Congress
If progress is the advancement of
society, what is Congress?
Congress
US CAPITOL BUILDING
Legislative Branch – “makes laws”
CongressConflict and Controversy
• Congress is where our nation’s political squabbles
are played out. The good, the bad and the ugly of
our political debates echo throughout the capitol
dome.
• Criticism: the influence of lobbying leads to low
ethical standards which makes it difficult to enact
meaningful legislation.
• Defense: because it is a representative body, it
mirrors the desires and beliefs of the people. And, if
it fails to enact meaningful change, it is simply
because the people do not really want change to
occur.
The Paradox of Congress
• According to surveys, Congress as a whole, is
not held in high esteem by the American people.
We generally have very negative feelings
towards them and the job that they do.
• But, when polled about the job performance their
own specific member of Congress, constituents
generally give them high approval ratings.
• In other words, we like “our guy” (or gal) and
think they do a fine job. It is all the other
Congress members that are corrupt and
unethical!
Founders’ Intentions
1. Strongest branch
2. Separation of lawmaking power from
executive
3. Bicameralism balances large/small states
• House – more connected to people (2 yr term)
• Senate – allows for independent thinking (6 yr term)
Important Differences
House
• 435 members
• 2 year term
• 7 year citizen
• Initiate impeachment
• Taxation/Revenue bills
• Strict debate rules
• Chooses Pres. If no
electoral college majority
• No term limits
Senate
• 100 members
• 6 year term
• 9 year citizen
• Tries impeachment
• Approve presidential
appointments and
treaties
• Loose debate rules
• Chooses VP if no
electoral college majority
• No term limits
Constitutional Powers
Article I, Section 8
• To lay and collect taxes, duties, imports
• To borrow money
• To regulate commerce (states and foreign)
• To establish rules for naturalization and immigration
• To coin money
• To award copyrights and patents for
ideas/inventions
• To create lower courts (except Supreme Court)
• To declare war
• To raise and support an army and navy
Evolution of Powers
Elastic clause has extended Congress powers
• Oversight of budget – can restrict the fed.
budget prepared by executive branch
• Appropriations – set amount of money made
available for various activity in a fiscal year
• Investigation – Congress can launch
investigations (Watergate, Clinton-Lewinski
hearings, Steroid use in baseball, 9/11, etc.)
113th Congress
(began 1-3-13)
• House:
• 234 Republicans
• 201 Democrats
•
•
•
•
Senate:
53 Democrats
45 Republicans
2 Independents
(Maine and
Vermont)
Who’s in Congress?
113th Congress (20013-15)
- of the 535 members of the House and Senate combined:
- 100 women and 435 men
- 45 African-Americans
- 38 Latino
- 13 Asian/Pacific islander
- 1 Native American
- 8 LGBT
- youngest is age 29; oldest is age 89; average age is 52.
- 226 people have law degrees
- 12 are foreign born
- 108 have military service
- 56% are Protestant; 31% Catholic
The Life of a Legislator
• Salary: $174K; Speaker $223K; other leaders
$193K
• Staff: Budgets determined by state population;
HR Reps – 14-18 staffers; Senate – 25-35
staffers – some in DC some in home district
• Constituent services – aka CASEWORK – help
the folks at home with their government
problems
• Travel – shuttle back and forth from DC to home
district – maintain a home in 2 places (DC is
hugely expensive!)
Kentucky Districts
Leadership
• Majority party controls the most significant leadership positions
• House - Speaker of the House (R’s)
• Allows people to speak on floor
• Assigns bills to committees
• Influences which bills are brought to a vote
• Appoints members of special and select committees
• Senate – Majority Leader (D’s)
• Schedules Senate business
• Prioritizes bills
• Vice president breaks voting ties
Leadership Positions
in Congress
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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•
•
Speaker of the House – John Boehner (R-OH)
House Majority Leader – Eric Cantor (R-VA)
House Minority Leader – Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
KY House District #4 – Thomas Massie (R-KY)
President of the Senate – Vice President Joe Biden
(D-DE)
President Pro-tempore of the Senate – Patrick Leahy
(D-VT)
Senate Majority Leader – Harry Reid (D-NV)
Senate Minority Leader - Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Senior Senator from KY – Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Junior Senator from KY – Rand Paul (R-KY)
Leadership in Congress
House Leadership
SPEAKER
OF THE
HOUSE
MINORITY
LEADER
MINORITY
WHIP
MAJORITY
LEADER
MAJORITY
WHIP
THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
• Two year terms – no term limits
• 435 members, fixed by law
• Larger legislative body than the Senate – has more formal
rules and procedures.
