Chapter 8: Legislative Branch

Structure of Congress

A Comparison of the House and Senate :

• House of Representatives:

  - Membership: 435 members (apportioned by population)

  - Term of office: 2 years; entire House elected every 2 years

  - Qualifications: At least 25 years of age; citizen for 7 years; must live in state where the district is located

  - Constituencies: Smaller, by districts

  - Prestige: Less prestige

• Senate:

  - Membership: 100 members (two from each state)

  - Term of office: 6 years; staggered terms with one-third of the Senate elected every 2 years

  - Qualifications: At least 30 years of age; citizen for 9 years; must live in state

  - Constituencies: Larger, entire state

  - Prestige: More prestige

Organization of Congress

• Congress is made up of two houses that meet every two years, starting on January 3 of odd-numbered years. Each term is divided into two one-year sessions.
• The president can call for special sessions if there is a national emergency.
• Each house of Congress selects its own leadership and decides on its own rules

Election to Congress

• The Constitution guarantees each state at least one representative. Members are chosen from districts within each state.
• Some practices related to determining congressional representation are apportionment, reapportionment, congressional districting, and gerrymandering.
• Gerrymandering is drawing congressional districts to favor one political party or group over another.
• Redistricting may also be based on helping or hurting the chances of minority candidates.
• Racial gerrymandering occurs when district lines are drawn to prevent racial minorities from electing their chosen candidate.
• Majority-minority districts are created to prevent the weakening of minorities’ voting strength in compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and its amendments.
• The Supreme Court has ruled on several cases involving the fairness of reapportionment and redistricting.

Getting Elected to the House of Representatives:

• Representatives are elected from districts within each state.
• The Constitution guarantees each state at least one representative.
• The process of determining congressional representation includes apportionment, reapportionment, congressional districting, and gerrymandering.
• Gerrymandering can be based on partisanship, incumbents, or race.
• The Supreme Court has ruled on several cases involving the fairness of reapportionment and redistricting.
• The incumbency effect is the tendency of those already holding office to win re-election.

Getting Elected to the Senate:

• Senators are elected at large from each state.
• The Constitution guarantees that “no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate” (Article V).
• Members were originally chosen by the state legislatures in each state.
• Since 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment allows for the direct election of senators by the people of the state.

Incumbency Effect:

• The incumbency effect is the tendency of those already holding office to win re-election.
• The effect tends to be stronger for members of the House of Representatives and weaker for the Senate.
• Advantages may include name recognition, credit claiming, casework for constituents, more visibility to constituents, media exposure, fundraising abilities, experience in campaigning, and a voting record.

Term Limits:

• Although several states have passed legislation establishing term limits for members of Congress, the Supreme Court has ruled that neither the states nor Congress may impose term limits without a constitutional amendment.
• Therefore, today, there are no limitations on the number of terms a member of Congress may serve.

Leadership of Congress

House of Representatives:

• Speaker of the House: presiding officer and most powerful member of the House; assigns bills to committee, controls floor debate, and appoints party members to committees; elected by members of his or her political party within the House.

• Majority and minority leaders:

  • The majority leader serves as the major assistant to the speaker, helps plan the party’s legislative program, and directs floor debate.

  • The minority floor leader is the major spokesperson for the minority party and organizes opposition to the majority party.

• Whips help floor leaders by directing party members in voting, informing members of impending voting, keeping track of vote counts, and pressuring members to vote with the party.

Senate:

• The U.S. vice president, although not a Senate member, is the Senate’s presiding officer, according to the Constitution.

• President pro tempore: senior member of the majority party chosen to preside in the absence of the Senate president; mostly ceremonial position lacking real power.

• Majority and minority floor leaders:

  • The majority floor leader is the most influential member of the Senate and often the majority party spokesperson.

  • The minority floor leader performs the same role as the House minority leader.

• Whips serve the same role as whips in the House of Representatives.

The Committee System and its Leadership

• Committees are an essential part of the work of Congress.
• They allow for the division of work among members and enable the study of legislation by specialists.
• Committee chairpersons are chosen by the majority party in each house and have various duties, including setting agendas, assigning members to subcommittees, and managing floor debates.
• Membership on committees reflects the overall percentage of Democrats and Republicans in each house, and members try to serve on committees where they can influence public policy relating to their district or state.
• There are four types of committees: standing committees, select committees, joint committees, and conference committees.
• A caucus is an informal group formed by members of Congress who share a common purpose or set of goals.

Leadership of Congress

• In the House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House is the presiding officer and most powerful member of the House.
• Majority and minority leaders help plan the party’s legislative program, direct floor debate and organize opposition to the majority party.
• Whips help floor leaders by directing party members in voting and keeping track of vote counts.
• In the Senate, the U.S. vice president is the presiding officer, and the president pro tempore is a senior member of the majority party who presides in the absence of the Senate president.
• Majority and minority floor leaders perform similar roles in the House of Representatives, and whips serve the same role as whips in the House.

Important Committees:

• House of Representatives :

  - Committee of the Whole-a committee on which all representatives serve, and which meets in the House Chamber for the consideration of measures

  - Rules Committee-responsible for determining under what rules other committees' bills will come to the floor; the committee decides for how long and under what rules the full body will debate bills

  - Ways and Means Committee-a committee that, along with the Senate Finance Committee, writes the tax codes, subject to the approval of Congress as a whole; jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures

• Senate :

  - Appropriations-responsible for all spending of the federal budget

  - Foreign Relations-oversees the foreign policy agencies of the U.S. government such as funding foreign aid programs and arms sales; reviews and considers all diplomatic nominations and international treaties and legislation relating to U.S. foreign policy

  - Judiciary conducts hearings prior to the Senate vote on whether to confirm prospective federal judge nominations by the president; provides oversight of the Department of Justice and all the agencies under the Department of Justice

Powers of Congress

Congress has both legislative and non-legislative powers.

