Congress Representatives of the People

Congress Bicameral ▫Term-Every 2 years ▫Session-2 sessions every term ▫Congress starts January 3 of every odd year Members-Senate (100) House of Rep. (435) Requirements

Upper House-Senate Continuous Body ▫Because Senators serve 6 year terms And only 1/3 of the Senate faces re-election every two years. So the Senate can never lose more than 1/3 of it's members, in any given election. Whereas the entire U.S. House of Representatives faces election every two years. The entire House could be voted out of office. Enlightened Body

Trustee Each question should be decided on its merits ▫C▫Conscience, independent judgment are guides ▫“▫“call it as I see it” ▫A▫Are not influenced by other groups

Delegate Agent of their electors ▫Vote the way people back home think is best ▫Willing to suppress their own views ▫Ignore their own party’s leaders

Partisans Lawmakers who owe their first allegiance to their political party ▫Bound to vote in line with party platform and beliefs ▫Partisanship is the leading factor influencing votes on important issues

Politicos Attempt to combine the basic elements of the trustee, delegate, and partisan role ▫Balance conflicting factors of: their own views, what is best for their constituents, and the political facts of life

Committee Members Oversight Function ▫The process by which Congress, through its committees, checks to see that the various agencies in the executive branch are working effectively and acting in line with the policies that Congress has set by law

Committee Members Standing Committees ▫Permanent panels to which all similar bills are sent  Committee on Agriculture Select Committees ▫Sometimes called “special committees”, panels set up for some specific purpose and limited time  Select Committee on Aging Joint Committee ▫Comprised of members of both houses  Some are select but most are standing committees

Committee Members Conference Committee ▫Temporary, joint body created to iron out differences in a bill

Committee on Rules House of Representatives ▫Limits what can be said and done to a bill ▫A bill is first reported from a committee to the Committee on Rules to determine what will be discussed in regards to the bill  often described as "an arm of the leadership" and as the "traffic cop of Congress."

Committee of the Whole Less strict rules than the House of Representatives Do not need a quorum to discuss a (100 members) When the House goes into a Committee of the Whole, the Speaker steps down because the full House of Reps. Is no longer in session Five minute rule ▫Supporters and opponents of each amendment to the bill only have five minutes to make their case

Committee of the Whole The committee then compiles its work, usually many pages often times in the hundreds of pages Dismisses itself and returns to the House of Representatives ▫The House then formally adopts the committees work

Committees Constitution makes no mention of standing committees, yet they are essential to the lawmaking process ▫Called the “little legislatures” Sift through many of the bills referred to them, rejecting many Most bills fate rests in the committees

Committees Discharge petition enables members to force a bill that has remained in committee for 30 days onto the floor for consideration ▫Discharge motion must be signed by the majority of the House, then the committee has seven days to report the bill

Subcommittees Divisions of existing committees to discuss specific issues ▫80 in the House—70 In the Senate Subcommittee completes work on a Bill it is sent to full committee

Committee Responsibilities Report a Bill favorably with a “do pass” recommendation Refuse to report the bill, “pigeonhole it” Report bill in an amended form Report the bill with an unfavorable recommendation Report a committee bill

Servants Congress Members act as Servants of their constituents ▫Most congress members know, to deny or fail to respond to request will likely lose them votes ▫Members of Congress are always working towards their effort of re-election

Bills and Resolutions Joint resolutions deal with unusual or temporary matters ▫Appropriate money for the presidential inauguration ceremonies Concurrent resolutions ▫Deal with matters the House and Senate must act on jointly  Do not have the force of law and do not require the Presidents signature  Used most often in foreign affairs

Bills and Resolutions Rider ▫A provision not likely to pass on its own merit that is attached to an important measure which is certain to pass  “Riding coattails”