Congress
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Only Americas have Congresses
US Congress has powers it can exercise independent of the
Executive Branch
To enter Congress, one merely wins Primary and General
elections; many citizens vote for “the person,” not party
Congress is more powerful because it does not select the
Executive
Individual members are free to express their views and vote as
they wish
Challenge: Combining the faithful representation of constituents
with the making of effective public policy (Imagine a Nevada
legislator who favors Yucca Mountain)
Intent of Framers: Congress would be dominant, balance large
and small states, oppose concentration of power in central
institution
Parliamentary Systems:
Differences From U.S. System
Must persuade party to put your name on ballot
 Voters choose between parties, not between multiple
candidates from same party
 Parliament selects Prime Minister
 Renomination dependent on loyalty
 Members have little pay, power, or staff resources
 U.S. representatives/senators are independent, and
decentralized power allows members to represent
their own constituents—not national interests
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The 104th Congress, 1995-1997
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Republicans take control of both houses, 1994
Immediately instituted rule changes to give
Speaker more power to control legislative agenda
Pushed budget with tax cuts, deep spending cuts,
and a balanced budget
Clinton and Congressional Dems fight back,
prevent passage
Only 65 bills passed in 1994. many more 1995
Benefits of Members
Members of Congress are much more
powerful than most members of Parliaments
 High salary, travel allowance, staff allowance,
franking
 Congress tends to be decentralized because
of tendency to placate constituency, also
Congressman more concerned about #1 than
the President’s program
 Congress was designed by the founders in
ways that make it unpopular with voters who
want action, respond to strong leaders
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Congressional Evolution
Framers created a bicameral legislature that
was supposed be dominant at national level.
They didn’t want powers concentrated in a
single government institution, and states
valued sovereignty, so interests had to be
protected
 For 150 yrs, Congress was dominant—major
policy struggles were WITHIN Congress (rules
and leadership), rather than between
Congress and the President
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Competing Values
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Centralization
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To act quickly and  The Congress would have weak
decisively, must be leadership, protect the views of
strong leadership,
individual members, rules
restrictions on
allowing for delay, extensive
debate, little
committee involvement
committee
 Some states actually have
interference, no
decentralization with strong
stalling tactics
leaders—chalk that up to
political party strength in those
states
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Decentralization
Phases of the House: #1
The Powerful House, 1789-1809
Leadership often provided by President
or Cabinet Secretaries
 House dominated Senate
 Party caucus influential in shaping
policy
 Clay was a disciplinarian, strict rules
 Caucus nominated President (made
Presidents sensitive to Congress’s
wishes
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Phase II: Divided House, 1820s-CW
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Caucus replaced by party conventions
Speaker wielded little power
Major political struggles were within
Congress-- slavery a huge issue, also internal
improvements, tariffs, new states, business
regulation
Jackson vetoed legislation left and right
Radical Republicans later give way to weak
party leadership again
Phase III: Powerful Speakers,
1889-1911
Thomas B. Reed (R-ME) 1889-91, 1895-99:
Got the right to appoint committee chairmen
and members, punished disloyal party
members/rewarded allies
 Chaired rules committee, could control
debate, determined who would speak,
produced great party unity
 Replaced by Joseph Cannon (R-IL), 1903-11:
Had more Conservative views, triggered
backlash
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Phase IV: Revolt
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Backlash against Cannon came in 1912; removal from
Rules Committee, stripped power to appoint
committee members
3 sources of power emerge:
#1: Party Caucus: Caucuses lack real authority, and
waned
#2: Rules Committee: Decided which bills come up for
a vote and in which order, limited debate and ability
to offer amendments
#3:Chairmen of Standing Committees (could control
bills’ entry to floor, got positions by seniority)
Phase V: Empowerment of
Individual Members (1960-1970)
House struck out against leadership in
all forms
 Committee chairs stripped of most
power
 Chairs couldn’t refuse to call meetings,
most meetings had to be public
 Each member could introduce bills
 Staffs greatly expanded
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Phase VI: Return of Leadership
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Individuals were getting too much power
Speaker got power to choose most of rules committee
Speaker can choose committee to assign bills to
Republicans in 1994 set maximum chairperson tenure
at 6 years
# of committees reduced; harder to be a chairman
Speaker set agenda (Gingrich)
“Contract With America” voted on
Now Hastert (R-IL) is speaker: moderate to right wing
The Senate
Big disputes in Senate  17th
Amendment
 Filibusters—prolonged speech, delays or
prohibits vote on a bill
 First restriction, rule 22: Cloture (1917)
 Now you need 60 votes to really control
Senate
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Who is in Congress?