1. Legislative powers

• Expressed powers: powers specifically granted to Congress by the Constitution, mainly found in Article I, Section 8. Examples include enacting legislation, coining money, passing the federal budget, raising revenue, declaring war, and maintaining an armed force.
• Implied powers: powers that are not explicitly stated in the Constitution but are reasonably suggested to carry out the expressed powers. The "necessary and proper" or elastic clause in Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 allows for the expansion of Congress's powers.
• Limitations on powers: powers denied to Congress by Article I, Section 9, and the Tenth Amendment.

1. Non-legislative powers

• Electoral powers: the House of Representatives selects the president and the Senate selects the vice president in the event of an electoral college failure to achieve a majority vote.
• Amendment powers: Congress may propose amendments by a two-thirds vote of each house or by calling a national convention to propose amendments if requested by two-thirds of the state legislatures.
• Impeachment: the House may bring charges, or impeach, the president, vice president, or any civil officer. The case is tried in the Senate with the Senate acting as the jury.
• Executive powers of the Senate: The Senate shares the appointment and treaty-making powers with the executive branch; the Senate must approve appointments by majority vote and treaties by two-thirds vote.
• Investigative/oversight powers: Investigate matters falling within the range of its legislative authority; often involves the review of policies and programs of the executive branch.

The Lawmaking Process

How a Bill Becomes a Law:

Bills, or proposed laws, may begin in either house, except revenue bills, which must begin in the House of Representatives.

• House of Representatives:

  - A bill is introduced, numbered, and assigned to a committee.

  - The bill may be assigned to a subcommittee for further study.

  - The bill is returned to committee, where it is approved or rejected.

  - The rules committee sets terms of debate for the bill.

  - The bill is debated by the House.

  - A vote is taken, where the bill is passed or defeated. Bills that pass the House are sent to the Senate.

  - Conference committee resolves differences between House and Senate versions of a bill. Compromise versions may not contain any new material.

  - Bill is returned to the House for a vote on the compromise version.

  - Presidential action: President may sign the bill, veto the bill, allow the bill to become law without signing, or pocket veto the bill. Vetoed bills are returned to Congress, where they may be overridden by a two-thirds vote in each house.

• Senate :

  - A bill is introduced, numbered, and assigned to a committee

  - The bill may be assigned to a subcommittee for further study.

  - The bill is returned to committee, where it is approved or rejected.

  - No rules committee!

  - The bill is debated by the Senate.

  - A vote is taken, where the bill is passed or defeated. Bills that pass the Senate are sent to the House.

  - Conference committee resolves differences between House and Senate versions of a bill. Compromise versions may not contain any new material.

  - Bill is returned to the Senate for a vote on the compromise version.

  - Presidential action: President may sign the bill, veto the bill, allow the bill to become law without signing, or pocket veto the bill. Vetoed bills are returned to Congress, where they may be overridden by a two-thirds vote in each house.

Legislative Tactics

Legislative tactics refer to the strategies and methods used by Congress and others to block or pass legislation. Some of these tactics are:

• Caucuses: Groups of legislators who form voting blocs based on shared interests or goals.
• Committee system: A key mechanism for passing legislation; bills may fail if committees reject them or fail to act upon them.
• Discharge petition: A method of bringing a bill out of committee and to the floor for consideration without a report from the committee.
• Mark-up: Rewriting a bill into its final form after hearings have been held on it.
• Filibuster and cloture: A filibuster is unlimited debate in an attempt to stall action on a bill. Cloture is the method by which the Senate limits a filibuster.
• Hold: An informal practice by which a senator informs their floor leader that they do not wish a particular bill or measure to reach the floor for consideration.
• Pork barrel legislation: An attempt to provide funds and projects for a member's home district or state.
• Logrolling: An attempt by members to gain the support of other members in return for their support on the member's legislation.
• Riders: Additions to legislation that generally have no connection to the legislation.
• Amendments: Additions or changes to legislation that deal specifically with the legislation.
• Lobbying: Trying to influence members of Congress to support or reject legislation.
• Conference committees: May affect the wording and therefore the final intent of the legislation.
• Legislative veto: The rejection of a presidential or executive branch action by a vote of one or both houses of Congress. However, this was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1983 (Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha).

Influences on Congress

• Constituents: Members often take into consideration the opinions of their constituents and voters back home in their district or state.

• Other lawmakers and staff: More senior members often influence newer members, committee members who worked on legislation often influence other members, and staff often research issues and advise members.

• Party influences: Each party's platform takes a stand on major issues, and loyal members often adhere to the "party line." Members in the House are more likely to support the party position than are Senators.

• President: Presidents often lobby members to support legislation through phone calls, invitations to the White House, or even appeals to the public to gain support from voters to bring pressure on members.

• Lobbyists and interest groups: Often provide members with information on topics relating to their group's interest or possible financial support in future campaigns.

Divided Government:

• Divided government occurs when one party controls the executive branch (White House) and another party controls one or both houses of the legislative branch (Congress).
• Two factors increase the chances of a divided government: an increasing number of independent voters and an increase in split-ticket voting.
• One major disadvantage of a divided government is partisanship and gridlock.

Political Polarization and Gridlock:

• In recent years, members of the House and Senate have gained a reputation for their ability to create partisan gridlock.
• Political polarization has become very noticeable, leading to gridlock.
• Increasing ideological differences between the parties have created a distance where members of political parties vote along party lines, making it difficult to pass legislation.