1. during the constitutional convention, there were two schools of thought pertaining to the role...

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CONGRESS

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I. WHY CONGRESS WAS CREATED

During the Constitutional Convention, there were two schools of thought pertaining to the role Congress would play

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Some thought the legislative branch would be relatively unimportant

People in this camp believed Congress would concern itself largely with external affairs, leaving domestic matters to state and local governments

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Others believed that the bulk of power held by the federal government would and should be in the hands of the legislative branch

Obviously, the latter is the one that came to pass

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The two chambers of Congress reflected the social bias of the founders

Members of the House would represent the common people

The Senate would be members of the elite

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A. House QualificationsAge:Citizenship:Residency:

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B. Senate QualificationsAge:Citizenship:Residency

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II. POWERS OF CONGRESS

Enumerated PowersSome functions are restricted to

only one chamberMust originate in the House:

All revenue billsCharges of misconduct that could lead to impeachment

Must originate in Senate:Confirm Presidential appointmentsRatify treatiesPower to try impeachment cases

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B. Necessary and Proper Clause

Where Congress gets their real power

The Elastic Clause set the stage for a greatly expanded role for the national government relative to the states

It also constitutes, at least in theory, a check on the expansion of presidential powers

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C. Denied Powers10th AmendmentDenied Powers

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C. Denied Powers Congress may not:

Suspend the writ of habeas corpus, unless necessary in time of rebellion or invasion

Pass any law which condemns persons for crimes or unlawful acts without a trial

Pass any law which retroactively makes a specific act a crime (ex: post facto)

Levy direct taxes on, except on the basis of a census already taken

Tax exports from any one stateGive specially favorable treatment in commerce

or taxation to the seaports of any state or to the vessels using them

Authorize any titles of nobility

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III. FUNCTIONS OF CONGRESS

A. Lawmaking FunctionCongress does not initiate all or

even most of the ideas for legislation

Most of the bills Congress acts on originate in the executive branch, and many other bills are traceable to interest groups and political party organizations

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A. Lawmaking FunctionThrough the process of

compromise and logrolling – as well as debate and discussion, backers of legislation attempt to fashion a winning majority coalition.

Logrolling – (d) Offering to support a fellow member’s bill in exchange for that member’s promise to support your bill in the future.

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B. Service to ConstituentsMembers of Congress are expected

to act as brokers between private citizens and the imposing, often faceless federal government

Casework is the usual form taken by this function of providing services to constituents.

Casework (d) – Personal work for constituents by members of Congress

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B. Service to ConstituentsOmbudsperson (d) – A person

who hears and investigates complaints by private individuals against public officials or agencies

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C. Representative FunctionThe representation function

carries with it some danger the legislator could alienate constituents and as result, lose his bid for reelection

Generally, representation means that many competing interests in society should be represented in Congress

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C. Representative Function There are basically two views on how

representation is achieved: Trustee and Delegate

1. Trustee

A member of Congress fills the role of trustee (d) – when he acts according to his conscience and the broad interests of society as a whole

This would involve, at times and if necessary, voting against the narrow interests of their constituents

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C. Representative Function2. DelegateA member of Congress fills the role of delegate (d) – when he votes according to the view of his constituents, regardless of his personal feelingsFor delegate representation to be effective, though, constituents need to well-versed on the issues. This is not usually the case.

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D. Oversight FunctionAnother function of Congress is

overseeing the bureaucracy and the executive branch

Oversight (d) – The responsibility Congress has for following up on laws it has enacted to ensure they are being enforced in the way Congress intended.

