Ch. 7 L3-4

Lesson 3: Influencing Congress

Influences on Lawmakers

Who influences members of Congress?

Members of Congress decide which policies they will support and when to yield to political pressure from their constituents, their party, or the president.

What are the forces that influence lawmakers?

The lawmaker’s personal temperament.

• Some are willing to compromise for the “sake of the greater good”;

• others stick to their original positions as a matter of principle.

• Some leaders are more willing to take risks;

• others might “play it safe” or follow their party leaders.

The nature of the issue also plays a role in how a lawmaker votes, so on a controversial issue, such as gun control, lawmakers might adhere closely to the positions of the voters back home or of their party, no matter what their own personal beliefs may be. On an issue that has little direct effect on their constituents, however, lawmakers tend to rely on their own beliefs or the advice of other lawmakers or experts they trust.

Congressional staffers also influence decisions.

Staffers research issues and present them to members of Congress prior to a meeting, hearing, or vote. In addition, staffers set their member’s daily calendar, which means they influence who he or she will meet with and which committee meetings the member attends. They may also influence which issues a member chooses to present or comment on in committee meetings.

Discussing What are the major influences on members of Congress? How do those influences affect how they vote?

The Influence of Voters

How do voters influence members of Congress?

What Voters Expect 

The political careers of all lawmakers depend upon how the voters back home feel about the lawmaker’s job performance. Voters usually expect their representatives to put the needs of their district ahead of nationwide needs.

• In contrast, on issues where constituents have less information or interest, such as foreign affairs, lawmakers often make up their own minds.

• Despite the fact that voters have said that they want and expect their representatives to follow their wishes, most voters do not take the time to find out how members actually vote. Voters may not even be aware of all the issues lawmakers are considering.

• Why, then, do voting records count in a reelection?

The answer is that in an election campaign, candidates will bring up their opponent’s record and may demand that their opponent explain the votes that turned out to be unpopular.

In this way, campaigns inform voters about the voting record of their representative. Lawmakers know that this will happen. Thus, well before they run for reelection, they work to find out what voters back home are concerned about.

Visits to the District 

Most lawmakers make frequent trips home to learn the local voters’ concerns to speak with as many voters as possible about issues of concern in an attempt to keep track of their constituents’ opinions.

Messages From Home 

Lawmakers are usually interested only in messages from their constituents or from special-interest groups relevant to their district or state.

Because of increased security and the speed and ease of use of electronic communications, most people today use e-mail to send written comments or requests to their representatives in Congress.

Surveys and Polls 

Many lawmakers send questionnaires to their constituents asking for their opinions on various issues. Increasingly, lawmakers use websites and e-mail to get feedback on key issues. Before an election, lawmakers will often hire professional pollsters to conduct opinion surveys on issues.

Key Supporters 

Finally, all lawmakers pay close attention to the ideas of their rain-or-shine supporters—people who regularly work in their campaigns and contribute money to win their reelection.

Listing How do members of Congress keep in contact with their constituents?

The Influence of Parties

How do political parties influence members of Congress?

Almost every member of Congress is either a Republican or a Democrat. Both political parties take stands on major issues and come out for or against certain legislation. Party identification is one of the most important influences on a lawmaker’s voting behavior. Knowing which political party a member belongs to often predicts how he or she will vote.

Party Voting 

Both Democrats and Republicans tend to vote with their parties. While party unity scores vary from year to year, in both parties and in both houses, members of Congress voted with their party more than 80 percent of the time. However, party voting is much stronger on some issues than others. On economic issues, for example, party members tend to vote together; party voting is also strong on social welfare issues. It is usually weaker on foreign policy because the parties do not often have fixed positions in this area.

The Importance of Parties 

Why do parties often vote together?

Another reason for party voting is that many lawmakers do not have strong opinions on every issue. Since they cannot know enough to make informed decisions on every bill, they will get advice from party members on it.

On some issues, party leaders put pressure on members to vote according to the party position. If the president is of the same party, a party leader will urge members to support the president’s program. Likewise, leaders of the opposing party often vote against the president’s program and seek to make their opposition a political issue. The party leaders, the Senate majority leader, and the Speaker of the House usually use the power of persuasion and work hard to influence lawmakers to support the party’s position.

Gaining party members’ support is one of the main jobs of a party leader. Very few issues are unaffected by party identity.

Predicting How does knowing which political party a member of Congress belongs to often serve as a predictor of how he or she will vote?

Other Influences on Congress

How do the president and interest groups influence members of Congress?

Other than voter preferences and parties, there are two other influences on Congress—the president and various interest groups.

The Influence of the President 

Every president tries to influence Congress to pass the bills he or she supports.

Members of Congress often complain that presidents have more ways to influence legislation and policy than they do. Through White House speeches or television appearances, the president has the best stage for influencing public opinion.

Presidents can also influence individual members of Congress by supporting or opposing their legislative goals.