• Name recognition among constituents not as strong as
with Senators
• Was not originally conceived to have a great deal of
power – the Senate was to be more aristocratic to “keep
down the turbulency of democracy.”
• Are policy experts in one or two areas of policy – know a
lot about a few things!
THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
• House seats are considered “safer” for re-election
than Senate seats.
• Because they represent fewer constituents than
their Senate counterparts, House members can
and do deliver more national services to their
constituents at the local level. (A more personal
touch = rewards at the ballot box.)
• “He helped my Grandma get her Medicare
enrollment straightened out.”
• “She helped my child get a West Point
appointment.”
“Judy the Traffic Cop goes to
D.C”…..or “Just How Powerful is the
Speaker Anyway?”
When a bill in the HR is
proposed, is placed in the
“hopper”, it is numbered, and
read & referred to committee
by the Speaker of the House.
Like our own “Judy the Traffic
Cop” here in the Fort, nothing
and I mean NOTHING happens
in the House without the
Speaker’s say-so!
THE POWER OF THE SPEAKER
• Formal Powers
• Preside over the House
• Recognize or ignore
those who wish to
speak
• Appoint committee
chairs
• Appoint Rules
committee members
• Appoint members of
special or select
committees
• Refer all bills to one or
more committee
• But he can’t do it alone…
• Majority Leaders and Whips
are the chief legislative aides
to the Speaker. They round
up the party votes so it
speaks with one voice.
• Rules Committee controls
what is debated by placing
time limits on debate and
stating whether or not
amendments can be made in
or out of committee
Senate Leadership
PRESIDENT of the
SENATE
(VICE PRESIDENT)
PRES. PRO
TEMPORE
MAJORITY LEADER
MINORITY
LEADER
MINORITY
WHIP
(MOST POWERFUL)
MAJORITY
WHIP
THE SENATE
• Smaller than the House – 100 members – 6
year terms.
• Originally chosen by each state’s legislature.
The 17th Amendment provided for the direct
election of Senators by the voters.
• Are policy generalists – know a little bit about
a lot of policy areas!
• Has less formal rules and procedures and they
are more non-partisan. (They tend to
compromise with each other more than House
members do.)
THE SENATE
• Prior to the advent of television, the seniority
system prevailed in the Senate – senior senators
were “show horses” and junior senators were
“work horses”.
• Now, it is an incubator for presidential hopefuls.
• For example, in recent history, Bob Dole, John
Kerry, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama,
and Rick Santorum all used their senate years to
gain the experience they needed on those
“generalist” issues to be able to mount a serious
presidential candidacy.
THE SENATE IN ACTION
• All bills are placed on one calendar via a unanimous
consent vote.
• But since a single senator can object and derail the
process, the majority and minority leader discuss the vote
beforehand to avoid any derailments.
• Most of the time, the Senate allows unlimited debate.
• The filibuster is used as a tactic to stall voting. One can
speak nonstop for as long as one wishes.
• The longest filibuster came from Senator Strom Thurmond
(D-SC, later R-SC) in 1957. He spoke for 24 hours and 17
minutes to hold up a Civil Rights bill.
• Only a cloture vote can stop a filibuster (60 votes needed to
be filibuster proof). (Known as Rule XXII)
• Now, a “gentleman’s filibuster” has been agreed upon –
9am to 5pm, and the speaker can resume speaking the
next day.
Representation
• Malapportionment – unequal population in
districts
– Wesberry v. Sanders (1963) – found unequal
district pop. unconstitutional – 14th amend
• Gerrymandering – district boundaries are
redrawn in strange ways to make it easy
for candidate of one party to win
– Easley v. Cromartie (2001) – redistricting for
political ideology was constitutional, led to
increase in minority reps
How Does a Bill
Become a Law?
How A Bill Becomes a
Law
•Founders believed in a SLOW process – they
thought efficiency was a trait of an oppressive
government
•So be careful what you wish for - remember,
the Nazi government was VERY efficient…
•There are numerous “stop signs” or hurdles to
clear along the way to stop legislation from
going forward.
•Only 3-5% of proposed bills become law.
Step 1 – Introduce Bill
• Introduced in Senate or House (except
taxation or revenue bills)
• In the House, it goes in the “Hopper”.
