Congress
The Expressed Power of Congress
Power of the Purse
The first power given to Congress is the power to raise revenue.
Congress must approve any $ withdrawn from the Federal Treasury.
Congress appropriates public money it raises from taxes.
Congress also has the power to coin money.
While the President proposes a budget, Congress debates and finalizes it.
Regulate Commerce
This power has been contested in the US Supreme Court more than any other power.
Sometimes in favor of the Federal Government; sometimes against, leading to significant debates about states' rights and the limits of federal authority.
Key Supreme Court Cases
Gibbons vs. Ogden (1824): Established that only the federal government can regulate interstate commerce.
Involved rival steamboat operators, Gibbons with a federal license and Ogden with a state monopoly in New York.
Chief Justice John Marshall's decision affirmed federal supremacy over state law in commerce matters.
US vs. Lopez (1995): Limited Congress's power under the Commerce Clause.
Alfonso Lopez was charged with carrying a firearm in a school zone, violating the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990.
The Court ruled that Congress exceeded its authority because carrying a gun in a school did not substantially affect interstate commerce, reinforcing states' rights.
It has been used to constitutionally justify legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Clean Air Act of 1968, and Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Foreign and Military Power
Chief Power: Declaration of War.
Foreign and military policy are determined jointly by Congress and the President.
Congress' influence on Foreign Policy is secondary to the President.
Checks and Balances (ex. War Powers Act of 1973).
Implied Powers of Congress
Necessary and Proper Clause
Implies that Congress can make additional laws intended to take care of items in the enumerated list.
Implied Powers Doctrine (ex. McCulloch vs. Maryland): Used to enact legislation for a wide range of issues: economic, social, and environmental.
Differing Powers for House and Senate
The House
Initiates Revenue bills.
Impeachment Charges.
Breaks Electoral Deadlock.
The Senate
Ratifies Treaties.
Advise and Consent (Deny / Confirm) Appointments.
Impeachment Trial.
The Qualifications of the Bicameral Legislature
The Senate
Represents the entire state.
Age = 30.
Residency = 9 years in the state of seat.
Live anywhere in the state.
Term = 6 years.
1/3 of Senators are up for re-election every 2 years.
Chosen by the State Legislature.
Framers’ Intent: meet the needs of the states.
17th Amendment (1913): direct election of Senators.
The House of Representatives
Represents a district within a state.
Age = 25.
Residency = 7 years.
Must live in the district that they represent.
Term = 2.
All Representatives are up for re-election every 2 years.
Directly elected by the people.
Framers’ Intent: meet the needs of the people.
Representation: #/states is based on Population.
Avg # of constituents/Rep = 770,000.
The Role of the Census
The Census & Apportionment
The Census: mandated to be taken every 10 years.
Apportionment
Process of allotting House seats based on Census results.
Fixed total # of seats = 435.
Reapportionment: If a state loses a seat, another state gains a seat.
States must go through the process of Redistricting.
Redistricting
States must redistrict to reflect internal population change or population loss.
Done by the States must comply with federal guidelines.
Constitution - Art. 1, Sec 2 & 14th Amendment.
1965 Voting Rights Act.
States can also set forth their own criteria based on their state constitutions.
Maintaining Democratic Practices: Redistricting & The States
Effects of Redistricting
Gerrymandering: Practice of drawing district lines in a manner that affects the outcome of a political race; mostly illegal.
Key Supreme Court Cases
Baker vs. Carr (1962): Argued TN ignored redistricting laws despite changes economically and population-wise.
For years, SCOTUS avoided the issue, believing it was a state issue, not a federal one.
Believed it was a violation of Separation of Powers.
Constitutional Principle: Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Redistricting is a justiciable question that allows Courts to intervene; Federal Courts could force states to redistrict if necessary.
Shaw vs. Reno (1993): Called into question the creation of Majority-Minority Districts.
Argued that the shape of the district created a racially gerrymandered district affecting election outcomes.
Constitutional Principle: Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.
SCOTUS found that race can be used as a factor in redistricting but cannot be the sole factor.
Organization of Congress
The Power of the Party
Parties provide the basic organization of leadership and committees in Congress.
Leadership positions are created to:
Coach Party Members.
Move Legislation.
Carry out party Goals.
The majority party holds the most important leadership roles.
Leadership in the House
The Speaker of the House (Kevin McCarthy): Describes the bills; in charge of the House of Representatives; third in line to become President; in charge of committees.
The Majority Leader (Steve Scalise): Assistant of the speaker; helps with committee assignments; elected by party members; acts as a liaison to the speaker.
The Minority Leader (Hakeem Jeffries): Elected by the party; becomes the Speaker if the House party flips in a midterm election.
The Role of the Party Whips
House Majority Whip (Tom Emmer): Round upvotes and report back to leadership; signals to leadership the amount of support.
