Lawmaking – 115th Term of Congress Session 1 Janda Chapter 11

We will be looking mostly at the U.S. Congress The process is pretty much identical in the Ohio General Assembly, few procedural differences. -------- Local lawmaking is an unbelievable mess  We’ll look at that as well

115th Congress January 2017 – Jan 2019 (Elected fall of 2016)

Senate House We have a “Bicameral Legislature” (2 House)

United States Senate Two per state, represent everyone in the state, That is, everyone in the state votes for these people Since 17th Amendment (1913) Staggered elections (1/3) United States Senate

Senate: 6 year term, no term limits Must be 30 years-old Article I of the Constitution: Senate: (Upper House) Senate: 6 year term, no term limits Must be 30 years-old 9 year resident of the U.S. Resident of that state upon election United States SENATE

United States House Based on Population of the States OH - 16 total districts Beavercreek: 10th Congressional District Only people of that district vote for these people Entire House up for election every two years United States House

House: 2 year terms, no term limits House: Must be 25 years-old Article I of the Constitution: House (Lower House) House: 2 year terms, no term limits House: Must be 25 years-old 7 year resident of U.S. Resident of that state upon election United States HOUSE

Rob Portman (R-OH) Junior Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) Senior Sen. Your U.S. Senators

Your U.S. Representative Mike Turner (R-OH 10th) Your U.S. Representative

A Breakdown of the Congress 115th Congress A Breakdown of the Congress

46 Democrats 52 Republicans Two “Independents” Bernie Sanders (I-VT) Angus King (I-ME)

194 Democrats 241 Republicans    +6 Delegates

115th Congress Demographics

115th Congress Demographics

115th Congress by the numbers 46 African-Americans in the House 3 in the Senate (FYI: 13% of population is black) Barack Obama was only the 5th African-American U.S. Senator in American History 115th Congress by the numbers

115th Congress Demographics

House and Senate Leadership

House vs. Senate : Two very different “events” “Staggering” Opening Day House vs. Senate : Two very different “events” “Staggering”

U.S. Senate Leadership Constitutionally Mandated Officers President President Pro Tempore Orrin Hatch (R-UT) (1977) VP Mike Pence (as of 1-20-17)

U.S. Senate Leadership Political Party Leaders – Majority Party Majority Leader Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

U.S. Senate Leadership Political Party Leaders – Minority Party Minority Leader Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill) Chuck Schumer(D-NY)

U.S. House Leadership Paul Ryan (R-WI 1st) Speaker of the House “The House shall select its Speaker and other officers” Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI 1st)

U.S. House Leadership Political Party Leaders – Majority Party Majority Leader Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA 1st ) Kevin McCarthy (R-CA 22nd)

U.S. House Leadership Political Party Leaders – Minority Party Minority Leader Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD 5th) Nancy Pelosi (D-CA 8th)

Majority/Minority Leaders $193,400 “Senators and Reps. shall receive compensation for their services” Vice-President $231,900 Speaker $223,500 Majority/Minority Leaders $193,400 President Pro Tempore: $180,000 per year Typical Member of Congress $174,900

Parking, Eateries, Elevators, Gyms Tennis Court in the Hart Bld. HOUSE $944,671 for staff of up to 18 ($168,411 max per staffer) $256,574 Travel Expenses Parking, Eateries, Elevators, Gyms Tennis Court in the Hart Bld. Lifetime memberships (until Jack Abramoff) Free Airport Parking Booked on multiple flights Personal Subway System

Leadership Multiple leadership positions beneath these positions mentioned. For example, Sen. Portman is one of the “deputy whips” in the Senate.

Majority and Minority Leaders (The Floor Leaders) Represent the party on the Floor Serve as spokespersons Advocate their parties' policies and viewpoints Unite the party Block opponents legislation

Majority and Minority Whips Assist Party Leader Help party leader get bills passed Keep party members informed Make sure all party members are present for votes on important measures

Congressional Committees and Sub-Committees Majority Party controls the Chair Chair controls the bills “Seniority Rule” (in that committee) Seniority dictates leadership Senior Minority member is the “Ranking member”

FOUR Types of Congressional Committees Standing Committees Select Committees (usually investigative) Joint Committees Conference Committee

Senate version: Rules and Administration Committee. House Rules Committee Decide the rules for how a bill will be handled in the full House session – a very powerful committee Senate version: Rules and Administration Committee.

Powerful, experienced members are in leadership Positives Negatives Powerful, experienced members are in leadership Eliminates fights within the party Ignores ability; rewards length of service “Seniority Rule”

Committees have a counterpart in the other House Every Bill must have somewhere to go in each house of Congress Committees have a counterpart in the other House Senate & House Armed Services (BIG $) Senate & House Budget Committees Senate & House Appropriations Senate & House* Judiciary (impeachment)

Similar, but different name House Foreign Affairs Senate Foreign Relations* (treaties) House Ways and Means Committee (taxes) Senate Finance Committee (taxes)

Congressional Committees by the numbers: Roughly 20 standing Comm. in the House; 17 Senate Range from approx. 15-80 members in House comms; Usually15-30 in the Senate

Your lawmakers: Sherrod Brown: Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; Appropriations; Finance; Banking, Housing and Veteran’s Affairs; Select Committee on Ethics Rob Portman: Budget; Finance; Energy and Natural Resources; Homeland Security and Government Affairs Mike Turner: House Armed Services Committee; House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform