Congress

General Notes:

Speaker of the house is elected by all

Congress is organized around: Political parties

>Committees

>staff

>caucuses

>rules

  • Constituents: refers to a group of people who are represented by local officials

  • trustee: a representative who makes decisions based on their own judgment

  • Delegates: decides based on the wants of the people they represent

  • descriptive Rep: demographic similarities

  • Substantive Rep: based on policy

Congress as agents

Involves:

  • communication with constituents

  • casework* help to find missing children*

  • interests

who wins during an election?

  • connects

  • incumbents(because of monetary reasons)

  • Pork barrel

Districting

  • Pork Barrel(or pork) appropriations made by legislative bodies for local projects that are often not needed but that are created so that local representatives can win re-election in their home districts

Key cases

>Miners Vs. Johnson1995

>Shelby Country V Holder

Caucuses: like school clubs

House

Speaker of the House: Mike Johnson (Louisiana)

-Ring leader of the house, (appoints the heads of committers, the rules committees,) elected by the entirety of Congress.

Majority leader: Steve Scalise from Louisiana

-Runs their party, decides how the party will vote

Minority Leader: Hakeem Jeffries of new yourk

the Majority whip (Tom Emmer from Minnesota) assists the majority leader to act as a unit.

The Minority whip: Katherine Clark

The Senate

The President Pro Temp: Patty Murray

-the person who’s been serving the longest (Patty Murry from Washington democrat

Majority leader

  • Chuck Schumer (D)Leader(Check Shuman)

Minority Leader

Whip(Dick Durbans

Minority

whip(J

Committtees

1.Standing committees

  • permanent committees

  • divided by topics>dualor or legislative work

  • can make mark up sessions when they change bills

  • can engage in oversight hearings>execute the law as went

    2.Select committees

  • temporary>hearings

  • cannot introduce legislation

3.Joint Committees

  • permanent

  • covers topics such as: economics, printing, taxation and libraries

  • Exist in both the house and senate

Conference Committee

  • temporary

  • exist in both chambers

  • makes sure bills are approved by both chambers

Staff

  • specific staff for each office

  • demographically dispersed

  • generally organize the representatives day

  • hired by the representative

Staff for congress in senate

  • congressional

Caucuses

  • informal ways members of congress organize themselves

the process of an introduction of a bill

The House

first reading> standing committee debate

The Senate

the entire senate sets their rules

types of rule

  • open rule

  • modified open rule

  • structured rule

  • closed rule

Unorthodox law making

  • elites control law making

  • when a rules committee is influenced by the speaker

  • when leaders refer bills multiple times to delay bills being proposed

Term: Omnibus bill

More on the presidency

The vice president

  • breaks ties

  • speaks in favor of the president

  • works to attract a vote the president may not have

The first Spouse

  • often implements programs through working with congress?

    and can have alot of influence

Going public

  • during FDR’s presidency he started doing “fire side chats” which was basically a radio show where he encouraged americans during the great depression