Congress

• Bicameral Congress - House of Reps and Senate- Why?

  • History - the British Parliament had 2 houses and most colonial legislatures were also bicameral

  • fought the revolutionary war → created the articles of confederation → Connecticut compromise: large states want representation and small states want equal representation → the House of reps is proportional and the senate is equal representation

  • federalism - the house of reps represents the interest of the people and the senate represents the interests of the state

    • the bicameral legislatures also fragmented power and checked majority interests

    • it also shows the legislative process → encourages careful deliberation and compromise

House vs Senate

• House - represents the people

  • 435 members

  • 2 year terms (no term limits)

  • a representative must be 25 years old and American citizen for 7 years and a resident from the state from which her or she is elected

  • always been elected by the people

  • initiates revenue bills - the power of the purse, brings charges over the impeachments (at he conclusion of a investigation there is a possibility that something bad was done), chooses the president when the electoral college is deadlocked (because they are closer to the people)

• Senate - represent the state

  • 100 members

  • 6 year terms (no term limits) - a continuous body

  • a senator must be 30 years old and American citizen for 9 years and a resident from the state from which her or she is elected

  • originally chosen by the state legislators until the 17th amendment allowed or the direct election of senators

    • easily bribed

  • ratifies treaties negotiated by the president, posses the sole power to try to judge impeachment cases, confirms judicial(appointments to the supreme court) and executive appointments

House of Reps

• the number of seats is going to be apportioned by the population - reapportioned after a census is taken - each state has at least 1

• the cap of members is 435

• reapportionment is tied to the issue of redistricting which happens every 10 years as a census is taken

• Baker vs Carr

Districts and gerrymandering

• the constitution does not define or discuss congressional districts, but in 1842, congress decided that all the seats in the house will be filed from single member districts

• 1842 each state was given the responsibility to drawing the boundary lines of its congressional districts which gave way to the practice of gerrymandering

• gerrymandering is when the majority party in each state legislature redraws congressional districts to ensure the maximum number of seats for its own candidates

  • protects incumbents and discourages challenges

  • strengthens the majority party

  • decreases minority representation

    • in rare cases an increase in minority rep - Shaw vs Reno which happens in 1990

Supreme Court and redistricting

• rural areas dominated many state legislatures, so districts often favored less populated rural areas of a state

• Baker vs Carr set forth the principle of “one person, one vote” in drawing congressional districts - this case triggers widespread redistricting and gave cities and suburban areas representation in congress

• according to the supreme court

  • districts must be populated, compact and lines must be contiguous

  • redistricting cannot dilute minority voting strength

  • district lines cannot be drawn based solely on race

  • supreme court has not eliminated gerrymandering for partisan political purposes

How congress is organized: the role of the parties

• political parties play a key role in the organization of both houses of congress

• the majority party is the party in each chamber with the most votes

• the majority party enjoys the following advantages

  • hold the committee chairs

  • it chooses the speaker of the house

  • assigns bills to each committee

  • holds the majority on each committee

  • controls the house of rules of committee

  • sets the legislative agenda

Organization of congress

• House

  • more formal structure and stricter rules

  • the speaker of the house

    • presides over the house and oversee and all business

    • 2nd in line for presidential succession - speaker of the house

  • other leaders

    • majority and minority leaders

    • party whips

• Senate

  • more freedom with debate and less formal

  • the vice president

    • head of the senate and casts the tie-breaking vote

    • in their absence, the pro Tempore runs business

  • other leaders

    • the majority leader - the true leader of the senate

    • minority

The Committee System

• importance

  • both the house and the senate are divided into committees

  • they play a dominant role in policy making

  • they are important to the house because of how large the house is (435 members)

• standing committees

  • permanent bodies that continue from one congress to the next

  • they focus on legislation in a particular area such as foreign relations or agriculture

    • heavy reliance on lobbyist as they are policy experts

• other committees

  • select committees are formed for a specific purpose for a limited time - are usually formed to investigate a current matter of great public concern

    • ex. oil and energy use

  • joint committees include members of both houses and often focus attention on major issues

    • formed in desperate times like COVID

  • conference committees - temporary bodies that are formed to resolve differences between the house and the senate versions of a bill

The House Rules Committee and Ways and Means

• Jermain - on topic with the bill

• rules of committee is controlled by the speaker - it is often called the “traffic cop” or the speakers “right arm”

• it sets the guidelines for floor debate - it gives each bill a rule that puts the bill on the calendar limits the time for debate and determines the type of amendments that will be allowed

