LGAP, Congress Chapter 11, Mr. Balaz=
s
Congress
Bicameral, House and Senate
<=
/span>Enacting Law
&n=
bsp; Primary responsibility for Budget is in =
the house, helps to set fiscal policy (economic policy based on government =
spending and taxation, in comparison, the Federal Reserve makes monetary po=
licy including effecting interest rates, money supply and banking rules)
=
Legislative Oversight- example hearings of EPA
=
&n=
bsp; Casework- example, helping a disgruntled constituent=
<=
/span>Constitution enumerated powers see Article I Section 8
Bureaucratization
Increasing complexity and role of the Government have expanded the siz=
e and shape of Congressional Staffs and though Congress remains the same si=
ze in terms of elected officials (535), its scope and influence have change=
d dramatically. Factors, nati=
onal commerce, foreign affairs, military.&=
nbsp; Offices to help Congress in determining and overseeing legisla=
tion include
Congressio=
nal Research Service
<=
/span>Congressional Budget Office
<=
/span>General Accounting Office
<=
/span>Office of Technology Assessment
House:
&nb=
sp; Size (435), established by Congres=
s, since 1911, today approx. 700K per congressman,=
&n=
bsp; Within Congress, staf=
fing sizes for Congressman have ballooned over the past years, Salary is 14=
1k but approx. 1M budgeted per Congressman, for staffing considerations, on=
average, 17 staff members for Congressmen, 40 in Senate, plus1000s of staf=
f for committees and subcommittees
=
Census every 10 yrs, mandated by Const, Census, results in re=
apportionment
=
Initially designed to focus on "money" spending and=
taxing bills- power of the purse
=
Districts, as of 1962, one man one vote, Districts should be =
of similar size (Pop), Equal Protection issue (14th Amendment), Supr. Ct. r=
uling
=
State Legislatures determine District=
s (w/in Constitutional parameters) &n=
bsp;
=
Gerrymanderin=
g
&n=
bsp; =
; &=
nbsp; Substantive (ideological)- constituents w/a similar ideo=
logy as congressman
=
&nb=
sp; &=
nbsp; Descriptive- similar in terms of race etc.. w/congressman =
; Voting Rights Act =
of 1965 tried to ensure that there would be some districts that would elect=
african american
&nbs=
p; Max-Min (Maj-Min) Districting
&nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; Early 1990s decision (Shaw) held that =
Government must show a compelling interest to try to create "black dis=
tricts” Today ironically, Republican Party, objecting to spreading ou=
t black populations, rather than maj-min
&n=
bsp; History of the House,
&nbs=
p; Early House, to 1816, weak and larg=
ely at control of Fed.Cabinet &=
nbsp;
&=
nbsp; 1816 to Jackson, Stronger House,=
Clay and Calhoun, add to strength of the House, have dominant roles in set=
ting political agenda,
&n=
bsp; Jackson, Andrew, atte=
mpts to counterbalance, begins use of Veto Process (more Vetos by Jackson t=
han all Presidents then combined), slavery issue leads to factionalism=
&n=
bsp; Presidency relatively weak post Jackson (some power w/Polk) but all one =
term Presidents
=
Reconstruction Congress- largely able=
to get what it wanted, Republican dominated, impeached Johnson<=
/span>
=
1880s to early 1900s- Reed, Maine, Ca=
nnon (Ill.), concentrated more power into the Speakers office, Rules Commit=
tees,
1950s=
-1960s,
Decline in power of Speaker, Committees, no longer by seniority, but electe=
d by
Committee members, Committee Chairman create their own "fiefs",
Decentralization of power makes Congress more democratic but arguably less
effective.
1990s, Gingrich attempt to restore power of Speaker, reduce committees, =
6 yr terms for Committee Chairman,
=
Rules
=
Organization of House, up to the House &n=
bsp; Speaker, leads the house (Nancy Pelosi)
&n=
bsp; Majority Leader- (Hoyer) Under T=
om Delay this was an extremely meaningful position oten it is the last step=
before Speaker
&n=
bsp; Whip (Clyburn) early 1900s creation, to whip up support from the party
&n=
bsp; Min=
ority Leader (John Boehner)
&=
nbsp; Minority Whip
&n=
bsp; Committees- Vastly increased in # as Congress=
deals w/more and more complex legislation encompassing broader and broader=
areas.