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D. Oversight FunctionIn regards to bureaucratic agencies, Congress has three oversight functions:1) No agency may even exist (with the

exception of some presidential offices and commissions) without congressional approval

2) Even if an agency can operate, it can’t spend money without committee authorization

3) Just because a committee authorizes the spending, that doesn’t mean the agency is appropriated the full amount

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D. Oversight Function Prior to 1983, Congress had legislature veto

power This allowed either house to prevent the

enforcement of an executive rule by a simple majority vote against it within a specified amount of time

This power was created by Congress in 1932 In 1983, though, the Court ruled that such a

power was unconstitutional because it violated the separation of powers mandated by the Constitution. The president had no power to veto the legislative action

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D. Oversight FunctionSome examples of congressional oversight in action would include:1949 – Senate subcommittee

investigation revealed high level corruption in the Truman administration

1960s – Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s televised hearing helped to mobilize opposition to the Vietnam War

1973 – Watergate investigation exposed White House officials who illegally used their positions for political advantage

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D. Oversight Function

1975-76 – Select Committee inquiries identified serious abuses by intelligence activities.

1987 – Oversight efforts disclosed statutory violations in the executive branch’s secret arm sales to Iran

1998 – Special Committee investigation of President Clinton led to his impeachment.

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CLINTON IMPEACHMENT TRIAL

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E. Public-Education Function

Educating the public is a function exercised whenever Congress holds public hearings, exercises oversight over the bureaucracy, or engages in committee and floor debate

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E. Public-Education FunctionCongress also decides what issues

will come up for discussion and decision; agenda-setting is a major facet of its public-education function

Agenda-setting (d) – Determining which public-policy questions will be debated or considered by Congress

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F. Conflict Resolution Function

People and groups look on Congress as an access point for airing their grievances and seeking help

This puts Congress in the role of trying to resolve the differences among competing views by passing laws to accommodate as many interested parties as possible

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F. Conflict Resolution Function To the extent Congress meets

pluralist expectations in accommodating competing interests, it tends to build support for the entire political process by all branches of government

Pluralism (d) – Theory that views politics as a conflict among interest groups. Political decision making is characterized by bargaining and compromise

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G. Informal Practices of Congress

Members of Congress owe their positions to their local and state electorate: not to the national party leadership nor to their congressional colleagues

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As a result, the legislative behavior of representatives and senators tends to be individualistic and idiosyncratic, reflecting the great variety of electorates represented and the freedom that comes from having built a loyal personal constituency

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G. Informal Practices of Congress Congress is thus a collegial and not a

hierarchal body Power does not flow from the top down,

as in a corporation, but practically in every direction

There is only minimal centralized authority, since the power to reward or punish is slight

Congressional policies are made by shifting coalitions which vary from issue to issue

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There are informal or unwritten norms of behavior that often determine the assignments and influence of a particular member

“Insiders,” members who concentrate on their legislative duties, may be more powerful within the halls of Congress than “outsiders,” who gain recognition by speaking out on national issues

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Members are expected to show courtesy toward their colleagues and to avoid personal attacks, no matter how extreme or unpalatable their opponent’s policies may be

Members are also expected to specialize in a few policy areas rather than claim expertise in the whole range of legislative concerns

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Those who conform to these informal rules are more likely to be appointed to prestigious committees or at least to committees that affect the interests of a significant portion of their constituents

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IV. HOUSE-SENATE DIFFERENCES

A. Size and RulesThe House, with 435 members, is

much larger than the Senate, at 100 members

The size difference means that a greater number of formal rules are needed to govern activity in the House, whereas correspondingly looser procedures can be followed in the less crowded Senate

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CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW QUIZ

1. What is the function of the Rules Committee

2. Which chamber, House or Senate, is more formal? Explain why.

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A. Size and RulesThe Senate traditionally permits

extended debate on all issues In contrast, the House operates

with an elaborate system in which its Rules Committee normally proposes time limitations for any bill and a majority of the entire body accepts or modifies those suggested time limits

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A. Size and RulesRules Committee (d) – A

standing committee of the House of Representatives that provides special rules under which specific bills can be debated, amended and considered by the House

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B. Debate and FilibustersFilibuster (d) – Allowed in the

