Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

Chapter 12: Congress  The Representatives and Senators  Congressional Elections  How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy  The Congressional Process  Understanding Congress  Summary

Chapter Outline and Learning Objectives  The Representatives and Senators The Representatives and Senators  LO 12.1: Characterize the backgrounds of members of Congress and assess their impact on the ability of members of Congress to represent average Americans.  Congressional Elections Congressional Elections  LO 12.2: Identify the principal factors influencing the outcomes in congressional elections.

Chapter Outline and Learning Objectives  How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy  LO 12.3: Compare and contrast the House and Senate, and describe the roles of congressional leaders, committees, caucuses, and staff.  The Congressional Process The Congressional Process  LO 12.4: Outline the path of bills to passage and explain the influences on congressional decision making.

Chapter Outline and Learning Objectives  Understanding Congress Understanding Congress  LO 12.5: Assess Congress’s role as a representative body and the impact of representation on the scope of government.

The Representatives and Senators LO 12.1: Characterize the backgrounds of members of Congress and assess their impact on the ability of members of Congress to represent average Americans.  The Members  Why Aren’t There More Women in Congress? To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

The Representatives and Senators  The Members  535 Members – 100 Senators and 435 Representatives.  House members – At least age 25 and U.S. citizens for 7 years.  Senators – At least age 30 and U.S. citizens for 9 years.  All members must reside in state from which they are elected. LO 12.1 To Learning Objectives

The Representatives and Senators  Why two houses? View herehere  2011-2012 salary for the House and Senate is $174,000 per year.  Senate Leadership Majority Party Leader - $193,400 Minority Party Leader - $193,400  House Leadership Speaker of the House - $223,500 Majority Leader - $193,400 Minority Leader - $193,400 Speaker of the House LO 12.1 To Learning Objectives

Is Congress Representative of America? Click to visit website

Richest Members of Congress  Click to view website Click to view website

Congressional Elections LO 12.2: Identify the principal factors influencing the outcomes in congressional elections.  Who Wins Elections?  The Advantages of Incumbency  The Role of Party Identification  Defeating Incumbents  Open Seats  Stability and Change To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

Congressional Elections  Who Wins Elections?  Incumbents – Those already holding office.  In congressional elections, incumbents usually win.  House elections – 90% of the incumbents seeking reelection win and most of them win with more than 60% of the vote.  See re-election rate here.here LO 12.2 To Learning Objectives

Congressional Election Milestones Mazie Hirono (D-HI) First Buddhist and first Asian American woman elected the U.S. Senate Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) First Hindu women elected to U.S. House of Representative

The pork barrel (earmarks) refers to expenditures on federal projects, grants, and contracts for cities, businesses, colleges, and institutions. Because credit claiming is so important to reelection, members of Congress rarely pass up the opportunity to increase federal spending in their state or district. Casework where members of Congress help their constituents deal with the vast, complex and slow moving federal bureaucracy. Congressional Elections The Advantages of Incumbency

 Weak Opponents – Not well known or well qualified and lack experience and organizational and financial backing.  Campaign Spending – The typical incumbent outspent the typical challenger by a ratio of more than 3 to 1 in Congressional races in 2008. To Learning Objectives LO 12.2

Members of Congress also engage in position taking on matters of public policy important to their constituents. Congressional Elections The Advantages of Incumbency

Congressional Elections A Chance for a Challenger?  Open Seats When an incumbent is not running for reelection and the seat is open, there is greater likelihood of competition. Most of the turnover of the membership of Congress is the result of vacated seats, particularly in the House. In open seats, the candidate who spends the most usually wins. To Learning Objectives LO 12.2

Congressional Elections A Chance for a Challenger?  Defeating Incumbents  One tarnished by scandal or corruption becomes vulnerable to a challenger.  Redistricting may weaken the incumbency advantage.  Major political tidal wave may defeat incumbents. To Learning Objectives LO 12.2