House Minority Whip (Katherine Clark): Same responsibilities as above.
Leadership in the Senate
President of the Senate (Kamala Harris): Break ties (50/50); Vice President; swears in new senators; not there every day.
President Pro Tempore (Patty Murray): Opens session of the Senate every day; in charge when the VP isn’t around; usually the longest serving Senator.
Senate Majority Leader (Chuck Schumer): Elected from the party; moves legislation; recognizes people who wish to speak.
Senate Minority Leader (Mitch McConnell): Elected by party; spokesperson for the party.
The Role of the Party Whips (Senate)
Senate Majority Whip (Dick Durbin): Round up votes and report back to leadership; signals to leadership the amount of support.
Senate Minority Whip (John Thune): Same responsibilities as above.
Committees of Congress
Work of Committees:
Standing Committees are not taken away; they are augmented or grown.
The House has more because there are more people in the House.
Many people serve on many committees (Senate).
Standing Committee: Handles most of Congress’ work; permanent; added because of some national need; 20 in the House; 16 in the Senate.
Joint Committee: Members of both houses that address a long-term issue or program (ex. Joint Committee on the Library).
Select/Special Committee: Temporary; can be exclusive to 1 house or joint; handles a particular issue or investigation (ex. 2012 Attacks in Benghazi Libya).
Conference Committee: Formed only when a bill has differing versions between the two houses; House and Senate members meet to reconcile the bills.
The Power of the Party
Committee Membership: Party leadership plays a role in determining committee membership; influence on which committee new or old officeholders end up.
The majority party holds the majority of seats on committees.
Different methods of placement: House (Committee on Committees = Republican, Steering & Policy Committee = Democrats) and Senate (Small Steering Committee for both parties).
Senators and Reps want to be part of powerful committees (House: Ways and Means Committee, Senate: Budget, Foreign Relations, Judicial committees).
They are more likely to be appointed where they have expertise.
Each full house votes to approve committee membership.
Committee Leadership
Chairmen: Always majority party; ranking, political, ideology, diversity reasons.
Vice Chair: Ranking senior member of the minority party.
Congressional Staff
Personal staff to help get things done; average staff/senator = 30, average staff/House = 15.
Roles include: Chief of staff, legislative assistants, press secretaries, district office managers, constituent liaisons.
Party Caucuses: Groups of members of the same political party in Congress who meet to plan and make decisions together.
House Ways and Means Committee: A group in the House of Representatives that handles taxes and money for the government.
House Rules Committee: A group that decides how and when bills will be discussed and voted on in the House.
Functions of Congress
3 Major Functions of Congress
Law Making.
Budget.
Oversight.
The Law-Making Process
The Introduction of a bill (or resolution):
Bills = Proposed Laws.
Resolutions = Specific to House or Senate or can be Joint; statement of intent of operation.
Only Reps. and Senators can introduce a bill; actual authors can be anyone (Members of Congress, Staffers with expertise, White House liaisons, Outside Professionals, Lobbyists connected to Interest Groups).
Process in the House
Discharge Petition: a mechanism that kicks a bill out of a committee once > ½ of reps sign (218).
Committee of the Whole: a mechanism that allows 100 reps to create a quorum to bring a bill to the floor debate; used for important bills and prevents pigeonholing.
Mark Up: a session in which committee members offer changes to a bill before it goes to the floors; amendments to a bill must be germane; typically must be approved by the committee it was referred to.
Rules Committee: dictates if more amendments can be added.
Closed Rules: Set strict time limits on debates and forbid amendments from the floor, except those from the presenting committee.
Open Rules: permits amendments and has less strict time limits allowing for input from the whole House.
Process in the Senate
Mark up: a session in which committee members offer changes to a bill before it goes to the floors; amendments can be non-germane (unrelated, aka riders).
Individual Senators can introduce these on the floor debate.
Holds: The tactic used by senators to be informed about a bill before it goes to the floor; signals to leadership that objections to the bill are present.
The Floor Debate
Filibuster: A formal way of halting Senate action on a bill by long speeches and unlimited debate.
Cloture: The mechanism for ending a filibuster; 60 senators must vote to cut the debate.
Role of the Conference Committee
Only appears when necessary to reconcile different versions of the bill.
Point of Riders and Amendments
Designed to benefit members' own agendas; bringing federal money in the form of projects back to the districts/states; this makes those who benefit appreciative of the leader.
The $ set aside for these projects is called an Earmark.