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Typical: Middle-aged white male Protestant lawyer
Gradually less male and less white
Senate more slow to change; no African Americans
now, 11 women
Small # of blacks understates their influence; many
long-term Congressmen, influential
Most important change: Incumbency…career job
now, term limits unconstitutional
1992/94: New members because of scandal, 1990
census screwed some over, Republican victory
Marginal districts less common, safe districts rule
Why Safe Districts?
Incumbents have better name
recognition
 More voting for person, not party
 Incumbents can get pet projects (Bud
Shuster), keep bases open, protect local
industry
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Congress by Party:
Democratic Dominance
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Democrats thoroughly dominate the House,
and to a smaller extent, the Senate
State redistricting hurts Republicans, “seat
gap” in many states
Democrats do well in minority dominated
districts, Republicans in affluent suburbs
Incumbency avg. has grown to 6-8%, but this
is still not enough to explain Dem dom.
Gary Jacobson: Democrats better reflect most
constituencies (organized labor, feminism,
civil rights, environmentalists)
Why Democrats Fell in ’90s
Voters started disliking “professional
politicians”, mess in Washington
 Budget deficits, gridlock, scandals like
“House Bank,” exemptions from laws
 Conservative Coalition less important
now; many Southern Democrats
replaced by Southern Republicans, ones
that remain are more ideologically pure
liberalsgridlock
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Fair Representation: Problems
Malapportionment: Unequal size
districts dilute some votes
 Gerrymandering: Drawing districts
unusually to favor one party
 Both illegal
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Wesberry v. Sanders (1964)
A state apportionment law in Georgia
created a very large 5th congressional
district.
 Voters sued on constitutional grounds in that
there was a debasement of their votes.
 The Supreme Court invalidated the state
law. "While it may not be possible to draw
congressional districts with mathematical
precision, that is no excuse for ignoring our
Constitution's plain objective of making
equal representation for equal numbers of
people the fundamental goal for the House
of Representatives."
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Baker v. Carr (1962)
Voters in Tennessee challenged a state
apportionment law claiming that their votes
were unequal in irrationally created counties.
 The Tennessee court ruled against them.
 The Supreme Court affirmed a federal court
right to hear the case and reversed the lower
court on 14th Amendment equal protection
grounds.
 Expanded the Court’s role in deciding “political
questions” (recall Luther v. Borden (1848))
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Majority-Minority Districts
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African Americans, despite making up large
parts of some states’ populations, were
nonexistent in Congress
Democrats tried to create “safe” districts for
them. Best example: NC #1 and #12
Shaw v. Reno (1993) --States must show
“compelling government interest” to avoid
“racial gerrymandering” status
1993: 27 Hispanic/32 Black districts, survived
Hannah Pitkin: Distinguishes between
descriptive representation (do representatives
correspond demographically?) and
substantive representation (do Reps
Shaw v. Reno (1993)
To comply with §5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965-which prohibits a covered jurisdiction from
implementing changes in a "standard, practice, or
procedure with respect to voting" without federal
authorization--North Carolina submitted to the
Attorney General a congressional reapportionment
plan with one majority black district.
 The Attorney General objected to the plan on the
ground that a second district could have been created.
The State's revised plan contained a second majority
black district in the north central region. The new
district stretched approximately 160 miles along I-85
and, for much of its length, was no wider than I-85.
