The Roots of the Legislative Branch

Colonial Assemblies

Bicameral legislative bodies


One popularly elected house
One Crown-appointed council


Served as Advisory Council

To the King-appointed governors
Power



Limited
Increasingly over taxation & spending
Legislation on religious matters

Regulate production of goods in colonies

The Roots of the Legislative Branch


1st Continental Congress (1774)

1st National Legislature



To respond to the Coercive Acts
Advised building of colonial militia
Organized colonial boycott of British goods
2nd Continental Congress (1775)

Prepared the colonies for war with Britain



Raised a colonial army
Adopted Declaration of Independence
Directed the war & run a national government

The Roots of the Legislative Branch

Congress Under the Articles of Confederation


Unicameral legislature
Each state represented by 2 to 7 delegates




Each state had one vote (“ equal representation”)
Congress = National government

No President & National Court created
Members of Congress sent by state legislatures
Limited Powers



Maintaining an army and navy
Supervising trade with Indians
Coining money

The Roots of the Legislative Branch

Limitations of Congress under the Articles

Weak national government vs states



Missing link btwn people & nat’l government
Low standing in international affairs

Foreign relations conducted by states

Foreign trade regulated by states individually
Financially incapacitated

No taxation power

Reliance on state for financial resources

Congress & Constitution (1789)

Constitutional convention of 1787

Structure of Congress

Unicameral or Bicameral


New Jersey Plan

“equal representation”
One state, one vote
Virginia Plan

“proportionate representation”
# of seats proportional to population

Congress & Constitution (1789)

Constitutional convention of 1787

Unicameral or Bicameral

Great Compromise

Bicameral Congress

Proportional representation (House)

Equal representation (Senate)

Congress & Constitution (1789)


Sources of Power: How Should Congress
Be Elected?

Lower house: popularly elected

Upper house: sent by state legislatures
Powers of Congress

Does Congress elect President?

No, Electoral College does

Yes, when no candidate receives a majority votes in the College

Congress & Constitution (1789)

Powers of Congress

“Power of the Purse”


Appropriation of money

Authorization of borrowing
 taxation
Regulatory Power

Regulation of currency

Punishment of counterfeiting

Regulation of inter-state & int’l trade

Congress & Constitution (1789)

Powers of Congress

Law-making Power


Establishing rules of naturalization

Making patent & copy-right laws

Making bankruptcy laws

Making amendments to Constitution
War-making & Military Power

War declaration

Raising & supporting armed forces

Providing for militia

Congress & Constitution (1789)

Powers of Congress

Power of Personnel Appointment

Confirmation of executive appointments

Secretary of State



US ambassador to the UN
Confirmation of federal judge nomination


Federal court judges
US Supreme Court justices
Power of Impeachment

Bringing impeachment charges (House)

Trying impeachments (Senate)

Congress & Constitution (1789)

Powers of Congress

Other Powers





Establishing post office & post roads
Fixing weights and measures
Providing for the government of D.C.
Admitting new states
Establishing lower federal courts



Senate vs. the House
Size


435 members in the House (since 1911)

106 members in 1791 representing 3.5 million residents
100 Senators in the Senate
Qualifications

House







25 years of age
Citizenship for at least 7 years
Residency in district: 1 year
Term of service: 2 years
1 member per 550,000 people
How often is Congressional election?
How many Members face election each time?

Senate vs. House

Congress & Constituency

House of Representatives



Closer to the voters
More reflective of voter preferences
More answerable to constituents

Senate


More remote to the voters

Allows for political stability & policy continuity
Less responsive to temporal changes in popular sentiments

Can act as a dispassionate counter-weight to the more popular & radical House

Senate vs. House

Qualifications


Senate





30 years of age
9 years of citizenship
Residency requirement in state: 1 year
Term: 6 years
2 seats per state in Senate
How often is Senatorial election?

How many Senators face election each time?

Senate vs. House

Legislative role differences


Senate


More deliberative

Why?
Less structured
House of Representatives


More centralized & organized

Why?
More routine & structured

Congress vs. US Society
Does Congress mirror the American society?

In religious belief (2001-2003)

Protestant 341



Catholics
Jewish
Mormon

Policy implications


Abortion
Same sex marriage
149
37
16


Congress vs. US Society
Minorities in Congress

Women
Number of Women in US Congress
100
80
60
40
20
0
59 63
67
72
77
82
24
17
11
20
11
9
1937 1947 1957 1967 1977 1987 1997 1998 1999 2001 2003 2004

Congress vs. US Society

Minorities in Congress

Race
Number of Minorities in US Congress
(2001)
371
400
300
200
100
0
6
37 23
Asia n
Afr
Am eric an
His pan ic
Wh ite


Congress vs. US Society
Professional background
Members of Congress by Professional
Background (2001)
250
200
150
100
50
0
209
183
Law
108
154
31
16
28
17
56
Bus ine ss
Edu catio n
Pub lic S
Agr erv icult ice ure
Jou rna
Rea lism l Es
Me tate dicin e
Oth er

Congress vs. US Society
A typical member of Congress


Middle-aged
Male




White
Lawyer
Whose father is of the professional or managerial class
Native born or from northwestern or central Europe, Canada

