1. Organization of Congress Parties, Caucuses and Committees

2. Party Leadership in the House Majority party votes on the Speaker of the House, Floor Leader and “whips” Presides over all House matters Recognizes who speaks on the floor Decides which bills are assigned to which committees Nominates members to the Rules Committee

3. John Boehner – R (OH) Speaker of the House

4. Nancy Pelosi – D (CA) Minority Leader Eric Cantor – R (VA) Majority Leader

5. Party Leadership in the Senate Majority party chooses president pro tempore (usually by seniority) VP is the “actual” president of the Senate Majority leader, minority leader, and whips

6. Daniel Inouye – D (HI) President Pro Tempore Harry Reid – D (NV) Majority Leader Mitch McConnell – R (KY) Minority Leader

7. Caucuses Growing rival to parties as source of leadership Association of members created to advocate political ideology/interest Dramatic increase in number by 1970s In 1959 there were four caucuses, in the late 80s, there were over 100

8. Types of Caucuses Intraparty (within the party) Class Clubs The Coalition Democratic Study Group Tuesday Lunch Bunch Personal Interest Arts Constitutional Human Rights Military Reform Children’s

9. National Constituency Congressional Black Caucus Women’s Issues Hispanic Vietnam Veterans Regional Constituency Border Sunbelt TVA Western Types of Caucuses

10. State/District Constituency Export Irish Rural Suburban Industry Automotive Boating Depot Steel Textile Travel/Tourism Types of Caucuses

11. Committees: The Core of Congress Committees reflect the “specialization” and “division-of-labor” of Congress Where the “real” work is done Chairmanships show where the “real” power is Three kinds of committees

12. Standing Committees Has own jurisdiction, membership and authority to act Permanent status Fixed membership Like the major departments in the cabinet

13. Standing Committees: House Agriculture Appropriations Armed Services Budget Education and Labor Energy and Commerce Financial Services Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security Judiciary Natural Resources Oversight Rules Science and Technology Small Business Ethics Transportation Veterans’ Affairs Ways and Means

14. Standing Committees: Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, Forestry Appropriations Armed Services Banking, housing, Urban Affairs Budget Commerce, Science, Transportation Energy and Natural Resources Environment and Public Works Finance Foreign Relations Health, Education, Labor, Pensions Homeland Security Judiciary Rules Small Business Veteran’s Affairs

15. Jurisdiction and Authority Jurisdiction Encourages specialization Disproportionate influence Authority 8,000 submitted, 1,000 are acted upon Gatekeeping is allowing the full chamber to vote on a bill

16. Select Committees Groups appointed for a limited purpose lasting for a few congresses http://intelligence.senate.gov/ http://globalwarming.house.gov/

17. Joint Committees Members from both chambers serve on the committee Conference Committee –Resolves differences between House and Senate versions of a bill

18. Subcommittees Even more specialization occurs at the subcommittee level Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism Emergency Communications Preparedness and Response Intelligence Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment Management, Investigations and Oversight Emerging Threats Cybersecurity and Science and Technology Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection

19. Your Turn! Find the member, the party (easy), the caucus, and the committee!

20. What if committees abuse their power?