chapter 10, Congress

bicameral legislature/bicameralism

a legislative body consisting of two chambers: house and senate

Senators area?

usually represent much larger and more diverse constiuencies(people in that area) state wide votes

Representatives area?

serve distinct districts within each state

Constituency

residents in the area from which an official is elected

three major factors affect who gets elected: congressional elections

1. who runs for congress - parties cannot control who runs for their nomination

2. the incumbency advantage

3. the redistricting process

Incumbency advantage

a very high percentage of incumbents are reelected.

Why incumbency advantage exist?

constituency services, ability to secure pork barrel, opportunities to build a war chest of money, being well liked/known

pork barrel

appropriations made by legislative bodies for local projects that are often not needed but that are created so that local representatives can win re-election in their home districts

Affect who wins a seat in the House: Apportionment (1)

the process occurring after every decennial census, that allocates congressional seats among the 50 states, population shift south/west has increased the size of congressional delegations from those regions

Affect who wins a seat in the House: Redistricting (2)

the process of redrawing election districts and redistrubuting legislative representatives every 10 years to reflect shifts in population or in response to legal challenges to exisiting districts

Gerrymandering

new districts are drawn in such a way to advantage one group or party

conference

party leadership determined by the members of congress through a party election (House republicans)

caucus

party leadership determined by the members of congress through a party election (House democrats)

speaker of the house

leaders of the majority party and chief presiding officer of the house of representatives, has the most influence

Whip

coordinates the party’s legislative strategy, builds support for the leadership’s agenda, and counts votes, most underrated

permanent committees in Congress

have power to propose and write legislation

standing committees in congress

cover a particular subject matter ex: agriculture, armed services, energy and commerce, ethics, conduct hearings and launch investigations

select committees

temporary legislative committees set up to highlight or investigate a particular issue, hold hearings, up to party in charge, don’t create laws

conference committees

write the final wording in cases where both chambers pass similar bills that need to be reconciled

factors that influence members of congress when they vote on legislation

constituents, interest groups, party leadership often wants to maintain “party discipline” -party unity vote

congressional oversight

the effort by congress, through hearings, investigations, and other techniques, to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies, to analyze and evaluate bureaucratic agencies and the effectiveness of their programs

Senate: check against excessive democracy

confirm executive appointments, ambassadors, and federal judges, approve treaties