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How Congress Works
Part I
Who’s in Congress?
Demographic Profile of the 111th Congress
Age Groups
Gender
Party
Ethnicity
Source: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/demographics.tt
House-Senate Differences
House
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435 members; 2 yr
terms
Low turnover
Speaker bill referral
hard to challenge
Scheduling/rules
controlled by majority
party with powerful
Rules Committee
(controls time of debate,
amends., etc)
Senate




100 members; 6 yr
terms
Moderate turnover
Referral decisions
easily challenged
Scheduling/rules
agreed to by majority &
minority leaders
House-Senate Differences




House
Debate limited to 1
hour
Members policy
specialists
Emphasizes tax &
revenue policy
More formal &
impersonal

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
Senate
Unlimited debate
unless cloture
invoked
Members policy
generalists
Emphasizes foreign
policy
More informal &
personal
"Congress in session is Congress on public
exhibition, whilst Congress in its committeerooms is Congress at work.” - Woodrow Wilson
Legislative Committees:
Function and Purpose
Legislative Committees:
Function & Purpose
1. Consider bills (a.k.a. “mark-up” bills)
A bill with a member’s mark-up notes
Legislative Committees:
Function & Purpose
2. Maintain oversight of executive agencies
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld testifies before a Senate Appropriations
Committee hearing re: the Department of Defense Budget (May, 2006)
Legislative Committees:
Function & Purpose
3. Conduct investigations
New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin testified before the Senate Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs Committee on Hurricane Katrina (Feb., 2006
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Types of Committees
 Standing Committees - permanent panel with full legislative
functions and oversight responsibilities
• Subcommittees – formed to tackle very specific tasks within
the jurisdiction of the full committees
 Select or Special Committees - groups appointed for a limited
purpose and limited duration
 Joint Committees - includes members of both chambers to
conduct studies or perform housekeeping tasks
 Conference Committee - includes members of House & Senate
to work out differences between similar bills
Standing Committees
House Standing Committees
Agriculture
Appropriations
Armed Services
Budget
Education & Workforce
Energy & Commerce
Financial Services
Government Reform
House Admin.
International Relations
Judiciary
Resources
Rules
Science
Small Business
Standards of Official
Conduct
Transportation &
Infrastructure
Veterans Affairs
Ways & Means
Senate Standing Committees
Agriculture, Nutrition, &
Forestry
Appropriations
Armed Services
Banking, Housing, & Urban
Affairs
Budget
Commerce, Science,
Transportation
Energy & Natural Resources
Environment and Public
Works
Finance
Foreign Relations
Governmental Affairs
Health, Education, Labor
& Pensions
Judiciary
Rules and Administration
Small Business and
Entrepreneurship
Veterans Affairs
Subcommittee’s
House
• Livestock, Dairy and
Poultry Commission
• Early Childhood,
Elementary and
Secondary Education
Committee
• Space and Aeronautics
Committee
Senate
• National Parks
Subcommittee
• Clean Air and Nuclear
Safety Subcommittee
• Health Care
Subcommittee
Special, Select Committees
• House Select
Committee on
Energy
Independence &
Global Warming
• Senate Select
Committee on
Ethics
• House & Senate
Select Committees
on Intelligence
Gen. Michael Hayden is sworn in during a full
committee hearing of the Senate Select
Intelligence Committee on his nomination to be
director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Joint Committees
• Joint Economic Committee
• Joint Committee on Printing
• Joint Committee on Taxation
Joint Committee on
Taxation hearing
Conference Committee’s
• Formed as needed in both
House and Senate
Artist: R.J. Matson, New
York Observer & Roll Call
Date: 1/18/07
Source:
http://www.cagle.com
Title: Resolution
Date: 12/28/06
Artist: Bob Gorrell
Source: http://www.gorrellart.com/
Party Leadership
Bicameral Democratic Leadership
Senate Republican Leadership
110th Congress
110th Congress
HOUSE LEADERSHIP
Speaker (majority
party)
Democrats:
• Majority Leader
• Majority Whip
• Chairman of the
Caucus
• Steering & Policy
Committee
• Democratic
Congressional
Campaign
Committee
Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelossi (D-CA)
Majority Leader
Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
Majority Whip
James Clyburn (D-SC)
HOUSE LEADERSHIP
Republicans:
• Minority Leader
• Minority Whip
• Chairman of
Conference
• Policy Committee
• Committee on
Committees
• National Republican
Congressional
Committee
• Research Committee
Minority Leader
John Boehner (R-OH)
Minority Whip
Eric Cantor (R-VA)
SENATE LEADERSHIP
President of the Senate
(Vice President)
President Pro Tempore
(majority party)
Democrats:
• Majority Leader
• Majority Whip
• Chairman of Conference
• Policy Committee
• Steering Committee
• Democratic Senatorial
Campaign Committee
President of the Senate
Joe Biden (D-DE)
Majority Leader
Harry Reid (D-NV)
President Pro Tem
Robert Byrd (D-WV)
Majority Whip
Richard Durbin (D-IL)
SENATE LEADERSHIP
Republicans:
• Minority Leader
• Minority Whip
• Chairman of
Conference
• Policy Committee
• Committee on
Minority Whip
Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Committees
• Republican Senatorial
Committee
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Strength of Party Structure?
•
Measure of party strength:
1. Ability of leaders to control party rules
and organization
2. Extent to which party members vote
together in the House and Senate
• Senate: less party-centered and leader
oriented
Party Unity
• Lower today than 100 years ago, but…..
• Ideology important variable explaining party
voting (members vote with their party 80% of
the time)
• Party polarization - vote in which majority of
democrats oppose majority of republicans
• Polarization trends:
o 1976 HR = 36%; S = 37%
o 1995 HR = 73%; S = 69%
o 2000 HR = 43%; S = 49%
CAUCUSES
• Groups (may be bipartisan) meeting to pursue
common legislative objectives
• Rivals to parties in policy formulation
• Examples: Democratic Study Group,
Congressional Black Caucus, Tuesday Lunch
Bunch, Human Rights, Congressional Caucus for
Women’s Issues, Out of Iraq Caucus,
Rural Caucus, Travel & Tourism Caucus, House
Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children