1. Chapter 12: Congress in Action

2. Section 1:
Congress Organizes

3. Congress Convenes Opening Day in the House Opening Day in the Senate
Opening day of the new term-20th Amendment
More Formal then the Senate
Choose a Speaker
All 435 members are sworn in
Committee Assignments are made
Opening Day in the Senate
Less formal than the House/Short,routine day
newly elected and reelected members are sworn in
Committee assignments are made

4. State of the Union Address
Constitutionally mandated speech
In late Jan, after House and the Senate are organized
Presented before a joint session of Congress
Important speech, domestically and worldwide
Administration’s goals and plans for the upcoming year – both domestically and Foreign policy
As detailed or general as the President decides
Legislative goals and needs may be presented

5. The Presiding Officers
House of Representatives
Senate
Speaker of the House
Majority Floor Leader
Majority Whip
Minority Floor Leader
Minority Whip
President pro tempore
President of Senate
Majority Floor Leader
Majority Whip
Minority Floor Leader
Minority Whip

6. The Presiding Officers Speaker of the House
Elected by the House of Representatives
Member of the majority party in the House/nothing in the constitution says she/he must be
Presides over the House
He/She can vote, debate bills in the House
Assigns bills to committee
Assigns members to committee
Very powerful position,- 2nd in line for Presidency

7. Presiding Officers President of the Senate
Vice President – one of his constitutional duties – he/she is part of the executive branch
Not a member of the Senate as a presiding officer, less powerful than the Speaker
May not vote, except to break a tie
President pro tempore
-elected by the senate Joe Biden
-takes the place of the Pres. of the
Senate when he is unavailable
-is a member of the majority party
in the Senate Dan Inouye

8. Floor Leaders
Try to carry out the decisions of their party caucuses and steer floor activity to their parties benefit
Controls the order of business on the floor
Devise legislative strategies
tradition – not in the Constitution

9. Whips Floor leader assistants
Advise them and organize votes on each issue
Tell floor leaders which members and how many votes can be counted on
Senate whips
House whips
McCarthy-CA-22
Hoyer- MD-5
Durbin-IL
Kyl-AZ

10. Do Now!! Majority Party Power
1. Now that you understand the leadership positions in Congress, what are some of the powers that the majority party has?
2. Identify 4 qualifications of either a Representative to the House or the Senate.
appoint speaker of house
Who subsequently calls the shots by applying rules, referring bills to committees, names members of select and joint committees, etc.
appoint president pro temp
appoint committee chairmen
Most work is done in committee therefore the power to control who leads the committee effects what will be done within the committee

11. Committee Chairpersons
Committee Chairpersons decide
when their committees will meet
which bills they will consider,
whether they will hold public hearings,
what witnesses to call
are members of the majority party

12. Committee Chairpersons (Con’t)
Seniority Rule
The unwritten custom
length of service
Criticism of the Seniority Rule
Critics
ignores ability, discourages young members, and encourages constant reelection
Defenders
ensures experience in key posts and minimizes conflict within the party
- Recent changes
- House Republican Conference (Party Caucus) chooses chairpersons through secret ballot

13. Committee Chairpersons (Con’t)
- Democrats in House use secret ballot if 20% of the House Democratic Caucus requests it - House Republicans adopted a party rule that limits GOP chairpersons to 6 years (3 terms)

14. Committees in Congress
Section 2

15. Committee Chairpersons
Committee Chairpersons decide
when their committees will meet
which bills they will consider,
whether they will hold public hearings,
what witnesses to call
are members of the majority party

16. Committee Chairpersons (Con’t)
Seniority Rule
The unwritten custom
length of service
Criticism of the Seniority Rule
Critics
ignores ability, discourages young members, and encourages constant reelection
Defenders
ensures experience in key posts and minimizes conflict within the party
- Recent changes
- House Republican Conference (Party Caucus) chooses chairpersons through secret ballot

17. Committee Chairpersons (Con’t)
- Democrats in House use secret ballot if 20% of the House Democratic Caucus requests it - House Republicans adopted a party rule that limits GOP chairpersons to 6 years (3 terms)

18. Committees in Congress
Types of Committees 1. Standing 2. Select 3. Joint-Standing 4. Joint-Select (Conference)

19. Standing Committees Congress does much of its work in committees
Standing committees are the permanent committees in both chambers/houses of Congress
Senate has 17 standing committees
House has 20 standing committees
other types of committees
select–special
joint–usually permanent
conference–temporary

20. The House Rules Committee
Committee manages the flow of bills for action by the full House by scheduling their consideration
When they will be heard
Debate rules
Can speed, delay, or even prevent legislation
They cannot change the wording of the legislation
“traffic cop” of the lower House

