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 fund-raising: raking in the money Redistricting: favorable boundaries for incumbents © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Recent Reelection Rates of House and Senate Incumbents © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Congressional Campaign Expenditures, by Decade © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

© 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Allocation of PAC Contributions Between Incumbents and Challengers in Congressional Races That Included an Incumbent, 1980-2010 © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 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 © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Congress as a Career: Election to Congress Safe incumbency and representation Who are the winners in congressional elections? © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Parties and Party Leadership Party caucus—closed session Party unity in Congress Heightened unity seen through roll-call votes Party leadership in Congress Demonstrated leadership ability Ability to gain trust © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

© 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Number of Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate, 2001-2012 © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Parties and Party Leadership 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 © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

© 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Percentage of Roll-Call Votes in House and Senate in Which a Majority of Democrats Voted Against a Majority of Republicans © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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 © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 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 the senior member of the majority party Committees and parties: Which is in control? © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Standing Committees of Congress © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

© 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 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 © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

© 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. How a Bill Becomes a Law © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 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 © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Major Functions of Congress © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 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 © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Public Confidence in Congress © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Congress: Too Fragmented? Pro (advantages): Culturally representative of nation Diverse interests represented Cons (disadvantages): National interest subjugated to special interests Disproportionate influence of the minority © 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.