Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Longman PoliticalScienceInteractive Magleby & Light Government by the People Chapter 11 Congress: The People’s Branch

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman The People’s Branch The federal government did not become involved in providing access to college until Congress passed the “G.I. Bill” in 1944 Over the next 50 years, Congress and the president expanded the loan system to make a college/university education almost universally accessible

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Congressional Elections “Members of Congress run for Congress by running against Congress. The strategy is ubiquitous, addictive, cost-free, and foolproof…. In the short run, everybody plays and nearly everybody wins. Yet the institution bleeds from 435 separate cuts.” -Richard F. Fenno Jr.

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Who Elects the Congress The allocation of legislative seats to jurisdictions based on population. Seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are apportioned to the states on the basis of their population after every ten-year census. Unequal numbers of people in legislative districts resulting in inequality of voter representation. ApportionmentMalapportionment

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Reapportionment, 2000

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman The Original Gerrymander

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Gerrymandering Packing Lumping opposition voters in one area Cracking Splitting up groups of voters so they do not constitute a majority in any district

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Advantages of Incumbency Franking privilege Greater access to media High name recognition High odds of victory give incumbents a natural fund-raising advantage Greater experience as candidates Greater ability to help constituents

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Predicting Congressional Elections

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman A Divided Branch The architecture and floor plan of the Capitol building in Washington reflect the bicameral division of Congress

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman The Powers of Congress To raise, make, and borrow money To regulate commerce To unify and expand the country To prepare and declare war To create the federal judiciary

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Differences Between the House of Representatives and the Senate

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Leading the House of Representatives

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Leading the Senate

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Congressional Committees Types of committees –Standing Committee (most important) –Special or Select (Temporary) –Joint (Includes both House and Senate members)

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Congressional Committees Types of Standing Committees (35 in Total) –Authorizing (outline what government can do) –Appropriations (Money spent on programs and operations –Rules and Administration (of House and Senate) –Budget and Revenue (Raises money for Appropriations Committee) –Conference (settles differences between chambers)

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Congressional Committees Choosing committee members –Seniority Rule (Chairs) –Comes from Majority Party –Members are proportionate to party composition

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Congressional Committees Special committees may conduct investigations or hold hearings, such as Supreme Court confirmation hearings Bureaucratic Oversight and Investigations

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Congressional Caucuses Informal committees that allow individual members to promote shared legislative interests Examples: –Black Caucus –Women’s Issues Caucus –Rural Health Caucus –Children’s Caucus –Pro-Life Caucus –Cuba Freedom Caucus

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman The Job of the Legislator: Customs and Norms Until recently, many norms guided the behavior of members of Congress. Members were supposed to specialize in a small number of issues, defer to members with longer tenure in office, never criticize anyone personally, and wait their turn to speak and introduce legislation.

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Roles of Legislator Legislators serve numerous roles in Congress: – Delegate – “what the folks want back home” – Trustee – make decisions that are best for the district, state or nation – Free Agents – making decisions based on their own ideas and beliefs

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Legislators as Representatives

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Philosophy and political convictions Voters Colleagues Congressional staff Party Interest groups The president Making Legislative Choices

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Making Choices  Colleagues: advice of like-minded colleagues or close friends. Vote will be reciprocated (logrolling).  Congressional Staff: keeps legislature informed of hometown, district, state issues  Constituents: attentive public – those that follow politics closely  Ideology: party usually predicts ideology

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Making Choices  Interest Groups: contributions to campaigns, informant of issues, lobbying  Party: Members generally vote with party lines  President: distributes resources throughout government to their friends

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman Congressional Ethics In recent years, much greater scrutiny than in the past –Jack Abramoff: “The man who bought Washington” –Abramoff’s relationship with House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) led to DeLay’s resignation in 2006 Since 2007, members of Congress may not accept gifts/meals from lobbyists

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman How a Bill Becomes Law Introducing a Bill Formal proposal before the Senate or HOR (H.R103 or S.103) Committee Review Forwarded to proper subcommittee (tax bills to Ways and Means, Farm Bill to Agriculture, etc.) Referral Decision Sent to committee or committees

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman How a Bill Becomes Law Presidential Approval After approval from both chambers, President can either sign into law or veto. If he doesn’t sign in 10 days (except Sunday) bill becomes law only if Congress is in session. If Congress is not in session, and President doesn’t sign, the bill becomes dead (pocket veto). Override – if President vetos, goes back to Congress for a 2/3 vote in both chambers for approval

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman How a Bill Becomes Law Markup Edit or make changes to the bill for final approval. Sent back to subcommittees and committee(s) for approval. Discharge Most bills die in the committee approval stage because majority does not favor action. Floor Debate and Passage Final approval by House and Senate. Riders are sometimes added to persuade passage.

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc., Publishing as Longman How a Bill Becomes Law