Senate only Allows for unlimited debate on the

issue before the Senate Senators will employ a filibuster as a

means of trying to talk a bill to death Once a senator has the floor, he

does not have to surrender it Can be stopped only with a vote of

cloture

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STROM THURMOND FILIBUSTERED FOR OVER 24 HOURS AGAINST THE

1857 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT

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B. Debate and FilibustersCloture (d) – Debate on a

Senate bill may be closed off if 16 senators sign a petition requesting so and if, after two days have elapsed, 3/5s of the entire membership

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B. Debate and FilibustersThe tradition of filibuster in the

Senate is as old as Congress itself

The House had unlimited debate until 1811

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C. Prestige As a consequence of the greater size

of the House, representatives cannot generally achieve as much personal recognition and public prestige as can members of the Senate

Senators, especially those who openly express presidential ambitions, are better able to gain media exposure and to establish careers as spokespersons and advocates for large national constituencies

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C. PrestigeTo gain such recognition in the

House, members must do one of two things:Survive in office long enough to join

the ranks of party or committee leadership

Become an expert on some specialized aspect of legislative policy

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V. CONGRESS AND THE CITIZENRY

Historically, Congress, or any branch of government for that matter, has never looked like America

It is older, whiter, richer and more male than the population as a whole

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V. CONGRESS AND THE CITIZENRY

In terms of numbers, women are the most underrepresented group; more than half of the population is female, but only 16/100 (+3) Senators and 74/435 (+13) representatives are women

1 (+1) African-American and 2 (+2) Hispanic Senator

42 (+3) African-Americans and 28 (+10) Hispanics are in the House

1 (+1) Asian Senator and 4 (-1) Asian Representatives

No Native Americans (-) Senators and 1 (+1) Native American Representative

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VI. CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS

All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election every two years

Senate terms are for six years and one-third of the seats are up for election every two years

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A. Candidates To run for Congress, a candidate needs

simply to get the required number of signatures on a petition and pay the registration fee

the average cost of winning Senate campaigns now being approximately $5 million and a winning House campaign being approximately $770,000

Once in office, legislators spend some time almost every day raising money for their next campaign

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A. Candidates Congressional candidates are always

hopeful that a strong presidential candidate will have “coattails” that will sweep members of the same party into office.

In reality, though, coattail effects have been quite limited, appearing only in landslide elections such as Lyndon Johnson’s victory in 1964

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B. Power of IncumbencyMembers can use their status, as

incumbents to their benefitThe three main ways are:

AdvertisingCredit claimingPosition taking

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1. AdvertisingThis can be done through use of

the media, making personal appearances and sending out newsletters – all to produce a favorable image and to make the incumbent’s name a household word

Franking privileges are particularly helpful for incumbents

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2. Credit ClaimingThere is a close connection

between congressional service and success

If voters are going to vote retrospectively – they will remember the good things you have done for them or the district as a whole

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3. Position TakingNot only must a Congressperson

project an image as being experienced, hard working, and trustworthy – they must eventually defend the stances they take on policy-making decisions

Incumbents especially have to be ready to defend their records and explain why they voted a certain way on bills

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3. Position Taking If a congressperson is voting on

high profile issues in a way the voters of his district/state approve – then they will vote retrospectively to re-elect their representative

This can be a huge advantage over challengers who are not usually known to voters and have no proven track record in Congress

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B. Power of IncumbencyOther Factors:

Pork BarrelingCaseworkMoney

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Examples of pork-barrel spending in fiscal year 2000 include:$375,000,000 for an unrequested and unneeded amphibious assault ship in the state of Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.); $700,000 for the Admiral Theater in Bremerton, Washington, the district of House appropriator Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), despite a $4.2 million privately-funded facelift; and $500,000 for the Olympic Tree Program in the state of Senate appropriator Robert Bennett for the 2002 Winter Olympics

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Pork Barrel(d) - The public projects that a congressman can claim credit for that benefit his/her district or state (federal projects, grants, contracts, etc.)

