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CHAPTER 9
Congress
Introduction
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Because it was established in Article 1 of the
Constitution, Congress is often called the “first
branch.”
 Congress is also called the “people’s branch”
because it is the branch of government that is
most responsive to, and representative of, the
American people.

The Constitutional Powers of Congress
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The Constitution enumerates certain powers to
Congress and implies others through the
necessary and proper clause.
 Constitutional constraints on Congress:

 Restrictions
on enumerated and implied powers
 Specific limitations such as bans on bills of
attainder and ex post facto laws
The Constitutional Powers of
Congress (continued)
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
The constitution requires Congress to share many of its
powers.
Congress shares powers with the president and Supreme
Court through the system of checks and balances.
 Congress shares powers within itself, between the House
of Representatives and Senate.

The House was designed to be more representative, and thus
more impulsive.
 Until the Seventeenth Amendment, the Senate was indirectly
elected and designed to be more deliberate.
 Many differences remain between the House and Senate.

The Constitutional Powers of
Congress (continued)
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Article I of the
Constitution
grants many
powers to
Congress. In
most cases, both
houses must act;
but in a few
instances, the
Constitution
specifies that
one house or
the other has a
special role.
Differences Between the House and
the Senate
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Although the
House and the
Senate are alike
in many ways,
differences give
each a special
character. In
addition, the
Constitution assigns
to the Senate
particular
confirmation and
treaty-ratifying
powers and to the
House the right to
originate tax bills.
The Members of Congress
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
Who are they?
Constitutional requirements for membership in Congress
include very few restrictions.
 However, members are primarily white, upper-middle-class,
and male.


How do they see their roles?
Trustees follow their own judgment, voting based on their
consciences and the broad interests of the nation.
 Delegates vote according to their constituents’ desires,
regardless of personal views.
 Politicos combine both roles, attempting to strike a balance
between the interests of their constituents and their own
judgment.

Profile of the
2011)
8
th
111
Congress (2009-
The Members of Congress
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
How long do they stay?
In the 1800s, members of Congress served fewer terms than
they do now.
 Between 1850 and 1950, the average tenure increased
and the percentage of first-term members declined.
 In the 1970s, these trends flattened. Americans continued to
re-elect incumbents, but politicians seem less interested in a
lengthy congressional career.


How much do they do?
In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the workload
in Congress was light and needed less time.
 Today, the business of Congress has expanded in both
volume and complexity, requiring full attention.

The Members of Congress
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
What do members of Congress do?



Due to the need for reelection, members must see to the desires
of their district or state through constant communication and pork
barrel politics.
A member is expected to serve as an ombudsman to help
individual constituents through casework.
How do members see each other?


Legislative norms are standards of behavior in Congress.
 Members are expected to do the following:
 Practice reciprocity or logrolling
 Be courteous to each other
 Specialize in one or two subjects
Having a period of apprenticeship for new members of Congress
has become an outmoded tradition for the most part.
The Structure of Congress
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
Party Leadership: The House
 The
Speaker of the House is its presiding officer.
 The
Speaker is next in line to succeed the President of the
United States after the Vice president.
 The Speaker is nominated by the majority party.
 The Speaker’s power reached its pinnacle under Joseph
Cannon, but a House revolt in 1911 took many of the
Speaker’s powers away.
 In 1975, House Democrats increased the substantive
powers of the Speaker by making him the chair of the
Steering and Policy Committee, with the power to
nominate all Democratic members to the Rules Committee.
The Structure of Congress (continued)
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The majority leader is the Speaker’s chief deputy and the
second most powerful figure in the majority party.
 The leader of the loyal opposition is the minority leader.
 The party whip acts as an assistant majority or minority
leader and is the heart of the party communication
system.


Party Leadership: The Senate

The roles of president of the Senate (occupied by the vice
president) and president pro tempore are primarily
ceremonial and honorific.
The Structure of Congress (continued)
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 The
majority leader is the dominant figure in the
Senate.
 The
majority leader controls debate on the floor and
influences committee assignments.
 Senators
are more independent and harder to lead
than members of the House.
 Party leaders are media personalities and
spokespersons for their party.
 Senate whips basically serve floor leaders as vote
counters.
The Committee System
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



Standing committees approve legislation for floor
debate.
Joint committees are permanent committees made
up of members from both houses.
Special or select committees are created
periodically to study particular problems or new
areas of legislation.
Congressional seniority and committee seniority are
based on length of service and affect privileges
granted to members.
The Committee System (continued)
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
Committee assignments are made by party leaders and
caucuses.
Members concerned with reelection seek committees with
direct impact on their constituents.
 Members interested in influencing policy seek committees
concerned with broad public issues.
 Members who want to expand their influence seek
committees that deal with matters important to all members.
 The attraction of certain committees changes with time.
 Members must actively lobby to get the assignments they
want.
 Once all-powerful, committee chairs lost much of their
power in the reforms of the 1970s.

