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11 Congress

Representatives and Senators  Members 11.1 EQ: Characterize the backgrounds of members of Congress and assess their impact on the ability of members of Congress to represent average Americans

Members  Not a glamorous job, but there are perks Power $174,000 annual salary Generous retirement and health benefits  Constitutional requirements House: 25, citizen for 7 years Senate: 30, citizen for 9 years Reside in state they represent 435 Representatives; 100 senators 11.1

TABLE 11.1: Portrait of the 113th Congress: 11.1

Members  Demographics Descriptive versus substantive representation This simply means that they can’t represent their constituents by being from the same background and having the same problems, but they can represent them as advocates who understand their problems and concerns. 11.1

Why Aren’t There More Women in Congress?  Women constitute more than half the U.S. population but hold less than a fifth of congressional seats.  Fewer women running- win about ½ of the time. Childcare- Women without children are more politically ambitious  Bias When candidates are equally qualified, there’s a bias in voters toward the male candidate, therefore females must be MORE qualified to win. 11.1

11.1 How old do you have to be to run for the office of senator? a.25 b.35 c.30 d

11.1 How old do you have to be to run for the office of senator? a.25 b.35 c.30 d

Congressional Elections  Who Wins Elections?  Advantages of Incumbency  Role of Party Identification  Defeating Incumbents  Open Seats  Stability and Change 11.2 EQ: Identify the principal factors influencing the outcomes in congressional elections

 Incumbents Over 90% win re-election in House Senators do not have it as easy Represent a larger more diverse constituencies, more visible, held more accountable, serve a longer term  Incumbents perceive themselves as vulnerable Hence fundraising and campaigning Who Wins Elections? 11.2

FIGURE 11.1: Incumbency factor in congressional elections 11.2 Americans disapprove of the performance of Congress as a whole, but tend to think that their own representatives are an exception and reelect them. This makes it hard to change the makeup of Congress in a given election.

Advantages of Incumbency  Do Americans reelect their representatives because they agree with their voting record? Hardly. Only 11% of Americans have any idea of how their representatives voted on a given issue. If not policy, what gives incumbents their electoral advantage?  Advertising Franking Privilege = Constituent contact, telephone, , twitter, FB, etc.  Credit claiming Casework- services to individual constituents Pork barrel projects ( These are safer than taking credit for policy changes because those win enemies as well as supporters) 11.2

Advantages of Incumbency  Position taking- risky but can be effective  Weak opponents who lack visibility and experience  Campaign spending  House more than $1mil on avg  Senate more than $10 mil  Incumbent outspend their challengers 2 to

Role of Party Identification  Parties and districts Drawn for one-party dominance-this also give incumbents an advantage When state legislatures redraw districts every decade, they look at the demographics of residents and draw the districts to ensure that they’re safe seats for one party or the other 11.2

Defeating Incumbents  Challengers are naïve But sometimes incumbents are vulnerable (scandal)  Redistricting – every 10 years – done by the party in power in the STATE legislatures – Gerrymandering  Public mood  Dissatisfaction w/ economy or scandals  This happens most often in midterm elections, and the party that holds the presidency almost always loses seats in both houses. 11.2

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113 th Congress

Open Seats and Stability and Change  Vacant election = no incumbent running Most turnover occurs here  Stability from incumbency Development of expertise  Term limits?  Does this expertise outweigh the lack of responsiveness that results from career politicians in safe seats? Some people have proposed term limits for members of Congress. Do you think that’s a good idea? 11.2

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11.2 Why do incumbents have such a strong electoral advantage? a.They attract more campaign contributions b.They can use the congressional franking privilege c.They have more name recognition d.All of the above 11.2

11.2 Why do incumbents have such a strong electoral advantage? a.They attract more campaign contributions b.They can use the congressional franking privilege c.They have more name recognition d.All of the above 11.2

How Congress is Organized to Make Policy  American Bicameralism  Congressional Leadership  Committees and Subcommittees  Caucuses: Informal Organization of Congress  Congressional Staff 11.3 EQ: Compare and contrast the House and Senate, and describe the roles of congressional leaders, committees, caucuses, and staff

American Bicameralism  Bicameral legislature- Connecticut (Great) Compromise Bills must pass both houses (exactly the same) Checks and balances  House More institutionalized and seniority-based Rules Committee- functions as a traffic cop for bills coming out of committee. It gives each bill a “rule,” which schedules the bill on the calendar, allots time for debate, and specifies what kind of amendments may be offered.  Senate Filibuster (can end w/ cloture of 60 votes) – weapon of minority party acy7fkBiZz0EaE1S-LS1cGgK acy7fkBiZz0EaE1S-LS1cGgK Less centralized and seniority-based 11.3

TABLE 11.2: House versus Senate: Some key differences 11.3

Congressional Leadership  Leadership assignments are chosen by party  House Speaker of the House – chosen by majority party (3 rd in line for POTUS), presides over the House Majority leader/minority leaders- work with the party whips to persuade members to vote with their party on important bills Whips- Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer incentives and threaten party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy  Senate Vice president –leader of Senate – only breaks a tie vote Majority leader is the de facto head (president pro tempore) 11.3