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More Shaw…………
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Five North Carolina residents, filed this action against state and
federal officials, claiming that the State had created an
unconstitutional racial gerrymander in violation of the 14th
Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
They alleged that the two districts concentrated a majority of
black voters arbitrarily, in order to create congressional districts
along racial lines. Supreme Court agreed and remanded the
case.
Issue returned; justices still not satisfied that “compelling
interest” was met….districts were unlawful
A covered jurisdiction's interest in creating majority minority
districts in order to comply with the non-retrogression rule
under §5 of the Voting Rights Act does not give it carte blanche
to engage in racial gerrymandering.
Winning the Primary
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Rare for incumbents to lose primary
Sophomore surge—most newly elected candidates
become strong in their districts quickly
The way people get elected to Congress has 2 effects:
1) Produces legislators tied to local concerns
2) Party leaders will be weak
Offices try to do as much for people back home—
people remember this in November!
What is the Role of a
Congressman?
Delegate—do what their districts want
 Trustee—use best judgement
 Partisan—vote w/party
 Politicos—balancing act
 Delegates want premium committee
assignments in areas affecting local
policy; trustees want it to address
broad issues
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How Members Behave: Theories
Representational—members want to get
reelected, vote to please constituents
 Organizational—not essential to please;
constituents have no idea how their
Congressman actually voted, but it is
important to please other members
 Attitudinal—so many conflicting pressures
leave Congressmen free to vote however they
like
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Representational View
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Civil Rights laws a good example of how R.
view works, social welfare less so
No correlation on foreign policy
At times, important issues emerge: Gun
control, abortion, impeachment
Even Reps from marginal districts seem to be
unaffected though
Problem with Rep. View: Public Opinion is
not strong and clear on most issues
Organizational View
Principal cue is party
 Common when no obvious
position/issues at stake
 Example: Missile Defense
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Attitudinal View
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Ideology affects voting
House members closer to average voter
Senators less in tune
Senate Phases:
1950-1960: Conservative, Southern
Dominated
mid-1960s: Liberal, decentralized
1980s: Return to Conservatism
Conservative Coalition successful with
budget/tax plans
Ideology/Civility
Congress is increasingly ideological
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increase)
 Why Polarization? Members don’t get
along as well, more likely to challenge,
disagree, investigate, and denounced
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Senate Party Organization
Majority party chooses pro tempore, largely honorific Real
Leader: Majority Leader, Minority Leader
 Majority leader: schedules business (consults Min. leader),
recognized first in floor debate
 Whips—help party leaders stay informed, rounds up votes
 Each party chooses a policy committee to help the party
leader schedule business
 Key organizations: Democratic Steering Committee and
Republican Committee on Committees…refer to Standing
Committees
 Senate today is less party-centered, less leader-oriented,
more hospitable to freshmen, better staffed, more
subcommittees
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House Party Structure
Leadership more imp. Because of House rules
 Speaker can decide who to recognize, rules on
motions, decides committee assignments for
legislation, appoints special and select
committee members, nominates maj. party
rules committee
 Parties elect maj/min floor leaders & whips
 Democrats: Steering and Policy Committee
 Republicans: Comm. On Committees/ Policy
Committee
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Party Unity
Party Polarization—A vote in which a
majority of voting Democrats oppose a
majority of voting Republicans
 Big in 1950s, trailed off during mid1960s, recently has returned (1983 in
House)
 Even today’s Congress less divided than
19th Century Congress
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Why Party Unity?
