Legislative Unit

Framers

created a bicameral legislature to represent land vs. no land

what is one of the president’s roles in congress?

to give the state of the union (how the nation is doing and the goals of the nation)

why is there a census?

every 10 years to assign house reps

1 rep = 750,000 people

who writes tax laws?

NOT congress, house reps

how long is a term of congress?

every two years

lameduck

awkward period of time where a new candidate has been voted in but inauguration has not happened (November to January)

who does congress derive powers from?

supreme court, the media, the people

why does congress have the most power?

to establish legitimacy of the government

impeach

bring charges against an official (house drafts), senate will vote (must be 2/3 majority)

what is something that congress members tend to do in regards to constituents?

speak for constituents other than their own (ex. some Congress members in the west are in favor of pumping Michigan’s water from great lakes)

descriptive representation

the belief that diverse people will vote for diverse people

ex. women vote for Hilary because she is a woman

what are some objectives of being a legislator?

• to legislate

• earn reelection

• casework - constituent service

• influence policy (build their own “name”, leadership, sponsor legislation ex. McCain Feingold)

Homestyle and Washington Career (Richard Fenno)

• taking care of constituents

• using lots of Junket when newly elected to create a name and reputation among constituents (up until reelection by 60% margin), then incumbency effect comes in and this is not needed

• taking care of responsibilities in DC

3 Theories

representational (delegate) - voting based on what constituents want and need

organizational - based on what party wants (party pressure because leaders control their opportunities)

attitudinal (trustee) - what member personally wants or makes sense to them

politico

trustree and delegate hybrid

house representatives description

25 years old, 7 years living in state where you represent, unlimited terms

senator description

30 years old, 9 years living in state where you represent, unlimited terms

president description

35 years, natural born citizen, live in US for 14 years total

how did a strong speaker of the house start?

during Jackson and slavery, jeopardizes the structure of congress, speaker needed to fix the chaos, RISE of powerful speaker, members revolt and a democratic system with a strong speaker is established

how does a divided government happen?

voters want to shift control away from elected officials

what is the hierarchy in congress?

speaker of the house (house), majority leader (senate), minority leader (senate and house), majority whip, minority whip

party caucas

each party has own, this is where a whip and leader will be chosen

BUT all 435 house reps will choose a speaker for the entire house

what is some important info about the speaker?

they get their own vote, they swear in all members of congress, pick bills to send to committee based on their personal opinion, speaker chooses members of the committees (based on how much they like each member)

how are committee chairpersons chosen?

members of committees will vote, seniority plays a role, speaker can influence/tell you to vote for someone, if you don’t listen you will not get opportunities you want

what are staggered terms?

1/3 of senate is up for reelection every two years

how do filibusters work for presidential appointments and supreme court?

51 votes to end a filibuster (presidential appointments)

60 votes to end a filibuster (supreme court)

congressional vs. legislative

congressional - national

legislative - state

what is a determining factor in choosing a candidate?

• people vote party lines (registered members of a party)

• issues, especially economic

• descriptive representation

why is the senate staggered?

constant body of experience

17th amendment

changed senate to popular vote, before state legislatures used to vote

the party that controls the house and senate gets to do what after a census?

redistrict to favor their party in most states

process for redistricting

• census count

• reapportionment

• redistricting

Baker v. Carr

Earl Warren is the chief justice, Baker is a voter and is suing Tennessee because the district lines are malapportioned, there are fewer people in some districts so their votes are amplified (based on 1901 census), court decides this is justiciable and judicial review can cover this case, believes in “one man one vote” principle and that every state must redistrict for the state (legislative) house

Reynold v. Sims

• legislative senate

wesberry v. sanders

congressional HR

Shaw v. Reno

after 1990 census, NC gets 12 districts instead of 11, voting rights acts of 1965 ensures everyone has access to polls, Ruth Shaw is a voter who believes her voice is being diluted since districts were gerrymandered based on race, it violates equal protection clause, oddly shaped districts must not occur based on race, strict scrutiny test

how to gerrymander?

packing and cracking

midterm

middle of president’s term, can divide house and senate against president’s party, generally not high turnout

general elections

ex. school boards, presidential, democrats and republicans

primary elections

competing against members of own party, last democrat standing, you can choose to vote for the democrat or republican members (separate sheets)

earmarks

pork is built into laws and bills

congressional caucases

both chambers, only members of congress can show up, bipartisan and both chambers, members can join as many as they want, can be religious or racial

reciprocity

congress members use this all the time, one member does one thing for another, the other person does something for them

Senatorial courtesy

Senatorial courtesy is a long-standing tradition in the United States Senate where the President consults with senators from a particular state before nominating a federal official, such as a judge or a U.S. attorney, who would serve in that state. The motivation behind senatorial courtesy is to show respect for the senators' knowledge of their state and to maintain a cooperative relationship between the executive and legislative branches. However, it is important to note that senatorial courtesy is not a constitutional requirement and can vary in its application.

support agencies

independent agencies (nonpartisan) to help congress function

CRS

congress research service, conduct research for congress members

CBO

conduct all things related to the budget, nonpartisan economist, costs/savings

GAO

government accountability office, make sure congress members are doing what their supposed to be doing, monitor every committee to make sure they are doing their job, oversight of bureaucracy

wars powers resolution

if president moves troops, they have two days to notify Congress (majority leader and speaker), troops can be stationed for 60 days until Congress officially declares war (if not they come home), the goal is for president, meant to scale back power of president (nixon)

congressional budget and impoundment control act

an action taken by president when they refuse to give budget to something, congress can now vote yes or now on an impoundment, this was allocated by congress to control the president

congressional budget - creates CBO, budget committee, budget calendar

Buckley v. Valeo

Chief justice: Warren Burger

during Vietnam War (general distrust), FECA created $1000 hard money limit on election and campaign contributions, Valeo (and other advocates of free speech) challenged the idea of congress controlling how people spend money

outcome: an individual cannot be limited to how much they spend on their OWN campaign, but only $1000 hard money to others

precedent: money = speech

what happened in 1979 to buckley v. valeo ?

