Presentation by Dr. Kevin Lasher POL 101: U.S. Government Presentation by Dr. Kevin Lasher

Congress Bicameralism Enumerated powers Was primary branch Representative democracy

Organization of Congress HOUSE 435 Members (7 for SC) Two year terms Individual districts SENATE 100 Members (2 SC) Six year terms (staggered terms) State-wide districts More prestigious body kkkkkkkkkk

Organization of Congress 112th Congress (2011-2012) House 240 Republicans 191 Democrats 4 Vacant Senate 51 Democrats 47 Republicans 2 Independent (Democrats) kkkkkkkkkk

Organization of Congress 114th Congress (2015-2016) House 246 Republicans 187 Democrats 2 Vacant Senate 54 Republican 44 Democrats 2 Independents (Democrats) kkkkkkkkkk

Organization of Congress 115th Congress (2017-2018) House 238 Republicans 193 Democrats 4 Vacant Senate 51 Republican 47 Democrats 2 Independents (Democrats) kkkkkkkkkk

Organization of Congress 116th Congress (2017-2018) House 235 Democrats 199 Republicans 1 Vacant Senate 53 Republican 45 Democrats 2 Independents (Democrats) kkkkkkkkkk

The Average CongressMAN Male Age 50+ 95% College degree; 50% have law degrees Church Goer Prior Political Experience Fairly wealthy; 50% are “millionaires”

Diversity of Congress House Senate %Congress %Country 115th Congress House Senate %Congress %Country Women 83 21 19% 51% African Americans 46 3 9% 13% Hispanics 33 4 7% 14% Asian 10 2% 4% 116th Congress: 102 women in House; 25 in Senate (24%)

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez New York 14th District Youngest woman to serve in Congress at age 29 Received considerable positive and negative attention in last few months kkkkkkkkkk

Incumbency Sitting members of Congress have tremendous advantages in running for re-election Fund-raising, franking privilege, name recognition, media attention, constituency service kkkkkkkkkk

Incumbency kkkkkkkkkk

Incumbency kkkkkkkkkk

Incumbency Over 90% House re-election rates for last 30 years or so kkkkkkkkkk Over 90% House re-election rates for last 30 years or so

Incumbency kkkkkkkkkk

Incumbency Over 80% Senate re-election rates for last 30 years or so kkkkkkkkkk Over 80% Senate re-election rates for last 30 years or so

Incumbency I hate Congress, but my Congressman is doing a good job kkkkkkkkkk

Major Functions of Congress Running for re-election Representation Constituency Service Policy-making and law-making Oversight kkkkkkkkkk

Representation: Theories Congressman as Delegate (Robot) Representative /Senator simply votes according to wishes of his constituents; reflects “majority will” Problems: uninformed constituents, lack of clear message from voters, 49% unhappy kkkkkkkkkk

Representation: Theories Congressman as Trustee Representative /Senator is intelligent and serious; we “trust” them to make good decisions; we can replace them if they disappoint us Problems: High incumbency return rates suggest that we rarely replace our congressmen kkkkkkkkkk

Representation: Theories Both theories have problems kkkkkkkkkk

What Really Affects a Congressman’s Vote? Party ID/Ideology Staffers Colleagues Lobbyists President as Lobbyist Constituents kkkkkkkkkk

Constituency Service Taking care of the people back home Bringing “pork” to district/state (earmarks) Assisting constituents with Washington “red tape” Meeting/communicating with constituents Publicizing achievements kkkkkkkkkk

Constituency Service This is a major reason why individual congressman are quite popular while Congress as a whole is rather unpopular Is this changing in 2019? kkkkkkkkkk

Major Functions of Congress Running for re-election Representation Constituency Service Policy-making and law-making Oversight kkkkkkkkkk