1. Incumbency Advantage and The legislative process
2.3

2. Incumbents Usually Win
An incumbent is an office holder who is seeking reelection
In the last 50 years incumbency has been the single best factor in determining the outcome of congressional elections
Incumbency effect is the thendancy of those already holding office to win reelection
Over 90% of House incumbents win
Over 75% of Senate incumbents wing

3. Reasons Why Incumbents Win
Money
Usually able to raise more campaign contributions
PACs contribute more money to incumbents
Incumbents outspend challengers by a ration of more than 2 to 1

4. Reasons Why Incumbents Win
Visibility (name recognition)
Usually better known to the voters
Have opportunities to participate in highly visible activities that are covered by the media (free publicity)
Have already experiences the campaign process

5. Reasons Why Incumbents Win
Constituent service (credit claiming)
Close link between constituent service and reelection
Able to win supporters by performing casework for their constituents and by bringing home money and jobs (pork) for their district
Casework
Helping individual constituents often by cutting through bureaucratic red tape
Pork
Legislation that allows representatives to bring money and jobs to their district
Often sit on committees that allow them to earmark or designate specific projects for their district
Constituents have a voting record that can be references to evaluate their performance.

6. Reasons Why Incumbents Win
Franking Privilege
Right of members of Congress to mail newsletters to their constituents at the government expense
Recent years have seen this extended to include and recorded phone calls

7. Reasons Why Incumbents Win
Gerrymandering
Districts have been created to include voting blocs that support incumbents
Gerrymandered districts discourage strong challengers from trying to compete with incumbents

8. Consequences of the Incumbency Advantage
Congress contains a large number of experienced leaders
Continuity discourages radical change while encouraging close relations with interest groups
Incumbents have no incentive to change current campaign finance laws
Polls show majority of American disapprove of the job Congress is doing, but their own representatives deserve to be reelected

9. Introduction Approx 5,000 bills introduced each year
About 125 are made into law
Process is
Lengthy
Fragmented (committees, bicameralism)
Deliberate
Negotiation and compromise

10. How a bill becomes a law

11. Creating bills Anyone can write a bill
Most not written by members of congress
Most start in executive branch
Interest groups often draft bills
Must be introduced by members of congress
Dropped in a “hopper” on the clerk’s desk

12. Committee Action House and senate have parallel processes
Assigned a number, then sent to committee
Sent to a sub committee for study, hearings, revisions and approval
Most bills die here
Sub committee returns bill to the main committee, repeat process, amend, discuss
Send to House or Senate with recommendation to pass, or reject the bill

13. Committee Action
Committees can be pigeonholed or buried by committees.
To vote on a bill that has been pigeonholed a discharge petition must be signed by a majority of the members of that chamber.

14. Floor Action in the House
Given a rule by the house rules committee
Open ??
Closed ??
Placed on legislative calendar
Debated and voted on by full House

15. Floor Action in the Senate
Members permitted to speak on the floor as long a they wish
Filibuster ??
Cloture ??
Important bills are often not voted on without a “filibuster proof” vote. Meaning if the supporters don’t have the 60 voted needed to end a filibuster they won’t even vote

16. Floor Action in the Senate cont.
Hold
A senator can ask to be informed before a particular bill is brought to the floor for discussion. Stops the bill from coming to the floor for debate, until the hold is removed and the senator is there.
Voted up or down by the full senate

17. Conference Action
Works out the differences between the house and senate version of a bill
Conference bill is then returned to each house for a vote on this version of the bill

18. Legislative tactics
Strategies and devices used by congress and other in an attempt to block legislation or to get legislation passed

19. Caucuses/coalitions
May form voting blocs, and vote together on a bill one way or the other

20. The committee System
Bill may die if committees fail to act upon them or reject them outright
This is called ??

21. Filibuster and Cloture
Filibuster, unlimited debate
Cloture, method to end debate and force a vote

22. Pork Barrel Legislation
An attempt to provide funds and projects for a members home district or state.

23. Logrolling
An attempt by members to gain the support of other members in return for their support on the member’s legislation
I’ll support your bill if you support mine

24. Riders
Additions to legislation which generally have no connection to the legislation
Usually legislation that would not pass on its own merit
With a lot of riders a bill is know as “ a Christmas tree bill”

25. Amendments
Additions or changes to legislation that deal with the legislation

26. Lobbying
Trying to influence member of Congress to support or reject legislation

27. Conference committees
May affect the wording and therefore the final intent of the legislation

28. Legislative Veto
The rejection of a presidential or executive branch action by a vote of one or both houses of Congress
Mostly used between 1932 and 1980
Declared unconstitutional by SCOTUS in 1983
Congress cannot take any actions that have the force of law unless the president agrees

29. How members vote Instructed delegate model Trustee model
Votes reflect preference of a majority of their constituents
Trustee model
Use their best judgment to make policy in the interest of their constituents
Politico model
Act as delegates or trustees depending on the issue

30. *****GridLock***** What is political ideology?
How does a Congress with divided or wide ranging ideologies cause need for negotiation and compromise?
If compromise can’t be reached what happens?

31. More specifics on the Senate
Treaty Ratification: all treaties entered into by the US must be ratified by the senate with a 2/3 vote (67)
Senate confirmation: most appointments made by the president must be confirmed by a majority vote of the senate (51)