1. Congress: Balancing National Goals and Local Interests
Chapter 11

2. Congress as a Career: Election to Congress
Using incumbency to stay in Congress
The service strategy: taking care of constituents
Campaign fund-raising: raking in the money
Redistricting: favorable boundaries for incumbents
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3. Recent Reelection Rates of House and Senate Incumbents
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4. Congressional Campaign Expenditures, by Decade
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Allocation of PAC Contributions between Incumbents and Challengers in Congressional Races That Included an Incumbent, 1980–2010
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6. Congress as a Career: Election to Congress
Pitfalls of incumbency
Disruptive issues
Personal misconduct
Turnout variation: the midterm election problem
Primary election challengers
General election challengers: a problem for senators
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7. Congress as a Career: Election to Congress
Safe incumbency and representation
Who are the winners in congressional elections?
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8. Parties and Party Leadership
Party caucus—closed session
Party unity in Congress
Heightened unity seen through roll-call votes
Party leadership in Congress
Demonstrated leadership ability
Ability to gain trust
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The Number of Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate, 2001–2012
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10. Parties and Party Leadership
House leaders
Speaker of the House
Elected by the House membership
By default a member of the majority party
Said to be the second-most-powerful official in Washington, after the president
House majority leader
House majority whip
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Percentage of Roll-Call Votes in House and Senate in Which a Majority of Democrats Voted against a Majority of Republicans
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12. Party Leadership in Congress
Senate leaders
Majority party leader is the most powerful senator
The vice president presides over the Senate; however, has power only to cast tie-breaking vote
Senate president pro tempore presides over the Senate in the vice president’s absence
Largely an honorary position held by the majority party’s senior member
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13. Committees and Committee Leadership
Committee jurisdiction
Bills introduced must be referred to the proper committee for deliberation
Committee membership
Typically mirrors the party ratio of the body
Committee chairs
Typically the senior member of the majority party
Committees and parties: Which is in control?
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14. The Standing Committees of Congress
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How a Bill Becomes a Law
Committee hearings and decisions
Most work on legislation is done in committee
From committee to the floor
Rules for debate are defined
Leadership and floor action
Debate, changes, and vote by full membership
Conference committees and the president
Reconcile differences between similar legislation
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How a Bill Becomes a Law
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17. Congress’s Policymaking Role
Lawmaking function of Congress
Makes laws authorizing federal programs
Broad issues: fragmentation as a limit on Congress’s role
Congress in the lead: fragmentation as a policymaking strength
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18. The Major Functions of Congress
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19. Congress’s Policymaking Role
The representation function of Congress
Representation of states and districts
Representation of the nation through parties
Oversight function of Congress
Sees that executive branch carries out the laws faithfully
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20. Public Confidence in Congress
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21. Congress: Too Fragmented?
Pro (advantages):
Culturally representative of nation
Diverse interests represented
Cons (disadvantages):
National interest subjugated to special interests
Disproportionate influence of the minority
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