&n=
bsp; Standing Committees
&n=
bsp; Exclusive Committees
&n=
bsp; Rules Commi=
ttees- House Speaker has substantial power in determining whos on this =
committee.
&n=
bsp; &=
nbsp; No Amendments=
from Floor
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Discharge Petition, w=
/Maj of Congress, Petition can be brought up to put a bill on the floor for=
a vote (get around Speaker objection), rarely used, Campaign Finance Refor=
m is an example.
&nb=
sp; =
L=
imits on Debate, time, Germane
&n=
bsp; =
; Party Assignment to committees=
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; Steering Co=
mmittee (democrats)
Committee for Committees (rep=
ublicans)
&n=
bsp; =
; Policy Committee (Republ=
icans)
&n=
bsp; =
; Ways and Means Committee
&n=
bsp; =
; Appropriations Committee
&nbs=
p; Standing Committees- See Text=
&n=
bsp; Select Committees<=
/b>- terminable
&n=
bsp; =
Joint Committees
&nb=
sp; =
Conference Committee- Reconcile differences in Se=
nate and House Bills
Subcommittees
Passing a Bill (see previous handout), also see Voting methods (text) &n=
bsp;
&=
nbsp; See also public v. private bills=
&n=
bsp; =
Sequential Referral v. multiple Ref=
erral, establishing which committees a bill goes to,
&n=
bsp; Discharge Petition
&n=
bsp; Closed v Open v. Restrictive Rules<=
o:p>
&n=
bsp; Quorum issues (Committee of a Whole=
100)
&n=
bsp; The Job
&n=
bsp; =
Incumbency
&n=
bsp; How do congressman decide what to vote for, factors &n=
bsp; =
; Attitudinal- Ideological
=
&n=
bsp; =
; Institutional- pleasing ones colleagues
&n=
bsp; =
; Representative- voting consistent w/views in the=
district &nb=
sp;
&=
nbsp; Casework
&nbs=
p; Legislative Oversight
&nbs=
p; Creating Legislation
&=
nbsp;
&=
nbsp; Reelection
&n=
bsp; &=
nbsp; Difficulty in defeating incumbency
&n=
bsp; =
; Sophomore Surge (8 to 10 points), probably cause=
s name recognition
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; getting pork (www.cagw=
.org) for district and ca=
sework, see also log rolling
franking, xm=
as tree bills and other related privileges
Senate
<=
/span>6 yr terms, 2 senators each state, 17th Amendment early 1900s, led to=
popularly elected senators
&n=
bsp; In the case of a small state may jointly repr=
esent 500k pop, or in case of California 2 joi=
ntly representing close to 40 million people
&n=
bsp; Sometime called the millionaires club due to =
tendency to have wealthy people in office, and perceived "laziness&quo=
t; especially in the 19th century.
<=
span
style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New =
Roman","serif"'>
=
More collegiality in Senate, longer terms, fewer numbers of s=
enators
&n=
bsp; No Speaker but Maj. Leader (Reid), Min Leader=
(McConnel) and whips
&n=
bsp; Maj leader has great =
sway in determining what gets to calendar and floor
=
<=
/span>History:
&n=
bsp; less restrictive rules in Senate lead to less=
centralization of power in Majority leader
=
Senate to Civil War- equal slave and non-slave state senators=
<=
/span>Rules
=
Much more liberal than House, still can play a role in stoppi=
ng legislation
=
Filibuster and Cloture (Senate only) since non-germane amendm=
ents are not allowed in House, and there are no limits to debate in Senate.=
Getting a Bill in Committee=
, in some cases can move directly to Floor
=
Getting a bill out of Committee (http://bensguid=
e.gpo.gov/9-12/lawmaking/hr408.html
, http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/legprocessflowchart.pdf
)
=
Voting methods (see text)
=
Passing a Bill, also see Voting methods (text) <=
o:p>
Committees-.
