Comp Gov Legislative

Majority leader

Leader of majority party in House of Reps

Minority leader

Leader of minority party in House of Reps

Speaker of the House

Tremendous power to control debates and procedures in House of Reps

• Member of majority

Majority/minority whip

“Whips” the vote (gathers enough votes to pass certain legislation)

President Pro Tempore

Presides over Senate when VP isn’t there (VP only breaks ties)

• Doesn’t have a lot of power

• Majority senior

• 3rd in line of succession (after VP and Speaker)

Caucus

When all the Dems come together

Conference

When all the Reps come together

Filibuster

Senators waste time to avoid voting on a bill

• 1st hour: topics germaine to the bill

Cloture

3/5 vote in Senate to stop filibuster & close debate

Purpose of committees in Congress

• Delegate workload

• Foster expertise/specialization

• Increase efficiency

Seniority rule for chair selection

Committee chair is usually member of majority party w/longest service on committee

• Party representation in committee must be same proportion as chamber

Subcommittees

Further delegate workload, foster expertise, increase efficiency

Joint committees

Committees with members from the House & Senate

Standing committees

Permanent committees

Special or select committee

Created for a particular purpose

Ways & Means Committee

Initiates revenue/tax bills in the House of Reps

House of Representatives

• Representation based on population

  • ~750k people per district

• 435 members

  • # set by Congress itself

• 2-year terms

• 25-year-old age minimum

• Congressman, Representative, Member of Congress, Congresswoman

Senate

• Equal representation for each State

  • 2 senators, regardless of population

• 100 members

• 6-year terms

• 30-year-old age minimum

• 17th amendment created direct election

• Senator

23rd amendment

3 electoral college electors for DC

Delegate

Represent the popular will of the Constituents

Trustee

Represent the wisest, best policy for constituents

Politico

Represent the policy of the political party

Reapportionment

Reallocating the seats in the House of Reps to reflect changes in population

• In Constitution

• Done after Census by Congress

• Non-partisan

Redistricting

State legislatures redraw Congressional lines within a state to reflect changes in population

• Typically done after reapportionment

Gerrymandering

Partisan redistricting

• Leads to polarization of Congressional elections

• Does NOT impact Senate elections

Packing

Packing voters into one district

Cracking

Bringing voters out from urban areas; distributing among other political party

Baker v. Carr

Granted federal courts o.g. jurisdiction to hear redistricting cases

• Progeny of Baker;:

  • “One person, one vote”

  • Districts must be contiguous

Shaw v. Reno

Districts may not be drawn solely on the basis of race

• But political partisanship can be sole factor

Quorum

The minimum number of members to convene Congress

Non-legislative functions of Congress

• Impeachment

• Confirmation

• Proposing Constitutional amendments

• Congressional oversight

  • Hearings: convo to see how laws are being implemented

  • Investigations: someone messed up + subpoena

Legislative functions of Congress

• Making a law!

  • Appropriations bills (spending)

  • Revenue bills (taxes)

Pigeonhole

Chair of committee can pull bill from consideration if they don’t like it

Discharge petition

Requires majority vote from chamber to bring bill back into circulation after being pigeonholed

Rules Committee

All bills in House of Reps go through Rules Committee before making it to the floor

• Choose whether to allow open rule or closed rule

Open Rule

Representatives can debate

Closed Rule

Vote on bill right away

• Sometimes helps to kill bill

Conference Committee

Resolves minor differences in language/semantics between 2 bills