Congressional Leadership
• Based on Party Leadership
• Power is dispersed widely to Committee Chairs
Speaker of the House
• Formal Powers• Presides over the
House• Makes committee
assignments• Control over
where bills are sent
The Speaker’s Men
• Majority Leader• Eric Cantor• Rounding up votes• Scheduling bills
• Appoints party leadership staff
• Whips • Work with the leader
to round up votes and report views
• (The minority party is organized the same way)
•
•
Senate Leadership
• Vice President Chairs the Senate• Their only significance
is to break a tie
• Senate Majority Leader
• Aided by whips• Floor action• Appointments• Scheduling
• Senator Harry Reid D-NV
•
Joe.jpg
Joe.jpg
Creating and Introducing Bills
• Most Bills originate from the Executive Branch after coordination by the OMB
• Interest groups suggest bills• Private citizens
Mr. President (Chief Legislator)• Based on Party
Platform• White House will
lobby congressional leadership to pass their Agenda
$$$$Money Bills$$$$
• Any revenue-raising bill must start in the House
• Why?• Close to the People• Taxation without Rep
Types of Bills and Resolutions
• Bills• Proposed laws presented to Congress• Public Bills apply to the entire nation• Private Bill pertain to certain persons
or places
Bills and Resolutions Cont.
• Joint Resolutions• Temporary or unusual matters• Can have force of law• Must be passed by both Houses• Must be signed by President
Bills and Resolutions Cont.
• Concurrent Resolutions• Common concerns of both Houses• Have the force of Law• DO NOT Require President’s signature
Bills and Resolutions Cont.
• Resolutions• Voted on by either House• No force of law• Deal with House rules and do not
require President’s Signature
Bills and Resolutions Cont
• Rider• Not likely to pass on its own merit• Attached to an important measure.• Source of Pork Barreling• X-Mass Tree Bills
Bill to law
• 1st Reading• Assigned a Number• Short title• Entered into the House Journal• After the 1st Reading the Speaker
refers the bill to a standing committee for consideration
Committees and Subcommittees
• Committees dominate policy-making
• They hold hearing to investigate problems and possible wrong doings
• They control the Congressional Agenda
4 Types of Committees
• Standing – permanent subject matter• Joint – study committees that exist in
few policy areas with membership drawn from both Houses
• Conference – sole function to reconcile different versions of the same bill
• Select – specific purpose (I.E. Watergate)
Committees at Work• 11,000 bills every
term• Report bills
out/send to subcommittee
• Hold hearings/mark up bills
• Members serve as “floor managers” for the bill
Committees at work
• Legislative oversight• Hearings• Investigations capture public
attention• Keeps tabs on routine activities of the
Executive Branch
Getting on a Committee• New members write
to congressional leaders about committee preferences
• Work in policy areas that the member can make a difference in.
• The majority party has a majority on the Committee as well as the CHAIR
Committee Chairs
• Dominate Committee Agenda• Hearings, hiring staff, managing
bills• Up until the 70’s chairs were
selected by the SENIORITY RULE
The Fall of the Seniority Rule
• Chairs could “bottle-up” legislation• After the 70’s• Seniority general rule BUT now
members vote on chairs• These reforms have reduced the
clout of chairs.
Congressional Caucus
• Members who share some interest or characteristic • Black, Hispanic, Sunbelt, Etc.• Regional, ideological, and economic
groupings.• NOT A POLITICAL CAUCUS
The Bill in Committee• Most work done by subcommittees that
investigate and debate bills• Sub to full committee, The full
committee can:• “do pass”• Refuse to report/pigeonhole• Report bill in amended form• Report unfavorably.• Report an entirely new bill.
Rules and Calendars
• Calendar – lists of business eligible for consideration
• House Rules Committee must approve or give a rule. (The Rules Committee can kill a bill)• www.house.gov• www.senate.gov
The Bill on the Floor
• Most important bills are considered by the Committee of the Whole (The Whole House)
• Debate – Strict Rules limit the length of debate
• Voting – amendment may be added. A QUORUM must be present
Ways of Voting
• Voice Vote – “aye” or “no” (Chair decides result)
• Standing (division) vote• 1/5 of quorum may demand a
teller vote• 1/5 may demand a Roll-call vote
• (Vote becomes public record)
Final Steps in the HOUSE
• Approved bill is engrossed, read a 3rd time, voted on again, and signed by the Speaker
• A signed bill is sent from the Speaker of the House to the president of the Senate.
Bill in the Senate
• Debate in Senate is almost unlimited
• FILIBUSTER (60 members can invoke cloture) Cloture would close debate on a bill and end a filibuster
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/02/07/congress.economy/index.html
The Cloture Rule
• Limits debate in the Senate• Petition signed by 16 senators• Approved by 3/5 of the Senate• Many senators will not use this out
of fear that it will limit free speech
Conference Committees
• If the House and Senate pass different versions of a bill a conference committee is formed to iron out differences.
• Appointees are usually the senior, most powerful members of each committee
The President Acts
• After a bill passes both Houses of Congress it must be sent to the President
• The President Can:• Sign into law• Veto• Not sign for 10 days while Congress is in
session• Pocket-veto by not acting before Congress
adjourns.
Veto Override
• After a veto the bill is returned to the chamber of origin
• Congress can either:• Alter the bill to the President’s liking
or• Cast a 2/3 vote to override the Veto• (In 200 years only 100 vetos have
been overridden.)