The Legislative Branch: Structure, Membership, and the Lawmaking Process

The 119th Congress and Governmental Structure

The 119th Congress ( $2025-2026$ ) is characterized as a "Unified Government."
Unified Government Definition: This occurs when one political party maintains control of the Presidency, the Senate, and the House of Representatives.
Divided Government Definition: This occurs when at least one of the three (Presidency, Senate, or House) is held by the opposite political party.
Chamber Composition as of January $20$ , $2025$ : * The Senate: * Majority: $53$ Republicans ( $R$ ). * Minority: $45$ Democrats ( $D$ ), with $2$ Independents ( $I$ ) who generally vote with the Democrats. * The House of Representatives: * Majority: $218$ Republicans ( $R$ ). * Minority: $215$ Democrats ( $D$ ). * Vacancies: There were $2$ vacancies at the start of the term.
Chamber Composition One Year Later (January $30$ , $2026$ ): * The Senate: Remained at $53$ Republicans, $45$ Democrats, and $2$ Independents. * The House of Representatives: * Republicans: $214$ seats. * Democrats: $215$ seats. * Vacancies: Increased to $3$ vacancies.
The 118th Congress ( $2023-2024$ ) Retrospective: * Three independents served: Kyrsten Sinema, Bernie Sanders, and Angus King. All three caucused with the Democrats. * The makeup of the $118 ext{th}$ Congress fluctuated throughout the session due to member resignations, deaths, and other departures.

Demographic Composition and Diversity Trends

Diversity Trends in the 119th Congress ( $2025-2026$ ): The session is described as a "backward step" for women and minorities.
The $2024$ election resulted in fewer women, people of color, and younger members being elected.
This outcome bucks a long-running historical trend of increasing advancements in diversity.
Representation of Women: * Women make up approximately one-quarter ( $25.0000000010000021316282072803006$ %) of Congress. * A total of $150$ women were elected to the $119 ext{th}$ Congress, which is one fewer than the number who served in the $118 ext{th}$ Congress ( $151$ women).
Historical Context from the 118th Congress ( $2023-2024$ ): * The $118 ext{th}$ Congress saw growth in racial and ethnic diversity. * House of Representatives ( $118 ext{th}$ ): $29.090909090909090909090909090909$ % women ( $128$ out of $440$ members including non-voting delegates). * Senate ( $118 ext{th}$ ): $25.0$ % women ( $25$ out of $100$ senators). * Racial/Ethnic breakdown ( $118 ext{th}$ ): * Black members: Approximately $60$ (growth from prior sessions). * Hispanic members: Approximately $54$ in the House (growth from prior sessions). * Asian American/Pacific Islander: Approximately $18$ in the House. * American Indian and Alaska Native: Approximately $5$ members.
Generational Distribution in the House ( $2024$ ): * Silent Generation: Smallest representation. * Baby Boomer: Historically the largest representation, though declining. * Generation X: Significant leadership presence. * Millennials: Increasing representation. * Generation Z: Emerging representation.

Constitutional Structure: The House of Representatives vs. The Senate

The Framers of the Constitution created a bicameral (two-chamber) Congress.
House of Representatives: * Membership: $435$ Members. * Age Requirement: Minimum $25$ years old. * Citizenship Requirement: Minimum $7$ years. * Term Length: $2$ years. * Constituency: Represent specific districts. * Vacancy Procedures: Filled by special elections. * Unique Powers: Must initiate all Revenue Bills (taxes and budget) and initiate the process of Impeachment. * Note: Transcript mentions "Located in Queensland, AU" in relation to the House section (Page $11$ ).
The Senate: * Membership: $100$ Members. * Age Requirement: Minimum $30$ years old. * Citizenship Requirement: Minimum $9$ years. * Term Length: $6$ years. * Constituency: Represent entire states. * Vacancy Procedures: Generally filled by the Governor of the state. * Unique Powers: Ratification of Treaties, Confirmation of Presidential appointments, and conducting Impeachment Trials.
Senatorial Courtesy for Federal District Judges: The President generally grants Senators from the state where the district is located the ability to block a particular judge prior to formal nomination.

