Chapter 12
Congress
Congress
House and Senate:
Differences in Representation
• Bicameral system: two chambers
– Result of the Connecticut Compromise
– Each state has two senators.
– Each state’s number of House representatives is
determined by state population.
• Predicated on different representation models
– Senate: states, with longer terms
– House: districts, with shorter terms
House and Senate:
Differences in Representation
• Senate: 100 senators
– Since 1913, directly elected by voters statewide
– Six-year terms
– Two per state (fixed)
• House of Representatives: 435 members
– Elected by districts
– Two-year terms
– Population determines number per state (varies).
House and Senate:
Differences in Representation
House and Senate:
Differences in Representation
• Congressional districts can be relatively
homogeneous by many standards.
– Ideal for organized interests claiming to represent
constituents
– Members tend to specialize in one committee.
• States are far more heterogeneous.
– Senators have to be generalists.
– More open to a wider array of interests
House and Senate:
Differences in Representation
• How representatives “represent”:
– Sociological representation: shares demographic traits,
experiences, and interests with constituents
– Agency representation: representative has electoral incentive
to act on constituent interests.
Women, African Americans, and
Latinos in Congress (1971–2008)
Sociological
Representation
WHO ARE AMERICANS?
Who are the Members of Congress?
CHAPTER 12
WHO ARE AMERICANS?
Gender
U.S. Pop. House
Senate
Female
51%
17%
17%
Male
49%
83%
83%
Key
U.S. Population
Senate
SOURCE: Jennifer E. Manning, “Membership of the 112th Congress: A Profile,” CRS Report R41647,
March 1, 2011, www.senate.gov (accessed 8/15/12).
House of Representatives
WHO ARE AMERICANS?
Race
U.S. Pop. House
Senate
White
64%
82%
96%
Black
13%
10%
0%
Hispanic
16%
7%
2%
Asian/Pacific 5%
3%
2%
Native
American
.002% 0%
1%
Key
U.S. Population
Senate
SOURCE: Jennifer E. Manning, “Membership of the 112th Congress: A Profile,” CRS Report R41647,
March 1, 2011, www.senate.gov (accessed 8/15/12).
House of Representatives
WHO ARE AMERICANS?
Religion
U.S. Pop. House
Senate
Protestant
51%
57%
56%
Catholic
24%
30%
24%
Mormon
2%
2%
5%
Jewish
2%
6%
12%
All Others
21%
4%
4%
Key
U.S. Population
Senate
SOURCE: Jennifer E. Manning, “Membership of the 112th Congress: A Profile,” CRS Report R41647,
March 1, 2011, www.senate.gov (accessed 8/15/12).
House of Representatives
WHO ARE AMERICANS?
Education
U.S. Pop. House
Senate
< High school
15%
0
0
High school
grad.
58%
8%
1%
Bachelor’s
degree
18%
26%
24%
Professional/
law degree
2%
38%
55%
Other
advanced
degree
8%
28%
20%
Key
U.S. Population
Senate
SOURCE: Jennifer E. Manning, “Membership of the 112th Congress: A Profile,” CRS Report R41647,
March 1, 2011, www.senate.gov (accessed 8/15/12).
House of Representatives
WHO ARE AMERICANS?
Average Age
U.S. Pop.
37
House
57
Senate
62
SOURCE: Jennifer E. Manning, “Membership of the 112th Congress: A Profile,” CRS Report R41647,
March 1, 2011, www.senate.gov (accessed 8/15/12).
The Electoral Connection
• Who gets elected?
– Who decides to run
– Incumbency advantage
– Districting and gerrymandering issues
The Electoral Connection
• Who runs?
– Candidates must “self select” to run.
– Some encouraged by parties more than others.
– Strong candidate qualities:
• Good name recognition
• Success in prior elected offices
• Ability to raise funds
• Willingness to campaign
• Ability to reach out to voters
The Electoral Connection
• Incumbency advantage
– Members of Congress have an array of tools to keep them
in office.
• Constituency services
• Ranking privilege
• Name recognition and title
• Pork-barrel spending for district
– Otherwise strong potential challengers do not run
The Power of Incumbency
The Electoral Connection
• Districting and Redistricting
– Congressional districts are typically drawn in a manner that
clearly benefits one party or the other.
– The vast majority of incumbents represent “safe districts,”
where most voters support one party.
– Primaries are the critical election in safe-seat districts
because there is little party competition.
Results of Congressional Reapportionment
The Electoral Connection
Apportionment
The Electoral Connection
• Direct patronage
– Pork-barrel spending
• Earmarks
– Patronage
• Some local and state elected officials have jobs to offer
to constituents.
– Constituent services
– Private bills
How Members of Congress Represent Their
Districts
The Organization of Congress
• Building blocks of Congress
–
–
–
–
–
Parties
Committees
Staff
Caucuses
Parliamentary rules
The Organization of Congress
• Speaker of the House is the leader of the majority
party.
• Both parties also elect a majority and minority leader
and whip.
• The parties determine which of their members sit on
various committees.
The Organization of Congress
• The vice president officially chairs the Senate, but
only presides at ceremonial events and in the event
of a tie vote.
• The president pro tempore usually chairs the Senate,
but often hands off to another member for routine
business.
Majority Party Structure in the House of
Representatives
Majority Party Structure in the Senate
The Organization of Congress
• Committee system
–
–
–
–
Standing committees
Select committees
Joint committees
Conference committees
The Organization of Congress
• Standing committees are permanent and are where
the majority of legislation is written.
