Chapter 4
GOV 310L: American and Texas Government - Section 4: Congress
The Legislative Branch
The U.S. legislative branch is distinct from most other countries due to its presidential government system.
Basic Duties of Congress
Representation: Serving the interests of constituents.
Law Making: Enacting legislation.
Consensus Building: Finding common ground among diverse interests.
Overseeing the Bureaucracy: Monitoring the executive branch agencies.
Policy Clarification: Refining and detailing policies.
Investigating the operation of government agencies: Conducting inquiries into government performance and potential wrongdoing.
These duties apply to both the House and the Senate.
Bicameral Legislature
The U.S. Congress is a bicameral legislature, meaning it consists of two distinct houses:
The House of Representatives
The Senate
House of Representatives
Election Cycle: The entire body is elected every 2 years.
Membership: Composed of 435 representatives.
Age Requirement: Members must be at least 25 years old.
Special Powers:
Originates all tax bills.
Brings impeachment charges against federal officers.
Reapportionment and Redistricting
Census: Every 10 years, a national census is conducted to count the population.
Redesigning Congressional Seats: Congressional seats are redistributed among states to account for population changes identified by the census.
Redistricting: When a state gains or loses a seat, its state legislature is responsible for redrawing the U.S. House of Representatives districts within that state.
Manipulation of Districts: Gerrymandering
Gerrymandering: The practice of manipulating district boundaries to favor one political party or group over another.
Creation of 'Safe Seats' (Safe District): Districting designed to ensure a particular party's candidate almost certainly wins.
Representation of Minority Interests:
Cracking: Spreading voters of a particular type among many districts to dilute their influence and prevent them from constituting a majority in any single district.
Packing: Concentrating voters of a particular type into a single electoral district, reducing their influence in other districts.
Examples from the 1990s Supreme Court Redistricting Decisions include specific districts in Illinois, Louisiana, Georgia, and North Carolina.
House Leadership
Speaker of the House:
Elected, typically from the majority party.
In charge of the entire House.
Has formal duties, including presiding over legislative sessions, appointing committee chairs, and influencing the legislative agenda.
Majority Party Leadership (party with the most votes):
Majority Leader: Second in command after the Speaker, responsible for scheduling legislation, strategy, and uniting the party.
Majority Whip: Elected by party members, responsible for 'whipping up' votes, ensuring party discipline, and tracking votes.
Minority Party Leadership (party with fewer votes):
Minority Leader: Leads the opposition party in the House, articulating the party's legislative priorities and strategy.
Minority Whip: Elected by party members, analogous to the Majority Whip but for the minority party.
Whips:
Named after the 'whipper in' from the British House of Commons, who kept hounds together in a fox hunt.
Duties: Count votes, persuade members to vote with the party, and ensure member attendance for votes.
Rules Committee
Unique to the House: Only the House of Representatives has a Rules Committee.
Functions:
Regulates the time allotted for floor debate on a bill.
Sets limitations on amendments that can be proposed to a bill.
Types of Rules:
Closed Rule: Permits no amendments from the floor.
Restricted Rule (previously called modified open or modified closed rule): Allows only certain specified amendments from the floor.
Open Rule: Permits any germane amendments from the floor.
Summary of the House of Representatives
Term Length: 2 years.
Membership: 435 members.
Representation: Proportional representation based on population.
Personal Staff: Fewer personal staff than Senators (about 17 per House member).
Rules and Procedure: More rules than the Senate for procedure.
Debate: Limited debate time.
Policy Focus: More policy specialists; members tend to defer to specialists (reciprocity).
Media Coverage: Less media coverage than the Senate.
Prestige: Generally less prestige than the Senate.
Reliance on Staff: Less reliance on staff than the Senate.
Committee Leaders: More powerful committee leaders than the Senate.
Committees: Very important committees; about 20 major committees.
Amendments: Non-germane amendments (riders) are generally not allowed.
Key Committee: Important Rules Committee.
Bill Amendments: Some bills permit no floor amendments (closed rules).
Turnover: High turnover rate.