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Members do not randomly choose to be Democrats or
Republicans…strong ideology
Interest groups play a “watchdog” function
On many issues, Congressmen have no personal preference
or clear Conservative/Liberal stance: therefore, they look to
party leaders
Supporting the Party can lead to tangible rewards later
(Committee Chairmanships, Speaker, have your bill taken
seriously
Caucuses
Def’n: An association of members of Congress
created to advocate a political ideology or a
regional or economic interest
 Growth: 1959-- 4 1980s—100
 Accelerated during 1970s because members sought
to respond to increased external
demands….members can be identified as leaders or
show that they care on certain targeted issues
 104th Congress was supposedly going to try and kill
caucuses…no success really, despite the new rule
that says all aides working on caucus work must be
housed in members’ offices…made coordination
difficult
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Types of Caucuses
(Susan Webb Hammond)
Intraparty: Same ideology (Dem. Study
Group)
 Personal-Interest: Issue (The Arts)
 Constituency Concerns, National: (CBC, Vets)
 Constituency Concerns, Regional: (Midwest)
 Constituency Concerns, State/District (Rural)
 Constituency Concerns, Industry (Steel)
 Caucuses may not pass bills, but are often
influential in shaping final legislation (ex: Blue
Dog Democrats)
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Congressional Committees
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Real work done in Committees
Standing Committees--permanent
Select Committees—limited purpose, lasts only a few
Congresses
Joint Committees—Reps and Senators serve
Conference Committees—Type of joint committee
where different versions of bills are compromised
upon
104th Congress: reduced # of committees
Majority party usually takes majority of seats, name
chairman of committee (by seniority usually)
Only standing committees can propose legislation by
reporting a bill out to the full House or Senate
House Committee Rules
Committee chairs elected by secret ballot in
party caucus
 No member can chair more than 1 committee
 All committees over 20 members must have at
least 4 subcommittees
 Increase committee and personal staffs
 Meetings public unless members vote to close
them
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Senate Committee Rules
Meetings public unless voters vote to
close them
 Chairmen elected by secret ballot at the
request of 1/5 of the party caucus
 Larger staffs
 No Senator to chair more than 1
committee
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Republican Rule Changes: House
Banned proxy voting
 Limited tenure of chairmen (6 yrs) and
Speaker (8 yrs).
 More frequent floor debate, open rules
 Reduced # of committees
 Committee chairmen could hire
subcommittee staff
 Senate: six year chairmen term, secret
ballot
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Staffs/Offices of Congressmen
Until 1990, Congress was most rapidly
growing Washington bureaucracy
 Staff members spend most time servicing
constituent concerns; now as many as 1/3 f
the staff work in local offices, not DC
 Devise proposals, write questions for
hearings, draft reports, meet with lobbyists
 Congress less collegial, often staff meets with
staff
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Staff Agencies Working for
Congress
Congressional Research Service (1914): Part of
Library of Congress, looks up requests for
information
 General Accounting Office (GAO) (1921): Used to
perform audits, now investigates agencies, policies,
and makes recommendations on almost every aspect
of government. Head appointed by President, but
serves Congress
 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) (1974): Advises
Congress on the likely economic effects of spending
programs, analyzes President’s budget, often disses
it, created by 1974 Congressional Budget and
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How Bills Become Law
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Any member introduces public or private bill
Referred to Committee** (Most bills die there)
Multiple Referrals became more common; easier to kill
bills, eliminated in 1995, and replaced w/ sequential
referral
Pending legislation never carries over
Of 90 major laws 1880-1945, 77 had no Presidential
sponsorship
Can also pass:
Simple resolutions for rules
Concurrent resolutions—housekeeping matters for
both houses
Joint Resolution—requires approval and signature,
Once in Committee…….
