Chapter 11
Congress
Purposes of Congress
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Rule initiation
Interest representation
Rule application
Rule Interpretation
Constituency Service
Bicameral Legislature
Senate
 Senators serve 6 year terms
 Two per State for 100 total seats
House
 Representatives serve 2 year terms
 435 seats, seats apportioned by population
Senate
 Must be 30 years old
 Represent statewide
constituencies
 The Senate is less formal
than the house. For
example, the Senate can
allow “unlimited debate.”
House
 Must be 25 years old
 Represent districts in the
state
 Debate is limited and takes
place according to a rule
Senate
 Cover a greater variety of
issues
 Media coverage tends to
be more extensive
House
 More specialization in the
House b/c more members
 Generally, Reps. are not as
well known nationally
Apportionment
 Apportionment is based on the national census
 Districting: drawing the lines for congressional
districts
 Washinton State districts can be viewed on
http://access.wa.gov
Apportionment
 Beware of districting manipulation (ex.
Gerrymandering)
 Result can be court cases
Informal Norms
 The culture of Congress and politics include unwritten
understandings that define appropriate and
inappropriate behavior.
 Informal norms can influence behavior as much as
formal rules can.
 Individuals who fail to conform can find sanctions
taken against them.
Informal Norms
 Examples
1. Work Hard
2. Specialize
3. Honesty
4. Reciprocity
5. Apprenticeship periods
Party Leaders in the House
 Speaker of the House: most powerful in House,
member of majority party, can recognize members on
floor, can set agenda, refers bills to committee,
assigns members to committees.
Party Leaders in the House
 Majority Floor Leader: leader and spokesperson of
party during floor debates, general
House Leadership
 Majority Whip: serves as liaison between party
leaders and rank-and-file members, responsible for
rounding up votes on bills.
House Leadership
 Minority Floor Leader: duties similar to that of the
majority counterpart, top position of minority party
though
House Leadership
 Minority Whip: like majority counterpart, tries to get
party to vote together
 Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Missouri)
Senate Leadership
Vice President of U.S.: can break a
tie vote, rarely attends the Senate
Senate Leadership
 President Pro Tempore: Presiding officer of the
Senate in VP’s absence, primarily an honorary position
that is usually given to the most senior member of the
Senate.
Senate Leadership
 Other leaders: Majority floor leader, Majority whip,
Minority Floor leader & Minority Whip
 These positions similar to those in House
 Can find specific names at www.senate.gov
Committee Structure
 There are four types in Congress:
1. Standing Committees: permanent committees; all
bills are submitted to standing committees and must
go through these committees before being
approved by the full House or Senate (See how a bill
becomes a law)
Committee Structure
2. Select Committees: created for special reasons to
investigate some current issue or problem; covers
issues not being handled by the regular standing
committees.
Committee Structure
3. Joint Committees: consist of members from both
the House and Senate; created for a wide variety of
reasons (examples: Joint Committee on Intelligence
and the Joint Committee on the Library of
Congress)
Committee Structure
4. Conference Committees: created each time a bill is
passed with different versions by the House and
Senate; designed to work out the differences in
legislative language between the two houses of
Congress; temporary in nature
How a Bill Becomes a Law
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Introduction
Committee assignment and action
Floor Action (votes)
Conference Action
President (signature or veto)
See www.projectvotesmart.com
Summary
 Congress has three primary functions: legislation,
representation, oversight
 Congress is bicameral in nature with a House and a
Senate
 See www.senate.gov and www.house.gov for details
on members, committees and congress in general