21. Select Committees
Special groups set up for specific purposes and for a limited period
Members are appointed by the Speaker or
the President of the Senate
Occasionally, a select committee conducts especially important investigations
Senate Watergate Committee in 1973 (Nixon)
Iran Contra Hearings in 1987 (Reagan)
Whitewater Investigation in 1994 (Clinton)

22. Joint Committees
Committee composed of members from both the House of Representatives and the Senate
Deal with issues of common concern
Some are permanent
Standing committees on The Library, Taxation, Economic, and Printing

23. Conference Committee Is a select joint committee
Made up of members of the House and Senate to work out a compromise bill
They disband after that piece of legislation goes back to the House and Senate floors
Also known as the “third house of congress”

24. How a Bill Becomes a Law: The House
Section 3
How a Bill Becomes a Law:
The House

25. Creating and Introducing Bills
Most bills do not originate with members of Congress
Executive Branch
special interest groups/lobbyists
private citizens
All revenue-raising bills begin in the House
All other bills may be introduced in either chamber, or both House and the Senate at the same time
In a term of Congress (2 years) 10,000 bills may be introduced – maybe 500 will become law

26. Types of Bills and Resolutions
proposed laws presented to Congress
Public bills
private bills
Joint Resolutions
deal with temporary or unusual matters
must be passed by both houses
must be signed by the President
Concurrent Resolutions
deal with common concerns of both houses
do not require the President’s signature
Resolutions
deal with matters concerning either house alone
house rules
do not require the President’s signature.

27. The First Reading
The bill is sent to the Clerks desk where it is printed and numbered
If it originates in the House it begins with “HR123”
If it originates in the Senate, it begins with “S 123”
The Speaker then refers the bill to the appropriate standing committee for consideration
A bill has three readings in the House of Reps.

28. The Bill In Committee
The bill will be read by the full standing committee, they may amend, keep as it is, or “pigeonhole”it
Most bills die in committee
If a majority of the committee votes to continue, they could recommend the bill to subcommittee
Subcommittee
Investigates, debates, holds hearings and recommends the fate of bills
Measure returns to the full committee
Full Committee can take the recommendation, amend the recommendations or kill the bill
If a bill passes in committee, it has a good chance of passing the full House of Representatives
Committee sends bill to “Rules Committee”

29. Rules Committee “traffic cop”of the House Of Representatives
13 member committee is very powerful
Can attach debate rules that make it very easy for a bill to pass, or difficult to pass
If it is to be assigned “Committee of the Whole” is assigned here

30. Committee of the Whole Only in the House of Representatives
Designed to speed up legislation on a bill, takes place on the floor of the House – Floor becomes a large committee
Speaker Steps down, committee chair takes over
Full House convenes into Com. Of the Whole
It reviews, discusses, amends the legislation
When completed, the floor returns to normal, Speaker resumes his role
Quorum of 100

31. The Bill on the Floor & Final Steps
Quorum in the House is 218 members
Second Reading
Important bills
The Committee of the Whole
Debate
Strict rules
As assigned by the Rules Committee

32. Voting on the Floor
There are four ways a vote may be taken on the Floor of the House of Representatives
Voice votes
Standing votes
Teller votes
Roll-call vote

33. Final Steps in the House of Representatives
If the bill is voted upon and passed, then it is read a third time
Bill is voted on again by the full House
Bill is then signed by the Speaker of the House
Bill is now sent to the Senate

34. Discharge Petition Remove a bill from the standing committee
“Pigeon holed” or killed by the committee
Rest of the House wants to act on it
Petition signed by 218 members to remove the bill from committee onto the floor for action
Rarely happens

35. The Bill in the Senate and the Final Stages
Section 4
The Bill in the Senate and
the Final Stages

36. Introducing the Bill in the Senate
Bills are
referred to committee
Senate proceedings are less formal
There is not a “Rules Committee”
Called to the floor by the majority floor leader
Quorum in the Senate is 51

37. The Senate’s Rules for Debate
Floor debate is almost unlimited in the Senate
The Filibuster
Used by the minority to “talk a bill to death” on the Senate floor
The Cloture Rule
check on the filibuster and limits debate
requires a petition
signed by at least 16 senators
approval by at least three-fifths (60) senators

38. Voting in the Senate Voice vote, or Standing vote, or Roll Call vote
The Senate does not have electronic voting

39. Conference Committee House and Senate bills differ
(Sometimes called the “the third house of congress”)
House and Senate bills differ
A bill passes both houses, the intent is there but it
is not identical
Joint conference committee is created to develop a
compromised bill
Revised bill must go back to the floor of both houses
to be voted upon
Then to the President

40. Presidential Action The President may: Sign the bill Veto it
Congress may override the
veto with 2/3 vote of the
House and 2/3 vote of the
Senate
Pocket veto the bill
Allow the bill to become law by not acting on it within 10 days of receiving it