Subcommittees
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
Standing committees are usually divided into
subcommittees.
 Subcommittees
have gained legislative
independence and power in the House
(subcommittee government), but less in the Senate.
 The rise of subcommittee government has made
coalition-building and compromise more difficult.
Congressional Staff and Agencies
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



The increasing number of congressional staff
members reflects the complexity of modern
government.
A typical congressional office will include a legislative
assistant, an administrative assistant, caseworkers,
and press aides, among others.
Staff members are usually young, well educated, and
male.
Committee staffers are responsible for developing
the legislation that comes form the committees.
Congressional Staff and Agencies
(continued)
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Members have become increasingly dependent
on their staffs.
 Agencies that provide Congress with policy
research and analysis:

 The
Congressional Research Service
 The Government Accountability Office
 The Congressional Budget Office
Congressional Procedures:
How a Bill Becomes a Law
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Figure 9.1
At each
step along
the way, a
bill can be
stymied,
making this
journey a
genuine
obstacle
course.
Congressional Procedures: How a Bill
Becomes a Law (continued)
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
Committee to Floor Debate




After a member introduces a bill, it is sent to the appropriate
committee and subcommittee for study and public hearings.
After hearings, the bill is marked up (given precise language and
amendments).
If approved, the bill goes to the respective chamber.
Floor Debate: The House


Bills reported out of committee are listed on a house calendar
(Union, House, or Private).
The Speaker and majority leader determine when bills are called
off the calendar and placed on the floor. Minor bills may be sent
directly to the floor by a suspension of the rules.
Congressional Procedures: How a Bill
Becomes a Law (continued)
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



Most major bills go to the Rules Committee that then sends the
bill to the floor with a closed, open, or modified rule.
Floor debate follows specific rules and may be conducted in
the Committee of the Whole.
Floor debate is followed by amendments (which must be
germane to the bill) and electronic voting.
Floor Debate: The Senate

Senate procedures are more flexible with only two calendars
(the Executive Calendar and the Calendar of General Orders)
and no restrictions on debate length or on the number of
amendments.
Congressional Procedures: How a Bill
Becomes a Law (continued)
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A
rider is a nongermane amendment that allows a
proposal to pass a hostile Senate committee that would
have probably killed it. The rider must only survive the
conference committee if the complete bill passes the
Senate.
 Unanimous consent agreements limit the terms of Senate
debates. They are usually secured by the majority
leader in cooperation with the minority leader, and
accommodate the desires of senators who wish to
speak or offer amendments.
 A filibuster (talking a bill to death) can be stopped by
cloture whereby a three-fifths vote ends debate.
Congressional Procedures: How a Bill
Becomes a Law (continued)
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
The Conference Committee: Resolving Senate-House
Differences
 When
major differences exist between the House and
Senate versions of a bill, a House-Senate Conference
Committee must reconcile them.
 The conference often requires hard bargaining and
compromise.
 Once finished, the conference compromise bill is sent
back to both the House and Senate for approval.
Congress and the Political System
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
Lobbies
 Although
criticized for involvement in scandals, lobbyists
foster dialogue between the people and Congress.
 Lobbyists are most successful in affecting distributive
policies and least successful with redistributive policies.
 Lobbyists often utilize public opinion to affect laws.
 Informal legislative caucuses have strong ties to interest
groups (such as the textile caucus and steel caucus).
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Congress and the Political System
(continued)

The Bureaucracy
 Together
with interest groups and congressional
committees, bureaucratic agencies often develop
informal partnerships, called subgovernments or iron
triangles, to collectively influence distributive policy.
 The effectiveness of iron triangles has declined as a
result of aggressive media and new public interest
groups who watch carefully for favoritism.
The “Iron Triangle” and Veteran’s
Policy
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The triangular relationship among congressional committees, bureaucratic agencies, and interest groups
indicates how relatively few people can determine public policy on some questions. The relationship
does not mean that the groups are always in agreement, but it does mean that the dominant opinion
represented will usually have the largest say in setting veterans’ policy. Sometimes the components in
the triangle are more numerous. A proposed change in the educational benefits, for example, would
involve higher education lobbies and other committees and agencies. A change in job-training policy for
veterans would involve the Labor Department as well as the labor committees in Congress.
What Role for a Changing Congress?
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Congress has democratized its rules and opened
up its procedures.
 Since Vietnam, Congress has challenged
presidential control of policy by altering
presidential proposals and initiating major
reforms.
 Although Congress cannot lead the nation, like
the president does, it does reflect the democratic
process.
