Week of 4 April
American Federal Government
• Congress, The First Branch
Congress
• Bicameral institution
– 435 seats in the House of Representatives
• approximately 650,000 persons in each district
– 100 seats in the Senate
Congress
• Fair Representation?
– Women/Minorities
Congress
• Fair Representation?
– States determine geography of House districts
– Malapportionment
– Gerrymandering & the Census
States Gaining/Losing Seats
After 2000 Census
The Gerrymander
Congress:
Representational Issues
– Majority-minority districts
• Shaw v. Reno (1993)
• Miller v. Johnson (1995)
– Representing interests:
• individual constituents
• organized interests
• geographic - district as a whole
– Delegate vs. trustee models of representation
Racial Gerrymandering?
North Carolina District 12
How a Bill Becomes Law
How a Bill Becomes Law
How a Bill Becomes Law
Congress
• Committee Structure
– Committees & Subcommittees
•
•
•
•
•
standing
select
joint
conference
“prestige” committees
– The work of committees
• hearings, markups
– The power of committee chairs
Congress
• Staff Agencies
–
–
–
–
Congressional Research Service (CRS)
General Accounting Office (GAO)
Office of Technology Assessment (OTA)
Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
Congress
• Organizing Congress: The Importance of
Party
– House: more majoritarian
• Speaker’s role
• majority leader & whips
• minority party - a life of frustration?
– minority leader’s role: loyal opposition?
Congress
• Organizing Congress: Senate
– majority leader vs. Speaker of the House
Senate Majority Leader,
Bill Frist, M.D.,
of Tennessee
Speaker of the House,
Dennis Hastert of IL
Congress
• Floor Proceedings
– House
•
•
•
•
quorum
closed rules
open rules
restrictive rules
– king of the hill and queen of the hill rules
• The importance of the Rules Committee
• discharge petitions
Congress
• Floor Proceedings
– Senate
•
•
•
•
•
•
no rules limiting debate
germaneness
amendments
filibuster
cloture = 60 votes
unanimous consent agreements
– the way much business gets conducted
Congress
• Types of Bills
– Public
– Private
– Resolutions (HR 200, SJR 20)
• simple
• concurrent (joint)
Congress
• Voting
– voice votes
– roll-call votes
• How do members decide?
– Representational view
– Organizational view
– Attitudinal view
Party Division in Congress
Congress
• The Rise of Party Unity Voting
– 51% of members of one party voting against
51% of the members of the other party
• Leadership reforms in the House
Party Unity Votes 1954-72,
U.S. House
55
50
45
40
35
30
r = -.549
25
Year
72
71
70
69
68
67
66
65
64
63
62
61
60
59
58
57
56
55
20
54
Percent Party Unity Votes
60
Year
96
95
94
93
92
20
91
90
89
88
87
86
85
84
83
82
81
80
79
78
77
76
75
74
73
Percent Party Unity Votes
Party Unity Votes 1973-96, U.S. House
80
70
60
50
40
30
r = .791
10
0
Restrictive Rules, 1977-94
250
80
Number of
Rules
200
70
Percent
Restrictive
60
50
150
40
100
30
20
50
10
0
95
96
97
98
Total Rules
99
% Restrictive Rules
100
101
102
0
103
Republican Seats in the U.S.
House, 1953-98
60
50
30
20
10
Congress
105
104
103
102
101
99
98
97
96
95
94
93
92
91
90
89
88
87
86
85
84
0
100
r = .935
83
Percent
40
Mean Ideological Split between Democrats
and Republicans, U.S. House, 1953-96
0.55
0.5
0.45
0.4
0.35
Congress
104
103
102
101
99
98
97
96
95
94
93
92
91
90
89
88
87
86
85
84
0.3
100
r = .628
83
Mean Ideological Split
0.6