• closed rule sets strict time limits on debates and forbids amendments from the floor

• an open rule has less strict time limits and permits amendments from the floor

• The Ways and Means Committee has jurisdiction on all taxation, tariffs and other revenue sharing measures - this is an exclusive committee

Committee Chairs

• are chosen by the speaker of the house

• they exercise great power and enjoy considerable prestige

  • they call meetings, schedule hearings, hire staff, recommend majority members to sit on conference committees and select all subcommittee chairs

• historically the chairs were chosen by a seniority system where the majority party member with the most continuous service become the chair - now the speaker has more control

Legislative process

• approximately 5000 bills are introduced each year

  • only 125 are made to law

• the bicameral congress and its complex committee system present a formidable series of legislative obstacles that defeat most bills

• the legislative process is supposed to be slow - by negotiation and compromise

Creating Bills

1. anyone can write a bill

2. most bills are not written by congress

3. most bills originate in the executive branch

4. business, labor, agriculture, and other interest groups often draft bills

5. only members of congress can introduce bill - they drop them into the hopper(a box hanging on the edge of the clerks desk

   • filibuster is more possible in the senate rather than the house of reps because the house has more members which require more rules

Committee Action

• the house and the senate have parallel processes

• bills are assigned a number and then sent to the appropriate committee - from there it is sent to a subcommittee for study hearings revisions and approval

• most bills die in committee where they are pigeonholed or buried

• if the majority of the house wishes to force a pigeonholed bill out of committee it can use a discharge petition signed by a majority of the house members

• bills approved by a subcommittee then return to the full committee - where members can mark up or add items to the bill

• committees can reject a bill or send it to the house or senate floor with a positive recommendation

Floor action

• House

  • the rules committees gives the bill a rule - placing in on the legislative calendar allowing a specified time for debate and determining if any amendments will be allowed

  • the bill is debated and a vote is ultimately taken by the full house

• Senate

  • members may speak on the floor as long as they wish

  • a filibuster is a way of delaying or preventing action on a bill by using long speeches and unlimited debate to “take a bill to death”

  • filibusters can be stopped by a cloture vote of 60 senators to cut off debate

    • they are so successful - most important bills are no longer require a simple majority of 51 votes

    • they need a supermajor of 60 → so that cloture can easily be invoked

  • additionally a senator may place a hold, a parliamentary procedure where the senator asks to be informed before a bill is brought to the floor → this stalls action

How Members Vote

• delegate model

  • vote is cast to reflect the majority of their constituents

• trustee model

  • members use their best judgement to make policy in the best interests of the people

• politico model

  • members wavier between taking care of your people or between the delegate and the trustee depending on the issue

Congressional oversight

• refers to the congressional review of the activities of an executive agency department

• the senate exercises special oversight functions by confirming cabinet heads and presidential appointments to federal courts

  • advice and consent power

• methods of oversight - a check that congress ha over congressional oversight

  • setting guidelines for new agencies

  • holding hearing and conducting investigations

  • using budgets control

  • reorganizing the agency

  • evaluating an agencies programs

Foreign policy

• the constitutional division of power

  • congress has the power to declare war - the senate has the power to ratify the treaties

  • president has the power to wage war and the power to negotiate treaties

• war powers resolution

  • passed by congress in 1973: designed to make sure Congress can check the presidents war waging power as commander and chief

  • the president must notify congress within 48 hours of deploying troops - congress can request the pres. to bring home troops within 60-90 days

Reducing power and perks

• term limits for congress?

• new ethics laws

• organizational changes

  • ex. one person can recall the speaker → long term problems

• pork-barrel legislation - you promise people money for a project in order to maintain the vote in your favor

• franking privilege - free mail if you already sit in congress

  • you can keep your name fresh in people’s mind → the know the name when it comes to reelection

The Presidency

• there are qualifications and benefits when becoming president

• the constitution has placed no limit on the number of terms a president might serve until 1951

• the 22nd amendment placed limits on presidential terms

  • a president may not be elected more than twice or once if they became president due to succession

The President As Chief Executive

• executive power

  • chief executive - has to execute the law

  • this power shall be vested into the power of the president of the US

  • he has to be honorable to the laws that are passed

  • the president enforces federal laws and administer bureaucracy

    • the chief bureaucrat

• appointment power

  • president has the power to appoint the following:

    • cabinet members

    • supreme court, US Marshalls, and attorneys

    • the heads of independent agencies

    • ambassadors and other diplomats

  • the appointments are subject to review by the senate

• removal power

  • presidents have the power to remove most officials without senate approval

  • the president cannot dismiss federal judges or commissioners of independent regulatory agencies