Policy Emphasis: Primarily emphasizes tax and revenue policy.
Senate
Membership: Composed of 100 members (2 per state).
Term Length: 6 year terms.
Age Requirement: Members must be at least 30 years old.
Election Cycle: One-third of the Senate is up for election every 2 years.
Nature: A continual body; more individualistic in its operations.
Special Powers:
Ratifies treaties by a two-thirds vote.
Confirms presidential appointees (e.g., cabinet members, ambassadors, federal judges).
Conducts impeachment trials (conviction requires a two-thirds vote).
Senate Leadership
President of the Senate: The Vice President of the United States (e.g., Kamala Harris).
Presides over Senate sessions but only votes in case of a tie.
President Pro Tempore: The most senior senator of the majority party (e.g., Patty Murray, D-WA).
Presides over the Senate in the Vice President's absence.
Third in the line of succession to the presidency, after the Vice President and Speaker of the House.
Senate Majority Leader: Leads the majority party in the Senate (e.g., Chuck Schumer, D-New York).
Most powerful member of the Senate, responsible for setting the legislative agenda and strategy.
Minority Leader: Leads the minority party in the Senate (e.g., Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky).
Chief spokesperson for the minority party and their legislative priorities.
Whips:
Majority Whip: (e.g., Dick Durbin, D-Illinois).
Minority Whip: (e.g., John Thune, R-South Dakota).
Perform similar duties to House whips: counting votes, maintaining party discipline.
Things Special to the Senate
Filibuster: A tactic used by a minority of senators to delay or block a vote on a bill, amendment, or other measure by speaking for an extended period.
Famously depicted by Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
Cloture: A procedure by which a supermajority of 60 senators can limit debate on a bill, ending a filibuster.
Confirmation Power: The Senate's authority to approve or reject presidential appointments.
Senatorial Courtesy: An unwritten political custom whereby the President consults with the senior senator of his political party from a state before nominating a person to a federal judgeship (or other federal office) in that state.
Unanimous Consent: An agreement by all senators to consider a measure, allowing for expedited consideration of legislation or other matters.
Hold: A procedural tactic by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill or nomination is brought to the floor for consideration, signaling an intent to object.
Summary of the Senate
Term Length: 6 years.
Membership: 100 members.
Constituencies: Larger constituencies, as each senator represents an entire state.
Personal Staff: More personal staff (about 44 each).
Representation: Even representation (two senators per state, regardless of population).
Rules and Procedure: More flexible rules.
Debate: Extended debate is allowed (e.g., filibuster).
Policy Focus: Policy generalists rather than specialists.
Media Coverage: More media coverage.
Prestige: More prestige.
Reliance on Staff: More reliance on staff.
Power Distribution: More equal distribution of power among members.
Committees: Less important committees overall compared to the House; about 20 major committees.
Amendments: Non-germane amendments (riders) are allowed.
Unique Powers: Treaty ratification power and "advice and consent" power for appointments.
Procedural Tools: Filibuster is allowed.
Turnover: Moderate turnover.
Policy Emphasis: Primarily emphasizes foreign policy.
Legislators: How they Look at their Jobs
Constituents: The people a politician represents.
Delegate: A representative who votes according to the preferences of his or her constituency.
Trustee: A representative who votes based on what he or she thinks is best for his or her constituency.
Politico: A representative who acts as both a delegate and a trustee, depending on the issue.
Casework: Services provided by members of Congress to their constituents to help them deal with government agencies.
Incumbents: Congress - Job for Life?
Incumbent: The current holder of an office or position, usually seeking re-election.
Open Seat: An election in which no incumbent is running.
Advantages Incumbents have over Challengers:
Name Recognition: Voters are more familiar with incumbents.
Franking Privilege: Ability to send mail to constituents without paying for postage.
Access to Media: Greater media attention and coverage.
Campaign Finance: Easier to raise campaign funds due to established networks and donor perceptions of their electability.
Pork Barrel Spending & Earmarks: Ability to bring federal projects and funding to their districts.
Casework: Strong constituent service builds loyalty.
