The Organization of Congress

There are Many Organizations within Congress Congress is many organizations working simultaneously to pass legislation: ◦ Parties and the Caucuses ◦ Committees ◦ Staffs and Special Offices

Party Organization of the Senate ◦ Majority party chooses one of its members – usually the person with greatest seniority- to be the president pro tempore of the Senate- just in case the VP can’t do it, this person will preside over the Senate- no one wants this job ◦ Majority leader holds real power and is chosen by senators of majority party- depending on his personality he can achieve a lot ◦ Minority leader the same ◦ Whip- senator who helps the party leader stay informed about what party members are thinking. Whip has several senators who help him. ◦ Policy committee- schedules Senate business- when to hear what bills ◦ Committee who chooses who serves on which boards has a lot of power- Steering Committee- Democrats and Committee for committees for Rep. ◦ Goal of all of this is to achieve ideological and regional balance

Party Structure in the House ◦ Leadership structure essentially the same as in the senate ◦ Leadership carries more powers because of the House Rules ◦ Speaker is most important person and is elected by whichever party has a majority and has some informal powers at his disposal- decides who shall be recognized on the floor, nominate certain people ◦ Floor leader ◦ Each party has a congressional campaign committee

Strength of Party Structures ◦ Measurement of strength is the ability of the leaders to get their members to vote together on rules and structure of Congress ◦ Senate is different. Today it is less party- centered

Party Unity ◦ how much do members of the same party vote together? ◦ Party polarization- vote where a majority of voting democrats oppose majority of voting repub. ◦ Party unity not a thing of the past- majority do vote with their parties and specific issues trigger party cohesion ◦ Today’s party splits reflect sharper ideological differences ◦ Voting with the party reflects the members’ ideological stance as well as improve chances for important position. Sometimes if they don’t know much about the issue they look to their leaders ◦ Party affiliation will tell you the most about a member of Congress

Caucuses ◦ Association of members of Congress created to advocate a political ideology or a regional or economic interest ◦ They have grown in number despite some efforts to curtail their activities ◦ Political scientist Susan Webb Hammond has identified different types of caucuses:  Intraparty caucuses- members share common ideology  Personal-interest- common interest in issue  Constituency – represent certain groups or regions (CBC- Congressional Black Caucus)

The Organization of Congress: Committees It is here that most work gets done 3 types: standing committees- more or less permanent, select committees- groups with limited scope and duration, joint committees – both house and senate members Conference committees- both house and senate reps meet to resolve differences in the senate and house versions of different pieces of legislation 104 th congress (Republican controlled) reduced the number of committees Usually the make up of the committee reflects the breakdown in the senate or house Standing committees are important ones b/c they can propose legislation by reporting a bill out to the full house or senate Most members serve on two standing committees (unless they are part of the exclusive one like Ways and Means or Appropriations) but some exclusive ones can serve on more. Senators can serve on 2 major and 2 minor committees. Long time ago when party leaders were strong- committee chairmen chosen on loyalty to the leader