Cabinet

• the cabinet includes 15 executive departments and employ nearly 2/3 of the federal gov civilian employees

• they are academically talented at their chosen field

• cabinet members often have divided loyalties

  • loyalty to the president and to the institutional goals of their own departments

• the president can have a difficult time controlling cabinet departments bc:

  • interest groups often form close ties with cabinet departments and the congressional committees

  • the careers of many civil servants extend beyond a single presidential administration so they develop strong loyalty to their department

  • congress competes with the president for influence over the cabinet departments

The executive office of president

• The office of management and budget

  • the OMB is the largest office within the executive office

  • it has a staff of over 500 and has to assist the president in overseeing the preparation of the federal budget

  • they have to work out compromises the CBO - who also comes up with a federal budget

• the national security council

  • the NSC is composed of the president’s principal foreign and military advisors

  • the vp, secretary of state, secretary of the treasury, secretary of defense, national security advisor

  • they advise and assist the pres. on national security and foreign policy

• The Council of Economic Advisors

  • CEA is 3 economists that try to advise the pres. on economic policy

    • ex. what happens when COVID hits and production and shipment slow down → could lead to a recession → the CEA help guide the pres.

The White House Staff

• chief of staff and the press secretary

• the COS is the highest ranking person in the executive office of the president

  • they would have to supervise key white house staff and managing the flow of people and information into the oval office

• the staff must be personally loyal to the pres

• the president can appoint and dismiss members of his staff without the senate approval

• the staff’s primary responsibility is to present the pres with policy options and analysis

The President as Chief Legislator

• legislative power

  • give the state of union address to congress each year

  • he can brin issues to the attention of congress “from time to time”

  • he can veto congressional legislation - veto power

• president use their role as national leader and the head of the party to set the policy agenda

  • initiates much of the legislation that congress considers

Veto Power

• a pres can veto a bill but congress can override with 2/3 vote in each chamber

• the pres can wait 10 full days and if congress is still in session the bill will become a law without the pres signature

• the pres can exercise a pocket veto by waiting 10 full days - if congress adjourns before the 10 days are up → the bill will die

• pres often use the threat of a veto to persuade congress to modify a bill

• a bill is often revised and then passed in another form

• pres must accept or reject the entire bill

Working with Congress

• most pres. prefer to establish a cooperative bipartisan relationship with congress

  • assign liaisons to lobby legislators

  • work with the majority an minority leaders

  • use the media to focus public attention on important issues

  • use high presidential approval ratings to persuade legislators to support presidential programs

  • bargain with wavering legislators by offering concessions and pork that will benefit a members district

Ordinance power

• the president has the power to issue executive orders

  • this order is a directive rule or regulation that has the effect of the law

• the power to issued these orders comes from the constitution and the acts of congress

• although the ordinance power is not specifically mention the ordinance power - it is intended to imply power stemming from the take care clause

• the size of gov has caused congress to delegate more and more discretion to the pres and presidential subordinates

Divided government

• congress are controlled by different parties or the two chambers of congress are controlled by different parties

• heightens partisanship → makes it harder to negotiate compromises

• leads to lower approval ratings for people of congress and the president

• leads to gridlock

• it poses a problem for the pres in making federal appointments → stricter committee scrutiny, narrows the filed of potential candidates and can spark character attacks on nominees

• presidents try to overcome these problems

  • using the media to generate public support

  • threatening to veto objectionable legislation

  • making deals with key congressional leaders

  • building coalitions with key interests groups

  • increasing reliance on white house staff

Formal Constitutional Powers

• the president is the commander and chief and has the power to deploy the troops

  • Korean war, Vietnam war, Persian gulf war and the Iraq war

• the president appoints all ambassadors subject to senate confirmation

• the president has the power to appoint justices to the supreme court and all other federal judges

• the president gets to negotiate treaties which are subject to Senate ratification

• the president has the sole power to recognize nations

• the president receives ambassadors and other public ministers

• the president has the power to grant reprieves and pardons

Informal powers

• the president can negotiate executive agreements with the heads of the foreign governments

  • terminate after the pres term is over

• the pres. is recognized as the global leader who meets world leaders to build international coalitions

• the pres is expected to manage international crises

• the pres has access to confidential information not available to congress or the public

President as Chief Diplomat

• congress typically defers to the pres when it comes to foreign affairs

• the pres can both extend and terminate diplomatic relations with foreign nations

• the pres has the power to negotiate treaties with other nations and then they are subject to a 2/3 vote in the senate

