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INSTITUTIONS OF
GOVERNMENT
CONGRESS
CHAPTER 12
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Vocabulary Congress Chapter 12
 Baker
v. Carr
-Joint Committee
 Cloture
 Congressional
-Logrolling
oversight
-Majority leader
 Constituent
-Pork barrel
 Earmarks
-Reapportionment
 Filibuster
-Regulatory policy
 Gerrymandering
-Standing committees
 Gridlock
-Whips
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Congress
 Viewed
as the citizens’ direct link to the branch
of government that is responsible for forming
public policy.
 Functions
include: representing the interests of
constituents, lawmaking through consensus
building, oversight of governmental agencies,
policy clarification, and ratification of public
policies.
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Congress
 Congress
has come under public criticism
 Polls
have reflected deep voter concern
regarding the issues of congressional gridlock,
term limits for representatives and senators, and
the influence of lobbyists and PACs on
representatives.
 Many
newly elected representatives have
committed themselves to reforming
congressional structure, procedures, and
practices.
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Review of Congress according to
constitution
 Basis
of constitutional authority is found in Article I
A
House member must be at least 25 years old, an
American citizen for seven years, and an inhabitant
of the state the representative represents.
Representatives serve two-year terms
A
senator must be 30 years old, an American citizen
for nine years, and a resident of the state the
senator represents. Senators serve six-year terms.
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Review of Congress according to
constitution
Common
powers delegated to Congress,
listed in Article I Section 8 include the
power to tax, coin money, declare war, and
regulate foreign and interstate commerce.
Implied
congressional comes from the
“necessary and proper” clause, which has
been referred to as the elastic clause.
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Review of Congress according to
constitution
 House
of Representatives has the power to begin
all revenue bills, to select president if there is no
electoral college majority, and to initiate
impeachment proceedings.
 Senate
has the power to approve presidential
appointments and treaties and to try
impeachment proceedings.
 Congress
may overrule a presidential veto by a
two-thirds vote of each house.
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Reelection
 In
first ten years of Congress, over 1/3 of the senators
resigned before the end of their terms.
 In
the House a large number of representatives
served only one or two terms.
 As
political parties developed, congressional
reelection rate increased.
 Influential
senators and representatives could use
their office as an entrée to the presidency.
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Reapportionment
 Reapportionment
Act of 1929 still standing law.
 Provides
for a permanent size of the House and
provides for the number of seats, based on the
census, of each state.
 Each
 Left
seat represents around 650,000 people
up to each state to determine makeup of each
congressional district=charges of political
gerrymandering.
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Reapportionment
 Look
up and add to notes:
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Wesberry v Sanders (1964)
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Baker v Carr (1962)
 In
1995 Court ruled that a district in
Georgia, which was apportioned to
create representation for AfricanAmericans, was unconstitutional.
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Election of Incumbents
 Once
elected a sitting representative has a
distinct advantage (unless there is a
scandal, 1992 many incumbents decided
not to seek reelection or were defeated).
 Statistics
of incumbency are staggering:
only 2 members of Congress lost in 1986,
only 1 in 1988; on average fewer than 2%
are defeated in primaries and less than 7%
defeated in general election.
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Election of Incumbents
 Senate
reelection rate is slightly lower; House
members who represent smaller districts,
senators represent the interests of an entire state.
 Why
do incumbents have this advantage?
Incumbents are highly visible.
 Representatives
are quick to take credit for
obtaining funds through legislation that favors
their home districts called earmarks (called pork
barrel legislation).
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Structure
 Bicameral
(two-house) structure of the
Congress made it a necessity to develop an
organization that would allow both houses
to conduct business and accomplish main
function of passing legislation.
 Each
house has presiding officer.
 Speaker
is selected by the majority party.
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Structure
 1994
mid term elections Republican chose
controversial and conservative Newt Gingrich.
Earned reputation as most powerful speaker, but
power declined in 1996.
 After
loosing seats in 1998 mid term election,
Gingrich resigned.
 Dennis
Hastert was elected and became longest
serving Speaker until 2006, when Democrats elected
first woman speaker, Nancy Pelosi. Now John Boehner
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Structure
 The
speaker presides over the House
meetings, expected to be impartial (even if
member of majority party).
