Over the years, Congress has
grown, making it very difficult to
conduct congressional business.
Therefore, rules have been
established in both Houses.
• The House has very strict rules for
conducting congressional business
because of the large group (435)
• The Senate is less formal with its rules
because of the smaller scale (100)
• Few of these operating rules are found
in the Constitution
Congressional Leadership
• The Democratic and Republican leaders
in each house decide much of what
happens in Congress
• Majority party
-the political party where more than half
of Congressional members belong
• Minority party
-the political party where less than
half of Congressional members
belong
• At the beginning of new
congressional terms, new leaders
are chosen
Floor Leaders
• called majority or minority
leaders(depending on the make-up of
the political party) try to make sure
that laws that are passed are in the
best interest of their political party
• Each house has two (a Democratic and
a Republican)
Party Whips
• Assists each floor leader
• Job is to keep track of how party
members vote and to persuade all
members of his party to vote
together on issues
Speaker of the House
• The overall leader of the House of
Representatives
• A member of the majority party
• Usually an experienced, respected
member of Congress
• In charge of the House of
Representatives while in session
The Vice-President
• The official leader and president
of the Senate
• Does not take part in the
legislative process of the Senate
• Can only cast a vote in the Senate
in the event of a tie
President Pro Tempore
• Means “president for the time
being”
• Handles the day to day leadership
in the Senate
• Usually the most senior member
of the majority party
Congressional Committees
• Each house has a system of committees to
consider thousands of bills (committees
makes it possible to hear all of the
bills)(most are set aside without being
considered)
• Every new bill goes to committee to be
researched, discussed and often revised
• Committee will decide whether the bill
goes to the full House or Senate
Three types of Committees
• Standing committee: permanent
committee that specializes in a
particular topic (i.e. agriculture,
veterans)
-divided into sub-committees to handle
more specialized problems
• Select committees- a temporary
committee that deals with a special
attention issue
-usually lasts a few months or a couple
of years until the assigned task is
complete
• Joint committees
-includes members from both houses
-usually meet for a limited period of
time to work on specific issues
• Conference committee- special types
of joint committee that helps the
house and Senate agree on details of a
bill
Role of Party Leaders
• Leaders of political parties control
committee membership
• Chairperson of committee is usually a
member of the majority party and
controls the committees activities
• Majority party selects more than half
of the committees members (i.e. 60%
Democrats- 60% membership in
committee)
Seniority System
• The most desirable committee
assignments are given to the
Representatives and Senators that have
served in Congress the longest
• Committee Chairperson is usually the
person that has been there the longest
(most seniority)
-limited to three consecutive terms
• Members from the minority party
who have been in Congress for
many years would most likely
receive the committee assignment
of their choice.