Congress
- Legislative supremacy
- Bicameralism
- Two different chambers
- House: ‘popular’;
constant campaign
[web extra: Historical Highlights] - Senate: ‘elite’;
deliberative
[web extra: History quiz—try it!] - Different perspectives
Representation
- Sociological: background, characteristics
- Mostly lawyers; more political professionals
- More minorities and females (still underrepresented)
[web extras: Women & Minorities in Senate; Women in House]
[web extra: NYT 3/6/11: "For New Congress, Data Shows Why Polarization Abounds"]
- Agency: the ‘Electoral Connection’
- Incumbency
- Districting:
gerrymandering (recall chap.
7 rules)
[audio extra: NPR story 12/10/03, "High Court to Hear Redistricting Case", requires RealPlayer] - Different districts, different outcomes
- Direct patronage (“Pork Barrel”,
"Earmarks")
[video extra: PBS Newshour 3/11/09, "Earmarks to Bear Tougher Scrutiny..."]
[video extra: The Daily Show 3/11/09, "Pet Projects"]- "Bridge
to Nowhere" $400 million
- From Ketchikan,
Alaska, pop. ~8000,
to Gravina Island, Alaska, pop. ~50- To replace existing ferry
- From Ketchikan,
Alaska, pop. ~8000,
- "Bridge
to Nowhere" $400 million
Organization
- Leadership
[audio extra: NPR story 11/19/06, "Speaker, Leaders, and Whips", requires RealPlayer]
[web extra: NYT 11/19/06, "Whip It Good", may require (free) site registration]
- Institutional: Presiding Officers
- House: Speaker – Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)
- Senate:
President (VP)
– Kamala Harris (D)
Pres. Pro Tempore – Patty Murray (D-WA)
- Party: Floor Leaders and Assistants (“Whips”)
[web extra: House leadership; Senate leadership]
- Institutional: Presiding Officers
- Committees (Standing: 22 House, 17 Senate)
- Why Committees?
- Workload: many groups can handle more items
- Expertise: each group focuses on one topic
- Types
- Standing: permanent, legislative
- Select (Special, Ad Hoc): temporary, investigative
- Joint: temporary or permanent, co-ordinate
- Conference: temporary, ‘bill-specific’
- Committees
- Seniority system
- Length of continuous service
- Chamber seniority: committee assignments
- Committee seniority: committee chairs
- Benefits of seniority?
- Expertise, automatic
- Drawbacks of seniority?
- Unresponsive, out of step
[web extra: Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK), then- Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee "describes" the internet]
- Unresponsive, out of step
- Length of continuous service
Legislative Process [video extra: Congress.gov; "The Legislative Process"]
- Notes: Debate, Amendments, the Veto
- House debate and amendments: limits
- set by Rules Committee
- germane
- 1 hour/person maximum debate
- Senate debate and amendments: no limits
- filibuster
- cloture
[video extra: The Daily Show 7/16/13: "Filibusters"]
- President: Veto
- House debate and amendments: limits
- Authorization: legislation (Standing cmtes)
- More ways to kill than to pass
- Appropriation: fund (Appropriations cmtes)
- Annual budget
- Jan. – Feb. : President submits budget for next year
- Feb. – April: Authorization
- April 15th: 1st Budget Resolution (estimate)
- May – June: Appropriations
- June 15th: 2nd Budget Resolution (binding)
- Summer: Reconciliation
- October 1st: New fiscal (budget) year
- Does this process lead to orderly budgets? Well...
see Pew Research: Congress has long struggled to pass spending bills on time
How Congress Decides
- Constituents
- The “Electoral Connection”
- Interest Groups
- Especially constituent groups
- Information
- Party (especially in House)
- Resources: Committee assignments, floor access, Whip system, “logrolling”, the President
Other Activities
- Oversight
- Especially in appropriations
- Senate: Advice and Consent
- Executive branch
- Judicial branch
- Treaties
- Impeachment