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Casework(d) - Helping constituents as individuals – cutting through some bureaucratic red tape to help out individual people in their districts

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MoneyWhen an incumbent is not

running for reelection and the seat is open, there is a greater likelihood of competition in the election

Generally, these close elections are called MARGINAL DISTRICTS – elections in which the winner gets less than 55% of the vote.

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Money Incumbents have a huge advantage

when it comes to money and that’s what it takes to win

The 1994 Senate races alone cost at least $234 million, and the House candidates spent another $327 million

Although most of the money spent in congressional elections comes from individuals (70%) the rest comes from PACs – who usually give their money to the incumbent

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C. Divided Government (d) – A government in which the

president and the majority party in Congress are not from the same party

Republicans lost control of the Senate in 2001 and the House in 2006

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VII. CONGRESSIONAL REAPPORTIONMENT

The Constitution requires that representation in the House be reapportioned by Congress every 10 years, or whenever a new census is taken

This is why census taking is so important

Following the 2000 census, nine state lost seats in the House and eight states gained seats

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Redistricting is done by state legislatures

The party in control in the state legislature thus has a big advantage – they have the right to gerrymander districts in order to give their party’s candidate an advantage

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Gerrymandering (d) – The drawing of legislative district boundary lines for the purpose of obtaining partisan or factional advantage

A district is said to be gerrymandered when its shape is manipulated by the dominate party in the state legislature to maximize electoral strength at the expense of the minority party

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A. Court and Legislative ActionBaker v. Carr, 1962 The Court ruled that malapportionment

violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment

Case stemmed from the fact that the Tennessee Legislature had not redistricted itself since the turn of the century

Baker v. Carr decision enshrined the constitutional concept of “one man, one vote”

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A. Court and Legislative Action 2. Wesberry v. Sanders The Court decided to look at a case involving

severe malapportionment in Georgia in which some urban and liberal district were two and three times the size of rural districts, thus diluting the votes of those who lived in the cities

The Court ruled this practice illegal and stated that Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution, made it clear that districts must be made equal size to insure equal representation

Today, districts cannot vary in size by more than 1.5%.

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A. Court and Legislative Action3. Voting Right Act of 1965 Congress passed historic legislation

in 1965 to protect Black voters in the South

This Act stated two things:1. States cannot somebody the right

to vote on the basis of race2. States have to check with the

Justice Department before they institute new voting procedures – including redistricting.

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B. GerrymanderingThe federal government began to

encourage another type of gerrymandering in the 1990s

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B. Gerrymandering After the 1990 census, the Justice Department

issued orders to states to create congressional districts that would maximize the voting powers of minority groups

Why did they do this:1) Stated reason: To ensure equality in representation for minority candidates, thus ensuring minorities more equal treatment from government.2) Unstated reason: To isolate and split the Democratic voter base in certain southern states to ensure the Republican hold on the South

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VIII. PAY, PERKS & PRIVILEGES

Members of Congress receive an annual salary of $165,200

Leadership receives $183,500Legislators also have many

benefits that are not available to most workers

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A. Special BenefitsAccess to private Capitol gym facilitiesFree, close-in parking at National and

Dulles Airports near WashingtonSix free parking spaces in Capitol Hill

garages – plus one free outdoor Capitol parking slot

Special Congressional license plates which make them exempt from parking tickets

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A. Special BenefitsThey eat in a subsidized dining

roomFree plants for their offices from the

national Botanical GardensFree medical careAn inexpensive but generous

pension planLiberal travel allowancesSpecial tax considerations

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A. Special BenefitsMembers of Congress are also

granted generous franking privileges that permit them to mail items to their constituents at no cost

Franking (d) – A policy that enables members of Congress to send materials through the mail by substituting their facsimile (frank) signature for postage

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B. Personal Professional StaffsOver 18,000 people are employed in

the Capitol Hill bureaucracyAbout half of these are personal

committee staff membersThe personal staff includes office

clerks and secretaries; media relation specialist; legislative specialists; caseworkers; and staffers who maintain local offices in the district

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B. Personal Professional StaffsThe average Senate office employs

about 30 staff membersSenators from the more populous

states may have twice that number

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C. Immunities Under Law Members of Congress also benefit from a

number of special constitutional protections. Under Article 1, Section 6, it states they “shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech of Debate in either House, They shall not be questioned in any other Place.”

