Representation:
Law Making:
Consensus Building:
expresses the diverse
views of the American
people
creates bills to address issues and
solve problems in American society
reconciles competing
interests
Key Functions of Congress
Approval:
confirms presidential
appointees and treaties
(Senate Only)
Investigation:
investigates government agencies,
including the White House--impeachment
Oversight:
ensures that laws passed by
Congress are effectively carried
out by the executive branch
Congressional Rules
-Developed to help Congress
operate
• Everyone has a different
opinion and different goals
-House has more rules than
Senate
why???
• More people in one space
-Parliamentary Procedures
both Houses of Congress
use a formal system of
debate which keeps the
debate orderly
What do you think Congress
would be like, and achieve, if
there were not rules?
Leadership in the House & Senate
How things are done in the two
chambers affects what is done in the
two chambers.
The House is four times as big as the Senate.
How do you think this affects how things are
done?
The New Speaker of the House: Nancy Pelosi (D), CA
Priorities :
diminish the role of lobbyists
insure that lawmakers have time to
read legislation before voting on it.
open House-Senate legislative
negotiating sessions to the media
make sure earmarks are identified by
the name of lawmaker who sponsored it
make sure earmarks are approved by
policy making committees (oversight)
House Leaders
• Leaders from majority party
-Speaker of the House
Speaker of the
House Nancy
Pelosi
-basically runs the House of
Representatives
• 3rd in line to be President
-sets up the calendar and
schedules bills for debate
Senate Leaders
-Vice President
-official leader but only votes
in a tie and is rarely present
-President Pro-Tempore
-mostly symbolic position given
to the longest serving Senator
from the majority party
Vice President Joe Biden is the official leader of
the U.S. Senate. However, he rarely attends
and only votes in a tie. Therefore, the
President Pro Tempore, the day-to-day leader
of the Senate, is Senator Robert Byrd.
Vice President
 Is the president of the Senate
Leadership in the Senate: Democratic
 May not take part in the debate
 May try to influence a vote through contact with senators
 May recognize members and put questions to a vote
 May vote only in the event of a tie
President Pro Temp
 Presides when the vice president is not present
 Usually is the most senior member of the majority party
Temporary Presiding Officer
 Presides when neither the vice president nor the president
pro temp is present
 Usually a senior member of the majority party
Majority & Minority Whips
 Serve the same function in the Senate as they do in the
House
 Democratic Whip: Senator Barbara Boxer (California)
Republican Whip: Senator Robert Bennett (Utah)
New Faces in the Crowd:
House Majority Leader House Majority Whip
Steny Hoyer, MD 5th
District
Terms in Office: 12
Previous Leadership:
House Minority Whip
Caucus Chairman
James Clyburn, S.C. 6th Rahm Emanuel, IL. 5th
District
District
Terms in Office: 7
Terms in Office: 3
Previous Leadership: Previous Leadership:
Chair of the Democratic Chair of the Democratic
Campaign Committee
House Caucus
Congressional Leadership
-Majority Leader
House Majority
Leader Steny Hoyer
Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid
-each House chooses a leader of
the majority party to be floor
leader
• Party with most representation
-Minority Leader
-each House picks a minority
party member to its floor
leader
House Minority Leader
John Boehner
Senate Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell
• Party with least representation
-Party Whip
-each party in each House has a
Party Whip to keep track of
voting on important issues
House Majority Whip
James Clyburn
Senate Democratic
Whip Richard Durbin
• Get party members to vote with
the rest of the political party
Congressional Leadership
House of Representatives
Senate
Speaker of the House – Always
from MAJORITY party
Vice President – Rarely
attends and only votes in a tie
Majority
Leader
Minority
Leader
President Pro Tempore –
Always from MAJORITY party,
day-to-day leader
Majority
Party Whip
Minority
Party Whip
Majority Whip
Team
Minority Whip
Team
House Committee Chairpersons –
ALWAYS from majority party
Majority
Leader
Minority
Leader
Majority
Party Whip
Minority
Party Whip
Majority Whip
Team
Minority Whip
Team
Senate Committee Chairpersons
– ALWAYS from majority party
The New Majority Leader in the Senate: Harry Reid
Political Experience:
Nevada State Legislature
Lieutenant Governor
Senators Durbin & Reid
meet with President
Bush on New Footing
Age: 67
Nevada Gaming Commission
House of Representatives
(1982)
Party: Democrat
Senate (1986)
Religion: Mormon
Minority Leader (2005)
Majority Leader: 2007
Filibuster
A senator refuses to give up the floor in order to
prevent a vote.
If 60 senators vote to end a filibuster, a vote must be
held within 30 hours. (cloture)
Strom
Thurmond
(1957)
24 hours against Huey Long
filibustered
civil rights
legislation on behalf of
the poor
Is the filibuster democratic?
We’ll debate this more in class!