Criticisms of the Law Making Process
Christmas Tree Bills: Long string of riders attached to a bill
Often deliver gifts to constituents
So much is added it changes the look of a bill
Pork Barrel Spending: Funds directed for a specific purpose that “brings home the bacon”
Earmarks for these drive up the cost of legislation
Logrolling: When Congressmen promise to vote for each other’s projects in order to get their projects passed
The Oversight Function
Presidential Appointments
Impeachment
Congress holds committee hearings
questioning Executive admin actions
Ex. 2012 Benghazi Incident
Make sure the Executive Branch is enforcing and interpreting the law as intended by Congress
Investigate national problems or crisis
Ex. Baseball Doping Scandal
The Budget Function
The Budget is a part of the Government’s Fiscal Policy
Fiscal Policy = the government’s methods for raising revenue and spending it
The fiscal year is Oct. 1st - Sept. 30th
Sources of Revenue
Individual Taxes
16th Amendment = 1913; created the Federal income tax
Corporate Taxes
Calendar Year = Jan 1 - Dec. 31
Social Insurance Taxes
Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment Insurance
Tariff & Excise Taxes
Cars, Cigarettes/Alcohol, Gambling
Interest & Estate Taxes
Categories of Spending
Interest on Debt
The federal government borrows heavily
These loans also accrue interest, increasing the total amount to be paid off.
To keep the payoff amount low, the US pays down the interest on its debt
Mandatory
The federal government is mandated by law to fund these programs
Social Security
Medicare & Medicaid
Unemployment Insurance
Entitlement Programs:
Fed. & State Gov’ts set eligibility requirements for them.
Discretionary
Programs and departments that are funded based on need with no set amount mandated by law
Defense, Education, Technology, Energy, Agriculture, Housing, Transportation
Complex and involves many steps, often taking a year to complete
Involves both Houses of Congress, the Executive Branch, Government Agencies, and Interest Groups
Influences on Congress
Constituency
Congress members are primarily influenced by voters in their districts.
Those who ignore their constituents risk losing their positions.
Members pay attention to constituents, especially during voting periods when actions are recorded.
Recent trends show an increased focus on direct services or casework over voting records.
Public opinion polling plays a crucial role in understanding constituents' desires.
Interest Groups
A common misconception is that interest groups primarily bribe congress members for votes.
In reality, interest groups provide valuable information for bill writing and policy formation.
They support congress members through campaign contributions but do so in a way that seems more about influence than direct transactions.
Interest groups exert their most significant influence during the committee stage of legislation, often working to exclude provisions rather than insert them.
Political Parties
Political parties exert complex influences on congressional decisions.
Party leadership can pressure representatives to vote uniformly, but only works effectively when parties are strong and unified.
The Hastert Rule - legislation is only brought to the floor if the majority of the majority party supports it.
Parties facilitate logrolling, a quid-pro-quo legislative bargaining where members trade votes.
The president, as party leader, shapes the congressional agenda when his party holds the majority in both Congress and the White House.
Examples include the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) during President Obama's tenure.
A divided government leads to opposition strategies, often stalling legislative progress.
Congressional Roles
Delegate:
Acts solely based on constituents' opinions.
Seeks to represent what the constituents want.
Trustee:
Acts based on their own judgment, especially on complex issues.
Gathers information and considers nuances that may not align with constituents' immediate opinions.
Believes their decision may serve the people's best interests or the whole country.
Politico:
Combines the roles of delegate and trustee depending on circumstances.
Votes according to constituents' wishes on issues they care deeply about while using personal judgment on less significant matters.
Incumbent: Those who already hold office with secure seats
1800’s — most only served 1 term
The 1960s to present - lifetime career for members
# of incumbents increased dramatically
avg. 96% of incumbents win reelection
Incumbency advantage
Name recognition
Greater awareness among voters as to who they are
Low name recognition = lower # votes for a candidate
Credit Claiming
Taking credit for bringing money and projects to the state/district
Franking Privilege: The ability of members of Congress to send mail to constituents without having to pay postage, which can be a valuable tool for communication and outreach.
Campaign & Fundraising experience
Has the $ and experience to run a successful campaign.
Federalist No. 51, authored by James Madison, addresses the proper structure of government and the importance of checks and balances in a system to prevent tyranny and protect individual rights. Key points include:
Separation of Powers: The necessity for distinct branches of government (executive, legislative, judicial) to ensure accountability and prevent any one institution from gaining too much power.
Checks and Balances: Each branch must have the ability to limit the powers of the others, which helps to maintain balance and protect against abuse of power.
Ambition Counteracting Ambition: Madison argues that the self-interest of those in power can serve as a check against tyranny, as each branch will guard its own powers while being ambitious.
Federalism: The division of power between national and state governments creates additional layers of protection for individual rights.
Importance of Representation: A larger republic with more representatives can better protect against factions and prevent a majority from infringing on the rights of the minority.
Role of the People: The government derives its power from the consent of the governed, emphasizing the need for public involvement in maintaining the balance of power.