Congressional Redistricting  Apportionment (re-apportionment): the process whereby Congress divides/redistributes the 435 House seats among the 50 states every 10 years according to the new census.  Redistricting: the process where by all states (state legislature or state commission) redraw the boundaries of the districts in their state to reflect the result of apportionment.  Visual Literacy Visual Literacy  Redistricting Simulation Redistricting Simulation

Congressional Redistricting  Gerrymandering: the drawing of congressional district border with the intent of benefitting a political party.  In 36 states, redistricting is undertaken by the state legislature every 10 years  In AZ, Proposition 106 in 2006 requires redistricting to be done by an independent commission ( a group of bipartisan people)  http://azredistricting.org/

Congressional Elections  Stability and Change  Incumbents provide stability in Congress.  Change in Congress occurs less frequently through elections. To Learning Objectives LO 12.2

How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy LO 12.3: Compare and contrast the House and Senate, and describe the roles of congressional leaders, committees, caucuses, and staff.  American Bicameralism  Congressional Leadership  The Committees and Subcommittees  Caucuses: The Informal Organization of Congress  Congressional Staff To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy  American Bicameralism - House  Bicameral Legislature – A legislature divided into two houses.  The U.S. Congress and all state legislatures except Nebraska’s are bicameral. They gave the House (which they expected to be closest to the masses) the power of initiating all revenue bills and of impeaching officials The House and Senate each set their own agenda. Both use committees to narrow down the thousands of bills introduced. LO 12.3

How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy  American Bicameralism - Senate More elite group Serve to reflect the national (rather than local) interest ratify all treaties confirming important presidential nominations tries officials impeached by House. LO 12.3

How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy  American Bicameralism - House  The House is much larger thus, more institutionalized than Senate.  Party loyalty to leadership and party-line voting are more common than in Senate.  Debate can be ended by a simple majority vote.  House Rules Committee – The committee in the House that reviews most bills coming from a House committee before they go to the full House.  Each bill is given a “rule,” which schedules the bill on the calendar, allots time for debate, and what kind of amendments may be offered.  Rules Committee is responsive to the House leadership because the Speaker of the House appoints the committee’s members. LO 12.3

How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy  American Bicameralism - Senate  Filibuster – A strategy unique to the Senate whereby opponents of a piece of legislation use their right to unlimited debate to prevent the Senate from ever voting on a bill.  Sixty members present and voting can invoke cloture. A cloture vote is a vote to shut down a filibuster. To Learning Objectives LO 12.3

How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy  Congressional Leadership  Speaker of the House – An office mandated by the Constitution and chosen by the majority party.  Majority leader – The principal partisan ally of the Speaker of the House, or the party’s manager in the Senate. To Learning Objectives LO 12.3

How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy  Congressional Leadership (cont.)  Whips – Party leaders work with the majority leader or minority leader to count votes beforehand and lean on waverers for votes on bills favored by the party.  Minority Leader – The principal leader of the minority party in the House of Representatives or in the Senate. To Learning Objectives LO 12.3

How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy  Congressional Leadership (cont.)  President of the Senate – The United States Vice President.  Vice presidents can vote to break a tie.  Modern vice presidents are active in representing the president’s views to senators. To Learning Objectives LO 12.3

Do Now  How do the House of Representatives and the Senate differ? How does the structure of leadership differ between the two? To Learning Objectives LO 12.3

How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy  Congressional Leadership (cont.)  Despite their stature and power, congressional leaders cannot always move their troops.  Power in both houses of Congress is decentralized.  Leaders are elected by their party members and must remain responsive to them. To Learning Objectives LO 12.3

How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy  Committees and Subcommittees  Standing committees – Subject matter committees that handle bills in different policy areas.  Joint committees – Few subject matter areas with membership drawn from House and Senate To Learning Objectives LO 12.3

How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy  Committees and Subcommittees (cont.)  Conference committees – Formed when the Senate and the House pass a bill in different forms to iron out the differences and bring back a single bill.  Select committees – Created for a specific purpose, such as the Watergate investigation. To Learning Objectives LO 12.3