Staff Support
-personal staff of each member of
Congress
• Run home and D.C. offices
-Committee staff who function as
experts in the committee’s area
• Gather information for speeches
and meetings
-Library of Congress
• Congressional Research Office
gathers facts/arguments for bills
The Library of Congress is an essential
tool for Congressional operations. In
researching new bills (also called
“legislation”), the Library of Congress
helps to gather historical facts,
arguments, and old related bills for the
discussion on the new bill.
-General Accounting Office
investigates and reports on gov’t
spending
• Looks for ways to improve
government spending
-Government Budget Office
-predicts costs of gov’t programs
Congressional Committees
Letters Requesting Committee
Assignments
“Congress in session is Congress on display.
Congress in committee is Congress at work.”
President Woodrow Wilson
Concern of the Committee:
Concern of the Congress:
The Details of the Bill
Full Scope of the Bill
The Congress debates
Committee Government
-developed committees to divide
the work load of Congress
• Committee membership
important to Representatives
-standing committees-Permanent committees of
Congress who study, revise,
and pass legislation
• Continue from session to
session – education, commerce
-select committees-committees which study more
temporary problems in
society
-joint committees-committees which involve
members of both Houses of
Congress meeting together
Both houses of Congress operate in
committee government as an attempt to
divide the Congressional workload and
achieve better and faster legislation.
View All Committees Here:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/index.html
Select Committees
•
•
Standing
Committees
Address
temporary
priorities in
Congress
Senate Select
Committee on
Ethics
Appropriations
Authorizing
•
Make laws
•
Hold hearings
•
Hearing
Schedule
•
•
Determines
how much $
will be spent
The
Immigration
Joint Committees
•
Address issues
of concern to
both chambers
•
Joint
Committee on
Economics
Rules
•
Sets the Rules
•
Jurisdiction of
the Senate
Rules
Committee
Budget
•
Raises $ for
appropriations
to spend
•
House Ways
and Means
Committee Membership
-Based on seniority
-Term that refers to how long
a member has been in
Congress and is important in
assigning committee
memberships
-Party leaders make committee
assignments
• From majority and minority
-majority party of each house
appoints the chairperson of
each committee
• Decide when committees will
meet, what bills will be studied,
and forms subcommittees
Committee Leadership
If you are chosen head of a
committee, you will:
• Control your committee’s agenda
• Schedule meetings and hearing of the full
committee
• Help schedule subcommittee hearings and
meetings
• Handle committee’s budget and staff
• Serve as the committee’s spokesperson
• Sit on House and Senate conference
committees
• Steer your party’s legislative agenda in the
Senate
Find out who’s on the
new Democratic
team here:
Criteria for Committee Assignments
Party Loyalty:
Essentially your
voting record
Geography:
Vacancies tend
to be filled with
people from the
Seniority:
same states
Numbers of years
of service on a
particular
committee
Attitude:
Civil,
cooperative &
Preference: Senator
willing to
Landrieu serves on
compromise
Energy & Natural
Resources, key issues
for Louisiana
Congressional Committees
Regulates floor debate
Sets limits on amendments
Influences which bills do
and do not get
consideration
9 members from the majority
party—chosen by the Speaker
4 members from the minority
party
Supports the agenda of
the majority party
Click here to view a
special rule for a bill.
Is the Rules Committee
democratic?
End of Course Question
Which of the following do the whips play an important
role of ensuring in Congress?
a.
Party members are committed to voting along
party lines
b.
The speaker has support to maintain their
position.
c.
Editing legislation through committees
d.
Party members are supporting the president
End of Course Question
Why is the seniority system in Congress an effective
way to select leaders and assign committee
members?
a.
If offers new members the ability to learn from
experienced members
b.
New members are not capable of holding
leadership positions
c.
They are better leaders
d.
Experienced leaders make the best decisions
End of Course Question
What is the difference between the Speaker of the House and
the president pro tempore?
a.
The Speaker of the House is in charge of the Senate and
House when they are in session.
b.
The president pro tempore is in charge of the Senate and
the House when they are in session.
c.
The Speaker of the House is just in charge of the House.
The president pro tempore is just in charge of the Senate.
d.
The Speaker of the House is only in charge when the
vice president is not president.
End of Course Question
How is the Speaker of the House selected?
a. selected by members of their party
b. selected by seniority
c. selected by the constituents
d. selected by the House of Representatives
End of Course Question
Why are joint committees beneficial to the law
making process?
a.
It aligns members from both houses so that
they can create the details of bills together
b.
It fosters and builds bipartisan relationships
c.
It allows the speaker and the president pro
tempore to work together
d.
It assists whips in promoting bills
End of Course Question
How does the U.S. Constitution provide for stability and
continuity in the Senate?
a. by requiring members to be 30 years of age or older
b. reelections every two years for one-third of the Senate
c. by requiring members to be legal citizens
d. giving each state two senators
End of Course Question
Why are joint committees beneficial to the law
making process?
a.
It aligns members from both houses so that
they can create the details of bills together
b.
It fosters and builds bipartisan relationships
c.
It allows the speaker and the president pro
tempore to work together
d.
It assists whips in promoting bills