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C. Immunities Under LawThe arrest immunity clause is not

really an important provision todayThe “Speech or Debate” clause,

however, means that a member may make any allegations or statements he wishes in connection with official duties and normally not be sued for slander or libel

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IX. COMMITTEE STRUCTURE

The vast majority of legislative work done by congress is done in committee

Over 12,000 pieces of legislation are introduced every session of Congress

Not single member can possibly be adequately informed on all 12,000

The committee system is a way to provide for specialization or a division of the legislative workload

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Members of a committee can focus on several topics and develop sufficient expertise to draft appropriate legislation when needed

Congress has over 200 committees and subcommittees

Representatives, on the average, serve on five committees; Senators, 11

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MARY BONO’S COMMITTEES

House Committee on Energy and Commerce

Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection

Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality

Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet

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BARBARA BOXER’S COMMITTEES

Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Environmental and Public Works Committee on Foreign Relations (chair) Subcommittee on Aviation Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Product Safety

and Insurance Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and

Merchant Marine Subcommittee on National Ocean Policy Study Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and

Merchant Marine Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South Asian

Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Peace

Corps and Narcotics Affairs

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There are four types of major committees:

StandingSelectJointConference

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1. Standing CommitteesBy far the most important

committee in CongressThey are permanent bodies that

continue from session to sessionThere are 19 Standing Committees

in the House and 16 in the Senate

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1. Standing Committees Each Standing Committee is given

a specific area of legislative policy jurisdiction and almost all legislative measures are considered by the appropriate Standing Committee

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1. Standing Committees Because of the nature of their work,

some Standing Committees are considered to be more prestigious than others

Those considered among the most prestigious are the Appropriation Committee in either chamber, the Ways and Means Committee in the House, the Education and the Workforce Committee in the House and the Senate foreign Relations Committee

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2. Select CommitteesA Select Committee normally is

created for a limited period of time and for a specific legislative purpose, namely for oversight of the executive branch

For example, a Select Committee was formed to investigate a potential wrongdoing in Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign during Watergate

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2. Select CommitteesSelect Committees may also be

formed to investigate a public problem, such as child malnutrition or aging

Select Committees are disbanded when they have reported to the chamber that created them

They rarely create original legislation

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3. Joint CommitteesThese are committees made up of

House and Senate membersThese committees are weaker than

Standing Committees because they cannot report bills to the floor

Their role is usually to fact find or create publicity on a certain are of the law or policy in Washington

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4. Conference CommitteesFor any bill to become law, it must be

passed in exact form by both Houses of Congress

Conference Committees are special types of joint committees

These committees are formed for the purpose of achieving agreement between the House and the Senate on exact wording of legislation, if passed in different forms by their respective chambers

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5. House Rules CommitteeBecause of its special “gatekeeping” power over the terms on which legislation will reach the floor of the House of Representatives, the House Rules Committee holds a uniquely powerful position

The committee sets the time limit on debate and determines whether and how a bill may be amended

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B. Selection of Committee Members

In the House, representatives are appointed to standing committees by the Steering Committees of their respective parties

Majority–party members with longer terms of continuous service on a standing committee are given preference when the committee chairperson – as well as other significant posts in Congress – is selected

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This is not a law, but an informal traditional process

The seniority system, although unequal, provides a predictable means of assigning positions of power within Congress

