congress
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Article I of the Constitution deals with Congress (Despite what Joe Biden says)
By far the longest Article
This suggests that the founders intended Congress to be the most powerful of the three branches of government
• Section One: Bicameral legislature
• Section Two: Length of terms for House members and qualifications for service
• Section Three: Selection of Senators, length of terms
• Section Four: Congressional election process
• Section Seven: How a bill becomes a law
• Section Eight: Powers of the legislative branch
Bicameral =
From www.lshm.net
Constitutional Requirements
Senate
Must be 30 years old
US citizen for 9 years
State Resident
House
Must be 25 years old
US citizen for 7 years
State Resident
Senate – 26 members from 13 statesHouse – 65 membersNo committees
100 Senators435 Representatives (capped in
1912)~670,000 residents per district
Can this Congress accurately represent the will of the people?
1st Congress – 144 bills consideredToday – 6000-9000 bills per Congress
3-5% passed into law
Allowances-Representatives- ~$750k per year for staff-Senators – based on population
Hours in session has gone from 800 to 1600
Congressional membership is largely dominated by:
Educated White
ProtestantMen
Can a body this different from society as a whole truly be
representative of the interests of all groups?
Does diversity matter?
The assigning by Congress of congressional seats after each
census. State legislatures reapportion state legislative
districts
The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines
following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as
possible in population
Reapportionment Redistricting
“Representatives…shall be apportioned among the several states…according to their respective Numbers”
Orders an “actual enumeration” (census) every ten years
Constitution does not specify the size of the House of Representatives
Current size of House membership set in 1912 Districts had about 200,000 people
Today, each Representative represents 670,000 people
The Constitution does not specifically require that all districts be of the same size
The U.S. Supreme Court originally declared issues of apportionment to be a “political thicket” that the courts should stay out of
Baker v. Carr (1961)
“One person, one vote”
Tennessee’s districts were dated (1901)
Memphis was 10x some other districts
Felt they were underrepresented
Wesberry v. Sanders (1964)-districts should have roughly
equal population
-The Senate faces this same legitimacy problem
Each state has 2 SenatorsRhode Island = California
A bill can be stopped with Senators representing only 19% of the U.S. population
In almost all states, the process of redistricting must be undertaken every
ten years to reflect
▪ changes in the state’s overall population relative the the rest of the country
▪ population shifts within the state
Gerrymandering
The drawing of legislative districts for partisan advantage
PackingLumping
opposition voters in one area
-Memphis
CrackingSplitting up groups
of voters so they lack a majority in
any district-Texas’ “Wars”
Former House Majority Leader Tom Delay worked with state legislative leaders to redraw districts every five years, bettering the Republican’s chances in upcoming elections
Affirmative Racial Gerrymandering
Drawing district boundary lines to maximize minority representation
Iowa uses a complex computer system administered by a non-partisan commission to draw geographically compact and equal districts
From www.legis.state.ia.us
Only Constitutional requirements deal with age, length of
citizenship, and residency
Informal Requirements
From www.wpclipart.com, rifuture.org, www.flashreport.org, projectlogic.blogspot.com
From www.flagandbanner.com
Political parties matter in multiple ways:
- Only candidates from the two major parties can win most elections
- If one party is dominant in a district, it is difficult to win from even the other major party
The recent Congressional elections show the importance of timing. Some incumbents lost reelection in relatively safe districts because of popular dissatisfaction.
From www.tull.no
Running against a well-know and powerful opponent often generates an unfair fight.
