing members of joint committees
and conference committees
3) Scheduling legislation for floor action
4) Deciding points or order and interpreting
the rules with the advice of the House
Parliamentarian
5) Referring bills and resolutions for the
appropriate standing committees of the
House
105
A. Leadership in the House
Majority Leader
 Elected by a caucus of the majority
party to foster cohesion among party
members and to serve as a
spokesperson for the party
106
A. Leadership in the House
Majority Leader
 Majority leader influence, the
scheduling of debate and generally acts
as the chief supporter of the Speaker
 He cooperates with the Speaker and
other party leaders, both inside and
outside of Congress to formulate the
legislative program and to guide that
program through the legislative process
107
A. Leadership in the House
Minority Leader
 The candidate nominated for Speaker
by a caucus of the minority party
 Like the majority leader, the minority
leader has as his primary responsibility
the maintaining of cohesion within
party ranks
108
A. Leadership in the House
Minority Leader
 The minority leader speaks on behalf of
the president of the minority party
controls the White House
 In relations to the majority party, the
minority leader consults with both the
Speaker and the Majority leader on
recognizing members who wish to speak on
the floor, on House rules and procedures
and on the scheduling of legislation.
 Minority leaders have no actual powers in
these areas, however
109
A. Leadership in the House
Whips
 The formal leadership of each party
includes assistants to the majority and
minority leaders who are known as whips
 The whips assist the party leaders by
passing information down from the
leadership to party members and by
ensuring that members show up for floor
debate and cast their votes on important
issues
110
B. Leadership in the Senate
 The
founders envisioned the Senate as a
counter-check against the popular passion of
the House
 Although the Senate has roughly the same
organization, committee structure and
leadership as the House, it is a vastly
different body
 Because it is much smaller, the Senate’s
procedures are less formal and members get
to debate more
111
B. Leadership in the Senate
President of the Senate
 The Constitution makes the vice
president the president of the Senate –
his only constitutionally defined job
 But normally vice president only come
into the Senate to break ties on
important votes
112
President Of
Senate
Dick Cheney
President Pro
Tempore
William Byrd
Senate Majority
Leader
Harry Reid
Democratic
Whip
Richard Durbin
Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell
Ass’t Minority
Leader
Trent
Lott
113
B. Leadership in the Senate
Senate President Pro Tempore
 Position usually filled by the most
senior Senator from the majority’s party
 The Senate President Pro Tempore is
the ceremonial head of the Senate
when the Vice President is not in
attendance
114
B. Leadership in the Senate
Majority/Minority Floor Leader
 The real leadership power in the Senate
rests in the hands of the majority floor
leader, the minority floor leader and
their respective whips
115
B. Leadership in the Senate
Majority/Minority Floor Leader
 The floor leaders have the right to be
recognized first in floor debates and
generally exercise the same powers
available to the House majority and
minority leaders
116
B. Leadership in the Senate
Majority/Minority Floor Leader
 They control the scheduling of debate on
the floor in conjunction with the majority
party’s Policy Committee, influence the
allocation of committee assignments for
new members or for senators desiring to
transfer committees, influence the
selection of other party officials, and
participate in selecting members of
conference committees
117
B. Leadership in the Senate
Whips
 Senate whips, like their House
counterparts, maintain communication
within the party on issue positions and
attempt to ensure that party colleagues
are present for floor debate and
important votes
118

There are six main influences on how
representatives vote
 Constituency
 Interest Groups
 Party Discipline
 Committee Assignments
 Whip System
 Logrolling
119
A. Constituency
 Because members of Congress want to
keep their jobs, we would think that
voting on what their constituents want
 It’s not that simple
 First of all, more than 30% of the
people in a congressional district can’t
name their representative
 Plus, voting at midterm election is
usually around 35%
120
A. Constituency
 Because of technological advances, it is a
lot easier for constituents to stay in
touch with their representative
 With the advent of polling, e-mail and
800 numbers have all made
communication easier
 The job of the legislator really changed
after the New Deal when constituents
began to ask for and depend on porkbarrel from the government
121
B. Interest Groups
 Besides money, interest groups can
mobilize public support or opposition
on a given topic
 Sophisticated “grassroots” lobbying
means interests groups will send out
thousands of letters with names of
constituents who have simply called
into a toll-free number and reported
their name and addresses
122
C. Party Discipline
 At the turn of the century, party leaders
could almost dictate to 90% of their
members how to vote on an import bill
(called a roll-call vote)
 Today, in an era of independent,
privately funded campaigns, roll-call
votes are a thing of the past
 Maybe 3% of all bills are still passed in
that manner
 Now you have party votes in which half
of the party may vote one way and the
other half the other way
123
C. Party Discipline
 Typically, party unity is greater in the
House than in the Senate mainly
because the House has stricter
procedural rules about how to vote
than the Senate
124
D. Committee Assignments
 The growth in the number of committee
and subcommittees (over 200 in 2003)
has had a recent impact on how
Congress votes
 House and Senate leaders can favor
those who have voted their way in the
past by awarding them committee
chairmanships.
125
D. Committee Assignments
 After the Republican sweep in 1994,
Newt Gingrich eliminated the seniority
system in assigning chairmanships,
increasing the trend of rewarding
faithful representatives with positions
that would help them in their next
election
126
E. Whip System
 Serves mainly as a communications
network
 The whips in both houses take polls of
their members in order to tell
leadership if they have enough support
on certain bills
127