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Seniority System (d) – A custom followed in both chambers specifying that members with longer terms of continuous service will be given preference when committee chairpersons and holders of other significant posts are selected

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The majority party in each chamber controls committees

They will have majority representation on the committee and a member of the majority party will serve as the chair of every committee

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X. FORMAL LEADERSHIPCongress is organized by political

partyWhen the Democratic Party, for

example, wins a majority of seats in either the House or the Senate, Democrats control the official positions of power in that chamber

The same holds true for the Republicans when they are in power

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X. FORMAL LEADERSHIPA. Leadership in the House

Speaker Majority Leaders Minority Leaders Party Whips

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Speaker,Nancy Pelosi

Majority Leader,

Steny Hoyer

Minority Leader,John Boehner

Majority WhipJames

Clyburn

Minority Whip,Roy Blunt

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X. FORMAL LEADERSHIPA. Leadership in the HouseSpeaker of the House The only leadership position

mandated by the Constitution is the Speaker of the House

Third in line in presidential succession

Traditionally, the most senior member of the majority party serves as the Speaker

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X. FORMAL LEADERSHIPA. Leadership in the HouseSpeaker of the House The Speaker is the foremost power holder in the

House. The major formal duties of the Speaker include

1) Presiding over meetings of the House2) Appointing members of joint committees

and conference committees3) Scheduling legislation for floor action4) Deciding points or order and interpreting the

rules with the advice of the House Parliamentarian5) Referring bills and resolutions for the

appropriate standing committees of the House

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X. FORMAL LEADERSHIPA. Leadership in the HouseMajority LeaderElected by a caucus of the majority

party to foster cohesion among party members and to serve as a spokesperson for the party

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X. FORMAL LEADERSHIPA. Leadership in the HouseMajority LeaderMajority leader influence, the

scheduling of debate and generally acts as the chief supporter of the Speaker

He cooperates with the Speaker and other party leaders, both inside and outside of Congress to formulate the legislative program and to guide that program through the legislative process

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X. FORMAL LEADERSHIPA. Leadership in the HouseMinority LeaderThe candidate nominated for

Speaker by a caucus of the minority party

Like the majority leader, the minority leader has as his primary responsibility the maintaining of cohesion within party ranks

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X. FORMAL LEADERSHIPA. Leadership in the HouseMinority Leader The minority leader speaks on behalf of the

president of the minority party controls the White House

In relations to the majority party, the minority leader consults with both the Speaker and the Majority leader on recognizing members who wish to speak on the floor, on House rules and procedures and on the scheduling of legislation.

Minority leaders have no actual powers in these areas, however

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X. FORMAL LEADERSHIPA. Leadership in the HouseWhips The formal leadership of each party

includes assistants to the majority and minority leaders who are known as whips

The whips assist the party leaders by passing information down from the leadership to party members and by ensuring that members show up for floor debate and cast their votes on important issues

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X. FORMAL LEADERSHIPB. Leadership in the Senate The founders envisioned the Senate as a

counter-check against the popular passion of the House

Although the Senate has roughly the same organization, committee structure and leadership as the House, it is a vastly different body

Because it is much smaller, the Senate’s procedures are less formal and members get to debate more

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X. FORMAL LEADERSHIPB. Leadership in the SenatePresident of the SenateThe Constitution makes the vice

president the president of the Senate – his only constitutionally defined job

But normally vice president only come into the Senate to break ties on important votes

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President Of Senate

Dick Cheney

President Pro Tempore

William Byrd

Senate Majority Leader

Harry Reid

Democratic Whip

Richard Durbin

Minority LeaderMitch

McConnell

Ass’t Minority Leader

Trent Lott

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X. FORMAL LEADERSHIPB. Leadership in the SenateSenate President Pro TemporePosition usually filled by the most

senior Senator from the majority’s party

The Senate President Pro Tempore is the ceremonial head of the Senate when the Vice President is not in attendance