Bill will be marked up, changed
 Majority vote sends bill to floor
 Discharge petition requires 218 members, if
successful, bill goes immediately to floor (rarely
successful, unnecessary in Senate due to rule
differences)
 For a bill to come before either house, it must be
placed on a calendar (House: Union Calendar for
Raising/Spending Money, House Calendar for major
importance bills, Private Calendar, Consent Calendar
for noncontroversial bills, Discharge Calendar; Senate:
Executive Calendar and Calendar of Business
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Rules Committee Options
Closed Rule—limits debate, forbids
introduction of amendments from the
floor
 Open rule—Permits amendments
 Restrictive rule—limits amendments
 1970s: time of open rules
 1980s: restrictions
 Now: back to open rules
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Amendments
Riders—Provisions attached to a piece
of legislation that are nongermane to
the bill’s purpose
 Useful for getting an unwilling executive
to sign an unappealing bill or to get the
President to veto a bill that he strongly
favors by tacking on distasteful
provisions
 Bill with lots of riders= Christmas Tree
Bill
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How to Circumvent Rules
Committee
Suspend the rules (2/3 vote required)
 Discharge petition
 Calendar Wednesday procedure—Any
committee can bring up for action a bill
of its own already on a calendar—but
the entire process must be completed in
one day or it returns to committee
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House Floor Debate
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Bills considered by whoever happens to be on the
floor “Committee of the Whole”
Quorum required to do business in Committee of the
Whole is 100 members, Whole House= 218
In Committee of the Whole, Sponsoring committee
guides discussion, divides time, amendments must be
germane and discussion limited to 5 mins/person
Quorum Calls are essentially “timeouts” that allow
“strategery” to be discussed
If no quorum, must adjourn or round up absent
members
Sponsoring Committee almost always wins
Senate Floor Debate
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No rule limiting debate
Amendments offered anytime, non-germane, but can’t
be attached to appropriations bill
No Committee of the Whole
Can avoid sending bill to committee if House has
already passed (Civil Rights Bills 1957, 1964)
Cloture: 16 Senators must sign petition, 2 days later
60 votes needed. After that point, each Senator is
limited to 1 hour of debate
Filibusters and Cloture both more frequent in recent
years
Since 1975, about 40% cloture votes successful
During filibuster, Senate can double-track, so 3 of
filibusters has skyrocketed
Methods of Voting
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Must watch more than “the bottom line”
House: Voice vote, division vote, teller vote, roll call (roll call
now electronic)
Senate: no teller vote, no electronics
If both houses vote on different versions, conference
committee can iron our differences or one house can resubmit
minor changes to other house for approval
Most Conferences favor Senate version of the bill
President may sign, veto, wait ten days, pocket veto
Congress can override with 2/3 vote of both houses
Reforming Congress
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Make Congress less susceptible to factions, interest groups
Direct Democracy: Referendum/ Citizen legislators
Decisive Congress
Term Limits: Declared Unconstitutional in states, would result in
amateur legislature
ABC’s of Democratic Process (Alliances, Bargains,
Compromises) are better done by professional legislators
Reducing Pork-barrel legislation
“Fencing in the Frank”
Placing Congress under the same laws—Congress routinely
exempted itself, Republicans changed this…… Congressional
Accountability Act
Ethics and Congress
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Separation of Powers made corruption more likely;
example: Appointment process confirmation
Moral climate has improved, but scandals continue
1980-81 ABSCAM hearing (FBI Arab agent favors)
1989 Jim Wright Hearings (took gifts)
1995 Senator Robert Packwood (sexual harassment)
1997 Speaker Newt Gingrich (book deal)
Ethics codes reformed in 1978, 1989, 1995 have
tightened financial disclosure and gift rules…US most
restrictive Western nation…but don’t harm those who
were already wealthy
Key Leaders: U.S. Congress
Senate President Pro Tempore—Robert Byrd
 Senate Majority Leader—Harry Reid
 Senate Majority Whip—Dick Durbin
 Senate Minority Leader—Mitch McConnell
 House Speaker—Nancy Pelosi
 House Majority Leader—Steny Hoyer
 House Minority Leader—John Boehner
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Chapter 13 Learning Objectives
After reading and reviewing the material in this chapter, the student should be able
to do each of the following:
 1.
Explain the differences between a congress and a parliament and
delineate the role that the Framers expected the United States Congress to
play.
 2.
Pinpoint the significant eras in the evolution of Congress.
 3.
Describe the characteristics of members of Congress and outline the
process for electing members of Congress.
 4.
Identify the functions that party affiliation plays in the organization of
Congress.
 5.
Describe the formal process by which a bill becomes a law.
 6.
Identify the factors that help to explain why a member of Congress votes
as he or she does.