1. Congress

2. Congress & Constitution (1789)
Sources of Power: How Should Congress Be Elected?
Lower house: popularly elected
Upper house: sent by state legislatures
Powers of Congress
Does Congress elect President?
No, Electoral College does
Yes, when no candidate receives a majority votes in the College

3. Congress & Constitution (1789)
Powers of Congress
“Power of the Purse”
Appropriation of money
Authorization of borrowing
taxation
Regulatory Power
Regulation of currency
Punishment of counterfeiting
Regulation of inter-state & int’l trade

4. Congress & Constitution (1789)
Powers of Congress
Law-making Power
Establishing rules of naturalization
Making patent & copy-right laws
Making bankruptcy laws
Making amendments to Constitution
War-making & Military Power
War declaration
Raising & supporting armed forces
Providing for militia

5. Congress & Constitution (1789)
Powers of Congress
Power of Personnel Appointment
Confirmation of executive appointments
Secretary of State
US ambassador to the UN
Confirmation of federal judge nomination
Federal court judges
US Supreme Court justices
Power of Impeachment
Bringing impeachment charges (House)
Trying impeachments (Senate)

6. Congress & Constitution (1789)
Powers of Congress
Other Powers
Establishing post office & post roads
Fixing weights and measures
Providing for the government of D.C.
Admitting new states
Establishing lower federal courts

7. Senate vs. the House Size Qualifications House
435 members in the House (since 1911)
106 members in 1791 representing 3.5 million residents
100 Senators in the Senate
Qualifications
House
25 years of age
Citizenship for at least 7 years
Residency in district: 1 year
Term of service: 2 years
1 member per 550,000 people
How often is Congressional election?
How many Members face election each time?

8. Senate vs. House Congress & Constituency House of Representatives
Closer to the voters
More reflective of voter preferences
More answerable to constituents
Senate
More remote to the voters
Allows for political stability & policy continuity
Less responsive to temporal changes in popular sentiments
Can act as a dispassionate counter-weight to the more popular & radical House

9. Senate vs. House Qualifications Senate
30 years of age
9 years of citizenship
Residency requirement in state: 1 year
Term: 6 years
2 seats per state in Senate
How often is Senatorial election?
How many Senators face election each time?

10. Senate vs. House Legislative role differences Senate
More deliberative
Why?
Less structured
House of Representatives
More centralized & organized
More routine & structured

11. To run for Congress… #2: Incumbency Advantages Visibility
Campaign contributions
Donations go to those in office
Donations to challengers offend incumbents
Credit claiming thru services to individuals & district
Casework
Attend to voter concerns, requests and problems
Help cut thru bureaucratic red tape to get what one believes he has a right to get
Pork barrel
List of federal projects, grants & contracts
Help obtain or make known such projects to district

12. To run for Congress… #2: Incumbency Advantages Visibility
Campaign contributions
Credit claiming thru services to individuals & district
Incumbent resources
Institutional connections and access to channels of communications
“franking privilege” (free use of the US mails)
Tax-funded travel allowance to stay visible in one’s own district
Incumbents scaring challengers away
*calls for “term limits” aim to eliminate incumbency advantage

13. Organization of Congress
Political Parties
House leader election every two years
Majority party leader = House Speaker
Every party has a Committee on Committees (Democrats call theirs: the Steering & Policy Committee)
Assign new legislators to committees
Transfer incumbents to new committees on request
Majority & minority leaders jointly control Senate calendars (agenda)

14. Organization of Congress
Committee System
Standing Committees
Important policy-making bodies
Existing from Congress to Congress
Paralleling executive agencies
Foreign Affairs Committee - State Department
Intelligence Committee – CIA & others
Having power to report legislation

15. The caucuses
What is a caucus? Informal group or committee composed of Senators or Representatives who share opinions, interests or social characteristics.
Ideological causes
Liberal Democratic Study Group
Issue-oriented caucuses
Travel & Tourism Caucuses
Congressional Friends of Animals
Common background caucuses
The Congressional Black Caucus

16. The caucuses What is a caucus? Objectives of the Caucuses
To advance interests of the groups they represent by promoting legislation, encouraging Congress to hold hearing, and pressing administrative agencies for favorable treatment

17. How a Bill Becomes Law The Law-making Steps 5. Schedule Debate
When a committee agrees to submit a bill to the two houses, it is put on the House & Senate calendar, a list bills for action
Each house has different calendars for different bills
In House, non-controversial bills are put on the Consent Calendar or Private Calendar to be passed without debate

18. How a Bill Becomes Law The Law-making Steps 5. Schedule Debate
Each house has different calendars for different bills
Controversial or important bills are placed on the Union Calendar or house Calendar. Rules & procedures (length of debate) are requested from the Rules Committee. Define the following: filibuster, cloture, open rule, closed rule.

19. Influences from Interest Groups
Mobilize followers in a member’s congressional districts
“Astroturf lobbying”
Provide information

20. Influences from Party Org
Party leaders in Congress have influence over members
Party organizations have resources:
Leadership PACs
PACs (1) raise funds and then (2) distribute to members for running for election
PACs enhance party power
PACs create bond between leaders & members who receive money
Committee Assignments
Access to Floor
The whip system communication network, with info on member intentions in voting
Logrolling