How Congress Works
Chapter 13
Who’s in Congress?
Demographic Profile of the 111th Congress
Age Groups
Gender
Party
Ethnicity
House-Senate Differences
House





435 members
2 yr terms
25 years old
Speaker presented
bills r hard to
challenge
Scheduling/rules
controlled by majority
party with powerful
Rules Committee
Senate





100 members
6 yr terms
30 years old
Bills more easily
challenged
Scheduling/rules agreed
to by majority & minority
leaders
House-Senate Differences




House
Debate limited to 1
hour
Members policy
specialists
Emphasizes tax &
revenue policy
More formal &
impersonal




Senate
Unlimited debate
unless cloture
invoked
Members policy
generalists
Emphasizes foreign
policy
More informal &
personal
Party Leadership
HOUSE LEADERSHIP
Speaker (majority
party)
Democrats:
• Majority Leader
• Majority Whip
• Steering & Policy
Committee
• Democratic
Congressional
Campaign
Committee
Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelossi (D-CA)
Majority Leader
Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
Majority Whip
James Clyburn (D-SC)
HOUSE LEADERSHIP
Republicans:
• Minority Leader
• Minority Whip
• Chairman of
Conference
• Policy Committee
• National Republican
Congressional
Committee
• Research Committee
Minority Leader
John Boehner (R-OH)
Minority Whip
Eric Cantor (R-VA)
SENATE LEADERSHIP
President of the Senate
(Vice President)
President Pro Tempore
(majority party)
Democrats:
• Majority Leader
• Majority Whip
• Chairman of Conference
• Policy Committee
• Steering Committee
• Democratic Senatorial
Campaign Committee
President of the Senate
Joe Biden (D-DE)
Majority Leader
Harry Reid (D-NV)
President Pro Tem
Robert Byrd (D-WV)
Majority Whip
Richard Durbin (D-IL)
SENATE LEADERSHIP
Republicans:
• Minority Leader
• Minority Whip
• Chairman of
Conference
• Policy Committee
• Committee on
Minority Whip
Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Committees
• Republican Senatorial
Committee
Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Strength of Party Structure?
•
Measure of party strength:
1. Ability of leaders to control party rules
and organization
2. Extent to which party members vote
together in the House and Senate
• Senate: less party-centered and leader
oriented
Party Unity
• Lower today than 100 years ago, but…..
• Ideology important variable explaining party
voting (members vote with their party 80% of
the time)
• Party polarization - vote in which majority of
democrats oppose majority of republicans
• Polarization trends:
o 1976 HR = 36%; S = 37%
o 1995 HR = 73%; S = 69%
o 2000 HR = 43%; S = 49%
CAUCUSES
• Caucus: an association of members of Congress created to
advocate a political ideology or a regional or economic
interest
• Intra-party caucuses: members share a similar ideology
• Personal interest caucuses: members share an interest in
an issue
• Constituency caucuses: established to represent groups,
regions or both
• Examples: Congressional Black Caucus, Human Rights,
Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues, Rural Caucus,
Travel & Tourism Caucus
"Congress in session is Congress on public
exhibition, whilst Congress in its committeerooms is Congress at work.” - Woodrow Wilson
Legislative Committees:
Function and Purpose
Legislative Committees:
Function & Purpose
1. Consider bills (a.k.a. “mark-up” bills)
A bill with a member’s mark-up notes
Legislative Committees:
Function & Purpose
2. Maintain oversight of executive agencies
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld testifies before a Senate Appropriations
Committee hearing re: the Department of Defense Budget (May, 2006)
Legislative Committees:
Function & Purpose
3. Conduct investigations
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin testified before the Senate Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs Committee on Hurricane Katrina (Feb.2 006)
Types of Committees
 Standing Committees - permanent panel with full
legislative functions and oversight responsibilities
~Subcommittees – formed to tackle very specific
tasks within the jurisdiction of the full
committees
 Select or Special Committees - groups appointed
for a limited purpose and limited duration
 Joint Committees - includes members of both
chambers to conduct studies or perform
housekeeping tasks
 Conference Committee - includes members of
House & Senate to work out differences between
Standing Committees
House Standing Committees
Agriculture
Appropriations
Armed Services
Budget
Education & Workforce
Energy & Commerce
Financial Services
Government Reform
House Admin.
International Relations
Judiciary
Resources
Rules
Science
Small Business
Standards of Official
Conduct
Transportation &
Infrastructure
Veterans Affairs
Ways & Means
Senate Standing Committees
Agriculture, Nutrition, &
Forestry
Appropriations
Armed Services
Banking, Housing, & Urban
Affairs
Budget
Commerce, Science,
Transportation
Energy & Natural Resources
Environment and Public
Works
Finance
Foreign Relations
Governmental Affairs
Health, Education, Labor
& Pensions
Judiciary
Rules and Administration
Small Business and
Entrepreneurship
Veterans Affairs
Special, Select Committees
• House Select
Committee on
Energy
Independence &
Global Warming
• Senate Select
Committee on
Ethics
• House & Senate
Select Committees
on Intelligence
Gen. Michael Hayden is sworn in during a full
committee hearing of the Senate Select
Intelligence Committee on his nomination to be
director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Joint Committees
• Joint Economic Committee
• Joint Committee on Printing
• Joint Committee on Taxation
Joint Committee on
Taxation hearing
Title: Resolution
Date: 12/28/06
Artist: Bob Gorrell
Source: http://www.gorrellart.com/
How Congress Works
A Bill v. A Law
Bill - a proposed
new law
introduced within
a legislature that
has not yet been
passed, enacted
or adopted
A Bill v. A Law
Law - a bill or act
passed by a
legislative body
Step 1: An Idea for a Bill
Members of Congress
Citizens
Interest Groups
Federal Agency
Governors
Mayors
White House
Step 2: Writing & Introduction of Bill
Senate:
• Bill formerly
read aloud on
floor
• Bill then given
to clerk
• Referred to
committee by
Steering
Committee
House:
• Bill dropped in hopper
• Referred to committee
by the Speaker
Step 3: Committee Action
• House & Senate committees conduct
public hearings
• Experts testify
• Markup of bills
• Committee vote:
report favorably,
unfavorably,
or table bill
House Armed Services Committee
Step 4: Floor Action - Senate
• Party leaders schedule
bills for floor debate on
the calendar
• Unlimited debate
• Filibuster - member(s)
keep talking to block
debate on a bill
• Cloture vote by 3/5 of
Senators (60) can end
filibuster
• Floor vote: Roll Call,
Standing, Voice
Senator Strum Thurman still holds the record for the longest
filibuster - 24 hrs 18 min. on the 1957 Civil Rights Act
Step 4: Floor Action - House
• Rules Committee schedules bills on calendar &
decides whether amendments may be added
• Limited debate
• Floor vote:
Recorded,
Standing,
Voice
Step 5: Approved Bill
Crosses Over to Other House
• Approved bill
must pass each
chamber by a
simple majority
Step 6: Conference Committee
• Members from each chamber meet to
reconcile differences in the two bills
Senate-House Conference Committee works out details of the
2003 Healthy Forest Restoration Act
Step 7: Both Chambers Vote on Final
Version of the Bill
Step 8: President Considers Bill
President can:
1. Sign the bill
into law
2. “Do nothing”
law
3. Veto bill
4. Pocket veto
Note: Congress can override veto with 2/3 vote in each house;
only 4% of vetoes have been overridden
City of New York v. William J. Clinton