The Organization of Congress
The Organization of Congress
The Organization of Congress
• Select committees
– Formed temporarily to focus on a specific issue
• Cannot present bills to the chamber
• Bring attention to a specific subject
The Organization of Congress
• Joint committees
– Formed from members of both chambers
– Gather information
– Cover issues internal to Congress
The Organization of Congress
• Conference committees
– For a bill to become a law, the same wording of the bill
must be passed by both chambers.
– Conference committees are formed to write the final
wording when both chambers pass similar bills that need to
be reconciled.
The Organization of Congress
• The number of seats the minority party has on a
committee is roughly proportionate to the seats it has
in the House, but at an unfavorable rate.
• Seniority determines committee assignments.
– Chairs can be removed by the party caucus.
– Chairs are term-limited.
The Organization of Congress
• Congressional staffers
– Specific topic or issue expertise
– Constituent services
• Over 11,500 staff in D.C. and district offices
• Another 2,000 staff for committees
The Organization of Congress
• Congressional Research Service
– Research arm of Congress
• Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
– Assess program costs and income from tax plans
• General Accounting Office
– Audits federal agencies and programs
The Organization of Congress
• Congressional caucuses
– Groups of senators or representatives who share common
goals or interests; may be bipartisan.
– Organized around issue, ideological, party, and/or
demographic traits
– Some have large budgets and staffs, and are capable of
pressuring Congress and the executive branch.
How a Bill Becomes a Law
How a Bill Becomes a Law
• A bill is a proposed law that has been sponsored by a
member of Congress and submitted to the clerk of the
House or Senate.
• The bill is given a number and assigned to a
committee, which typically refers it to a subcommittee.
• Bills taken seriously are given a hearing.
– Most bills (95 percent) do not get through committee.
How a Bill Becomes a Law
• The subcommittee and/or full committee writes the
language of the bill.
• The full committee sends the bill to the floor.
– Bill must pass through the Rules committee in the House
first.
– Rules committee gives bill an open or closed rule
– Senate requires a consent agreement
How a Bill Becomes a Law
• The House rule determines how much time is
allocated for floor debate.
• The debate time is divided equally between those for
and against the bill.
• The Senate allows for unlimited discussion, requiring
60 votes to end a filibuster via cloture.
How a Bill Becomes a Law
• Once a bill clears in one chamber, it is sent to the
other where the process starts over.
• If both chambers pass the same wording, the bill is
sent to the president.
• If not, both chambers create a conference
committee.
How a Bill Becomes a Law
• The president is given 10 days to veto a law.
– Vetoes can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in each
chamber.
– Pocket veto: if there are less than ten days left in the
congressional calendar and the president does not sign the
bill into law, it dies and must begin again from scratch in
the next session.
How Congress Decides
How Congress Decides
• Many factors influence members of Congress.
• Constituents
– Legislators take constituents seriously if they believe it will
affect their support at the next election.
– This includes voters as well as industries with a large
presence in the district.
– Electoral incentives make constituents a priority.
How Congress Decides
• Interest groups
– Can supply legislators with very detailed information and
data about pending bills
– Can make sizeable donations
– Do they represent the interests of constituents?
Party Discipline
How Congress Decides
Party Discipline: Congress increasingly partisan since 1990s
How Congress Decides
• Tools party leaders have at their disposal:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Leadership PACs
Committee assignments
Access to the floor
The whip system
Logrolling
Presidency
Oversight
Beyond Legislation
• Oversight
– Congress is expected to oversee the activities of the
executive branch in order to ensure funding is spent and
laws are enforced properly.
• Advice and consent
– The Senate must confirm top-level executive
appointments, ambassadors, and federal judges.
– Approves all treaties
Impeachment
Beyond Legislation
• Impeachment
– If high officials are thought to have committed “Treason,
Bribery or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors,” they
can be impeached.
– The House acts as a grand jury.
– The Senate conducts the actual trial.
Debate
The Legislator’s Dilemma
• Delegate or trustee?
– What should a legislator do when she disagrees with her
constituents about an important issue?
– She may know more about the issue than her constituents,
and if they knew as much, they may also think differently.
Public Opinion Poll
Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is
handling its job?
a)
b)
c)
d)
Strongly approve
Approve
Disapprove
Strongly disapprove
Public Opinion Poll
Do you approve or disapprove of the way your member
of Congress is handling his or her job?
a)
b)
c)
d)
Strongly approve
Approve
Disapprove
Strongly disapprove
Public Opinion Poll
Do you believe we should have term limits for
members of Congress?
a) Yes
b) No
Public Opinion Poll
Do you believe elected officials should be responsible
for drawing congressional districts?
a) Yes
b) No
Public Opinion Poll
Do you think it is important that members of Congress
reflect national economic demographics?
a) Yes
b) No
Public Opinion Poll
Do you think it is important that members of Congress
reflect national gender demographics?
a) Yes
b) No
Public Opinion Poll
When members of Congress cast a vote, which of the
following factors should most influence their decision?
a) The interests of the country as a whole
a) The interests of their district or state
Public Opinion Poll
When a member of Congress casts a vote, which of
the following factors should most influence his
decision?
a)Constituents’ preferences
b)The president’s preferences
c)The member’s party leadership preferences
d)The member’s own ideology
Chapter 12: Congress
• Quizzes
• Flashcards
• Outlines
• Exercises
wwnorton.com/we-the-people
Following this slide, you will find additional images,
figures, and tables from the textbook.
Differences between the House and the Senate
The Social Composition of the U.S. Congress
The Staff System: Staffers and Agencies
The Electoral Connection
Party
Party
America in the World
New Media and Women Candidates for Congress