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X. FORMAL LEADERSHIPB. Leadership in the SenateMajority/Minority Floor LeaderThe real leadership power in the

Senate rests in the hands of the majority floor leader, the minority floor leader and their respective whips

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X. FORMAL LEADERSHIPB. Leadership in the SenateMajority/Minority Floor LeaderThe floor leaders have the right to

be recognized first in floor debates and generally exercise the same powers available to the House majority and minority leaders

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X. FORMAL LEADERSHIPB. Leadership in the SenateMajority/Minority Floor Leader They control the scheduling of debate

on the floor in conjunction with the majority party’s Policy Committee, influence the allocation of committee assignments for new members or for senators desiring to transfer committees, influence the selection of other party officials, and participate in selecting members of conference committees

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X. FORMAL LEADERSHIPB. Leadership in the SenateWhipsSenate whips, like their House

counterparts, maintain communication within the party on issue positions and attempt to ensure that party colleagues are present for floor debate and important votes

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XI. HOW MEMBERS OF CONGRESS DECIDE

There are six main influences on how representatives vote

Constituency Interest Groups Party Discipline Committee Assignments Whip System Logrolling

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A. Constituency Because members of Congress want

to keep their jobs, we would think that voting on what their constituents want

It’s not that simple First of all, more than 30% of the

people in a congressional district can’t name their representative

Plus, voting at midterm election is usually around 35%

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A. Constituency Because of technological advances, it

is a lot easier for constituents to stay in touch with their representative

With the advent of polling, e-mail and 800 numbers have all made communication easier

The job of the legislator really changed after the New Deal when constituents began to ask for and depend on pork-barrel from the government

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B. Interest Groups Besides money, interest groups can

mobilize public support or opposition on a given topic

Sophisticated “grassroots” lobbying means interests groups will send out thousands of letters with names of constituents who have simply called into a toll-free number and reported their name and addresses

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C. Party Discipline At the turn of the century, party leaders

could almost dictate to 90% of their members how to vote on an import bill (called a roll-call vote)

Today, in an era of independent, privately funded campaigns, roll-call votes are a thing of the past

Maybe 3% of all bills are still passed in that manner

Now you have party votes in which half of the party may vote one way and the other half the other way

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C. Party Discipline Typically, party unity is greater in

the House than in the Senate mainly because the House has stricter procedural rules about how to vote than the Senate

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D. Committee AssignmentsThe growth in the number of

committee and subcommittees (over 200 in 2003) has had a recent impact on how Congress votes

House and Senate leaders can favor those who have voted their way in the past by awarding them committee chairmanships.

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D. Committee AssignmentsAfter the Republican sweep in 1994,

Newt Gingrich eliminated the seniority system in assigning chairmanships, increasing the trend of rewarding faithful representatives with positions that would help them in their next election

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E. Whip SystemServes mainly as a communications

networkThe whips in both houses take polls

of their members in order to tell leadership if they have enough support on certain bills

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XII. HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW

Every law begins as a bill and can be introduced in either house

Often, similar bills are introduced simultaneously in both houses

If it’s a money bill, though, it must originate in the House

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In each chamber, the bill follows similar steps

It is referred to a committee and its subcommittee for study, discussion, hearings and rewriting

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When the bill is reported out to the full chamber, it must be scheduled for debate

This is done by the Rules Committee in the House and by the leadership in the Senate

After the bill has been passed in each chamber, if it contains different provisions, a conference committee is formed to write a compromise bill

The compromise bill must be approved by both chambers in exact form before it is sent to the president for his approval or veto

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XIII. HOW MUCH WILL THE GOV’T SPEND?

