1. Congress Chapter 6 American Government O’Connor and Sabato
2006 Edition
To accompany the Essentials Edition
O’Connor and Sabato
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2. The Constitution and the Legislative Branch of the Government
Article I describes structure of Congress
Bicameral legislature
Divided into two houses
Each state sends two Senators regardless of population.
Number of representatives each state sends to the House is determined by state population.
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3. The Constitution and the Legislative Branch of the Government
Constitution sets out requirements for membership in the House and Senate
House – 25 years of age; reside in U.S. at least 7 years; serve 2 year terms
Directly elected, thus more responsible to the people
Senate – 30 years of age; reside in U.S. at least 9 years; serve 6 year terms
Congressional members must be legal residents of their states.
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4. Apportionment and Redistricting
Proportional process of allotting congressional seats to each state following the ten year census
Redistricting
Redrawing of congressional districts to reflect increases or decreases in seats allotted to the states, as well as population shifts within a state
1929: House size fixed at 435.
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5. Constitutional Powers of Congress
The authority to make laws is shared by both chambers of Congress.
No bill can become a law without the consent of both houses.
Each chamber also has special, exclusive powers as well.
Other shared powers
Declare war
Raise an army and navy
Coin money
Regulate commerce
Establish the federal courts and their jurisdiction
Establish rules of immigration and naturalization
Make laws necessary and proper to carrying out the powers previously listed
Special powers
House – impeachment
Senate – treaties, presidential appointments
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6. Constitutional Powers of Congress
Presidents can issue proclamations and executive orders with the force of law.
Bureaucrats issue quasi-legislative rules
Supreme Court and lower federal courts render opinions that generate principles that also have the force of law.
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7. How Congress is Organized
New Congress is seated every two years.
Elect new leaders
Each house has a hierarchical leadership structure.
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8. The 109th Congress
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10. The House Speaker Presides over House
Official spokesperson for the House
Second in line of presidential succession
House liaison with president
Great political influence within the chamber
Henry Clay, first powerful speaker (1810)
Joe Cannon ( ), was so powerful, that a revolt emerged to reduce powers of the speakership.
Newt Gingrich (1995)
Dennis Hastert – current speaker
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11. Other House Leaders Majority Leader Minority Leader Whips
Elected leader of the party controlling the most seats in the House or the Senate
Second in authority to the Speaker—in the Senate, is the most powerful member
Minority Leader
Elected leader of the party with the second highest number of elected representatives in the House of Representatives or the Senate
Whips
Party caucus or conference
A formal gathering of all party members
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12. The Senate
The Constitution specifies the vice president as the presiding officer of the Senate.
He votes only in case of a tie.
Official chair of the Senate is the president pro tempore (pro tem)
Primarily honorific
Generally goes to the most senior senator of the majority party
Actual presiding duties rotate among junior members of the chamber
True leader is the majority leader, but not as powerful as Speaker is in the House
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13. The Senate Senate rules give tremendous power to individual senators.
Offering any kind of amendment
filibuster
Because Senate is smaller in size organization and formal rules have not played the same role as in the House.
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14. Key Differences Between the House and Senate
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15. Role of Parties in Organizing Congress
Parties and their strength have important implications in Congress.
Committees are controlled by the majority.
Committees set the agenda.
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16. Committees of the 109th Congress (with a Subcommittee Example)
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17. Committee System Standing Committees Joint Committees
Continue from one Congress to the next—bills referred here for consideration
Joint Committees
Includes members from both houses of Congress, conducts investigations or special studies
Conference Committees
Joint committee created to iron out differences between Senate and House versions of a specific piece of legislation
Select (or special) Committees
Temporary committee appointed for specific purpose, such as conducting a special investigation or study
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18. Committee Membership
Members often seek assignments to committees based on
Their own interests or expertise
A committee’s ability to help their prospects for reelection
Pork: legislation that allows representatives to bring home the “bacon” to their districts in the form of public works programs, military bases, or other programs designed to benefit their districts directly.
Access to large campaign contributors
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19. Committee Chairs These individuals have tremendous power and prestige.
Authorized to select all subcommittee chairs
Call meetings
Recommend majority members to sit on conference committees
Can kill a bill by not scheduling hearings on it
Have staff at their disposal
Seniority vs. loyalty to the party in the House
Seniority still important in the Senate
Both chambers have term limits for chairs.
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20. A Day in the Life of a Member of Congress
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21. Running for Office and Staying in Office
Incumbency
The fact that being in office helps a person stay in office because of a variety of benefits that go with the position
Name recognition
Access to free media
Inside track on fund-raising
District drawn to favor incumbent
1980 to 1990, an average of 95 percent of incumbents who sought reelection won their primary and general election races.
