A.P. U.S. Govt. and Politics

Ch. 11, “Congress” 2010: Republicans took control of the House—and cut the Democrats’

majority in the Senate; thought this was a “mandate” from the people to enact their policies

Senate and presidency: controlled by Democrats—making it difficult for Republicans to enact their programs—and the need for compromise

Also, Republicans sometimes disagree over policies (as do Democrats)

The Origin and Powers of Congress

• Framers of the Const.: wanted to curb power—but make the federal govt. stronger• Great Compromise: Congress is bicameral—House of Reps. and Senate; bills

become law by being passed by BOTH; this benefited both small (Senate) and large (House) states in population• Senate: 2 per state; serve 6-yr. terms; 1/3 are reelected every two years;

originally the state legislatures chose them—but the 17th Amend. allowed them to be elected directly by the people• House: based on a state’s pop.; all are reelected every two years (so serve 2-yr.

term); 435 total Reps. in Congress; Census: determines reapportionment every 10 years (benefiting the south and southwest—and loss of seats in the north and northeast)

Duties of the House and Senate

• Both: power to declare war; raise an army and navy; borrow and coin money; regulate interstate commerce; create federal courts; establish rules for the naturalization of immigrants; and make all laws “necessary and proper” to execute its powers• House: originates revenue bills and has the power to bring up charges

against govt. officials (impeachment)• Senate: tries the impeachment (with Chief Justice presiding)—such as

Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton; approves major presidential appointments (federal judges; ambassadors; and cabinet members) by a majority vote; and approves treaties with foreign nations by a 2/3’s vote

Electing Congress

• elections inform politicians of public opinion about their work• incumbents: have an advantage in elections; since 1950—90% have won reelection

(except for 2010—when 54 lost—mostly Democrats); they also win with 60% or more of the vote

• Senate elections: are more competitive than House ones—but incumbents still have an advantage

• public: has low opinion of Congress—because of influences of interest groups, problems with the economy, long costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and partisan disagreements and division

• gerrymandering: helps incumbents win—since the district lines benefit one party or another

• more name recognition for incumbents; also the franking privilege: free mail for govt. officials to send out to their constituents; also, use of social media paid for by the govt.

Electing Congress (cont.)

• casework: involves a lot of the time of Congresspeople’s large staffs; this is to help them get reelected by helping constituents

• Incumbents can raise more money—because they already won the seat; also, PACs prefer those in office

• challengers: win by attacking the incumbent—based on age, lack of seniority, a scandal, poor redistricting, or the ideology of their district (different from their own)

• 2012: Democrats kept control of the Senate; but in 2014—lost its majority; so now Republicans control all of Congress—while the Democrats still control the presidency

• most members of Congress are upper-class professionals (lawyers and businesspeople) and white males; 47% are millionaires; women and minorities—are underrepresented

• Thornburg v. Gingles (1986): SC encouraged states to draw districts so that they would be “majority-minority” ones; led to 50% increase of African-Ams. in the House; Shaw v. Reno (1993): SC questioned use of race to draw new districts—but now says it can be one factor

Issues and the Congressional Agenda; the lawmaking process and

committees• Congress uses it power to address issues in the U.S. (such as “cyberstalking”, threat of terrorism,

economic problems, the national debt)• highly visible events (9/11), media attention, the president’s agenda, or interest group activities all

encourage Congress to act• Steps in making laws:• 1) a bill is introduced and assigned to a committee—then sent to a subcommittee• 2) the subcommittee approves it to go back to the committee—which then goes back to the House

and Senate for consideration (NOTE: in the House—it goes to the Rules Committee first—to govern debate on the bill)

• 3) Full House and Full Senate: debates the bill and offers amendments• 4) Conference Committee: senators and representatives reconcile differences between the bills• 5) Full House and Full Senate: vote on the bill• 6) President signs or vetoes the bill; 2/3’s majority in Congress can override the veto

Lawmaking process and committees (cont.)

• pocket veto: if a president does not sign or veto a bill—it becomes law in 10 days; but if Congress adjourns within those 10 days—then the bill dies

• interest groups: will attempt to influence bills passed by Congress• committees: help use expertise on different topics—and govt. officials to specialize in one area; standing:

permanent and specialized (Judiciary; Foreign Relations; etc.); numbers are determined by the majority party (who gets more seats on the committee); joint: members of both the Senate and House; concerned with specific policy areas (economic); but is weaker—cannot propose bills; select: temporary one to deal with a specific purpose; conference: also temporary—designed to work out differences between House and Senate versions of a bill

• Seniority: those with most experience—serve as chairs for the committees or subcommittees if their party is in the majority

• committees: gather info. about an issue by holding hearings and taking testimony from witnesses; then hold a markup session—the bill is amended and debated

• oversight: Congress monitors federal agencies to make sure they are doing what they are supposed to; usually involves holding hearings, requesting written reports from the agency, and involving interest groups to voice their opinion and expertise

Leaders and Followers in Congress

• party leaders: work to maximize the influence of their own party in Congress, oversee institutional procedures, manage legislation, fundraise, and communicate with the press

• Speaker of the House: mentioned in the Constitution—with no specific duties; chosen by the majority party

• majority leader: helps the Speaker guide the party’s policy program• majority whip: keeps track of the vote count and rallies support for legislation• minority leader and whip: also help guide legislation based on the party’s policy program• Vice President: is the president of the Senate (to break a tie vote); president pro tempore (“for the

time”)—elected by the majority party, but is just honorary, and the senior member of the majority party holds that position in the Senate

• majority leader (in the Senate): schedules legislation and steers bargaining and negotiating over bills; day in and day out leaders try to strike deals

• party leaders: have LITTLE control over their members because the legislators have their own sources of funding and wish to make their constituents happy

Rules of Procedure in Congress

• parliamentary procedure: used to structure congressional discussions• House: Rules Committee controls debate; Senate: uses unanimous consent to

set start time and length of debate; both: majority party uses rules to control the legislative process• filibuster: senator tries to talk a bill to death—by continuing to hold the floor

and preventing the bill from progressing; House: limits a member to speak for up to an hour• cloture: how the Senate limits debate; it requires 60 votes to do so• hold: legislation is taken off the table for debate in the Senate• parties in both: tend to be united on legislation—leading to straight-party

voting on bills

The Legislative Environment

• Factors influencing a Congressperson’s vote:• 1) political parties: influence appointments to committees, consideration of bills, and

leadership positions; they have become more ideological over time—Dems. more liberal and Reps. more conservative• 2) the President: has an active role in proposing legislation—and will meet with

lawmakers to influence their votes; members vote with the President if they are from the same party (usually)• 3) constituents: govt. officials have to make them happy—so vote based on what they

want (or risk losing their job)• 4) interest groups: also may be part of the constituency—so the legislator wants to make

them happy; they hire lobbyists: who try to convince the official to vote on behalf of their group; also give campaign contributions and expect greater access to legislators

The Dilemma of Representation

• How do govt. officials reconcile what their constituents want with what the nation as a whole wants?

• Congresspeople have to share time between Washington, D.C. and their home state• Some people argue that legislators should vote for what they think is best—and are

trustees; others say that they should be delegates—and vote for the majority view of their constituents (even if it’s against their own beliefs)

• Govt. officials have to know what their constituents want—which is difficult to figure out• U.S. Congress: oftentimes criticized for being too pluralist—and not majoritarian;

earmarks: also called pork barrel projects; when Congress added spending for local projects to other bills (though this practice was banned in 2011); now legislators have to convince Congress that funding local projects serves a national purpose; this involves give and take—support my funding today and I will support your funding tomorrow