From 1922, when Congress required the president to prepare and present to the legislature an executive budget, until 1974, the congressional budget process was so disjointed that it was difficult to visualize the total picture of government finances

The president would present his budget to Congress in January

It was broken down into 13 or more appropriation bills

Some time later, after all the bills were debated, amended and passed, it was more or less impossible to estimate total government spending for the next year

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A. Budget & Impoundment Act of 1974 Frustrated by the president’s ability to

impound funds and dissatisfied with the entire budget process, Congress passed the Budget and Impoundment Act of 1974 to regain some control of the nation’s spending

The act required the president to spend funds that Congress had appropriated, frustrating the president’s ability to kill programs of which he disapproved by withholding funds

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B. Preparing the Budget The federal government operates

on a fiscal year (FY) cycle The fiscal year runs from October

through September Fiscal 2008, or FY08, runs from

October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008

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B. Preparing the Budget Eighteen months before a fiscal

year begins, the executive branch begins preparing the budget

The Office of Management and Budget outlines the budget and then sends it to the various departments and agencies

Bargaining follows

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B. Preparing the Budget Every year, the OMB begins the

budget process with a spring review, in which all agencies are required to review their programs, activities, and goals

At the beginning of each summer, the director of the OMB sends out a letter instructing agencies to submit their funding requests for the next fiscal year

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B. Preparing the Budget In actuality the budget season begins

with the fall review At this time, the OMB reviews budget

requests and, in almost all cases, routinely cuts them back

Although the OMB works within guidelines established by the president, specific decisions are often left to the OMB director and the director’s associates

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C. Congress Faces the Budget In January, none months before the

fiscal year begins, the president takes the OMB’s proposed budget, approves it and submits it to Congress

The budgeting process involves two steps: authorization and appropriation

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AuthorizationThe authorization is a formal

declaration by the appropriate congressional committee that a certain amount of funding may be available to an agency

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AuthorizationCommittees and subcommittees look

at the proposals from the executive branch and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in making the decision to authorize funds

After the funds are authorized, they must be appropriated by Congress

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AppropriationsThe appropriation committees of

both the House and The Senate forward spending bills to their respective bodies

The appropriation of funds occurs when the final bill is passed

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AppropriationsThe budget proposed by President

Bush for FY08 called for expenditure of $2.72 trillion

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D. Budget ResolutionsFirst Budget Resolution (d)- A

resolution passed by Congress in May that sets overall revenue and spending goals for the following fiscal year

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D. Budget ResolutionsThe first budget resolution by Congress

is supposed to be passed in May It sets overall revenue goals and

spending targetsDuring the summer, bargaining among

all the concerned parties takes place. Spending and tax laws that are drawn up during this period are supposed to be guided by the May Congressional budget resolution

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D. Budget ResolutionsSecond Budget Resolution (d)-A

resolution passed by Congress in September that sets “binding” limits on taxes and spending for the next fiscal year beginning October 1.

By September, Congress is supposed to pass its second budget resolution. Bills passed before October 1 that do not fit within the limits of the budget resolution are supposed to be changed

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D. Budget ResolutionsContinuing Resolution (d) – A

temporary law that Congress passes when an appropriations bill has not been decided by the beginning of the new fiscal year on October 1

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D. Budget Resolutions In each fiscal year that starts without

a budget, every agency operates on the basis of continuing resolutions which enable the agencies to continue to do whatever they were doing the previous year with the same amount of funding

Even continuing resolutions have not always been passed on time

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XIV. WHY CONGRESS IS STILL IMPORTANT

Despite the public’s sometimes cynical attitude toward the institution, however, Congress affects our lives in immediate and profound ways

One of the most important decisions Congress makes that impacts us is determining how much money government is going to spend

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Tax rates, deductions and credits are all legislated by Congress

Although polls show that Americans give the president more credit than Congress for legislation that is enacted, members of Congress are more aware of the local needs of their states and districts than the president, whose constituency is nationwide

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Local and state interests are fully represented in our federal system of government through Congress

Just one representative from one district in one state has the power to influence how or whether a bill becomes a law

1. during the constitutional convention, there were two schools of thought pertaining to the role...

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