Congress 2: Content

How many chambers does Congress have?

Two (bicameral)

What are some traits of the House?

• House is larger

• More centralized

• More organized process

• Stronger leaders

• Policy specialists

• Smaller, more homogeneous districts

What are some traits of the Senate?

• Senate is smaller

• More deliberative

• Policy generalists

• Districts have states

• Chamber rules are set by members themselves

What are problems of legislative organization?

• Division of labor

• Gathering and processing of info

• Agenda setting

• Rules and procedure

• Place limits on discussion

• Cooperation, coalitions, compromise

What are the structures to address the problems of legislative organization?

• Party leadership

• Committees

• Staff

What’s some info about party leadership?

• Isn’t in the Constitution

• Parties meet at the beginning of new Congress

• Dems: party caucus, Reps: party conference

What else is involved with party leadership?

Selecting candidates, plan strategy, making decisions regarding legislative matters

Who’s the leader of the majority?

Speaker of the House

Who’s the Speaker of the House?

• Chief presiding officer of the House

What’s some more info about the Speaker of the House?

• Elected at the beginning of each Congress on a straight party vote

• Second in the presidential line of succession (after VP)

What do party leaders do?

• Allocate a scarce good (committee assignments)

• Control committee assignments

• Public face of the party

• Fundraising

• Set agenda

What does the committee system entail?

• Division of labor and specialization of labor

• Standing committees

What are committee powers?

• Gatekeeping authority

• Proposal Power

• After-the-fact authority

• Conference committee

• Oversight

What’s gatekeeping authority (committee power)?

The power to decide if a policy change will be considered

What’s proposal power (committee power)?

The power to bring a proposal before the chamber

What’s after-the-fact authority (committee power)?

The power to influence a proposal after it has been passed by the chamber

What’s conference committee (committee power)?

Resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of a bill

What’s oversight (committee power)?

Committees oversee executive branch implementation of policies

What are congressional staff?

Individual staff that work for MCs and the pro agencies that are created for Congress itself

What do congressional staff do?

• Formulate/draft proposals

• Organize hearings

• Work with administrative agencies

• Negotiate with lobbyists

What are some examples of staff agencies?

Congressional Research Service, Congressional Budget Office, Government Accountability Office

How many steps of law-making are there?

Usually 10, can be 11

What’s step one of law-making?

Member introduces bill on the floor

What’s step two of law-making?

Speaker refers the bill to committee

What’s step three of lawmaking?

Leadership decides if/when the bill will be considered

What’s step four of lawmaking?

Floor debate, closed vs open rule determines debate in the House, no restrictions on length in the Senate

What’s the fifth step of lawmaking?

Vote

What’s the sixth step of lawmaking?

Send to the other chamber

Step 7 of lawmaking

Other chamber repeats steps 2-5

Step eight of lawmaking

If both chambers pass different versions, a conference is required

Step nine of lawmaking

Both chambers must approve the conference committee bill

Step ten of lawmaking

Bill sent to president

Step eleven of lawmaking

Veto override (if the president decides to veto)

• Each chamber must pass the bill again with 2/3 vote

What are filibusters?

Refusing to yield the floor by talking continuously to prevent a vote

What does ending debate require?

Cloture (a vote of 3/5 of the Senate)

What are anonymous holds?

Senators placing holds on bolls and nominations to prevent votes and delay debate