Congress

What is congress?

• Legislative branch of federal government

• Bicameral

• Created by article I of the constitution

Terms for representatives and senators

• 2years

• 6 years

Role of the 2 chambers in congress

• Have distinct roles and powers

• But work together to pass legislation and oversee federal government

Specifics about the HOR

• 435 members

• Seats apportioned by population of the states

• Each member represents a congressional district in their state, thus representing their constituents

Leadership within the HOR 

• Speaker of the house : Most powerful figure in the house- part of the majority party 

• Majority leader: Top member of the majority party after the speaker 

• Minority leader: Top member of the minority party 

• Leaders act as the spokesperson for their party. 

• Whips (Majority and minority)- Persuade members to vote in line with their respective party's. Assist the leaders in managing the party’s legislative programme. 

Powers of the HOR

• Initiates money bills- any bill about raising revenue for the federal government and spending must start in the house and then go to the senate for amendments

• Can impeach federal officials- bring up official charges/accusations against them so they can be tried

• Can elect president if no candidate wins a majority in the electoral college via a contingent election.

Explain how a contingent election works?

• Under the 12th amendment where house can choose president 

• Each sate gets 1 vote regardless of population. Representatives of that state must workout how to cast their single vote. 26 votes needed to elect the president.

Debate procedure in the HOR

• Strictly controlled by the rules committee

What does the rules committee decide

• When and how long bills are debated

• Can decide what amendments can be proposed to the bill

Closed rule bill

Open rule bill

Modified rule bill

• No amendments can be proposed, bill must be voted on as is. 

• Anyone can propose amendments 

• Some amendments allowed under certain conditions

Link between majority party and rules committee

• Majority party controls rules committee, so they decide what bills are given more significance/time

• This is a great advantage for the majority party.

Specifics for the senate 

• 100 senators 

• 6 year terms 

• Staggered elections- 1/3 of the senators are elected every 2 years( as not all senators were elected at the same time, they’re all different amounts into their 6 year term)

• This means the senate is never completely new- ensuring stability like the framers intended. 

Leadership in the senate

• Vice president of the USA- president of the senate and casts the tie breaking vote (but wont if there’s not a tie)

• President pro tempore: Senior member (senator that has served the longest) of the majority party and presides over the senate in the absence of the VP

• Majority leader- Lead representative of the party with the majority

• Minority leader: Lead representative of the party with the minority

• Majority and minority whips.

Powers of the senate

• Confirms presential appointments

• Ratifies treatises which requires a supermajority

• Conducts impeachment trials

• Elects vice president via contingent election if no majority achieved in the electoral college. (senator has 1 vote each)

How do impeachment trials in the senate work 

• Senate acts a judge and jury

• If president is being tried the chief justice of the SC presides over the trial 

• In other cases the VP and president pro tempore can preside 

• After the case for removal and the case against removal has been heard a 2/3 majority is needed to remove the impeached official from office. 

Debate procedure in the senate

• Less restricted as there is only a 100 members so it is more manageable

• Senate also designed to be a deliberative body that debates legislation thoroughly not quickly come to a decision

What is filibustering

• When senators speak for any length of time to delay /block a bill.

How do you end a filbuster?

• Cloture must be invoked 

• To invoke cloture 60 votes are required 

• After cloture is invoked, debate is limited to 30 more hours in which other senators must also have an input and then vote.

Shared features of the chambers 

• Legislation must pass both chambers in identical from before going to the president 

• Both chambers use committees to scrutinise bills and conduct investigation

• Exercises oversight of the executive branch via overriding presidential vetoes. 

what is the party control trend in the 119th congress? (current)

• Republican majority in both houses

Significance of party control

• Unified periods allow for significant legislative activity wile divided control tends to result in legislative gridlock.

legislative events in the 117th congress (2021-22) and party control trends

• Unified control under the democrats

• American rescue plan act 2021: $1.9 trillion covid 19 package passed under democratic trifecta (all 3 branches under unified party control) - Aimed at addressing health and economic fallout

• Inflation reduction act 2022: Major climate, tax and healthcare legislation passed via reconciliation

What does it mean for a legislation to be passed via reconciliation

• A special legislative process that allows budget related bills to bypass procedural hurdles in the senate like filibustering allowing the bill to be passed with a simple majority of 51 votes

• Crucial for the IRA because the senate was closely divided. where the democrats could not reach 60 votes to invoke cloture if filibustering did occur.

legislative events in the 118th congress (2023-24) and party control trends

• Divided/HOR-R/Senate-D 

• Covid 19 origin act 2023- Directed declassification of intelligence on pandemic origins (US intelligence basically had to make public as much info about covid 19 origins)

• Bill passed unanimously in the senate and a large majority in the HOR demonstrating that despite partisan divides in congress both chambers were able to agree and pass legislation effectively.

legislative events in the 119th congress (2025-26) and party control trends

• Unified under republican leadership

• Laken riley act 2025 

• Protection of women and girls in sport act 2025 

What is the Laken riley act 2025 and what is its significance.

• Required DHS (Department of homeland security- federal agency responsible for public security) to detain non-us nationals charged with serious crimes

• Passing of this legislation tightens immigration enforcement ( a key republican agenda) for non citizens accused of crimes like shoplifting - which can be deemed as minor

• Due process debate: Because people can be detained without a conviction and simply through self incrimination or being arrested ( person taken into custody before trial) there are concerns regarding civil liberties. Violates the 5th amendment.

What is the protection of women and girls in sport act 2025 and why is it significant? 