=
Standing Committees
=
=
&nb=
sp; Party Assignment to committees
&n=
bsp; =
; Steering Committee (demo=
crats)
&n=
bsp; =
; Committee for Committees=
(republicans)
&n=
bsp; =
; Policy Committee (Republ=
icans)
&n=
bsp; See Text for li=
st of Standing Major Committees and Minor Committees
=
Select Committees- Aging, Ethics, Int=
elligence
=
Joint Committees
=
Conference Co=
mmittee- Reconcile differences in Senate and House Bills<=
/pre>
=
Subcommittees
=
=
The Job
=
incumbency
&nbs=
p; How do Senators decide =
what to vote for? Factors
=
&nb=
sp; Attitudinal- Ideological
=
&nb=
sp; Institutional- pleasing ones colleagues
<=
pre>
&n=
bsp; =
; Representative- voting consistent w/views in the=
district &nb=
sp;
&n=
bsp; Casework
&n=
bsp; Legislative Oversight=
&nbs=
p; Creating Legislation
&nbs=
p; Reelection
&nbs=
p; Difficulty in defeating=
incumbency
&nbs=
p; Sopho=
more Surge less important in Senate than House
&nbs=
p; =
name recognition
&nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; getting pork for district and casework, see also log rolling
&nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; franking and other related privileges, press relea=
ses, web sites
Senate Leadership
&=
nbsp; Majority Leader- Reid
=
&=
nbsp; Majority Whip- Durbin=
&=
nbsp; Minority Leader- McConnell<=
/o:p>
&=
nbsp; Minority Whip-
Recent Issues in Congress (1970s to today)
<=
/span>Term limits (seemed dead but now revived?) early 90s consideration of=
career politicians led to downfall of House Speaker Tom Foley amongst othe=
rs. Some states passed laws d=
ecreeing term limits, however Fed. Cts. overruled them as infringing on cen=
tral govt powers. Term limits=
would require a constitutional amendment.=
Many argue we have term limits, they’re called election=
s!
<=
/span>Ethics- Watergate scandal, followed by Abscam, Keating 5 and related =
S & L crisis, House Bank scandal of early 90s, Jim Wright (house speake=
r) book deal, Newt Gingrich PAC deal, Tom Delay, “K” Street Pro=
ject. All this has led to mor=
e and more partisan bickering, and a push for more stringent ethic rules, w=
ith campaign money and lobbyists (textbook provides current rules). Most experts maintain that the curre=
nt congress is historically one of the most ethical and professional. In the 1880s high amount of patron=
age, largely disappeared, through Pendleton and other acts. In recent years there have been attempts to =
diminish the power of the Ethics Committee by amending the rules for when t=
o investigate. Transparency h=
as heightened the sense of improper or unethical conduct and has created de=
mands for increasingly higher standards.
<=
/span>Increased ideological partisanship - Polarization (few lib. republ, o=
r cons. democrats). 1960s the=
re was division in Democrat party amongst Southern and Northern Democrats, =
despite overwhelming # of dems in congress, dems were often divided. By the 1980s and 90s, southern dems switched parties to Republic=
an. Similarly, Liberal Republ=
icans (once called Rockefeller Republicans) are few and far between, only s=
ome in the northeast. Early p=
artisanship had more to do with party loyalty due to organizational issues =
than ideological. Bork hearin=
g for the Supreme Court and the Bill Clinton impeachment epitomized split.<=
span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> John Tower nomination, Picker=
ing hearing during GW Bush fo=
llowed by the intense battles over nominees such as Tom Daschle by the Obam=
a Administration shows the breakdown of senatorial courtesy. In the 2002-2006 term, Republicans threaten=
ed to amend the filibuster rule so that it can't be used with judicial nomi=
nations, this resulted in Democrats threatening to go "nuclear" a=
nd stop all business in the Senate if the Republicans did so, now positions=
may have switched.
Caucuses- =
as Congress’ less concentration of power (decentralization) led to th=
e 1970s large increase in caucuses. =
These are groups of Congressmen, elected officials, meeting about co=
mmon interests; ideological, racial, geographic, economic. Attempt by Gingrich revolution to cause a dec=
line, largely failed, despite no longer subsidizing meeting or providing me=
eting rooms.
- Turf Battles b=
etween Executive v Congress (see Ridge Testimony article, executive privili=
ge article, War Powers Act of 1973), Court v. Congress (see Lopez case, Dom=
estic Violence Act, Gore v Bush election), limits on use of Commerce Clause=
and upholding of States rights issues by Court in 1990s. Bush budget battl=
e with Congress. They happen =
even when Congress and the President are the same party. Republicans and Democrats objected to the searc=
h of William Jefferson Smith’s (D-La.) Congressional office.