Congress: Balancing National Goals and Local Interests Chapter 11

Congress as a Career: Election to Congress Using incumbency to stay in Congress The service strategy: taking care of constituents Campaign fundraising: raking in the money Redistricting: favorable boundaries for incumbents © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. figure 11-1 REELECTION RATES OF HOUSE AND SENATE INCUMBENTS Congressional incumbents have a very good chance of winning another term, as indicated by the reelection rates of U.S. representatives and senators who sought reelection during the last five congressional elections. © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. figure 11-2 THE RISING COST OF CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGNS Each decade, the cost of running for congressional office has risen sharply as campaign techniques—TV advertising, opinion polling, and so on—have become more elaborate and sophisticated. The increase in spending can be seen from a comparison of the approximate average spending by both candidates per House or Senate seat at 10-year intervals, beginning in 1980. Roughly speaking, the cost has doubled each decade. (Source: federal Election Commission.) © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. FAVOR INCUMBENTS In allocating campaign contributions, PACs favor incumbent members of Congress figure 11-3 PAC CONTRIBUTIONS over their challengers by a large margin. (Source: Center for Responsive Politics, 2016. Based on PAC contribution averages for the past five election cycles.) © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. POLITICAL THINKING Should Partisan Gerrymandering Be Banned?   Most House districts lopsidedly favor the Republican or Democratic candidate, and partisan gerrymandering is among the reasons. In redrawing election district boundaries after the census, state legislatures tend to configure them in ways designed to create safe Democratic or Republican districts. Do you think that state legislatures should do the redistricting? Or do you favor the system used by a few states where an independent bipartisan commission is in charge of drawing congressional district boundaries after each census? What’s the basis for your preferred method? © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

Congress as a Career: Election to Congress Pitfalls of incumbency Disruptive issues Personal misconduct Turnout variation: the midterm election problem Primary election challengers General election challengers: a problem for senators A new threat: super PACs © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

Parties and Party Leadership Party caucus—closed session Party unity in Congress Parties are the strongest force within Congress Heightened unity seen through roll-call votes © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. table 11-1 THE NUMBER OF DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE, 2003–2016 © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. HOW THE 50 STATES DIFFER: POLITICAL THINKING THROUGH COMPARISONS Women in the State Legislatures Sources: Created from data gathered by the Center for the American Woman and Politics (CAWP); National Information Bank on Women in Public Office; and Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University, 2014. © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. PARTY POLARIZATION: Political Thinking in Conflict Partisan Conflict in Congress Source: Estimated by author from Congressional Quarterly figures. The 2010 figures are based on the 2010–2015 period. © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

Parties and Party Leadership Party leadership in Congress House leaders Speaker of the House Elected by the House membership By default, a member of the majority party Said to be the second-most-powerful official in Washington, after the president House majority leader House majority whip © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

Parties and Party Leadership Party leadership in Congress Senate leaders Majority party leader is the most powerful senator The vice president presides over the Senate; however, has power only to cast tie-breaking vote Senate president pro tempore presides over the Senate in the vice president’s absence Largely an honorary position held by the majority party’s senior member © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

Committees and Committee Leadership Committee jurisdiction Bills introduced must be referred to the proper committee for deliberation Committee membership Typically mirrors the party ratio of the body Committee chairs Typically senior members of the majority party Committees and parties: Which is in control? © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. How a Bill Becomes a Law Committee hearings and decisions Most work on legislation is done in committee From committee to the floor Rules for debate are defined Leadership and floor action Debate, changes, and vote by full membership Conference committees and the president Reconcile differences between similar legislation © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

Congress’s Policymaking Role Lawmaking function of Congress Makes laws authorizing federal programs Broad issues: fragmentation as a limit on Congress’s role Congress in the lead: fragmentation as a policymaking strength © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

Congress’s Policymaking Role The representation function of Congress Representation of states and districts Representation of the nation through parties Oversight function of Congress Sees that executive branch carries out the laws faithfully © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. *Although the large majority of bills are signed or vetoed by the president, a bill can also become law if the president fails to take action within 10 days (Sundays excepted). In that instance, the bill becomes law if Congress is still in session. On the other hand, if Congress has concluded its term and the president fails to sign a bill within 10 days, the bill does not become law. This last situation, called a pocket veto, forces Congress in its next term to start over from the beginning: the bill again must pass both chambers and again is subject to presidential veto. p.332 © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2014, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved. *Congress’s expertise is largely concentrated in its committee system where members acquire policy knowledge in the policy area handled by the committees they serve on. Each committee also has a staff, some of whom are hired for their expertise in the committee’s policy area. Congress also has three agencies of its own, though they function as nonpartisan bodies rather than as policy bodies. One of these agencies is the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), which has a staff of 250 employees and provides Congress with estimates of government expenditures and revenues, which Congress uses in determining fiscal policy. A second congressional agency is the Government Accountability Office (GAO), with 3,000 employees. Its job is to determine whether executive agencies are complying with laws passed by Congress. The third agency is the Congressional Research Service (CRS) with 1,000 employees. The CRS functions as a research and information service for congressional members and committees. By law, it is prohibited from making policy recommendations. (p.334) © 2014, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

© 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

Congress: An Institution Divided Pro (advantages): Culturally representative of nation Diverse interests represented Cons (disadvantages): National interest subjugated to special interests Disproportionate influence of the minority © 2017, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.