Chapter 13: Congress

Objectives:

1. Contrast congressional and parliamentary systems

   1. One big difference between a congressional and parliamentary system is how candidates run for a seat and what a member does. To run for a seat in a congressional system, someone needs to run in a primary election. However in a Parliament, you need to persuade a political party to put your name on the ballot. Political parties have a lot of control over who runs in a parliamentary system, but have little control over who runs in a congressional system. Therefore, parliaments consist of members who are loyal to their parties. They must decide whether they want to support the government by voting together; if they vote together the government will remain in power. The leaders of the executive branch in a parliamentary system, like the Prime Minister and the cabinet officials, are selected by the majority party. In Congress, members are a bit more independent as they can vote without fearing removal from their ballots of collapse of the government. They are more concerned about their constituents than with the interests of their parties, and are overall more decentralized.

2. Trace the evolution of Congress in American politics

   1. The Founding Fathers made Congress as a bicameral legislature. The Senate has equal representation, and the House has proportional representation, so the House is a lot bigger in size. Because of this, the House has been more centralized, but recent trends have been showing the House is giving more power to their individual members. However being big makes it hard for the House to be powerful, so there’s only so much power individual members can receive.
   2. The way that Senators have been picked has changed. Originally, senators were chosen by their state legislatures, however that changed with the Seventeenth Amendment and now senators are chosen through direct elections.

3. Discuss who serves in Congress and what influences their votes

   1. Demographically,  members of Congress do not completely represent the demographics of the American people. Many groups, such as women and people of color, are less prevalent in Congress. However this has slowly been changing. The demographics of the Senate have been changing much slower than the House has.
   2. There are different theories as to what influences Congressmembers' votes. One theory is that members want to please their constituents to get reelected, so they are influenced by what their constituents want. Another theory says that it’s not essential to please constituents because they don’t know how their legislator has voted, so congress members are influenced by things such as the party they belong to or their colleagues.

4. Summarize the organization of Congress

   1. Party organizations in the Senate consist of the vice president, who is the president of the Senate (however it is a ceremonial position), president pro tempore (an honorific position), majority leader, minority leader, and the whip. The majority leader is seen as the leader many times, as they schedule business in the Senate.
   2. In the House, the Speaker is the leader. It’s important to have a clear authority in the House because the House is much larger than the Senate. There is also a majority, minority, and a whip, however the Speaker is more distinguished.
   3. A typical Congress has over two dozen committees and over one hundred subcommittees. There are standing committees, which are permanent, select committees, which are temporary,  and joint committees, which have both representatives and Senators.
   4. There is also a lot of staff and specialized offices for legislators. The personal staff for legislators have been growing ever since 1947. They help solve problems constituents are facing to help the Congress member get reelected.

5. Explain how a bill becomes a law

   1. A bill can be introduced from either the House or the Senate (all revenue based bills must come from the House). Then the Speaker of the House or the Senate Majority Leader will delegate the bill to a committee, and the committee leader will assign it to a subcommittee. Hearings will take place where members will learn about this issue from experts, and members of the committee can markup the bill where they can add amendments and change things. It must be voted on by the committee. Then it will be sent to the House and Senate. If it’s sent to the House it has to go to the Rules Committee, which sets parameters for debate, total time, speaking time, number of speakers, number of amendments, etc. Then everybody is allowed to amend the bill. Once done, the full floor of the House and Senate votes. A simple majority is enough to pass. If it passes both chambers but has some differences, it must be smoothed out in the conference committee. Then the President can sign or veto the bill; a veto can be overridden with a ⅔ vote of Congress.

6. Discuss possibilities for congressional reform

   1. There are many ways that people think we should reform congress. Some see that Congress is too polarized, overstaffed, and self-indulgent. Some want to abolish privileges such as franking because they don’t think Congress members are using them appropriately. Similar things are said about pork, where they think too much spending is going into pork. Some suggest that there need to be longer terms for Representatives and Senators, as that will allow more time for policy making.

Congress vs. Parliament:

• The US and many Latin nations have a congress. The UK and many western European countries have a parliament.
• In a parliament, a person needs to persuade a political party to put their name on the ballot.
  • Voters choose for two or three national parties
  • Parliament is made up of people loyal to their parties
  • Parliament members decide whether or not they want to support the government.
  • If members vote together, the government will remain in power
  • The Prime Minister and cabinet officials are selected by the majority party in Parliament
• In a congress, a person runs in a primary election. Political parties have little control over who is nominated to run for office
  • Congress tends to have people who think they are independent
  • They can vote without fearing removal from ballot or collapse of the government
  • Congress members have more individual powers
  • Congress members are more concerned about their constituents than with the interests of parties. Overall more decentralized

Evolution of Congress:

• Founders created a bicameral legislature to have a balance between small and large states.
• General trend in the mid-20th century shows decentralizing decision making, and enhancing the power of individual powers.
• Fundamental problem of the House:
  • Wants to be big and powerful as a whole. Being big makes it hard for the House to be powerful, unless a small group has authority to run it.
  • Individuals can gain power but at the price of making the House harder to run.
• Senate doesn’t face same problems
  • Smaller. Can be run without much authority.
  • Picked by state legislatures. Were leaders of local party organizations.
  • Senators were wealthy party leaders and businessmen. Demand for popular election.
  • Filibuster is an issue. Common but unpopular.
  • ⅔ of senators can vote for cloture motion.
• House phases:
  • Phase One: The Powerful House
  • During the first three presidential administrations. Leadership in Congress was supplied by the cabinet.
  • Phase Two: The Divided House
  • In the 1820s, preeminence of the House was waning. Unity in the House was shattered because of slavery. Leadership was weak.
  • Phase Three: The Speaker Rules
  • Speaker gained power at the end of the 19th century.
  • Chaired Rules Committee, decided what to vote on, and limitations on debates.
  • Phase Four: The House Revolts
  • Revolted against “Czar” in 1910. Powers lost flowed to the party caucus, rules committee, and chairs of standing committees.
  • Phase Five: The Members Rule
  • Committee chairs from the south blocked civil rights legislation. Democrats changed rules so the chair leaders lost some authority.
    • Had to be elected by members of the majority party.
  • Phase Six: Leadership Returns
  • Hard for the House to do anything because every member had power.
  • 1995: committees reduced, Speaker chooses committee chairs.

Who is in Congress?

• Gender and Race:
  • Less male, and less white in the House. The Senate changed much slower.
• Incumbency:
  • Movement to impose term limits. Failed in the Senate.
  • Term length is enough. More new people are getting elected. Most win reelection.
  • Congressional seats are becoming less and less marginal.
  • Incumbent candidates have more advantages - name recognition.
• Party:
  • Between 1933 and 2015, Democrats have had the upper hand in Congress
  • Popular vote for Republican candidates is higher than the number of Republican seats won.
  • Maybe because of redistricting, which made it harder for Republicans to win
  • Democrats win a large share of minorities, which are clustered in cities
  • By the 1990s, certain advantages for incumbents became disadvantages.
  • Dislike for professional politicians, blame them for the mess in Washington
  • Democratic party used to be divided because of conservative Democrats from the South.
  • Formed conservative coalition in the 60s and 70s.
• Representation and Polarization:
  • Representational Theory: members want to please their constituents to get reelected.
  • Civil rights laws.
  • Being from a marginal district doesn’t make a member more likely to want to support their constituents.
  • Issue: public opinion is not strong and clear on most measures
  • Candidates can get votes by doing acts of services for constituents
  • Organizational theory: not essential to please constituents because they don’t know how their legislator has voted
  • Biggest cue is the party the candidate belongs to. Other cues are their party leaders and colleagues.
  • Attitudinal theory: so many conflicting pressures on members that they cancel out, making them free to vote based on their beliefs
  • Appears to be a disappearing center due to ideological and partisan splits among voters
    • In reality it’s a breakdown of representation in American politics
  • While most Americans are moderate, those who are most engaged are more polarized

The Organization of Congress: Parties and Interests

• Party Organizations:

  • The Senate:
  • Greatest seniority is chosen as president pro tempore
    • Honorific position in the Constitution.
    • Presiding officer when the VP is absent
  • Majority leader:
    • Schedule business in the Senate
  • Minority leader:
    • Works with majority leader
  • Whip:
    • Chosen by each party.
    • Helps party leaders state informed about what the party members are thinking
  • Policy Committee:
    • Chosen by each party, composed of a dozen senators
    • Help the party leader schedule Senate business
    • Which bills will be given attention and in which order
  • House of Representatives:
  • Speaker:
    • Presides over the House. Elected by majority party
    • Decides who shall speak on the floor
    • Decides which committee a bill goes to
    • Appoints members of special and select committees
  • Also a majority, minority, and whip.
  • Party Voting:
  • 90% or more Democrats vote against 90% or more Republicans
  • Ideology is more influential than parties
  • Caucuses:
  • Association of congressional members to advocate a political ideology or to advance a specific interest
  • Have been increasing over the years

  

The Organization of Congress: Committees

• Typical Congress has two dozen committees and over 100 subcommittees.
• Standing Committees
  • Permanent
• Select Committees
  • Temporary
• Joint Committees
  • Both members from the House and Senate
• Conference Committee
  • Smooth out bills that come out of the House and Senate
• Majority party chooses chair, takes most seats, and minority takes the rest
• When party leaders were stronger, chairs were picked on the basis of loyalty.
• In the 70s, chair power was under attack. Changes gave individuals more power.
  • Chairs must be  elected by majority party
  • Public meetings

The Organization of Congress: Staff and Specialized Offices

• Personal staff of legislators has grown since 1947.
• Help constituents solve problems to help the Congress member get elected

How a Bill Becomes Law:

• Introducing: anyone can do.

• Bill is referred to a committee.

  • Hearings, where experts are brought in and the bill is discussed and markups, where the bill is edited occur.

• Bills are debated on the floor.

• Once the bill is passed in both the House and Senate, it is smoothed out in the conference committee.

• Sent to the president for signature or veto

  • Veto can be overridden with a ⅔ vote

• Legislative Productivity:

  • Recent output has slowed or declined
  • Does a divided government decrease productivity?

  

Reforming Congress:

• Views that Congress is overstaffed and self-indulgent.
• Some want to abolish franking privilege.
• Congress doesn’t apply legislation that they pass on themselves.
• Some say pork is bad because of spending
  • Even if it were all bad, it’s necessary. Members advocate for his or her district or state.

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