Other Advantages
Pork Barrel: Appropriations made by legislative bodies for local projects that are often not needed but are created to help local representatives win re-election in their home districts.
Earmarks: Specific federally funded local projects or exemptions attached to bills.
Log Rolling: A legislative practice wherein two or more legislators agree to trade votes for each other's proposed legislation or amendments.
How a Bill Becomes a Law (Simplified Overview)
Drafted: A bill is conceived and written.
Introduced: A member of the House or Senate introduces the bill.
Clerk & Assigned Number: The bill is numbered and recorded by the clerk.
Referred to Committee and Subcommittee: The bill is sent to the relevant committee, which often assigns it to a subcommittee.
Subcommittee & Committee Hearing: Hearings are held to gather information and expert testimony.
Full Committee Mark Up: The committee reviews, amends (marks up), and revises the bill.
Reported Out: If approved, the committee votes to report the bill out to the full chamber.
Calendared: The bill is placed on a legislative calendar.
Floor Reading, Debate, Amendments, Full Vote:
House: Governed by the Rules Committee, debate is limited, and specific amendments are allowed (or not) based on the rule (closed, restricted, open).
Senate: More flexible rules, extended debate (filibuster possible), and non-germane amendments generally allowed.
A full vote is taken in the respective chamber.
If a bill passes one chamber, it is called an Engrossed Bill.
To Other House: The Engrossed Bill is sent to the other chamber for consideration (where it undergoes a similar committee and floor process).
Conference Committee: If the House and Senate pass different versions of a bill, a conference committee composed of members from both chambers is formed to reconcile the differences and create a single compromise bill.
Vote by Houses: Both the House and Senate must vote on and approve the identical compromise bill from the conference committee.
To President: The final, approved bill (now an Enrolled Bill) is sent to the President.
Presidential Action:
Signed by President: The bill becomes law.
Veto: The President rejects the bill.
Pocket Veto: If Congress adjourns within 10 days of the President receiving a bill, and the President does not sign it, the bill dies.
Congressional Override: If the President vetoes a bill, Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate.
Organizing Congress
Party Caucus/Conference: A closed meeting of a political party's members in the House or Senate.
House uses caucus, Senate uses conference.
Elects party leaders, approves committee assignments, and develops party strategy.
Committee System
Importance: The real work of Congress occurs in its committees.
Policy Making: Committees dominate policymaking at all stages.
Bill Referral: New bills usually go straight to a subcommittee for initial review.
Functions:
Hold hearings to gather information and expert opinions.
Investigate problems and wrongdoing.
Control the congressional agenda by deciding which bills to consider.
Guide legislation through the legislative process.
Discharge Petition (House only): A means of bringing a bill out of committee and to the floor for consideration without a report from the committee, requiring the signatures of 218 members.
Four Types of Committees
Standing Committees: Permanent committees handling specific policy areas (e.g., Agriculture, Ways and Means, Judiciary).
Usually divided into subcommittees which specialize further.
Select Committees: Temporary committees created for a specific purpose, often to investigate a particular issue or event.
Joint Committees: Formed with members from both the House and Senate, usually for study or investigation.
Conference Committees: Temporary joint committees formed to reconcile differences between House and Senate versions of a bill, creating a single compromise bill for final vote.
Tricks in Congress
Omnibus Legislation: A single bill that combines many disparate or unrelated measures into one legislative package. This makes it difficult for opponents to block specific parts.
Continuing Resolution: A legislative measure passed by Congress to allow federal agencies to continue operating on the previous year's appropriations level for a specific period when a new appropriations bill has not been enacted by the start of the fiscal year.
Presidential - Congressional Relations
Presidential Veto: The President's power to reject a bill passed by Congress.
Override: Congress's power to pass a bill into law despite a presidential veto, requiring a two-thirds vote in both chambers.
Pocket Veto: As described above, when the President takes no action on a bill and Congress adjourns within 10 working days, effectively killing the bill.
Oversight: Congressional review of the activities of the executive branch agencies and departments to ensure they are implementing laws as intended and operating efficiently.