Congress

The impeachment of trump and the USMCA deal shows how differently Congress can operate.

On issues that are as critical as impeachment, the representatives often vote alonf party lines, but when it comes to something like the USMCA, there is normally a consensus

Congress in the Constitution

Bicameralism: having two houses

Federalist NO. 62 - the senate is supposed to fight against the passions of the people

Powers of Congress

impose taxes, borrow money, spend money for general welfare,

Necessary and proper/elastic clause - can make any laws that they see fit

declares war, finance army and navy

Senate ratifies treaties and confirms judicial appointments and executive brach positions. The senate can vote on house bills, but can not amend them. Revenue bills are created in the house and can be amended by the Senate.

Congress has set up subpoenas to protect the government from the executive branch.

The Electoral System

senators, representatives, and the president are all voted for separately.

Congressional Districts

435 seats are locked in.

Wesberry v Sanders - districts must have equal populations

Thornburg v. Gingles - district lines may not dilute minority representation but neither may they be drawn with race as the predominant consideration

Gerrymandering - the extensive manipulation of the shape of a legislative district to benefit a certain party

David v. Bandemer - gerrymander can be unconstitutional if it were too strongly biased against a parties candidates

Rucho v. Common Cause - the supreme court would no longer intervene with partisan gerrymandering, the states were able to though

Racial Gerrymandering

North Carolina has to continuously change there district lines because they were drawing it so that black people were concentrated in that area.

Shelby County v. Holder - overturns section 5 of the voting rights act that made it so that certain southern states had to go to the courts before passing a voting law to prevent racial discrimination

49% were democrats, but they only had 3 seats

Unequal Representation in the Senate

The unequal state representation favors republicans because they do better in smaller states which make up 52% of the ]senate seats

Candidate-Centered versus Party-Centered Electoral Politics

Ticket-Splitting - voting for candidates of different parties for different offices

The mosre issues that were brought up, the less likely people were to just blindly vote for a certian party

National Politic in Congressional Elections

the house and senate will continue to lose seats depending on how well the presidency goes

Serving Constituents

casework - requests from constituents for information and help in dealing with government agencies

Vulnerable Senators

senators are 3 times more likely to lose their seats than senators

Reasons why it is hard for senators to keep their jobs: They are trying to be a senator of the entire state, they have 6 year terms, they are not as connected to the locals, media is easier to get out for them and their competition

Representation versus Responsibility

Logrolling - a legislative practice in which members of congress offer reciprocal support to each others vote-gaining projects or taw breaks

Earmarks- items individual members routinely insert into spening bills or revenue bills providing special benefits to their states districts, and campaign contributors

Pork-barrel legislation

Who Serves in Congress?

Each member of congress is educated in law, business, or education.

Women and racial minorities are underrepresented.

The majority is still straight white Christian men.

Basic Problems of Legislative Organization

The modern congress was developed through the issues within organizing the senate and the house and the competing interests of members

Need for Information

The need for information within congress, has grown enormously.

Legislators have specialists who concentrate on one area.

Coordination Problems

It is hard to coordinate issues since the problems are so complex and ther are so many people apart of congress

Resolving Conflicts

both parties majorities have to agree with the bill for it to be passed

Collective Action

the issue is that representative have their personal interest going against collective interests

congress has been given incentives for staying informed in there jurisdiction, but this has diclined overtime

Transaction Costs

Seniority rule - giving first choices to people who have been there the longest

Time Pressures

bills have a span of a two year congress, if it is not resolved then it has to be reintroduce in the next congress

Senators have looser organization while the house is more strict

Organizing Congress

Congress’s power in the federal system are the party and committee systems

The Parties

Mostly every decision is made through majority rules. It is important for parties to band together and vote on issues because they are far more likely to get results by working with one another.

Parties have party leaders and the members have to delegate power to them to lower transaction cost but is does raise conformity cost and agency loss.

Development of Congressional Parties

parties split between George Washington with Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson and Madison

Speaker of the House

appoints committees, makes rules and manages the legislative process

The house members took away the speaker of the houses power because Speaker Joseph Cannon went against the republicans. They chose to have more transactions costs and less conformity.

Party leaders can be dismissed if the members are not satisfied with them.

Conditional Party Government - the degree of authority delegated to and exercised by congressional party leaders varies with the extent of election-driven ideological consensus among members

Increased Partisanship

the parties differences in ideologies has driven a bigger gap between them but also united members within the party

This has also made it more difficult to make decisions.

(Senate) President Pro Tempore: Chuck Grassley

(Senate) Republican Majority Leader: John Thune

(Senate) Republican Majority Whip: John Barasso

(Senate) Minority Leader: Charles E. Shumer

(Senate) Minority Whip: Richard J. Durbin

(House) Speaker of the House: Mike Johnson

(House) Republican Majority Leader: Steve Scalise

(House) Republican Majority Whip: Tom Emmer

(House) Minority Leader: Hakeem Jefferies

(House) Minority Whip: Katherine Clarkson