Oct 29 – Gov – Congress
Agenda:
Take out:
• How a bill becomes a • Pen/Pencil
law
• Notebook
• Mock Congress Goals
Homework:
• Brainstorm an idea for
a Bill
Adapted from Kids in the House
http://clerkkids.house.gov/laws/
Objectives of Mock Congress:
• Describe the legislative process and how a bill becomes
a law. Anticipate obstacles in a bill becoming a law.
• Analyze the roles and relationships of Congressional
leaders, committees, and the function of party leadership
in policymaking
• Understand the organizational and power differences
between the House and the Senate
• Analyze the complexity of what it takes to pass a bill in
terms of congressional negotiations, committee role, and
the process of amending.
• Participate in basic parliamentary procedure
• Develop communication skills through debate and
speech
• Write their own bill following proper format
• Learn about and discuss contemporary issues
Senate vs. House
• Senate—
– More naturally decentralized and informal
•
•
•
•
•
Fewer members, fewer rules
Lack of Speaker
Lack of strong Rules Committee
17th Amendment
Filibusters—3/5 vote to kill
• House
– More naturally centralized—opposite of
above!!
• Strong Speaker—Rules Committee
Congressional
Leadership
Who is the boss??
Balance of Power
• Senate
– 51 Democrats
– 47 Republicans
– 2 Independents
• House
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–
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242 Republicans
192 Democrats
0 Independents
1 Vacancy
Ok…so if the Democrats are the majority in the Senate, what does it mean
to be the Majority Party? They control every single leadership position in their
chamber. The chair of each committee is a Democrat and there are more
Democrats than Republicans on each committee. The Dems had nearly
uninterrupted control of Congress from 1932-1994…the Republicans took over
with the Contract With America under President Clinton…and in 2006 the
government returned to a tentative majority for the Democrats.
The “Bosses”
• House
– Speaker
• Presides over HOR, appoints committees, appoints Rules
Committee members
• Assigns bills to committees, third in line for Pres.
– Majority / Minority Leaders
• Partisan positions chosen by party members; floor leaders
and strategists
– Majority / Minority Whips
• Assistant floor leaders, keep mood of HOR, nose count on
important votes, liaison between rank and file and leadership
House
Leadership
Speaker of the House
John Boehner (R-OH)
These people are
sometimes called
floor leaders
House Majority Leader
Eric Cantor (R-VI)
These people are
sometimes called
ass’t floor leaders
Majority Whip
House Minority Leader
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Minority Whip
Washington
Congressional Districts
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Jay Inslee
Rick Larsen
Brian Baird
Doc Hastings
Cathy Rodgers
Norm Dicks
Jim McDermott
Dave Reichert
Adam Smith
The “Bosses”
• Senate—
– Vice President:
• President of Senate, presides over the Senate, votes in case
of a tie, ceremonial job
– President Pro Tempore:
• Ceremonial, presides in absence of VP, fourth in line for
presidency
– Majority Leader:
• True leader in Senate, recognized for all debates, influences
committee assignments and agenda (along with Minority
Leader)
– Minority Leader and party Whips: (same as
House)
Senate
Leadership
Pres. of the Senate
Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
(U.S. Vice President)
Pres. Pro Tempore
Daniel K. Inouye (D-AK)
Sen. Majority Leader
Sen. Minority Leader
Harry Reid (D-NV)
Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Majority Whip
Richard Durbin (D-IL)
Minority Whip
John Kyl (R-AZ)
The Committee
System
The important work horses of
Congress
Who Does The Work?
• Real work in Congress is done thru the
Committee System, not on the floor;
– A bill will never reach the floor unless it has
gotten out of committee
• Functions of the Committee:
– Analyze Legislation, conduct investigations of
the executive branch, conduct oversight of
executive branch;
How Does One. . .
• Get on a committee?
– Importance of getting on the right
committee—one where you can do the most
for your constituents;
– Assigned by either Committee on Committees
or by Steering committee
– Whoever has the majority, has the committee
• Who leads committees?
– Generally seniority system
• Advantages? Disadvantages?
Standing Committees
• Important standing committees—
– Are the permanent committees of Congress
– They have legislative, investigative and
oversight functions
• HOR—Rules—most powerful of all; Ways and
Means—deals with tax bills; Appropriations spending
• Senate—Finance—deals with taxes;
Appropriations—deals with spending bills; Foreign
Relations—Perhaps most prestigious; Judiciary—
screens judicial nominations
Conference Committees
• Temporary committees of members from
both houses
• Develop compromise language on a bill
when the House and Senate disagree
– Once it has been decided—goes back to each
house, no amendments are allowed, and a
vote is taken;
– Often called the “third house” of Congress
Directions for Party
Caucuses
• Republicans and Democrats will hold separate
caucuses.
• Until party leaders are elected, the caucus will be
chaired by the oldest person in the party.
– He or she should take nominations for majority or minority
leaders, wait for the nominations to be seconded.
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Is there anyone who would like to speak for or against the candidates?
Then, hold a vote.
Party leaders should be respected members of Congress.
Typically they have served at least one full term.
The Presiding Officer needs to be able to handle organization
and be able to lead the class through the simulation.
– Their selection should be confirmed by a two-thirds vote of the
party’s caucus.