The Legislative Branch U.S. Congress

What is government itself? One of the greatest reflections on human nature. If men were angels, no government would be necessary…James Madison Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made. Otto von Bismarck

U.S. Capitol

Best View in D.C. Speaker of the House’s balcony

Original Supreme Court 5 minutes fast

Differences between Senate and House House of Representatives 435 members 2 yr terms Reapportioned every 10 yrs ( Redistricting! See Gerry) 25 yrs old, citizen for 7, live in state Strict Rules/debate limited Less prestige More partisan/factions Speaker of House – John Boehner (R) Senate 100 members 6 yr terms Rep. whole state 30 yrs old, citizen for 9, live in state Fewer rules/filibuster More prestige Less party loyalty Majority leader – Mitch McConnell (R) Minority Leader- Harry Reid (D)

Congressional Sessions Last two years Begin Jan. 3rd of the year after the election Usually end Nov. before election – Lame Duck Sessions

Benefits Salary $165,200+ per year (Leadership more—SOH- $ 212,100 Generous retirement and benefits (health care) Two offices- D.C. and Home District Staff members Franking privileges—work-related mail, FREE Assorted perks; no petty misdemeanors

Party Control of Each Chamber

Popular Congress?

Demographics of the 114 th Congress Who Are They? Are they representative of the people?

Members of Congress of the 114th Congress – Personal and political background “average” Congress person = white male in his late 50’s Majority are married with children 1/3 of the House and over ½ of the Senate are lawyers Most have previous political experience – local politics, state politics

Gender House (%)Senate (%)Society Men354 (81%)80 (80%)49% Women81 (19%)20 (20%)51%

Race and Ethnicity RaceHouse (%) Senate (%) Society * White % Black % Hispanic % Asian1015.0% America n- Indian 201.2%

Religion – House & Senate

Iowa Congressional Districts Steve King (R) 4 th Dave Loebsack (D) 2 nd Rod Blum (D) 1 st David Young (R) 3 rd

U.S. Senate Joni Ernst– R – Junior Senator (2015) Chuck Grassley - R – Senior Senator (1981)

Roles of your Representative: What do they actually do? LAWMAKING Legislation – propose, study, and vote Budget – revenue (income)/appropriations (spending) REPRESENTING (constituent work) work on behave of individual private citizens AND groups of citizens i.e., explaining the meaning of particular bills to people who may be affected by them or advocating for a citizen as they struggle with a government procedure EVALUATING the work of the legislature – Oversight —follows up on the laws it has enacted to ensure that they are being enforced and administered in the way it intended – Executive Branch and Executive Agencies – Impeachment, Appointments, Overrides, Judiciary… What role does partisanship play?

How do they “represent”? – as a trustee—who uses personal judgment. – as an instructed delegate —who uses the constituents’ judgment. – politico—a combination of both trustee and instructed delegate roles.

Powers of Congress Expressed/Enumerated Powers – Tax, Money, Trade, Declare War, Copyrights, etc Implied Powers – “Necessary & Proper” Clause – Paying for things Checks & Balances – Amendments – Impeachment – Appointments – Treaties – Investigatory Powers Hearings

Roles of Senators and Representatives

Congressional Leadership House leaders are responsible for – Maintaining party organization – Scheduling the business affairs of the chamber (including the legislative sessions and debate times) – Providing members with the most current and up-to-date information on national affairs as well as legislation.

Speaker of the house Has more power and prestige than any other leader in Congress Nominated by majority party, but must win a vote of the entire House Presides over House, assigns bills to committees, and appoints members to special committees and commissions Most important function = deciding what bills are debated by the full House and when

Majority and Minority leaders Elected by their respective parties Duty is to manage legislation on the House floor Majority leader is the party’s second in command Minority leader is the party’s overall leader and main strategist

Majority and minority whips Assistant floor leaders Keep leadership informed and work to persuade party members to vote along party lines Current Leadership

Senate Leadership President of the Senate – Officially the Vice President – Vice President usually only appears for ceremonies or to break a tie vote President of the Senate pro tempore – Senior Senator of the majority party – Presides over the Senate when Vice President is not there – Usually majority party members take turns presiding over the Senate Current Leadership

Majority and Minority Leaders – Spokespersons for their parties- form strategies for legislation Marjority and Minority Whips – Assistant floor leaders who stand in for majority and minority leaders Current Leadership

Committees

Committees (SEE HANDOUT IN PACKET FOR MORE INFORMATION ON COMMITTEES) Purpose - Legislation and Oversight Role – divide workload Types of Committees – Standing Committee Separate subject matter committees – Joint Committee House and Senate share membership i.e.--taxation – Conference Committee Two bills must become one/ compromise bills – Select Committee Specific reason Committee chairpersons—seniority prevails but majority caucuses now can choose chairpersons Assignments – House- two committees and four subcommittees – Senate- three committees and seven subcommittees

Action or Inaction? An unbiased (or cynical) look at the Logic of Congress* *Yes, that might be an oxymoron, but Congress is full of oxymorons

Electoral Connection – Who gets elected? Incumbents– someone currently holding an elected office (positives and negatives) – Constituency services – Name recognition/title – Experience – Advantages? Americans view their own Congressional Representatives favorably while overall approval ratings are low (60-65% approval)

Electoral Connection Direct Patronage – Pork barrel spending – Jobs for constituents Who do they represent? Reapportionment – allocation of boundaries of the districts within each state VS. Redistricting – the redrawing of boundaries of the districts within each state

Gerrymandered Districts Gerrymandering occurs if the lines of a district are redrawn to give a certain party, faction, or ethnic group an advantage 10 Worst Gerrymandered districts

Effects of Gerrymandering High percentage of one party Candidates must cater to the active (usually fringe) members of party No moderates able to get through primary system Interested in trying it out yourself? Play the Redistricting game:

1. Competitive – HOW IT SHOULD BE!! 2. Sweetheart (incumbent pairing) - redistricts two or more incumbent legislators’ so that both are in the same district, thereby ensuring that one will be elected. 3. Packing (concentrating) occurs if minority’s numbers are great enough when diffused to affect the outcome of elections in several districts. 4. Cracking ( dispersing )To diffuse a concentrated political or ethnic minority among several districts so that its votes in any one district are negligible Gerrymandering Strategies

Geographic Districts Legislators are elected into single-member districts All districts are equal in population. Redistricting : the drawing and redrawing of the boundaries of legislative districts – occurs every 10 years with census The U.S. Voting Rights Act (1965) declares that states with a history of electoral discrimination against minority groups must preclear redistricting plans with the U.S. Justice Department or the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia. UPDATE: In August, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down key parts of the Voting Rights Act. – Watch short video on redistricting: – Can be political!! Read about Iowa’s 2011 redistricting process:

Action Happens Because… Desire to Do the Right Thing Party Control of Both Houses Logrolling – exchanging favors – 1991 “Corn for Porn” Desire for Reelection – Help Constituents – Pork – money for local projects

Inaction Happens Because… Divided Congress Lame Duck Status Partisan Bickering Desire Reelection – Change Vote to Get Votes – Avoid Looking Bad It Was Designed That Way

Legislation Passage Appeasing the Chief Legislator i.e.- President Party influences 50% of the time – House partisanship stronger than the Senate – Compromise? – Bipartisanship? Constituency support – Voting records – Issues SIGS and Lobbyists – Restricted by Congress but…