The Power of Incumbency

Incumbency in the House of Representatives: * Usually, over $90.0$ % of incumbents win re-election. * Incumbents often win with more than $60.0$ % of the vote. * In $2024$ , the re-election rate reached $96.6$ % (OpenSecrets data). * Reasons for High Rates: Gerrymandered districts, high party identification (ID) in the area, name recognition via advertising, credit claiming, and superior campaign spending.
Incumbency in the Senate: * Re-election rates are usually in the $80.0$ th percentile. * In $2024$ , the rate was $88.0$ % (OpenSecrets data). * Reasons for Lower Rates (compared to the House): Senators represent entire states which are more diverse; they receive more media coverage and draw more high-profile, serious opponents.
Safe Seats: A seat securely held by one party as long as a reasonable candidate is fielded. Candidates in safe seats often win with $67.0$ % or more of the vote.
General Advantages for Incumbents: * Advertising: Use of the "franking privilege" (free mail) and high visibility at home leads to superior name ID. * Credit Claiming: Providing "casework" for constituents and securing "earmarks" for the district. * Campaign Spending: Incumbents have significantly greater access to fundraising and financial resources.

Congressional Terms and Legislative Powers

Term Limits: * An amendment was proposed in January $2018$ to restrict Senators to $2$ six-year terms and House members to $3$ two-year terms. * Supreme Court Ruling: In U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton ( $1995$ ), the Court ruled it unconstitutional for state governments to limit the terms of members of the national government.
Constitutional Powers: * Enumerated Powers (Article 1, Section 8): Clearly defined powers including passing a budget, collecting taxes, coining money, declaring war, and maintaining the military. * Note: Transcript mentions "Located in Queensland, AU" in the Enumerated Powers section (Page $16$ ). * Implied Powers: Based on the power to regulate interstate commerce; used for expansion of Congressional roles. * Economic Examples: McCulloch v. Maryland, Gibbons v. Ogden, Sherman Anti-Trust Act, Social Security Act, Wagner Act. * Social Examples: Civil Rights Act of $1964$ and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). * Environmental Examples: Clean Air/Water Acts and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Congressional Leadership (2025)

Senate Leadership: * Vice President: JD Vance (Republican); presides over the Senate. * President Pro Tempore: Chuck Grassley (Republican-IA). * Senate Majority Leader: John Thune (Republican-SD). * Senate Majority Whip: John Barrasso (Republican-WY). * Senate Minority Leader: Chuck Schumer (Democrat-NY). * Senate Minority Whip: Richard Durbin (Democrat-IL).
House Leadership: * Speaker of the House: Mike Johnson (Republican-LA). * Majority Leader: Steve Scalise (Republican-LA). * Majority Whip: Tom Emmer (Republican-MN). * Minority Leader: Hakeem Jeffries (Democrat-NY). * Democrat Leadership (Whip): Katherine Clark (Democrat-MA).

The Congressional Committee System

Types of Committees: * Standing: Permanent committees with authority to consider bills over general policy areas (e.g., Armed Services, Appropriations). * Select: Temporary or permanent committees created for a specific focus (e.g., Intelligence Oversight). * Conference: Joint committee formed of House and Senate members to resolve differences in similar bills. * Joint: Includes members from both chambers to study issues (e.g., Joint Economic Committee) and suggest solutions.
Key House Committees: Appropriations (Spending), Financial Services, Ways & Means, Rules, Energy & Commerce.
Key Senate Committees: Appropriations (Spending), Finance, Judiciary, Armed Services, Foreign Relations.
Committee Selection and Operations: * Member Choice: Each chamber’s caucus has a "steering committee" or "committee on committees" to assign members. Leadership usually chooses who sits on the steering committee. * Chairs/Ranking Members: Generally chosen by seniority within the majority party. * Term Limits for Chairs: Both House and Senate Republicans limit members to $6$ years as a ranking member and $6$ years as a chair. Democrats do not have this limit. * Committee Functions: * Markup legislation (amending and rewriting). * Provide Oversight of the Executive Branch. * Investigate wrongdoing (Investigatory updates can involve over $100$ interviews, $250$ hours, and $4,000$ transcript pages). * Confirm appointments (exclusive to the Senate).

Legislative Support Services and Specific Chamber Rules

Support Services: * Congressional Research Service (CRS): Researches policy and procedure. * Government Accountability Office (GAO): Conducts oversight of the Executive Branch. * Congressional Budget Office (CBO): Provides economic/financial guidance for lawmaking.
The Lawmaking Process ("Regular Order"): Leaders may sometimes bypass committees using procedural rules to bring bills straight to the floor.
Senate-Specific Rules: * Filibuster: Talking to hold the floor until time runs out on a bill. Stopped by a Cloture vote (requires $3/5$ or $60$ votes). * Holds (Secret): Allows one or more Senators to prevent a motion from reaching the floor for a vote. * Unanimous Consent Agreements: Sets rules for debate only if every Senator agrees.
House-Specific Rules: * Rules Committee: * Open Bill: Allows amendments. * Closed Bill: No amendments allowed. * Modified Bill: Limits amendments. * Discharge Petition: Requires a simple majority ( $218$ out of $435$ ) to force a bill out of committee onto the floor. * Germane Amendment Rule: Amendments must be relevant to the bill's specific topic.