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22. Congressional Demographics
Members tend to be
Better educated than the population in general
All but three are college graduates; over 2/3’s have advanced degrees.
Richer
170 are millionaires; 21 Senators are worth at least 3.1 million. 29 House members worth that much as well.
Male
White
Average age is 60 for Senators; 54 for House members.
Adam Putnam (R-FL) elected in 2000 at age of 25. Still the youngest member of Congress.
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23. Theories of Representation
Trustee
Role played by elected representatives who listen to constituent’s opinions and then use their best judgment to make final decisions
Delegate
Role played by elected representatives who vote the way their constituents would want them to, regardless of their own opinions
Politico
Role played by elected representatives who act as trustees or as delegates, depending on the issue
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24. How Members Make Decisions
Party
Divided government
Constituents
Colleagues and Caucuses
Logrolling (vote trading)
Interest Groups, Lobbyists, and PACS
Staff and Support Agencies
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25. How a Bill Becomes A Law
Only members of the House or Senate can submit a bill.
Once a bill is introduced: usually a dead end.
Of about 9,000 or so bills introduced during a session of Congress, fewer than 10 percent make it into law.
System of multiple vetoes; power is dispersed as the Framers intended.
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26. How a Bill Becomes Law
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27. How a Bill Becomes a Law: Textbook Version
Introduction (sponsorship)
Sent to clerk of chamber
Bill printed, distributed, and sent to appropriate committee or committees (referred by Speaker in House)
Committee refers bill to one of its subcommittees
Subcommittee researches bill and decides on hearings
Hearings provide opportunity for both sides of issue to voice their opinions
Bill then revised in subcommittee and vote is taken
If vote is positive, the bill is returned to full committee
Full committee either rejects bill or sends it to House or Senate floor with a recommendation
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28. How a Bill Becomes a Law: Textbook Version
Next stage of action takes place on the floor
In House, goes to Rules Committee, given a rule, placed on calendar (but not budget bills)
Rules limit debate and determine what kind, if any, amendments are allowed
House may choose to form a Committee of the Whole
Allows for deliberation with only 100 members present
On the floor, bill debated, amendments offered, and a vote taken
If bill survives, it is sent to the Senate for consideration—if it was not considered there simultaneously.
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29. How a Bill Becomes a Law: Textbook Version
In the Senate, bill may be held up by:
A hold – a tactic by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill is brought to the floor.
A filibuster – a formal way of halting action on a bill by means of long speeches or unlimited debate on the Senate.
Cloture: Mechanism requiring sixty senators to vote to cut off debate.
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30. How a Bill Becomes a Law: Textbook Version
Third state of action takes place when the two chambers of Congress approve different versions of the SAME bill.
Conference committee
Returns to each chamber for final vote. If it does not pass in each chamber it dies.
If bill passes, it is sent to the president.
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31. How a Bill Becomes a Law: Textbook Version
President can either sign it or veto it.
The president has 10 days to consider a bill.
Four options:
Can sign the bill, at which point it becomes law.
Can veto the bill; congress can override the veto with a 2/3 vote in each chamber.
Can wait the full ten days, at the end of which time the bill becomes law without his signature IF Congress is still in session.
If Congress adjourns before the ten days are up, the president can choose not to sign the bill. The bill is then pocket-vetoed.
Bill would have to be reintroduced and go through the entire process again in order to become a law.
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32. Congress and the President
Constitution envisioned that Congress and the president would have
Discrete powers
One branch would be able to hold the other in check.
Since the 1930s, the president has had the upper hand.
But Congress still has ultimate legislative authority to question executive actions and
Congress can impeach and even remove him from office.
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33. Shifting Balance of Power
Congressional Oversight
Congressional review of the activities of an agency, department, or office
Foreign Affairs Oversight
War Powers Act
Passed by Congress in 1973: Limits the president in the deployment of troops overseas to a sixty day period in peacetime unless Congress explicitly gives its approval for a longer period.
Confirmation of Presidential Appointments
The Impeachment Process
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34. Congress and the Judiciary
Congress exercises its control over the judiciary in several ways
Can establish the size of the Supreme Court, its appellate jurisdiction, and the structure of the federal court system
Senate also has the authority to accept or reject presidential nominees for the federal courts
Senatorial courtesy: process by which presidents, when selecting district court judges, defer to the senator in whose state the vacancy occurs.
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