How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy  Committees and Subcommittees (cont.)  More than 9,000 bills are submitted by members in the course of a two-year period.  Every bill goes to a committee, which has virtually the power of life and death over it.  Legislative oversight – How the Congress monitors bureaucracy. To Learning Objectives LO 12.3

How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy  Committees and Subcommittees (cont.)  Committee assignments help members get reelected, gain influence, and make policy.  New members express committee preferences to party leaders.  Those who have supported their party’s leadership are favored in the selection process as parties try to grant committee preferences. To Learning Objectives LO 12.3

How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy  Committees and Subcommittees (cont.)  Committee Chair – Dominant role in scheduling hearings, hiring staff, appointing subcommittees, and managing committee bills on the floor.  Seniority System – Members who have served on the committee the longest and whose party is the chamber majority become chair. To Learning Objectives LO 12.3

How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy  Committees and Subcommittees (cont.)  member of the majority party with the longest tenure on the committee would automatically be selected.  Chairs were so powerful that they could single- handedly “bottle up” legislation in committee.  The system also gave a decisive edge to members from “safe” districts, where members were seldom challenged for reelection.  Today, seniority remains the general rule for selecting chairs, but there have been notable exceptions.  These and other reforms have somewhat reduced the clout of the chairs. To Learning Objectives LO 12.3

How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy  Caucuses: The Informal Organization of Congress  Caucus (congressional) – A group of members of Congress sharing some interest in specific issues or philosophies.  Caucuses are composed of members from both parties and from both houses and their goal is to promote the interests around which they are formed. To Learning Objectives LO 12.3

How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy  Congressional Staff  Personal staff – They provide constituent service and help with legislation.  Committee staff – They organize hearings, and research and write legislation.  Staff Agencies – CRS, GAO, and CBO provide specific information to Congress. To Learning Objectives LO 12.3

How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy  Congressional Staff  Most staff members work in the personal offices of individual members.  In total, about 12,000 individuals serve on the personal staffs of members of Congress.  Nearly one-half of these House staffers and nearly one-third of the Senate personal staff work in members’ offices in their constituencies, not in Washington.  This makes it easier for people to make contact with the staff. To Learning Objectives LO 12.3

How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy  Congressional Staff  The committees of the House and Senate employ another 2,000 staff members.  These staff members organize hearings, research legislative options, draft committee reports on bills, write legislation, and keep tabs on the activities of the executive branch.  Congress has three important staff agencies that aid it in its work.  The first is the Congressional Research Service (CRS), administered by the Library of Congress.  The CRS uses researchers, many with advanced degrees and highly developed expertise, to respond to more than 250,000 requests yearly for information. To Learning Objectives LO 12.3

The Congressional Process LO 12.4: Outline the path of bills to passage and explain the influences on congressional decision making.  Presidents and Congress: Partners and Protagonists  Party, Constituency, and Ideology  Lobbyists and Interest Groups To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

The Congressional Process  Bills  About 9,000 bills are introduced in each Congress.  A bill is a proposed law, drafted in legal language.  Anyone can draft a bill, but only a member of the Congress can introduce a bill. LO 12.4 To Learning Objectives

The Congressional Process  How a Bill Becomes a Law  Bill Introduction – By a member.  Committee Action – Subcommittee hearings and committee rewrites.  Floor Action – Votes, debates, and amendments offered.  Conference Action – Compromise bill to iron out differences.  Presidential Decision – Sign bill into law or veto bill. To Learning Objectives LO 12.4

The Congressional Process  Presidents and Congress: Partners and Protagonists  Presidents attempt to persuade Congress that what they want is what Congress wants.  Presidents have many resources to influence Congress. Presidents are partners with Congress in the legislative process, but all presidents are also Congress’ adversaries in the struggle to control legislative outcomes. Presidents have their own legislative agenda, based in part on their party’s platform and their electoral coalition. To Learning Objectives LO 12.4