Congressional Leadership uuaLjXtOfse2ncvffeelTrqvhrz8H&index=8

Committees and Subcommittees  Four types of committees Standing committees- handle bills in different policy areas. Members of Congress each serve on several standing committees and subcommittees. Joint committees- between the two chambers exist in a few key policy areas, such as the economy and taxation Conference committees- created when the House and Senate need to reconcile different versions of the same bill Select committees- deal with a policy issue, such as deficit reduction, and may be temporary or permanent 11.3

TABLE: 11.3: Standing committees in the Senate and in the House 11.3

Committees and Subcommittees  Committees at work: Legislation 9000 bill introduced annually New bills are assigned to a subcommittee, where they usually die. If they are debated and passed, they move on to the full committee, where they have another good chance of never again seeing the light of day If the bills pass out of committee, they move to the full floor of the chamber for debate and voting, where they can also die!. legislative oversight- Once a bill becomes law, committees remain involved in assigning budgets and monitoring the work of the executive branch agency responsible for implementing the law. legislative oversight. 11.3

TABLE 11.4: Sharing oversight of homeland security 11.3

 Getting on a committee Constituent needs Appealing to leadership Committees and Subcommittees 11.3

Caucuses: Informal Organization of Congress  As important as formal structure- networks spring mainly from friendship, ideology, and geography.  Dominated by caucuses 500 caucuses today Goal is to promote their interests Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus, Caucus for Women’s Issues, etc dPuuaLjXtOfse2ncvffeelTrqvhrz8H&index=7

Congressional Staff  Personal staff (11,000+) Casework Legislative functions-ghost legislation, meet with interest groups/lobbyists, negotiate agreements on behalf of congressmen, summarize bills, brief legislators.  Committee staff 2,000 staff members organize hearings, research legislative options, draft committee reports on bills, write legislation, and engage in legislative oversight.  Staff agencies Congressional Research Service (CRS)- research Government Accountability Office (GAO)-legislative oversight Congressional Budget Office (CBO)- analyses president’s budget 11.3

11.3 How many staff members does Congress employ to help it do its job? a.More than 11,000 b.3,200 c.Less than 2,000 d.Staff are volunteers from the member’s constituency, and their numbers vary 11.3

11.3 How many staff members does Congress employ to help it do its job? a.More than 11,000 b.3,200 c.Less than 2,000 d.Staff are volunteers from the member’s constituency and their numbers vary 11.3

Congressional Process and Decision Making  Presidents and Congress: Partners and Protagonists  Party, Constituency, and Ideology  Lobbyists and Interest Groups 11.4 EQ: Outline the path of bills to passage and explain the influences on congressional decision making

FIGURE 11.2: How a bill becomes a law ww.yout ube.com /watch? v=66f4- NKEYz4 &list=PL 8dPuua LjXtOfse 2ncvffee lTrqvhrz 8H&inde x=9

Presidents and Congress: Partners and Protagonists  President’s legislative (Chief Legislator) agenda Persuade Congress (easy if the majority party is the same party as president) Yet Congress is quite independent 11.4

Party, Constituency, and Ideology  Party influence Economic and social welfare policies  Polarized politics Parties more internally homogeneous Less likelihood of compromise 11.4

FIGURE 11.3: Increasing polarization in Congress 11.4

Party, Constituency, and Ideology  Constituency opinion versus member ideology Trustees versus instructed delegates What if a member of Congress has a different preference on a policy than his constituents? The trustee model of representation says that legislators are elected to use their best judgment. They have access to information that their constituents don’t have and they should act in their best interests. The instructed delegate model of representation states that representatives must mirror the preferences of their constituents. 11.4

Lobbyists and Interest Groups  D.C. is crawling with lobbyists 12,000 of them Spent $3 billion in 2011 Many were former members of Congress  How lobbyists persuade Provide policy information Provide promises of money Ghostwrite legislation Status quo usually wins  Disclosure requirements- meaning influence is made public (but that doesn’t slow them down) 11.4

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11.4 On what tactics do lobbyists rely to influence policy in Congress? a.Promising money for reelection campaigns b.Providing expert policy information c.Ghostwriting legislation d.All of the above 11.4

11.4 On what tactics do lobbyists rely to influence policy in Congress? a.Promising money for reelection campaigns b.Providing expert policy information c.Ghostwriting legislation d.All of the above 11.4

 Congress and Democracy  Congress and the Scope of Government 11.5 Understanding Congress EQ: Assess Congress’s role as a representative body and the impact of representation on the scope of government

Congress and Democracy  Democracy depends upon successful representation  Congress unrepresentative Members are elites Leadership chosen by members, not voters Senate based on states, not population  Obstacles to good representation Constituent service vs. national interests Reelection campaigns (time consuming)  Representativeness versus Effectiveness Senate represents each state equally, regardless of population 11.5

Congress and the Scope of Government  Does size of government increase to please public? Pork barrel spending  Contradictory preferences Against large government, for individual programs 11.5

11.5 How does the Senate undermine democratic representation? a.Its members tend not to show up for roll call votes b.It is forbidden from overriding a presidential veto c.It represents states rather than people d.None of the above 11.5

11.5 How does the Senate undermine democratic representation? a.Its members tend not to show up for roll call votes b.It is forbidden from overriding a presidential veto c.It represents states rather than people d.None of the above 11.5