Congress
LEGISLATURE
CONGRESS VS. PARLIAMENT

Congress- “a coming together”

Parliament- “to talk”

These differences affect:
-how a person becomes a member
-what a person does as a member

Unlike parliament, candidates for Congress run in primaries.

Congressmen think independently for themselves.
SALARY $
$150,000 (in 2004)
 “clerk-hire” allowance
 Allowances for travel, computer etc.
 “Franking Privilege”
-mail newsletters and other document for free
 Senators and Representatives w/seniority
-Office budget
-Legislative assistance allowance
-Free to hire as many staff members as they want
w/ the $


Congress tends to be decentralized, with each
member more interested in his or her views
and their voters’ views.
THE POWERS OF CONGRESS
THE EVOLUTION OF CONGRESS
Bicameral Legislature --------- Two chamber
-promotes decentralization
Six Phases In House History
1. Phase One: The Powerful House
2. Phase Two: The Divided House
3. Phase Three: The Speaker Rules
4. Phase Four: The House Rules
5. Phase Five: The Member Rule
6. Phase Six: The Leadership Returns

REQUIREMENTS
Senators chosen by state legislatures --Popular vote
 Major issue is Senate development=filibuster
 Filibuster-prolonged speech or series of
speeches, made to delay action in a legislative
assembly
 There have been efforts to restrict filibusters
 Who is Congress?

POWERS DENIED TO CONGRESS
KEY TERMS

“Elastic Clause”- Grants
power to pass laws that are
necessary and proper for
carrying out the enumerated
list of powers

Bicameral Legislature- a law
making body made up of two
chambers or parts

Cloture- Mechanism
requiring sixty senators to
vote cutting off debate
(used in Filibusters)

Committee systemMembers of Congress are
assigned to committees
to investigate problems
with suggested bills
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE

Conference committeesJoint committees to iron out
differences between Senate
and House versions of a
specific piece of legislature

Standing committeesPermanently established
legislative committees that
consider and are
responsible for legislation
within a certain subject area

Joint CommitteesCongressional
committees on a few
subject-matter areas with
membership drawn from
both houses

Select committeesCongressional
committees appointed or
a limited time and
purpose

SubcommitteesSpecialized groups within
standing committees

Committee chairsImportant influencers if
the congressional agenda.
Schedule hearings,
appoint subcommittees

Discharge petitions- Petition that
gives majority of the House of
Representatives the authority to
bring a issue to the floor in the
face of a committee inaction

Majority leader- Responsible for
scheduling bills, influencing
committee assignments, and
rounding up votes in behalf of
the party’s legislative positions

Minority leader- The leader
of the minority party in the
House of Representatives or
in the Senate

Whips- Party leader who
works with the majority
leader or minority leader to
count votes beforehand and
lean on wavers whose votes
are crucial to a bill favored
by the party

Safe district- Districts
in which incumbents
win by margins of 55
percent or more

President pro temporeSecond-highest
ranking official of the
U.S.

Speaker of the House- Office
mandated by the Constitution, chosen
by majority party, has formal and
informal powers and also second in
line to succeed to the presidents
vacancy

Filibuster- A strategy used by the
Senate where opponents of a piece of
legislation try to talk it to death,
based on the tradition of unlimited
debate

Quorum- The minimum
number of members
who must be present
for business to be
conducted in Congress
HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW

Floor action-formal session
of the full senate.

House Rules CommitteeGroup of members from the
U.S. House of
Representatives who review
all the bills and decide if and
in what order, the bills will be
presented to the House for
consideration

House Ways and Means
Committee-The H.O.R.
committee that writes
the tax codes ,subject to
the approval of congress
CHECKS ON LEGISLATIVE
HOUSE LEADERSHIP

Franking privilege- The ability of members to
mail letters to their constituents free of charge
by substituting their facsimile signature or
postage
SENATE LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE

Pork barrel LegislationLegislation that gives
benefits to constituents in
several districts or states in
the hope of winning their
votes in return

Earmarks- Special spending
projects that are on the
behalf of individual
members of congress