The Senate

17 th Amendment – senators elected by popular vote of people Each state has 2 Senators Senate has 100 voting members (no non-voting delegates) Senate elections are staggered – 1/3 elected every 2 years – each Senator term is 6 years No limit on number of times a Senator can serve Senators chosen by the entire state, not districts Has special treaty ratification powers and confirmation powers of presidential appointees

The Senate: Georgia’s Senators Johnny Isakson (R)Saxby Chambliss (R)

The Senate - Chamber

The Senate: Leadership Vice President Majority Party Leader (Floor Leader) Majority Party Whip (Assistant Floor Leader) Minority Party Leader (Floor Leader) Committee Chairs Minority Party Whip (Assistant Floor Leader) President Pro Tempore

The Senate: Leadership President of the Senate VP Joe Biden  Presides over Senate, but does not debate  Also does not vote, unless to break a tie  Ceremonial position with little power

The Senate: Leadership President Pro Tempore Robert V. Byrd (D-DL)  Stands in as President when VP is not present  By tradition, usually the most senior Senator of the majority party  Unlike the VP, is a voting member

The Senate: Leadership Majority Floor Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)  Most influential member of the Senate and majority party spokesman

The Senate: Leadership Minority Floor Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)  Same role as House Floor Leader

The Senate: Leadership Assistant Majority Leader (Democratic Whip) Dick Durbin (D-Illinois)  Role is same as House Majority Whip

The Senate: Leadership Assistant Minority Leader (Republican Whip) George N. Peterson (R-Mass)  Same role as House Minority Whip

The Senate: Committees Standing Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Appropriations Armed Services Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Budget Commerce, Science, and Transportation Energy and Natural Resources Environment and Public Works Finance Foreign Relations Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Judiciary Rules and Administration Small Business and Entrepreneurship Veterans Affairs Special, Select, and Other Indian Affairs Select Committee on Ethics Select Committee on Intelligence Special Committee on Aging Joint Joint Committee on Printing Joint Committee on Taxation Joint Committee on the Library Joint Economic Committee

Congressional Committees Why a Committee System?  High volume of legislation (bills) – sending bills to corresponding committee helps speed up process  Allows study of legislation by specialists How the Committee System Works?  Congress divides its tasks among approximately 250 committees and sub committees.  The House and Senate each have their own committees, but they are similar

Congressional Committees 4 Types 1.) Standing : permanent committee that deals with specific policy matters (agriculture, energy and natural resources, veterans affairs, etc…) ; divided into subcommittees that handle more specialized problems 2.) Select : temporary committee appointed for a specific purpose; most are formed to investigate a particular issue (Watergate Committee, Hurricane Katrina Committee, Y2K Committee, etc) 3.) Joint : made up of members of both houses of Congress; can be a select committee or perform routine duties 4.) Conference: temporary committee of members from both houses created to resolve differences in House and Senate versions of a bill; is a compromise committee

Congressional Committees Standing and Subcommittees - Examples House of Reps. Standing Committee: Committee on Resources Sub Committees: Office of Native American Affairs Energy and Minerals Fisheries and Oceans Forests and Forest Health National Parks Water and Power Senate Standing Committee: Environment and Public Works Sub Committees: Transportation and Infrastructure Clean Air, Climate Change, Nuclear Safety Fisheries, Wildlife, and Nature Superfund and Waste Management

Congressional Committees Membership and Leadership Membership Percentage of each committee’s membership reflects the overall percentage of Democrats and Republicans in each house  Ex. – 53% of house is Republican, so 53% of all committee members will be Republican Members try to serve on committees where they can influence public policy relating to their district or state, or influence national public policy issues  Ex – Kansas senator on the agriculture committee  Ex – Iowa representative on the foreign relations committee Leadership Committees are led by a chairperson who belongs to the majority party and is chosen by majority party members of committee

Floor Debate House Rules Committee decides if debate will be open rule or closed rule and how long debate can last Members can only propose amendments (when allowed) related to the topic of the bill Senate More casual; no limits on debating riders are allowed  Amendments not related to the topic of the bill Can filibuster  Unlimited debate by Senators to stall a bill from being voted on  Can only be ended by a cloture (petition signed by 60 Senators)

Why Do Incumbents Win? Better name recognition Can use franking privilege to sent out campaign letters Have greater access to media Raise campaign money more easily (have support of PACs and lobbyists) More campaign experience Have large staffs to help with casework and constituency services Take credit for federal money that gets allocated to their district or state

Criticisms of Congress Overstaffed and self-indulgent BRIBERY!!!!!  Both houses have created rules and limits to help curb legal bribes  House rules allows only family and close friends to give gifts to representatives  Senate put a limit of $50 on any gift (including dinner) and a $100/year limit on gifts from a single source, unless the gift givers are family or “close personal friends”

How A Bill Becomes A Law