Incumbency AdvantageName RecognitionFranking PrivilegeAdministrative StaffConstituent servicePACs, Interest Groups and LobbyistsMedia Access
Average House term reached 3 years in 1900
National government once weak Pay was bad D.C. was a swamp Many quit on the job
In short, ambitious folks found happiness elsewhere
US Congress viewed as World’s most “professional legislature”
Prestige, pay, benefits are much better
High chance for re-election
Congress respected, yet hated
Twain: “There is no distinctively American criminal class except Congress”
“The opposite of progress is Congress”
RealClearPolitics (October 2008): 17% approve of Congress 26% approve of Bush
On par with used car salesmen in perceived ethics
But people overwhelmingly support their own representatives
Congressional members criticize the institution, claim they are different
Franking Privilege Members can mail newsletters, updates,
surveys, other self-promotions on Congress’ budget
Pork BarrelConstituent Service
Franking Privilege Members can mail newsletters, updates,
surveys, other self-promotions on Congress’ budget
Pork Barrel “bringing home the bacon” Get federal funds for a local project
Constituent Service
Franking PrivilegePork Barrel
“bringing home the bacon” Get federal funds for a local project
Constituent Service Have the staff to respond to
constituent’s needs
Lobby dollars provide incumbents with massive resources
Lobbyists will not “waste” money on challengers
Free advertising for incumbentsLaws have attempted to force equal
coverage
Familiarity is a major boost in elections Actors, athletes have faired well
Early on there were no true “leaders” in Congress
During this period all members were more or less equal
House of Representatives
Speaker of the House Majority Leader Majority Whip Minority Leader Minority Whip
Senate
President of the Senate President Pro Tempore Majority Leader Majority Whip Minority Leader Minority Whip
First to speak on legislation Gives permission to speak
Time limits on speaking Assigns the Rules Committee Assigns bills and time limits to
committees
Often considered the second strongest man in Washington
House of Representatives
Speaker of the House Majority Leader Majority Whip Minority Leader Minority Whip
Senate
President of the Senate President Pro Tempore Majority Leader Majority Whip Minority Leader Minority Whip
Members can become policy experts
More issues can be considered
Legislators can be on committees relevant to constituents
Members of Congress are assigned to one or more permanent committees
These committees – known as standing committees – are where the bulk of Congressional work takes place
1946: Legislative Preauthorization Act Every piece of legislation introduced for
consideration must first be referred to a committee
1970s: House adopted process of multiple referrals
Referral and Jurisdiction
Standing Committees
Standing Committees
Subcommittees
Ninety percent of all measures get tabled in committee
Measures not tabled are given a hearing, occasionally with witnesses/experts
Hearings
In this stage, the actual language of the bill is forged
Prime sponsor: member responsible for crafting the language
Markup
Report: summarizes bill’s provisions and the rationale behind it
Rules Report: stipulates whether a bill is open, closed, modified or subject to the time-structured rule
Reports and Rules Report
Standing Committees
Subcommittees
Select Committee
s
Select committees may conduct investigations or hold hearings, such as the investigations relating to the firing of several U.S. Attorneys, Iran-Contra, Watergate, etc.
Bureaucratic Oversight and Investigations
Standing Committees
Subcommittees
Select Committees
Rules Committee
s
Standing Committees
Subcommittees
Select Committees
Rules Committee
s
Joint Committee
s
Standing Committees
Subcommittees
Select Committees
Rules Committee
s
Joint Committee
s
Conference Committee
s
How a Bill becomes a Law
The Process: Bill Introduction
Any member of Congress can introduce a bill.
Individuals and groups outside of Congress also influence this process.
From www.aramnaharaim.org, www.hposoft.com, www.dcgiftshop.com
The lawmaker that introduces a bill Not necessarily the person that wrote it Can include co-sponsors
Tax bills MUST begin in the House
House – bill dropped in the hopperSenate – the Sponsor is recognized
by the presiding officer and announces the bill
The Process: Bill Introduction Committee Process
▪ Bill is referred to the appropriate committee
▪ Up to 90% of bills die here▪ If approved, is sent to a subcommittee
Hearings are scheduled“Witnesses” generally supportive of
the Subcommittee chairMarkupReport to the full committee
The Process: Bill Introduction Committee Process Floor Action
Filibuster A tactic by whereby a minority of
Senators prevent a bill from coming to a vote by holding floor, talking until other senators give in and bill is withdrawn from consideration
Cloture A 3/5 vote that limits debate on a bill to
30 hours
Change the Senate Rules
Can be changed with a simple majority
Speaker decides what to hear
Suspension of the Rules-requires 2/3 vote
Controversial bills go to the Rules Committee first
The Process: Bill Introduction Committee Process Floor Action Conference Committee
Members of each party from the House and Senate meet to iron out differences between the two versions of a bill
The Process: Bill Introduction Committee Process Floor Action Conference Committee Presidential Decision
Sign the bill into lawVeto
President Bush used the veto power very little compared with other modern presidents.
Presidential Decision
Bush – 12 (none in first term)Clinton - 37George H.W. Bush - 44Ronald Reagan – 78
Clinton also utilized the line item veto
Sign the bill into lawVetoTake no Action
-bill comes into law after 10 daysPocket Veto
-if Congress adjourns before this 10 days ends, the bill is dead; process restarts
Enumerated Powers
Congressional power specifically granted in Article I of the Constitution
Implied Powers
Powers not specified by the Constitution.
Implied as an extension of
enumerated powers
Examples of enumerated powers: Lay and collect taxes Borrow money Coin money Regulate interstate commerce Declare war Raise an army and navy Create inferior courts
The Congress shall have power …To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.
Necessary and Proper Clause
Article I, Section 8
The necessary and proper clause is also called the elastic clause
United Government
One political party controls the
presidency and Congress
Divided Government
One political party controls the
presidency and the other controls at least
one house of Congress