Congress “The peoples’ branch.”

The Structure and Powers of Congress What the Framers Had in Mind –Bicameral legislature House of Representatives –“The great repository of the principle of government.”– James Madison –# of representatives based on state population –Elected by the people –2 year terms Senate –Equal number of Senators per state –National/broad based perspective –Longer terms=6 years

The Members of Congress Differences between the House and the Senate HouseSenate 435 Members100 Members Two-year termSix-year term Smaller constituenciesLarger constituencies Fewer personal staffMore personal staff Equal populations representedStates represented Less flexible rulesMore flexible rules More policy specialistsPolicy generalists Less media coverageMore media coverage Less prestigeMore prestige More powerful committee leadersMore equal distribution of power Very important committeesLess important committees More partisanLess partisan Nongermane amendments not allowedNongermane amendments allowed PUREPOLITICS.COM - House vs. Senate "Have Fun" PUREPOLITICS.COM - House vs. Senate "Have Fun"

The Members of Congress Legal and Political Requirements HouseSenate AGE 25 yrs old+30 yrs old+ CITIZENSHIP 7 yrs+9 yrs + RESIDENCY StateState TERM 2 years6 years

Salaries and Benefits of Congress Senate and House set their own salaries –1789 salary=$6.00 per day –2008 salary=$169,300 per year Twenty-seventh Amendment (1992)-prohibits a sitting Congress from giving itself a pay raise. Franking privilege: free mailing to constituents Large budget to pay for staff, telephones, telegrams, newsletters, stationery, etc. 33 paid trips home $150,000/year pension for life

Election Cycle Members of the House of Representatives must run for re-election every two years. during even calendar years. (i.e. 2012, 2014, 2016) every two years.every two years. Members of the Senate must run for re- election every 6 years. Every 2 years 1/3 of the Senate is up for re-election. (1/3 in 2012, 1/3 in 2014, 1/3 in 2016 etc.) every 6 yearsevery 6 years These elections are held on the first Tues. of November.

Reelection and Incumbency Advantage Incumbents=those who are in office Why are incumbents usually reelected? –Incumbents find it easier to raise funds –Incumbents are better known to constituents –Incumbents use their positions to help solve voters’ problems (committee positions) –Most voters believe their incumbents best represents their views –Gerrymandering???

Table 11.2: Incumbents in Congress Reelected by 60 Percent or More

Congressional Sessions Each term of Congress starts on January 3 rd of odd-numbered years after the election the previous November. The Congressional term last for next TWO years. Each term is divided into TWO SESSIONS Each term is divided into TWO SESSIONS Current Congress Term: 113 th What does Congress do when they are in Session? What does Congress do when they are in Session?

Representation for all? Members of Congress have traditionally been disproportionately rich, white, males. Most come from the fields of law, politics or and big business. –Law degrees are held by 169 HoR Reps (38%) and 57 Senators (57%) –Prior Political office184 HoR (43%) 42 Senators –Big Business:187 HoR (44%) 27% Senators The Senate is called “The Millionaire’s Club.”

Representation of all? 56% of the Members are Protestant: with Baptist as the most represented denomination. 31% are Catholic. 44 African American Members (8.1% of the total membership) 37 Hispanic or Latino Members (6.9%) A record 102 women (18.8% of total membership) serve in the 113 th Congress as of July 2014, 10 more 112 th What will be the 113 th legacy??? What will be the 113 th legacy???

What is the role of the Rep? –Delegate? Congress members who feel bound to follow the wishes of a majority of their constituents; they make frequent efforts to learn the opinions of voters in their state or district. –Trustee? Congress members who follow their constituency when voters have clear, strong preferences, but their own best judgment either when the electorate’s desire is weak, mixed, or unclear, or when the member has very strong views on an issue. Congress members who follow their constituency when voters have clear, strong preferences, but their own best judgment either when the electorate’s desire is weak, mixed, or unclear, or when the member has very strong views on an issue. –Politico Role? Congress members who feel the best way they can help their constituency (particularly those who voted for them) is to support the party agenda so that when law making happens he /she has the support of his/her fellow party members. Congress members who feel the best way they can help their constituency (particularly those who voted for them) is to support the party agenda so that when law making happens he /she has the support of his/her fellow party members.