• Single or multiple reps can introduce bill
• Sponsors and Co-Sponsors
• Immediately a bill is assigned to a committee
Step 2 - Committee
1. Bill is assigned to a particular committee in its category
(Ex. Tax bill – Ways and Means Committee, Farm bill –
Agriculture Committee)
2. Bill is then placed in the appropriate sub-committee
3. Bills are debated and “marked up” (amended or edited)
4. Most bills die in committee, committee can vote to “report
out” a bill (favorably or unfavorably)
5. “Discharge petition” gets a bill out of committee in the HR
only (219 signatures needed to go directly to the floor of
the house for a vote)
– rarely happens except, of course, in Hollywood films. See the film
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde if you are curious.
Step 3–Rules Committee
• Before bill can go to floor in House, it must
first set time limits and amendment
regulations.
– Closed rule – sets time limits, restricts
amendments
– Open rule – permits amendments
– Restrictive rule – permits some amendments
Step 4 – Floor Debate
Senate Debate
• Less formal, no speaking limit
• Filibuster – practice of stalling a bill w/ debate
– Harry Reid “nuclear option” of 2013
• Cloture – 3/5 of the Senate vote to stop debate
(60 votes)
House Debate
• More formal, no filibuster, strict rules
Voting on a Bill
In the House,
voting is done
electronically. In
the Senate, each
member’s name is
still called out loud
in alphabetical
order. A quorum is
needed to conduct
any official
business (50% +1
is usually
sufficient).
Step 5 - Voting
• Majority passes
• If the bill passes, it must go through the same
process in the opposite chamber with a sponsor
• If the bill passes one house and fails the other, it
must start over
• If the Senate and House cannot come to
agreement over two versions, it goes to
Conference Committee to fix it and resubmit the
bill – both houses MUST agree on a final version
or no go!
Presidential Action
• Sign the bill into a law.
• Veto the bill & it goes back to Congress. They can override his
veto with a 2/3 vote of both Houses.
• Allow it to become a law without a signature (do nothing for 10
days if Congress is in session – it becomes law).
• “Pocket Veto” – President has 10 days to act on a piece of
legislation. If he receives the bill within 10 days of the end of the
Congressional session(or if congress is not in session), and
doesn’t sign, it dies.
• Most laws are passed the last few days before Congress takes
an official recess, making pocket vetoes a distinct possibility.
• In Congress is in recess (an official vacation), the president can
appoint some people to positions WITHOUT Senate approval.
Committees and
Subcommittees
• Most real work happens here
• Bills are passed, changed, ignored, or
killed
• This is where interest groups and lobbyists
can influence legislation the most.
• Testify on upcoming bills to persuade or
dissuade passage.
Types of Committees
• Standing committee
– handle bills in different policy areas
– (ex. Appropriations, Agriculture, Armed
Services, Science, etc.)
– most important and have been “standing”
(existing) for a long time
• Select committee
– formed for specific purposes and usually
temporary – run investigations (ex. Aging,
Intelligence, Watergate, Iran-Contra, etc.)
Types of Committees
• Joint committee
– consist of both House and Senate members
– similar in purpose to Select committee
– Meant to draw attention to issues
– Recent fiscal cliff and budget negotiations
• Conference committee
– consist of both House reps and Senators
– formed to hammer out differences between House and
Senate versions of similar bills
Committee Membership
• Controlled by majority party, committee
membership divided proportionally (except
House Rules Committee where majority
has membership in a 2:1 ratio.)
• Committee Chairman
– Senior member of committee
– Controls membership and debate
Work of Committees
• 11,000 bills introduced yearly, most die
• Committees can…
– Report out favorably/unfavorably
– Pigeonholed/table (do not discuss)
– Amend / “mark up” (change or rewrite)
Congressional Caucuses
• Groupings of members pushing for similar
interests
• Informal gatherings often cross party lines.
• Examples – Automotive, Black, Boating,
Chicken, Everglades, Prayer, Songwriters,
Doctors, Aviation, Global Health, Second
Amendment
Criticisms of Congress
• “Pork” – aka “pork-barrel legislation” – bills to benefit
constituents in hope of gaining their votes (now called
“earmarks” because pork-barrel has such a negative
connotation)
• Logrolling – Congress members exchange votes, bills might
pass for frivolous reason
• Christmas-tree bill –bill with many riders (pork)
– in Senate, no limit exists on amendments, so Senators try
to attach riders that will benefit their home state
Term-limits Debate
•
1.
2.
No current limit on how many terms members of
Congress can serve
Some argue this has weakened popular control of
Congress, reps might be unresponsive to their
constituents because they think we aren’t interested in
what they do.
Some argue most experienced reps have the expertise to
bring home more benefits (pork, riders, etc.) but with Tea
Party members overseeing government spending, pork
barrel spending has declined as of late – good news – we
have decreased spending – bad news - we need the
Brent Spence bridge rebuilt