• Would have prohibited any federally funded school sport programme from allowing someone whose sex was assigned male at birth to compete in activities designated for women. Passed in the house but failed in the senate due to to democrats filibustering 

• Demonstrates a clash between party ideologies that lead to the blocking of a legislation

• Despite republicans having a majority in the senate they could not end the filibustering and the legislation was delayed 

• So even unified control cannot guarantee success if there’s strong opposition for the bill 

Other powers of congress

• Initiating amendments to the constitution

• Declaring war - power not been used since 1941

What happens before a bill is considered by the whole chamber ( brought to the floor)

• Bill examined by a standing committee- which consist of members of congress who are experts in the subject area to which the bill relates.

• Known as the committee stage

• Committee can make amendments to the bill and decide whether to release the bill to the floor.

What does “Bill died in committee mean”

• A bill that has not made it out of the committee stage

What happens when the bill is released?

• It id timetabled for debate on the main chamber floor

• House or senate than debates the bill and may amend it

• Whole chamber then votes on the bill

What is required for a bill to become law?

• Bill must pass through both houses of congress separately

What happens in a conference committee?

• Differences between the two versions of the bill are discussed in the conference committee- made up of members of the standing committees for both houses.

• They agree upon one modified version of the bill and release this as a conference report

• Final bill then must be approved by both houses.

What happens once congress has passed a bill?

• It is sent to the president

• It is either signed into law , vetoed or left on their desk

• If left left on their desk it automatically becomes law after 10 days.

What is a pocket veto?

• When president leaves the bill on their desk but the congressional session ends before the 10 days

• This has the affect of vetoing the bill-it does not become law

• congress cannot override it, as it is not in session.

Outline the legislative process

1) Introduction-A formality

2) Committee stage - hearing and vote

3) Timetabling - In the HOR this is done by the rules committee in the senate and unanimous consent agreements are used

4) Goes to the floor-debated and voted upon

5)Conference committee- to reconcile differences if required between house and debate version of the bill

6) Presidential action.

What are unanimous consent agreements?

• An agreement that lists when the bill will be debated, for how long, what amendments can be proposed, when the bill and amendments will be voted upon

• It must be signed by all senators

• If even 1 senator objects, the agreements does not go into effect meaning the debate can happen for unlimited time and there are no restrictions.-This is what gives way to filibusters.

What is a silent filibuster?

• Senators from the minority announce they will filibuster or vote against cloture

• Majority leadership recognises the threat and knows they cannot proceed without 60 votes

• Bill is either modified, delayed or dropped

• No long speech required to block the bill

Why has congress been ciritcised ?

• For failing to reflect the diversity of US society

• Despite representation being a key function of congress

The USA is forecast to become..

• Minority white by 2045

• When white people will make up less than 50% of the population

Demographics of the 119th congress compared to the country

Congress

• 74% Non-Hispanic White 11% Hispanic

• 72% Male 28% Female

• 3rd oldest congress with an average age of 59 years

• Christians 87% Religiously unaffiliated less than 1%

• Part of the LQBTQ 2.4%

USA

• 58% Non-Hispanic white 20% Hispanic

• 51% male 49% female

• Average age 39 years

• Christians 62% Religiously unaffiliated 29%

• Part of the LQBTQ 9.3%

What data supports the 119th congress being the most racially diverse?

• 26% of voting members of congress identify as non-white ( Hispanic, native American etc) - Highest share ever recorded

• Share of non white congress members has doubled since 2005

• But Hispanics and Asian Americans still remain unrepresented in congress compared to population size.

Other data showing congress as being more representative

• In the 116th congress the first 2 Muslim women were elected and a record 4 native americans

• At 29 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest ever congresswomen- she and 3 other democrat congresswomen of colour became known as “The squad” and were seen as representing a new generation of progressive politics.’ The squads members grew after subsequent congressional elections.

• In 2018 midterms more women ran for congress than ever before, partly as a reaction to Clintons 2016 presidential defeat. -Resulting 116th congress had the largest proportion of women 24% -increased by 4% by 119th congress

• HOWEVER

• Women much better represented in the democratic party than republicans - Republicans making up only 40 out of the 155 women in the 119th congress

• 84% of minority ethnic members of congress are democrats and just 16% republicans

• Democrat Sarah McBride became the first transgender member of congress in 2025 - which led to a fierce debate about which bathrooms she should be allowed to use in the capitol

Reasons for underrepresentation in congress

• Many members of congress first serve in state legislatures, where women and people of colour are also underrepresented -meaning there’s only a small pool of diverse candidates for congress in the first place.

• Congress has traditionally been more male dominated and slow to respond to the needs of women making it an off-putting environment for women e.g. senate swimming pool being make only until 2009

• Senators have to be present to vote→ making it difficult to take maternity/paternity leave while the senate is in session.(No proxy system of voting permitted)

What change is associated with tammy Duckworth in the senate

• Duckworth became the first senator to have a baby while in office

• And in 2018 the senate passed a rule change allowing senators to bring infants under one onto the house floor to vote.

Why are Latino people and black americans better represented in the house that the senate ?

• Because of the existence of “Majority-Minority” districts in which a majority of voters in the district are from the same minority ethnic group

• Does not apply to senators as they represent the whole state.

What does the longer term of senators mean?

• Allow them to make unpopular decisions that may be necessary as they are not worried about frequent elections.

• Acts a protection against volatile swings in public opinion as only a third of its members are up for re-election in each 2-year election cycle.

Many Americans feel congress is..

• unproductive and ineffective

Define gridlock and give an example of it

• Occurs when congress is unable to pass legislation due to partisan divide.(can lead to a shutdown)

  • Example: In 2013 the House that was controlled by the republicans insisted on defunding the ACA whereas the senate controlled by the democrats, rejected this demand. Leading to a 16 day shutdown.

Define divided government

• A situation where the 2 houses of congress are controlled by different parties. or where part control in congress is unified but the president is of a different party.

Define government shut down

• Happens when congress fails to pass funding bills- which causes