The Congressional Process  Presidents and Congress: Partners and Protagonists  Political scientists sometimes call the president the chief legislator; the president’s task is to persuade Congress that his agenda should also be Congress’ agenda.  Presidents have many resources with which to influence Congress.  They may try to influence members directly, but more often will leave White House lobbying to the congressional liaison office and work primarily through regular meetings with the party’s leaders in the House and Senate. To Learning Objectives LO 12.4

The Congressional Process  Presidents and Congress: Partners and Protagonists  Presidential success rates for influencing congressional votes vary widely among presidents and within a president’s tenure in office.  Presidents are usually most successful early in their tenures and when their party has a majority in one or both houses of Congress.  Regardless, in almost any year, the president will lose on many issues. To Learning Objectives LO 12.4

The Congressional Process  Party, Constituency, and Ideology  Party Influence – Party leaders cannot force party members to vote a particular way, but many do vote along party lines.  Polarized Politics – Differences between Democrats and Republicans in Congress have grown considerably since 1980. To Learning Objectives LO 12.4

The Congressional Process  Party, Constituency, and Ideology  Constituency Opinion – On the controversial issues, members are wise to vote based their constituency opinion.  Member Ideology – The dominant determinant of member’s vote on most issues is their ideology. To Learning Objectives LO 12.4

The Congressional Process  Lobbyists and Interest Groups  35,000 registered lobbyists represent 12,000 organizations seeking to influence Congress.  The bigger the issue, the more lobbyists will be working on it.  Lobbyists try to influence legislators’ votes.  Congress can ignore, reject, and regulate the lobbyists. To Learning Objectives LO 12.4

Understanding Congress LO 12.5: Assess Congress’s role as a representative body and the impact of representation on the scope of government.  Congress and Democracy  Congress and the Scope of Government To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

Understanding Congress  Congress and Democracy  Not representative – Leadership and committee assignments.  Congress does try to respond to what the people want, but some argue it could do a better job.  The 535 members of Congress are responsive to the people, if the people make clear what they want. LO 12.5 To Learning Objectives

Understanding Congress  Congress and Democracy  The central legislative dilemma for Congress is combining the faithful representation of constituents with making effective public policy.  Congress tries to be both a representative and an objective policymaking institution. To Learning Objectives LO 12.5

Understanding Congress  Congress and the Scope of Government  More policies by Congress means more service to constituencies.  More programs that get created, the bigger the government gets.  Contradictory – Everybody wants government programs cut, but just not their programs. To Learning Objectives LO 12.5

LO 12.1 Summary  The Representatives and Senators  Congress has proportionately more whites and males than the general population, and members of Congress are wealthier and better educated than the average American.  Although they are not descriptively representative of Americans, they may engage in substantive representation. To Learning Objectives

Descriptive representation is representing the A.constituents by mirroring their personal, politically relevant characteristics. B.interests of groups. C.party platform and ideology. D.none of the above. LO 12.1 To Learning Objectives

Descriptive representation is representing the A.constituents by mirroring their personal, politically relevant characteristics. B.interests of groups. C.party platform and ideology. D.none of the above. To Learning Objectives LO 12.1

LO 12.2 Summary  Congressional Elections  Incumbents usually win reelection, because they usually draw weak opponents, are usually better known and better funded than their opponents, typically represent constituencies where a clear majority share their party affiliation, and can claim credit for aiding their constituents. To Learning Objectives

LO 12.2 Summary  Congressional Elections (cont.)  However, incumbents can lose if they are involved in a scandal, if their policy positions are substantially out of line with their constituents, or if the boundaries of their districts are redrawn to reduce the percentage of their constituents identifying with their party. To Learning Objectives

All of following are true of incumbents in Congress EXCEPT  Most incumbents decide to run for reelection.  Most incumbents’ views on policy are well known to their constituents.  Most incumbents win reelection with more than 60 percent of the vote.  Most incumbents have more campaign contributions to spend than their opponents. LO 12.2 To Learning Objectives

All of following are true of incumbents in Congress EXCEPT  Most incumbents decide to run for reelection.  Most incumbents’ views on policy are well known to their constituents.  Most incumbents win reelection with more than 60 percent of the vote.  Most incumbents have more campaign contributions to spend than their opponents. To Learning Objectives LO 12.2