it is amended to allow unlimited soft money, as long as they are party building activities, money CAN NOT go directly to candidates

PAC

political action committees, no limits to what can be donated to them, restrictions on what they can spend

527 committees

no limits to advertisements, MUST ONLY SUPPORT political causes, will have names at ends of ads, not taxed, unlimited reach, prohibited from supporting specific candidates

why was the FEC made?

to enforce FECA legislation ($1000 cap)

McCain Feingold

bipartisan campaign finance reform act, targets soft money (corps and labor unions), must includes who approves the message at end of ad, cannot create ads 30 days before primary and 60 before general because PAC’s and 527s are too influential, also established aggregate limit of $117,000 to spend on total election cycle

McConnell v. FEC

Citizens United creates a film hating on Hilary and can’t show it 30 days before election because it is basically a campaign ad, McConnell sues because Farenheit 9/11 (anti George W. Bush propaganda) was allowed

McCain Feingold was kept in place

Citizens United v. FEC

McCain Feingold is overturned, can talk about candidates in ads, can spend as much as they want (corporations)

corps - free speech

free speech - people

people - crops

what did citizens united v. FEC create?

Super PACs, campaign finance has heavily increased, PACs only disclose info and can collaborate , create ads, supports candidates directly, no more “one man one vote” principle, corps have more access now

McCutcheon v. FEC

challenge aggregate limits, they are removed! only the $3300 hard money contribution is left

501(c ) 4

tax exempt org that is a pseudo corp, can give money directly to candidates and does not have to reveal to the public the contribution, just name of the corp

what are some reasons incumbents win reelections?

have staffers to do campaign work, franking privilege, casework/pork/earmarks, redistricting that favors incumbent, stronger name recognition

press corp

assigned to white house, legislature, supreme court; news beat, even press corp on air force 1

what can hurt someone’s bid for reelection?

diversity of constituents, scandal, accountability for campaign promises, poor economic conditions, unpopularity of party’s presidential candidate

US term limits v. Thorton

term limits are not added, people can just vote incumbents out of office they do not like them

how is a bill passed?

• speaker sends bill to committee if they like it

• committee sends to subcommittee with hearings + markups

• committee sends to rules committee (decide on open, closed, limited)

• sends to floor to debate

• house vote

• gets sent to senate majority leader

• sends to committee and subcommittee

• sends to floor, opportunity for filibuster, vote

• gets sent to conference committee where versions of bill are combined

• both sent back to floor where there is debate

• if yes, sent to president’s desk (sign, veto, pocket veto, 10 day rule)

what is congress’s central responsibility?

policy making, but also monitoring the executive and government agencies

what are some example of things in agenda setting?

tax laws, budget crisis, social security, covid-19

senate structure for a bill

• submit a bill by just talking about it

• no discharge petition

• always open debate

house structure for a bill

• bill submitted in a hopper and then announced by speaker

• no filibuster

• discharge petition

• rules committee will schedule debates

committees nicknames and descriptions

• workhorse and graveyard

• hearings and markups

• discharge petition (circulate petition among members and force bill out of committee when a pigeonhole occurs)

oversight

• congress monitors every agency in executive is doing its job, way of checks

• only 41 committees and hundreds of agencies

• GAO helps congress and supports agencies

what are some ways congress uses to keep agencies in check?

• confirmation hearings

• investigations

• congressional hearings

• budgetary appropriations

standing committees

permanent committees with defined legislative jurisdiction, ex. agriculture, foreign affairs, budget, rules committee

conference committee

compromise over bills

joint committee

both chambers

select committee

created due to specific policy/issue, ex. jan 6 storming of the capitol

Equal Pay Act

• women are getting paid less

• EEOC will investigate

• 180 days after paid less

staffers

there are personal, committee, and staff agencies

chairs will hire staffers

states with larger populations will need more

influences on legislation

parties, constituents, ideology, caucuses, lobbyists (ex. NRA)

what is the business cycle?

the up and downs throughout the quarters of the year, this is normal and predicted, but we hope to grow each year

what is fiscal policy?

the government regulating economy by taxes and spending

expansionary policy?

increase government spending, lower taxes

contractionary policy

lower government spending, raise taxes

who handles budgetary responsibilities?

president - OMB, office of management and budget

congress - CBO, helps with economic budget created by congress

mandatory spending

“have to by law”

70% of spending goes towards this

entitlements - social security, medicare, medicaid, interest payments (US has very good credit)

discretionary

“choice”

30% of spending

# 1 goes to defense

what will happen throughout time?

there will be more and more mandatory spending

how is a budget established?

• process created by congress, not outlined in the constitution

• choose a cap for next fiscal year

• budget reconciliation bill - highlights differences in budget from last year to current

• authorization bill (permission)

• appropriations bill (set money aside)

• continuing resolution (continue to operate on last year’s numbers when one of the above is not passed)

501c4

• raise unlimited funds

• can support candidates directly

• must promote social welfare

Super PACS

• raise unlimited funds

• can not support candidates directly