To run for Congress…
2000 Senatorial Race of New York

To run for Congress…
Three success factors

#1: Who the person to run

Candidate characteristics have an edge over others

A record of prior public service


National name recognition

Hillary Clinton versus Rep. Rick Lazzio
Fund-raising capability


To run for Congress…
Why members of Congress easily win reelection?
Success Rate of Congressional Election
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2002
Senate
House


To run for Congress…
#2: Incumbency Advantages

Visibility


Contact with Members of House
Advertise thru contacts with constituents
( blue=Incumbents; brown=challengers)
Stay visible thru trips to home districts
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Re ce ive
Sa w I d m ail on fro
Re ad
TV m
I
ab ou
He ard t I
I o
M et I n ra dio
pe rso na lly

To run for Congress…

#2: Incumbency Advantages



Visibility
Campaign contributions


Donations go to those in office
Donations to challengers offend incumbents
Credit claiming thru services to individuals & district


Casework


Attend to voter concerns, requests and problems
Help cut thru bureaucratic red tape to get what one believes he has a right to get
Pork barrel


List of federal projects, grants & contracts
Help obtain or make known such projects to district


To run for Congress…
#2: Incumbency Advantages





Visibility
Campaign contributions
Credit claiming thru services to individuals & district
Incumbent resources



Institutional connections and access to channels of communications
“franking privilege” (free use of the US mails)
Tax-funded travel allowance to stay visible in one’s own district
Incumbents scaring challengers away
*calls for “term limits” aim to eliminate incumbency advantage

To run for Congress…
Congressional Districts
District 23 (Texas) and District 3 (Florida in ’92 and ’96)

To run for Congress…

#3: Redistricting

Congressional districts redrawn every 10 years

To avoid under- or over-representation

Re-drawing districts is highly political



Can create open seats
Can pit incumbents of the same district against one another, ensuring one of them to lose
Can create advantage for one Party


Putting people of the same party in one district
Or separating them into two or more districts.

Cost of Congressional Race…

Cost to Get Elected


Congressional elections are getting more costly

Jon Corzine (NJ-D), $63 million own money on
Senate race
$928 million spent on 1999-2000
Congressional election


Incumbents outspend their opponents

E.g., $7.5 million spent by Newt Gingrich’s reelection in 1998
Candidates of major states spend more

$85 million attracted in Hillary-Lassio race, 2000

Cost of Congressional Race…

1998 2000
$7,266,576

Winners: $800,000
$2,839,813 campaign


Losers: at least $300,000
$27,159,681
Spending on Senate race
$3,864,638
$63,000,000 (Jon
Corzine, D-NJ)

Winners: $7 million up to $40 million or more
House
Rising Cost
Average winner spent $650,428 $840,300
Average loser spent $210,614
Most expensive campaign $7,578,716
$307,121
$6,900,000 (James
E. Humphrey, D-
WV)

Cost of Congressional Race…

Rising Cost
Rising Congressional Race Cost (in million dollars)
$1,000
$900
$800
$700
$600
$500
$400
$300
$200
$100
$0
1975-76 1979-1980 1985-1986 1989-1990 1995-1996 1999-2000

Organization of Congress



Congress not only represents, it also legislates.
Internal complexity makes it hard to conduct business without organization.
Congress is organized around:

Political parties



A committee system
Parliamentary rules of the House & Senate
And others…

Organization of Congress

Political Parties

House leader election every two years



Majority party leader = House Speaker
Every party has a Committee on Committees
(
Democrats call theirs: the Steering & Policy Committee
)


Assign new legislators to committees
Transfer incumbents to new committees on request
Majority & minority leaders jointly control
Senate calendars (agenda)

Organization of Congress

Party leaders & legislative agenda

Leaders are enthusiastic for agenda

To create consensus within party


1980
1994-1995
(when Congress not controlled by President’s party)

Organization of Congress
Committee System
Standing Committees




Important policy-making bodies
Existing from Congress to Congress
Paralleling executive agencies

Foreign Affairs Committee - State Department

Intelligence Committee – CIA & others
Having power to report legislation

Organization of Congress

Select Committee

Temporary committees


No power to report legislation
Set up to handle specific issues that fall btwn the jurisdiction of existing committees

A special committee for investigating the
Watergate scandal (1973)

Organization of Congress

Joint Committee

With members from both parties



Permanent
No power to report legislation
Four types of joint committees


Economic
Taxation


Library printing

The Committee System

Conference Committee

Temporary


Members appointed by Speaker & Senate presiding officer
For reconciling any differences on legislation once it has been passed by House & Senate

The Staff System


A number of staff members for every legislator
Staff members (
7,216 in House alone, 1999
):

Handle constituency requests



Take care of legislative details
Formulate & draft proposals
Organize hearing, deal with administrative agencies, reporters and lobbyists…

The caucuses

What is a caucus?
Informal group or committee composed of Senators or
Representatives who share opinions, interests or social characteristics.