LO 12.3 Summary  How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy  House is larger, characterized by greater centralization of power in the party leadership, and has more party discipline than the Senate.  Senators are more equal in power and may exercise the option of the filibuster to stop a majority from passing a bill. To Learning Objectives

LO 12.3 Summary  How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy (cont.)  Congressional leaders are elected by their party members and must remain responsive to them.  Congressional leaders cannot always depend on the votes of the members of their party.  Committees consider legislation and oversee administration of policy. To Learning Objectives

LO 12.3 Summary  How Congress Is Organized to Make Policy (cont.)  Committees chairs have the power to set their committees’ agendas.  Congressional Caucuses are composed of members of Congress who have a shared interest or characteristic.  Personal, committee, and agency staff provide policy expertise and constituency service. To Learning Objectives

When the House and the Senate pass different versions of a bill, these versions are to be reconciled by a  Joint Committee.  Conference Committee.  Select Committee.  Reconciliation Committee. LO 12.3 To Learning Objectives

When the House and the Senate pass different versions of a bill, these versions are to be reconciled by a  Joint Committee.  Conference Committee.  Select Committee.  Reconciliation Committee. To Learning Objectives LO 12.3

LO 12.4 Summary  The Congressional Process  The process for considering a bill has many stages.  Presidents try to persuade Congress to support their policies, which usually earn space on the congressional agenda.  Parties are more homogeneous and polarized and provide an important pull on members on most issues. To Learning Objectives

LO 12.4 Summary  The Congressional Process (cont.)  Constituencies have influence on congressional decision making on a few visible issues, while members’ own ideologies exert more influence on less visible issues.  Interest groups play a key role in informing Congress and sometimes the threat of their opposition influences vote outcomes. To Learning Objectives

Only a member of the can officially propose a bill. A.House B.Senate C.House or Senate D.staff LO 12.4 To Learning Objectives

LO 12.5 Summary  Understanding Congress  Congress is an elite institution and responsive to the public when the public makes its wishes clear.  Congress is open to influence, which makes it responsive to many interests but also may reduce its ability to make good public policy. To Learning Objectives

LO 12.5 Summary  Understanding Congress (cont.)  Members of Congress often support expanding government to aid their constituents, generally in response to public demands for policy, but many also fight to limit the scope of government. To Learning Objectives

Congress tries to be both a and an objective policymaking institution. A.representative B.disposition C.direct D.fragmented LO 12.5 To Learning Objectives

Congress tries to be both a and an objective policymaking institution. A.representative B.disposition C.direct D.fragmented To Learning Objectives LO 12.5

Text Credits David Samuels and Richard Snyder, “The Value of a Vote: Malapportionment in Comparative Perspective,” British Journal of Political Science, v. 31, n. 4, October 2001, p. 662. Copyright 2001 Cambridge University Press. Reprinted with the permission of Cambridge University Press. “Incumbency Factor in Congressional Elections” adapted from Harold W. Stanley and Richard G. Neimi, Vital Statistics on American Politics, 2007- 2008, CQ Press, 2008. Used with permission. “Incumbency Factor in Congressional Elections” adapted from Vital Statistics On Congress by Norman J. Ornstein, Thomas E. Mann, and Michael J. Malbin. Copyright 1998 by American Enterprise Inst For Public Policy Res. Reproduced with permission of American Enterprise Inst For Public Policy Res in the format Other book via Copyright Clearance Center.

Photo Credits 332: Jewel Sanad/Getty 333T: Gunther/Sipa Press 333TB: Lifetime TV 333B: Getty Images 335: Gunther/Sipa Press 336: Lifetime TV 344: David Horsey 345L: AP Photo 345C: Brendan Hoffman/Getty 345R: Alex Wong/Getty Images 349: Jack Ziegler/The New Yorker collection/www.cartoonbank.com 350: Getty Images 358: J.B. Handlesman/The New Yorker Cartoon/www.cartoonbank.com

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