  • the senate rejected the treaties of Versailles ending WW1 but approved of Carter’s Panama Canal Treaty

• pres rely more on executive agreements than formal treaties bc they do not need congressional approval

  • these are not binding on future pres as they are not part of American law

The Importance of Public Support and Approval Ratings

• public support is crucial to presidential success

• there is still a score keeper that just tells us what the pres is doing and how well he is doing it

• these things increase approval

  • there is a brief honeymoon periods at the beginning of the new administration

  • positive media coverage of presidential activities and decisions

  • foreign policy success

  • foreign crises that produce the “rally around the flag effect”

  • strong economic growth and low unemployment

• these things decrease approval

  • scandals that involve the pres and/or top ideas

  • a ap between high expectations and low job performance

  • foreign wars that go badly over a protracted period of time

  • weak economic growth and high unemployment

Importance of the Media

• media plays a crucial role in influencing how the public perceives the pres

  • the gate keeper role

• the pres is generally more successful than congressional leaders in using the media to set the policy agenda

• the pres has an advantage over congress in the following ways:

  • the pres represents the whole entire nation but congress represents their own districts or state

  • the pres is the leader of the “free world”

  • the pres is more powerful than any individual member of congress

  • the pres speaks with a single voice but congress speaks with the competing voices of 365 members

Presidential Transition

• the vice president

• impeachment

• problems of succession

• lame duck

Presidential Disability

• sections 3 and 4a of the 25th amendment provide procedures to follow when the president is disabled

• the vp is to become acting pres if

  • the president informs congress that power will temporarily be in control

  • the vp and majority of the members of the cabinet inform congress that the president is incapacitated

Bureaucracy

• large complex organization of appointed officials

• the FD includes all agencies, people, and procedures through which the federal government operates

  • there are about 2.7 million civilian and 1.4 million military federal gov employees

  • half of all the civilian employees work for the department of defense and an additional 28% work for the postal service

• key features:

  • hierarchical authority - a chain of command in which authority flows from the top down

  • job specialization - each employee has defined duties and responsibilities

  • formal rules - all employees must follow established procedures

Growth of Bureaucracy

• the spoils system

  • a group of elite, upper-class white males

  • Andrew Jackson awarded federal posts to a party loyalists

• civil service

  • Pendleton Act of 1883 created the federal civil service

    • workers are hired based on merit not party loyalty

  • the office of personnel management administers all civil service laws and regulations as well as hires for most federal agencies

• federal and state employees

  • the # of federal employees has remained constant

  • since 1950

  • block grants have shifted resources from the federal to the state government → increasing the number of state employees

  • federal mandates have also shifted responsibilities to the states → increases the need for state employees

The Cabinet Departments Review

• the advice and consent power gives the senate the power to go over the pres. appointments and treaties

• there are 15 cabinet departments - each department is headed by a secretary

• all 15 heads are chosen by the pres. and approved by the senate

• the treasury department has authority over the printing of currency

• cabinet secretaires often develop a strong loyalty to their departments → cabinets are often not close presidential advisors

Independent Regulatory Agencies

• created to protect the public by regulating key sectors of the society

• the Interstate Commerce Commission is one of the best known regulatory agencies

• these agencies are led by small commissions appointed by the pres. and confirmed by the senate

  • commissioners cannot be removed by the pres during their terms of office

• the federal reserve board

  • set monetary policy: setting bank interest rates, controlling inflation, regulating the money supply, and adjusting bank reserve requirements

  • FED has great independence which is meant to remove monetary policy from politics

Other parts

• gov corporations

  • provide service that could be provided by the private sector

  • the corporations for public broadcasting, Amtrak, and the US postal service are the best known government agencies

• independent executive agencies

  • includes most of all the non-cabinet departments

  • NASA, NSF, EPA, GSA are independent executive agencies

Implementing gov laws

• translation of policy goals into rules and standard operating procedures

• the process can be questionable because of

  • conflicting goals

  • faulty program design

  • lack of financial resources

  • fragmentation of responsibilities

• some federal agencies are doing the same thing so another thing is not getting done

Interest groups and the Bureaucracy

• iron triangles

  • an alliance among an administrative agency an interest group and a congressional committee

  • these are sometimes called sub governments because they are so powerful

• issue networks

  • includes policy experts, media pundits, congressional staffs, interest groups who regularly debate an issue

  • the pres often fills agency positions with people from an issue network who shares their views

Characteristics of the federal courts

• adversarial - there are 2 parties that bring their conflicts before an impartial arbiter or judge - one must have standing