Reapportionment of House of Reps. Reapportionment –Since 1911 the number of HoR members has been fixed at 435 –The number of seats each state gets depends on its population. (California 53; Delaware 1) –Every 10 year the government census to check shifts in population –States with slow population growth or decrease will lose representatives, while states with rapid population growth may gain representatives. –PA History:

Redistricting States determine their own districts by decision in the individual state legislatures. REDISTRICTING: The state legislature draws the boundary lines of each district Boundaries are supposed to be drawn to make districts equal.

Does this look fair? How does it happen????

Gerrymandering Historically, state legislatures have abused their power to divide the state into congressional districts by gerrymandering. GERRYMANDERING: Named after Elbridge Gerry, Democratic-Republican Governor of Massachusetts Gerrymandering means that the political party controlling the state government draws a district’s boundaries to gain an advantage in elections. Districts usually have an irregular shape.

Gerrymandering by Cracking and Packing “Cracking” Redistricting by spreading out your party supporter so they become the majority in as many districts as possible “Packing” Redistricting a district to place as many of the oppositions’ supporters in one district as possible so to take away the opposition’s majority in as many districts as possible

Redistricting Cases Baker v. Carr (1962)-The Court held that federal courts could decide conflicts over drawing district boundaries Reynolds v. Sims (1964)-The Court held that the equal protection clause of the 14 th Amendment required that seats be apportioned on a population basis Wesberry v. Sanders (1964)-The Court ruled that the Constitution clearly intended that a vote in one congressional district was to be worth as much as a vote in another district. “one man-one vote.”

How the HoR Works: Overview The problem… organizing 435 agendas The answers (???) 1.The two party system and House leadership: Who has the ball? 2.Committee work: divide and conquer 3. Following the Rules

The House of Representatives House Leadership –Leaders serve 6 purposes Organizing and unifying party members Scheduling the work of the House Making certain that lawmakers are present for key floor votes Distributing and collecting information Keeping the House in touch with the president Influencing lawmakers to support the policies of their political party

House Leadership Speaker of the House –Presiding officer of the House –Powerful leader of the majority party –Party CAUCUS chooses Speaker –Presides over sessions and c an influence who is recognized first. –Appoints members to certain committees –Refers bills to committee and Schedules bills for action –Is third in the line of succession to the presidency

House Leadership Majority Leader –Speaker’s top assistant –Helps party to plan legislative program –Steers important bills through the House –Floor leader who controls the members speaking on the floor of the House –Controls, with Speaker, the scheduling of bills Majority Whip –Assistant floor leader –Keep track of how members of the majority party will vote on bills –Persuades members to vote as their party desires

The House of Representatives Rules for Lawmaking: –House rules are generally aimed at defining the actions an individual representative can take –Representatives are generally limited to speaking for 5 minutes or less –Rules are geared toward moving legislation quickly once it reaches the floor.

The House of Representatives Committee Work –Committees do most the work in Congress –HR committees are more important that Senate committees Members must organize themselves into smaller groups Representatives tend to specialize on issues that are important to their constituents Party Affiliation –The majority party selects the Speaker and the chairpersons of each committee –The majority party has a lot of power to control the flow of legislation.

Lawmaking in the House Sessions generally start at noon Most important work happens from Tuesday through Thursday Most members are not even on the floor because they are in committee meetings, talking with voters and lobbyists, or taking care of other business Representatives reach the floor very quickly when it is time for debate or to vote on a bill.

Lawmaking in the House All laws start as bills Bills are placed in the hopper After the bill is introduced, the Speaker refers it to the proper committee –Research –Hearings –Revision –Mark-up sessions

Lawmaking in the House Bills that survive committee review are scheduled on one of FIVE calendars for floor action Bills go to the Rules committee before the floor where decisions are made as to how and when a bill is considered on the floor of the House –Open rules –Closed rules –Restrictive rules The Rules Committee can delay and even block a bill from reaching the floor