Every law begins as a bill and can be
introduced in either house
Often, similar bills are introduced
simultaneously in both houses
If it’s a money bill, though, it must
originate in the House
128


In each chamber, the bill follows
similar steps
It is referred to a committee and its
subcommittee for study, discussion,
hearings and rewriting
129




When the bill is reported out to the full
chamber, it must be scheduled for debate
This is done by the Rules Committee in the
House and by the leadership in the Senate
After the bill has been passed in each
chamber, if it contains different provisions, a
conference committee is formed to write a
compromise bill
The compromise bill must be approved by
both chambers in exact form before it is sent
to the president for his approval or veto
130




From 1922, when Congress required the
president to prepare and present to the
legislature an executive budget, until 1974, the
congressional budget process was so disjointed
that it was difficult to visualize the total picture
of government finances
The president would present his budget to
Congress in January
It was broken down into 13 or more
appropriation bills
Some time later, after all the bills were debated,
amended and passed, it was more or less
impossible to estimate total government
spending for the next year
131
A. Budget & Impoundment Act of 1974
 Frustrated by the president’s ability to
impound funds and dissatisfied with the
entire budget process, Congress passed
the Budget and Impoundment Act of 1974
to regain some control of the nation’s
spending
 The act required the president to spend
funds that Congress had appropriated,
frustrating the president’s ability to kill
programs of which he disapproved by
withholding funds
132
B. Preparing the Budget
 The federal government operates on a
fiscal year (FY) cycle
 The fiscal year runs from October
through September
 Fiscal 2008, or FY08, runs from October
1, 2007 through September 30, 2008
133
B. Preparing the Budget
 Eighteen months before a fiscal year
begins, the executive branch begins
preparing the budget
 The Office of Management and Budget
outlines the budget and then sends it to
the various departments and agencies
 Bargaining follows
134
B. Preparing the Budget
 Every year, the OMB begins the budget
process with a spring review, in which
all agencies are required to review
their programs, activities, and goals
 At the beginning of each summer, the
director of the OMB sends out a letter
instructing agencies to submit their
funding requests for the next fiscal year
135
B. Preparing the Budget
 In actuality the budget season begins
with the fall review
 At this time, the OMB reviews budget
requests and, in almost all cases,
routinely cuts them back
 Although the OMB works within
guidelines established by the president,
specific decisions are often left to the
OMB director and the director’s
associates
136
C. Congress Faces the Budget
 In January, none months before the fiscal
year begins, the president takes the
OMB’s proposed budget, approves it and
submits it to Congress
 The budgeting process involves two
steps: authorization and appropriation
137
Authorization
 The authorization is a formal declaration
by the appropriate congressional
committee that a certain amount of
funding may be available to an agency
138
Authorization
 Committees and subcommittees look at
the proposals from the executive branch
and the Congressional Budget Office
(CBO) in making the decision to
authorize funds
 After the funds are authorized, they
must be appropriated by Congress
139
Appropriations
 The appropriation committees of both
the House and The Senate forward
spending bills to their respective bodies
 The appropriation of funds occurs when
the final bill is passed
140
Appropriations
 The budget proposed by President Bush
for FY08 called for expenditure of $2.72
trillion
141
D. Budget Resolutions
 First Budget Resolution (d)- A resolution
passed by Congress in May that sets
overall revenue and spending goals for
the following fiscal year
142
D. Budget Resolutions
 The first budget resolution by Congress is
supposed to be passed in May
 It sets overall revenue goals and
spending targets
 During the summer, bargaining among all
the concerned parties takes place.
Spending and tax laws that are drawn up
during this period are supposed to be
guided by the May Congressional budget
resolution
143
D. Budget Resolutions
 Second Budget Resolution (d)-A
resolution passed by Congress in
September that sets “binding” limits on
taxes and spending for the next fiscal
year beginning October 1.
 By September, Congress is supposed to
pass its second budget resolution. Bills
passed before October 1 that do not fit
within the limits of the budget resolution
are supposed to be changed
144
D. Budget Resolutions
 Continuing Resolution (d) – A temporary
law that Congress passes when an
appropriations bill has not been decided
by the beginning of the new fiscal year
on October 1
145
D. Budget Resolutions
 In each fiscal year that starts without a
budget, every agency operates on the
basis of continuing resolutions which
enable the agencies to continue to do
whatever they were doing the previous
year with the same amount of funding
 Even continuing resolutions have not
always been passed on time
146
 Despite
the public’s sometimes cynical
attitude toward the institution, however,
Congress affects our lives in immediate
and profound ways
 One of the most important decisions
Congress makes that impacts us is
determining how much money
government is going to spend
147
 Tax
rates, deductions and credits are all
legislated by Congress
 Although polls show that Americans give
the president more credit than Congress
for legislation that is enacted, members
of Congress are more aware of the local
needs of their states and districts than
the president, whose constituency is
nationwide
148
 Local
and state interests are fully
represented in our federal system of
government through Congress
 Just one representative from one district
in one state has the power to influence
how or whether a bill becomes a law
149