US Congress Midterm

U.S. Constitution (Article 1; Article 2; Sections 1-3)

Article 1

• Congress has two chambers

  • House of Representatives: based on state population, 2 year term

  • Senate: two senators per state, 6 year term

Congress can make laws, regulate trade, declare war

Article 2

• Presidential powers, command military, grant pardons, appoint ambassadors

Federalist Papers Nos. 10, 35, 57.

10 — James Madison

• The danger of factions, but they are unavoidable in a free society

• Control effects of factions

• A large republic w representative government makes it harder for any one faction to dominate

35 — Alexander Hamilton

• Representatives do not need to come from every profession to represent all interests

• Representatives should have knowledge and ability

57 — James Madison

• House members will remain faithful to the people because they are directly elected by voters, serve short terms, and are eligible for reelection

Binder — The Dysfunctional Congress

Congress appears dysfunctional because it is deeply polarized, not because it has abandoned its constitutional role or stopped working

• Ideological divide between Democrats and Republicans

• The Senate is a major source of dysfunction because the filibuster blocks legislation

• Public expectations of haste also affect Congress, even though it was deigned to be a slow process by Constitution

McCarty — Polarized America

NOMINATE scores show that members of both parties have moved away from the center and toward ideological extremes, increasing the gap

• Most explanations cannot account for the trend

Lawmakers are increasingly aligned with the income based preferences of their constituents: wealthier districts tend to elect politicians w/ more conservative voting patterns

Polarization is not a product of political maneuvering, it represents deeper changes in the motivations and incentives of politicians relative to their constituencies

• responding to different economic interests and pressures, wealthier voices carry more influence

• Polarization is measurable and growing

Fox and Lawless — To Run or Not to Run for Office

Nascent political ambition: desire to run for office in the future

• Believing one could be an effective candidate and a politicized upbringing increases the likelihood of nascent ambition

People who belong to groups historically excluded from politics are less likely to consider running

The desire to consider running is not random, it is shaped by psychological factors

Washington Post — Moderates are scared to run for Congress

Moderates face discouraging political incentives

• feel like they are less likely to win primaries or general elections compared to more ideologically extreme candidates

• those who fit the party’s base (liberal = dem, conserv = repub) are more motivated because they believe they have stronger party support

Nominating process favors ideological extremes, so moderates opt out of running

• because fewer moderate candidates run and win, the ideological gap widens

Stewart — Analyzing Congress

Emphasizes that the real study of Congress involves understanding the interaction between individual members and the formal rules and institutions that structure their behavior

Mayhew—Congress

The primary motivation of members of the US Congress is reelection, and this goal shapes all their behavior

Pursue reelection by

• Advertising

• Credit claiming

• Position taking

Many structural features of Congress (decentralized power, committee assignments) are electoral strategies rather than design for lawmaking

Fenno—House Members in their Constituencies

Focuses on how US House members behave and build support in their home districts rather than in DC

Homestyle: the way members present themselves to constituents to gain trust and support

• Geographic: everyone in district

• Reelection: likely voters who can help them win

• Primary: party activists who influence nominations

• Personal: Closest supporters

Members allocate time, resources, and messaging differently depending on which constituency they are addressing

Schaeffer—119th Congress

The 2025 Congress is the most racially and ethnically diverse

• Most minority members are Democrats

• Hispanic and Asian representation still lags

• Congress is still less diverse than the nation overall

Anzia and Berry—Jackie and Jill Robinson Effect

Women who win election to Congress often outperform male counterparts because the selection process for women is tougher

• only the most ambitious and capable female candidates make it through voters and bias

Gay—Black Congressional Representation

Examines whether electing African American members of Congress influences political participation among different racial groups

Findings

• The election of a Black member of Congress tends to reduce political participation among white voters in those districts

• Black voter turnout only occasionally increases in districts with Black representatives, the effect is not consistent or large

Descriptive representation has complex and mixed effects, does not automatically boost engagement among the group represented

Klick—Wealth of Congress

Investigates if serving in Congress is associated with gains in personal wealth and if they become richer because of their service, not just because wealthy people are more likely to get elected

• even after accounting that many members start out wealthier than average, House members net worth grows faster compared to similarly wealthy non members

• Congressional service may be linked to extraordinary returns on investments

Yes, members of the House see significant growth in personal wealth and this raises ethical questions

Curry—Change and Continuity for Committees

How congressional committees have changed over time and how they have remained central to how Congress functions

• Leaders play a larger role in steering legislation because of party polarization

• Historically committees were seen as central powers

• Committees are still important even if their power is exercised in a more party-centric context

Berry—Cardinals or Clerics

Pork: slice of federal spending

• Old assumption was that if you’re on a powerful committee, you automatically get more money for your constituents

Most committee members (clerics): just being a member does not increase your pork, it comes from skill and connections

Top committee leaders (cardinals): only the chairs of big committees have slightly more sway over pork

• simply being a member matters less than previously thought

Caro—Passage of Power

After JFK got shot, LBJ inherited major bills that had stalled under JFK

• Southern senators had long used the filibuster to block civil rights legislation

LBJ refused to let the Senate move on until the civil rights bill was dealt with, forcing southern senators to publicly defend segregation

• Filibuster turned into a political liability rather than a weapon

Sinclair—Senate Parties and Party Leadership

Examines how party organization and party leaders have changed and how these changes affect how Senate operates

• Before 1960 the Senate was more individualistic, with senators acting on personal or regional preferences rather than strict party discipline, committees also played large roles in shaping outcomes

Party leadership became more prominent and formalized

Legislative activity began to reflect party-based competition more than individual senate choices