  • standing = the ability to show the effect or the damage of something that has happened directly to you or someone directly related

  • the plaintiff brins the chare and the defendant is the one being charged

• passive - federal judges are constrained by the constitution to deciding actual despites rather than the hypothetical

  • passive branch of the gov that depends on others to take initiative

• jurisdiction - the court’s authority to hear a case

  • original - courts that where the case is first heard

  • appellate - courts that have the case brought to them on appeal for a lower court

  • exclusive - cases can only be heard in certain courts

  • concurrent - cases that can be heard in either a federal or a state court

Federal Court system

• congress has the power to create all lower courts

• the judiciary act of 1789 established the basic three tiered structure that still exits and also sets the number of supreme court justices at 6 which was later expanded to 9

• district court

  • there are 94 district courts staffed by about 700 judges

• courts of appeals

  • review all district court decisions

  • rule on decisions from the federal regulatory agencies

  • do not hold trials or hear testimony

• supreme court

  • America’s court of last resort

  • hears the cases from the lower appeal courts and the state supreme courts

  • is the final arbiter of the constitution

  • decisions establish precedents that are binding on the entire nation

  • leads us to Marbury vs Madison court case

Selection of Judges

• lower courts

  • the federal judges are appointed by the pres and confirmed by a majority vote in the senate

  • senatorial courtesy

• supreme court

  • nomination criteria include competence, ideology and policy preferences and race and ethnicity and gender

• confirmation process

  • an FBI investigation and a rating from the American bar association begins the process

  • interest groups are playing an increasing role with their use of public protest, demonstrations, media advertisements, editorials and emails to senators

  • the senate judiciary committee holds public hearings and then makes a recommendation to the full senate to vote

How the supreme court selects cases

• SC has original jurisdiction in cases involving two or more states and the Us and a state gov and the US and foreign ambassadors 2-3 cases per year → they get to chose what cases they want to discuss

  • rule of 4 - 4 of the 9 have to agree to hear the case

• Solicitor General - are the 4th ranking member of the justice department and argues the cases to the SC on behalf of the US gov

  • they also play a role in influencing the court’s decision on which cases to hear

• writs of certiorari - an urdir by the court directing the lower courts to send up the recorded given for review

Filing Briefs and Oral arguments

• interested persons and groups that are not actually parties to the case may file friend of the courts briefs

• interested persons and groups that are not actually involved with the case may file friend of the court briefs like interest groups do

• oral arguments are open to the public

• each party is required to file a brief (a detailed written statement, arguing one side of a case

  • the brief will cite relevant facts legal principles and precedents that support their arguments

The Decision

• the justices discuss each case in a closed meeting held on Friday

  • the chief justice provides over the meeting

• the justices will vote then must write a formal opinion

• opinions present the issues, establish precedents, and se guidelines for the lower courts

  • majority opinion - this is known as the opinion of the court is the law of the land

  • concurring opinion - supports the majority but stresses different constitutional or leal reasons for reaching the judgement

  • dissenting opinion - the minority view that disagrees with the opinion of the court

    • these have no legal standing

• attorneys are allowed exactly 30 mins to present their case

Precedent

• Stare Decisis - let the decision stand

• most cases are based on precedents established in earlier cases

• precedents help make supreme court decisions mor uniform, predictable, and efficient

• examples:

  • Marbury v Madison - the court established the principle of judicial review as applied to congress and the president

  • Martin v Hunter lease - the court extended the power of the judicial review to overrule state courts

  • Baker v Carr - the supreme court established “one person, one vote”

    • Wesberry v Sanders - where this was applied to legislative districts

• exceptions:

  • Brown v Board overturns Plessy v Ferguson

Judicial Philosophy

• judicial restraint - try to figure out what the founders original intent was and use that to try and figure out how to deal with cases

  • believe that courts should differ to congress and president to establish policy

• Judicial Activism - argue that the courts must correct injustices when other branches of gov or the state refuse to do so

  • argue that the constitution should be read through a modern lens

Public Opinion

• justices are appointed for life so the decisions that make are not influenced by political pressures

• the salaries cannot be reduced

• public has limited access to court proceedings

• the certiorari process allows the court to set its own agenda

• justices are aware of and sensitive to public opinion

  • the appointment and confirmation process keeps the court from deviating too far from public opinion

  • congress and state legislatures can amend the constitutions

  • congress can change the court’s appellate jurisdiction

    • not the original jurisdiction of the supreme court

  • congress has the power to change the number of justices on the court

  • justices can be impeached