 Very
powerful: recognizes speakers,
referring bills to committees, answering
procedural questions, declaring the
outcome of votes
 Speaker
Names members to all select
(special) committees and conference
committees.
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Structure
 Speaker
usually votes only to break a tie,
has power to appoint temporary speakers
(pro tempore) to run meetings
 Third
in line after vice president to succeed
the president
 President
of the Senate is the vice president
of U.S.
 Only
specific power he has is to break ties.
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Structure
Unlike
the House, real power in the
Senate lies with the Senate Majority
Leader.
TN
Senator was Senate Majority
Leader for 10 years
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The Committee System
 Committee
chairs, representatives who chair
the standing committees of the House and
Senate, wield a lot of power
 Committee
chairs selected as a result of the
seniority system.
 Four
types of committees exist in both houses
 Standing
committees deal with proposed bills
and are permanent, existing from one
Congress to the next.
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The Committee System
 Examples
of standing committees are Banking,
Foreign Affairs, Energy, Governmental Affairs,
and Appropriations
 Select
committees are specially created and
conduct special investigations. Ex: Watergate
Committee, Whitewater affair
 Joint
committees are made up of both houses for
the purpose of coordinating
investigations/special studies and to expedite
business between both houses.
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The Committee System
 Conference
committees resolve legislative
differences between the House and Senate.
 Ex: Crime
Bill of 1994 and Welfare Reform Act of
1996 had to go through a conference committee.
 Many
bills must be resolved in this manner.
 Committee
makeup is determined by the
percentage of party representation in each
house.
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The Committee System
 Each
house has a party system that organizes and
influences the members of Congress regarding
policymaking decisions.
 Majority
and minority leaders of both houses
organize their members using whips (assistant
floor leaders).
 Whips
are responsible for keeping party members
in line and having an accurate count of who will be
voting for/against a bill.
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Policymaking
 The
avenues taken by Congress to achieve
policymaking go beyond the mere passage of
legislation.
 Congress
has legislative and nonlegislative
responsibilities.
 Constitutional
amendments, election of a president
and vice president if there is no electoral college
majority, impeachment, approval of executive
appointments, and congressional oversight are used
by Congress to influence and determine public policy.
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Policymaking
 The
most important function of Congress is the
legislative responsibility.
 Understanding
how a bill becomes a law (see
next slide)
 If
the president vetoes the bill, Congress must
vote separately to determine whether each house
has a two-thirds majority to override it.
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Policymaking
3
kinds of legislative actions taken by Congress:
-Distributive: results in the distribution of goods and/or
services to the general population (highways, health
research)
-Redistributive legislation: involves taking money from one
segment of the population from taxes and giving it back to
another through entitlements such as welfare.
-Regulatory legislation- sets limits on groups and
individuals, through acts such as Clean Air and Water Act
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Lobbyists and Interest Groups
 Lobbyists
and interest groups have
grown in importance as a major
influence in the passage of legislation.
 If
Congress is supposed to be the
people’s representative, then the extent
of the influence of special interests is a
very important question.
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Constituency
 Constituency
relationships provide
essential information and services and are
the foundation for reelection.
 Members
of Congress must represent their
districts, taking into account individual
constituents (the people of an area or
district who vote for their congressman and
are represented by him/her for the
congressional period), organized interests,
and the district as a whole.
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Reform
 The
public gives Congress the lowest approval rating, yet
every election they send a majority of incumbents back to
Congress.
 Gridlock
is problem- Congress is seen as inefficient
 Congress
does not reflect the views of its constituents
 Representatives
take advantage of their perks
 Representatives
are so busy running for office, that they
become beholden to special interest groups and PACS
 Congress
either delegates too much power to the executive
or has tried to take control, becoming an imperial Congress
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Contract with America
Look
up the Contract with America
and write down the ten items that
the contract promised the
American people.
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Short answer essay due Monday
 Political
scientists have described Congress as
“imperial” in its relationship with the president in
regard to formulation of domestic and/or foreign
policy.
-Define “Imperial Congress”
-Give two examples of how Congress has become
imperial in its relationship to the president since
1976, using either domestic or foreign policy to
illustrate your answer.