Ideological causes

Liberal Democratic Study Group
Issue-oriented caucuses


Travel & Tourism Caucuses
Congressional Friends of Animals
Common background caucuses

The Congressional Black Caucus

The caucuses


What is a caucus?
Objectives of the Caucuses
To advance interests of the groups they represent by promoting legislation, encouraging Congress to hold hearing, and pressing administrative agencies for favorable treatment

How a Bill Becomes Law
Some facts:

For a bill to become law, there are many routine hurdles


It is easier for opponents to kill a bill than to pass it
The law-making process is highly political

How a Bill Becomes Law
The Law-making Steps
1.
Introducing legislation
Who can introduce legislative proposals?




Members of Congress
Executive branch
Interest groups
Constituents

How a Bill Becomes Law
The Law-making Steps
2. Assignment to Committee


Given a number in House preceded by “H. R.” and by “S” in Senate
Bill referred to a committee



Most bills assigned to the appropriate committees
Complex bills referred to several committees
Controversial bills are sometimes handled by temporary or ad hoc committees set up for that purpose

How a Bill Becomes Law
The Law-making Steps
2. Assignment to Committee

Often, nothing happens to the bills in committee. Neglect leads to death of many bills

Bills to be acted on are often referred to the appropriate sub-committees.

How a Bill Becomes Law
The Law-making Steps
3. Hearing

Once the sub-committee or full committee decides to act, hearings are held participated by:




Executive agency representatives
Academia
Interest groups
Other interested persons

In a typical two-year Congress


Senate: 1200 hearings
House: 2300 hearings

How a Bill Becomes Law
The Law-making Steps
4. Reporting a Bill


When a sub-committee decides to act on a bill, it drafts it line by line
It reports it to the full committee

The full committee accepts, rejects or amends the bill.

How a Bill Becomes Law
The Law-making Steps
5. Schedule Debate

When a committee agrees to submit a bill to the two houses, it is put on the House & Senate calendar, a list bills for action

Each house has different calendars for different bills

In House, non-controversial bills are put on the
Consent Calendar or Private Calendar to be passed without debate

How a Bill Becomes Law
The Law-making Steps
5. Schedule Debate

Each house has different calendars for different bills

Controversial or important bills are placed on the
Union Calendar or house Calendar. Rules & procedures (length of debate) are requested from the Rules Committee.
Define the following: filibuster, cloture, open rule, closed rule.

How a Bill Becomes Law
The Law-making Steps
6. Debate & Amendment

Opponents & proponents have equal debate time





Relevant amendments, if allowed, can be added
Floor debate seldom change views of others
In Senate, debate can last long time
In Senate, filibuster can be used
Senators can propose amendments irrelevant to the bill.

How a Bill Becomes Law
The Law-making Steps
7. The Vote

How do members vote? What impact their voting behavior?



Personal views
Opinions of the constituents
Advice of knowledgeable & trusted colleagues
Occasionally, President can win over wavering members of their Party to stick with the team or by cutting deals with pivotal members.

It is important for members to cast an explainable vote, one that is defendable in public when challenged.

How a Bill Becomes Law
The Law-making Steps
7. The Vote

How do members vote? What impact their voting behavior?


It is important for members to cast an explainable vote, one that is defendable in public when challenged.
Not every vote has to please the constituents. But, too many “bad” votes are costly and show distance with one’s folks at home.

How a Bill Becomes Law
The Law-making Steps
8. In Conference Committee

Once passed, a bill is sent to the other chamber for consideration



If the 2nd chamber passes the bill, it is then sent to the White House for action.
But, controversial bills need to go to a Conference
Committee to reconcile the differences in the two versions of the bills
After Conference, details of the bill are reported back to each chamber before sending to the
President.

How a Bill Becomes Law
The Law-making Steps
7. To the President

Approve the bill into law



Ignore it, with the result it becomes law in 10 days (not including weekend & when Congress is still in session)
Veto it (& facing override in Congress)
Pocket veto it (if Congress adjourns before the
10 days are up)
When President vetoes a bill, he usually explains why he does so.

How a Bill Becomes Law
The Law-making Steps
7. Congressional Override of Veto
A two-thirds majority is required in each chamber to override the Presidential veto

Influences on Law-making
There are two major forces impacting
Congressional law-making

External influences


Constituency
Interest groups

Internal/governmental influences

Party leadership


Congressional colleagues
President/executive branch

Influences on Law-making
Influence from the Constituency

Members of Congress comply with views of constituents due to re-election need

They voluntarily anticipate or find out constituents’ positions

1998, 31 House democrats crossed the party line and voted in favor of an impeachment inquiry (e.g.,
Congressman Gary Condit)

Influences from Interest
Groups


Mobilize followers in a member’s congressional districts

“Astroturf lobbying”
Provide information

Influences from Party Org


Party leaders in Congress have influence over members
Party organizations have resources:





Leadership PACs



PACs (1) raise funds and then (2) distribute to members for running for election
PACs enhance party power
PACs create bond between leaders & members who receive money
Committee Assignments
Access to Floor
The whip system communication network, with info on member intentions in voting
Logrolling

Influences from the President


Since 1940s, President submitted yearly legislative proposals to Congress
Since mid-1950s, Congress has looked to the
President for legislative proposals