The United States Congress:
U.S. Congress:
Congress represents the legislative branch, and it is the first branch of government, as mentioned in the constitution
The main jobs congress are:
to make laws to govern society, and
to exercise oversight over the executive branch - overseeing the implementation of existing laws
Congress’s current duties are somewhat similar to parliaments and legislatures in other liberal democracies
Congress in the Constitution:
Being the first branch of government in the U.S., Congress’s power and authority are included in article I of the constitution
It is the longest article of the constitution, delegating to Congress more power than the executive and judicial branches
Originally, Congress is the most important branch of government
Article 1: Congress
Article 2: presidency
Article 3: Judiciary
A Bicameral Legislature:
Congress is a bicameral legislature (as opposed to a unicameral legislature) – meaning that it includes two chambers
House of Representatives is the lower house – its members are called congresspeople or representatives
The Senate is the upper house – its members are called senators
Most of the powers are the same for both chambers – they can initiate legislation and exercise oversight on the executive
The exception is that the Senate gets to approve appointments by the president (ambassadors, cabinet members, judges…), and it also gets to ratify treaties
The Big Picture:
Constitutional requirements for bills to become law:
Identical bills must receive majority support in both chambers
The president must sign bills into law. If the president opposes the bill, he can veto it
Both chambers can override a presidential veto with 2/3 support
Each chamber is given the right to establish the necessary rules to govern the legislative process
The Legislation Process How Bills Became Laws:
Both representatives can propose bills, and senators in their respective chambers – bills can be initiated in the House or the Senate
Revenue bills (bills that are connected to taxes, budgets, and appropriations) must start in the House
After a bill is introduced, it is referred to the relevant committee in the House or Senate, depending on where it originated from
The committee debates, and if it votes to approve the bill with a majority, it passes on to the floor The Legis
A debate of the whole house takes place on the floor, and at the end of it, the whole house votes to pass or reject the bill
If the bill is passed, it moves to be debated and voted on in the other chamber
An identical bill needs to pass both houses of Congress before it goes to the president’s desk
The president needs to decide within 10 days if he’s signing the bill into law or if he’s vetoing it. If he doesn’t do anything, the bill automatically becomes law
However, if Congress’s term ends within these 10 days, and the president does not sign the bill, it doesn’t become law – this is called a “pocket veto
Parliamentary Rules and Conduct:
As previously mentioned, at the start of the congressional term, each chamber adopts a package of rules on how to conduct debate and proceedings
Members speak in a formalistic and respectful manner
They refer to the chair/presiding officer as “Madame Speaker” or “Madame Chair”
They refer to each other as the “Gentlewoman from X”
In parliamentary debate, members speak for or against bills and amendments
House of Representatives:
The House of Representatives is the lower house of congress
It has 435 members that are elected on a district-level across the states according to a 1913 federal law
House members are elected every 2 years as a whole – for accountability purposes
House members are considered to be closer to regular people because of the size of districts, and because elections are more frequent
In its first debate, the House elects a Speaker to preside over the House floor, and set the agenda
The speaker is usually the leader of the majority party in the House
The minority party elects its own leader
Districts are divided according to population. If a state has a higher population, it naturally has more congressional districts and more representatives in the House
Congressional districts must be roughly equally sized, so each member gets to represent somewhat the same number of citizens
Nowadays, each member represents approximately 750,000 citizens
The districts are drawn by the state legislatures
Usually redistricting happens after the census takes place (every 10 years)
Redistricting has its benefits; “updating” the map and making sure that everyone is equally represented
However, political interests can also affect how the districts are drawn – depending on the majority party in the legislature
States can get to draw districts for maximum political advantage – to maximize their party’s share of safe seats and ensure that their candidates are elected by the “right populations”
This is called Gerrymandering
The Senate:
The Senate is the upper house of congress
It has 100 members that are elected equally among the states – each state is represented by 2 senators
More senators are added as states are added (possibly Puerto Rico and DC in the future)
Senators are elected statewide; they represent states as a whole
Senators serve for 6 years. Every 2 years, elections are held for 1/3 of the Senate
Senate business is directed and the agenda is set mostly by the Majority Leader who is elected every term, but the leader, however, does not preside over the Senate
The minority party elects its own leader
The Vice President of the U.S. is the president of the Senate – but they usually delegate managing senate proceedings to another senator, unless if they are needed in the chamber to break a tie in voting
When the vote in the senate is 50-50, the VP comes into the picture
Two important things to remember about the senate:
It is malapportioned: it gives disproportionate power to the least populous states in the union, benefiting the most populous demographics in the union
It has a special rule; the filibuster
When a filibuster is called, it means that the senate needs a 60-member majority to end debate and vote on a bill, not a normal (50+1) majority. Ending debate of a filibuster is called “Cloture”.
This leads to significant delays in the senate as filibustered bills need to be passed with a bipartisan majority – increasing gridlock and compromise at the same time
Senators use the filibuster to delay voting or prevent it entirely – it can be initiated by any senator simply by sending an email
Strom Thurmond against the Civil Rights Act 1957
Party Leaders and Discipline:
What usually happens in Congress is that the leadership of both parties in the House and the Senate secretly negotiate bills before they are submitted to a final vote
Members can ask the presiding officer in the chamber to pause debate in order for them to negotiate behind the scenes
This gives party leaders in congress immense power to decide what passes and what doesn’t
Many times, when a bill is brought to the floor, its fate is already decided
Leaders of the party make sure that their members are voting according to the party’s position – this is called party discipline
The House tends to delegate more power to leadership, while individual members have relatively little power unlike senators who have more individual power.
Oversight Power:
In addition to making laws, congress’s second main job is to conduct oversight over the executive branch, and make sure current laws are implemented
Members of congress use official letters and committee hearings to conduct oversight
They often seek commitments from executive branch officials to implement the law a certain way
Officials comply because:
-Congress controls their funding
-They don’t like to be yelled Sometimes
-the member of Congress is right
Committee Hearings:
Members frequently hold hearings to: Highlight important issues Gather expert information Question witnesses under oath Build consensus within their committee Report on investigations
The 119th Congress:
Following the elections in 2024, the Republican party currently holds a majority in both houses of Congress
With the White House also being in the hands of the Republicans, this means that there is a unified government
If congressional leaders can make sure to use their majorities in Congress to pass policy, the Republicans will be able to advance their policy goals pretty easily
The Democrats can still use the filibuster in the Senate, and take advantage of the slim majority in the House to delay Republican initiatives