The Influence of Interest Groups 

The paid representatives of interest groups, called lobbyists, are another important influence on Congress. Their efforts to persuade officials to support their points of view are called lobbying. The largest and most powerful lobbying groups have their own buildings and full-time professional staffs in the nation’s capital.

Lobbyists can draft legislation and give it to lawmakers or their staff and offer lawmakers data and case studies on policies they support or oppose. Lobbyists also use advertising to persuade people and leaders, and they help generate publicity and media coverage for their causes.

The Constitution guarantees free speech as well as the right to petition—to ask your elected official to represent your views in government.

Congress depends on information that lobbyists provide, and many groups have legitimate reasons for lobbying Congress. Lobbyists are often experts on specific policy matters, whereas members of Congress and their staff have to know a lot about a lot of issues.

The House of Representatives prohibits its former members from making any appearance of communication with the intent to influence the legislative branch for a year after they leave office. The Senate extends that ban to two years.

Former lawmakers and staff have experience and expertise in dealing with legislative matters that make them effective lobbyists. But critics have complained about the “cozy relationships” that develop between legislators and lobbyists. The ethics laws seek to avoid the appearance of improper behavior and special privilege.y

Political Action Committees 

As the cost of campaigning for Congress has increased, members of Congress and their challengers spend a great deal of time and effort raising campaign funds.

Lobbyists are large contributors both to individual candidates and to political action committees (PACs) which are political fund-raising organizations established by special interests groups. PACs use the money they raise to support those lawmakers who agree with their specific positions on certain issues.  

After the Supreme Court struck down many restrictions on PACs in 2010, a new type of “super” PAC emerged that has no limits on the sources of funds it can raise. These PACs do not contribute to candidates or parties but run their own advertisements, by mail or through the media.

Defining What is a lobbyist? How do lobbyists attempt to influence members of Congress?

Lesson 4: Helping Constituents

Handling Problems

How do members of Congress help their constituents?

Veteran lawmakers have described three elements to representation in Congress.

1. Passing or opposing legislation.

2. Educating the public—particularly their constituents—on what the issues are.

3. Duty of advocacy and plead their constituents’ interests.

Advocacy often consumes a great deal of the members’ personal and staff attention. These can be issues as large as an appeal from a mayor for help in getting federal funds to replace a decaying bridge to a single person seeking help in getting a veterans’ benefit that has become stalled somewhere in the government bureaucracy.

To be reelected, they must spend much of their time solving problems for voters who had difficulties with federal agencies. They must also make sure their district or state gets its share of federal money for projects such as new post offices, highways, and contracts.

These nonlegislative duties are not new, but as the national electorate has grown they have become a very time-consuming part of a lawmaker’s job. 

Helping constituents with problems is called casework, and all lawmakers today are involved with it…. We continually use more and more of our staff time to handle citizens’ complaints.”

Many Different Requests 

Lawmakers respond to thousands of requests from voters for help in dealing with executive agencies.

Casework brings problems with federal programs to the attention of Congress. Through casework, lawmakers and their staffs can better understand how well executive agencies handle such federal programs as Social Security and veterans’ benefits. These types of programs are very important to constituents.

Casework provides a way for the average citizen to navigate the huge national government and the attendant bureaucracy. Before the national government grew so large, most citizens with a problem turned to their local politicians—called ward heelers—for help.

Explaining What is casework? What purpose does it serve?

Helping the District or State

How do members of Congress help bring federal projects to their districts and states?

Public Works Legislation 

Public works projects such as these bring jobs and money into a state or district.

When Congress passes laws to appropriate money for such local federal projects, it is sometimes called pork-barrel legislation. The idea is that a member of Congress has dipped into the “pork barrel,” meaning the federal treasury, and pulled out a piece of “fat,” a federal project for his or her district. This kind of legislation often draws criticism.

More often, lawmakers take the view that if “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.” They share the belief that getting federal projects for the home state is a key part of their job, so they often help each other. When two or more lawmakers agree to support each other’s bills, it is called logrolling.

Grants and Contracts

Lawmakers also try to make sure their districts or states get their fair share of the available federal grants and contracts that are funded through the national budget. A senator from Colorado put it this way: “If a program is to be established, the state of Colorado should get its fair share.”

Federal grants and contracts are very important to lawmakers and their districts or states. These contracts are a vital source of money and jobs and can radically affect the economy of a state. Lawmakers compete for such valuable federal grants and contracts: Several states wanted the Air Force project, but Utah’s lawmakers got the prize.

Members of Congress do not vote on grants and contracts as they do on pork-barrel legislation. Instead, executive branch agencies like the Defense Department or the Department of Labor award them.

Lawmakers, however, try to influence agency decisions in several ways. They may pressure agency officials to give a favorable hearing to their state’s request for a grant or encourage their constituents to write, telephone, or e-mail agency officials with their requests.

Many lawmakers assign one or more staffers to act as specialists in this area. These staff members become experts on how individuals, businesses, and local governments can qualify for federal money. They help constituents apply for contracts and grants because the lawmaker wants to make sure they continue to flow to their state or district.

Applying How does pork-barrel legislation help members of Congress support their states?