Representation Models and Redistricting

Models of Representation: * Delegate: Representative follows the exact wishes of the constituency. * Trustee: Representative Uses their own best judgment. * Politico: Switch between Trustee and Delegate roles based on the issue.
Types of Representation: * Substantive: Representation based on shared views/policy support. * Descriptive: Representation based on shared demographic groups (e.g., Hispanic, Jewish).
Redistricting vs. Reapportionment: * Reapportionment: Reassigning the number of House seats per state based on the census every $10$ years. * Redistricting: Redrawing district lines within a state. Can occur more frequently than every $10$ years.
Gerrymandering: Drawing district lines specifically to favor one political party. * Baker v. Carr ( $1962$ ): Required states to redistrict to ensure roughly equal populations in each district. * Shaw v. Reno ( $1993$ ): Ruled that states cannot use race as the primary factor in drawing district lines.
North Carolina Case Study: * NC has a roughly even split of voters: Unaffiliated ( $38.0$ %), Democrat ( $32.0$ %), Republican ( $30.0$ %). * $2016$ Map: Resulted in an $11-3$ Republican-Democrat seat split due to gerrymandering. * $2020$ Map: Courts required changes; resulted in $11-5$ split. * $2022$ Map: NC Supreme Court ruled gerrymandering violated state constitution; panel of judges drew a map resulting in a $7-7$ split. * $2024$ Map: NC Supreme Court majority shifted to Republican, overturned the prior ruling, and returned mapping to the legislature. Result was a $10-4$ Republican-Democrat split.

Legislative Tactics and Policy influence

Spending and "Pork": * Earmarks: Specific spending for local projects tucked into appropriation bills (e.g., funding for streets in Cary, NC). * Pork Barrel Projects ("Pork"): Projects channeling public money to narrow constituencies; benefits are concentrated while costs are borne by all taxpayers. * The "Bridge to Nowhere": A $398 ext{ million}$ bridge to Gravina Island (Alaska), which had only $50$ residents. This led Speaker John Boehner to ban earmarks in $2011$ after negative publicity. * Alaska Funding: In $2008$ , Alaska received the highest per capita funding at $506$ per person.
Policy Riders: Inserting language/spending into must-pass appropriation bills to avoid rejection (e.g., Hyde Amendment, which has prohibited federal funding for most abortions since $1976$ ).
Logrolling: The practice of trading votes to amass support for legislative priorities.
Executive Influence on Lawmaking: * Veto Power: Requires negotiation with the President. Franklin D. Roosevelt issued the most vetoes in history ( $635$ ). * Bully Pulpit: President goes directly to the public to pressure legislators. * Wine & Dine: Lobbyists and Presidents organize fundraisers and social events to influence votes.

Interest Groups, Lobbying, and Fiscal Policy

Lobbying Functions: Provide strategy, activate grassroots (emails/calls), provide PAC money, and write bill drafts or speeches.
Cooling Off Period: House members must wait $1$ year and Senators $2$ years before lobbying Congress. Some use "Shadow Lobbying" to bypass this.
Iron Triangle/Issue Networks: Relationships between an agency (Bureaucracy), a Congressional committee, and an interest group. * Example (Tobacco): Department of Agriculture (Bureaucracy) $\leftrightarrow$ Agriculture Subcommittees (Congress) $\leftrightarrow$ Tobacco Lobby (Interest Groups).
The National Budget and Debt: * U.S. National Debt: Reached $36.5 ext{ Trillion}$ as of March $5$ , $2025$ . * Mandatory Spending: Entitlement programs (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid) that individuals qualify for by law. These are funded via payroll taxes and are the largest government expenditures. * Funding Crisis: Programs are running out of money as Baby Boomers live longer and withdraw more funds than they contributed. Raising the retirement age is a proposed but unpopular fix. * Byrd Rule: In reconciliation, legislation is limited to matters directly affecting spending or revenue; no "extraneous measures" are allowed. * Discretionary vs. Mandatory: The deficit is largely driven by health costs, military spending, and Social Security rather than just "waste or fraud" in discretionary spending.