In-Depth Notes on Congress and Legislative Processes
House of Representatives
Committee Work
Congress relies on committees for most of its work, especially in the House due to large membership.
Party Membership
The majority party organizes committees, appoints committee heads, and controls legislation flow.
Voting Process
Members attend sessions to vote on legislation.
Bill Lifecycle
All laws begin as bills introduced in the House, which, if approved by committee, are put on the House calendar for consideration.
Rules Committee
Receives approved bills and determines which will be considered on the House floor, also mediates disputes among committees and may delay or block unwanted bills.
Committee of the Whole
When necessary, the House may convene as a Committee of the Whole to expedite votes, needing at least 100 members for a quorum.
Senate
Rule Flexibility
The Senate operates with fewer rules, allowing senators more freedom to express their views compared to the House.
Leadership Control
Senate leaders manage the flow of bills to committees and debate without having a committee equivalent to the House Rules Committee.
Calendars
There are two calendars:
Calendar of General Orders for bills,
Calendar for treaties and nominations.
Filibuster
A means to stall legislative procedures which can only be ended by a three-fifths vote; its power has weakened as new rules allow concurrent legislative activities.
Formal Qualifications
For the House
Age: Must be at least 25 years old.
Citizenship: Must be a citizen for at least 7 years.
Residency: Must be a resident of the state represented.
Term Length: Serves 2-year terms.
For the Senate
Age: Must be at least 30 years old.
Citizenship: Must be a citizen for at least 9 years.
Residency: Must be a resident of the state represented.
Term Length: Serves 6-year terms.
Election Process
Congressional Term:
House members serve 2 years, with all up for election every two years.
Senate members serve 6 years, with one-third up for election every two years.
Primaries:
Closed Primary: Voters declare the party they belong to.
Open Primary: Voters can choose to participate in any party’s primary.
Runoff: Required when no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote.
Congressional Format and Benefits
Sessions: Each Congress term has two sessions lasting until both houses adjourn.
Salaries and Benefits: Members set their salaries and enjoy benefits such as staffing allowances, travel stipends, and retirement pensions.
Legal Immunity: Members are protected from arrest in all cases except felony or treason, and during session, they cannot be sued for libel.
Membership Control: Both houses can refuse to seat a member or expel members for misconduct.
Congressional Powers
Necessary and Proper Clause: Allows Congress to expand its powers; its interpretation may vary in Supreme Court cases.
Expressed Powers:
Levy and collect taxes.
Borrow and coin money, regulate commerce, manage foreign policy, declare war, and maintain armed forces.
Grant copyrights, patents, and establish federal courts and post offices.
Settle presidential issues such as incapacity and conduct impeachment trials.
Legislative Oversight: Congress monitors executive actions, conducting investigations when problems are suspected.
How a Bill Becomes a Law
Introduction: A new bill is introduced in Congress.
Committee Review: Sent to committees/subcommittees for hearings and reviews.
Decision by Committees: Committees may kill or report the bill with a recommendation.
Identical Passage Required: Must pass in the same form in both houses before the president signs it.
Presidential Actions: The president can sign the bill, keep it without signing (it becomes law after 10 days), veto it, or utilize a pocket veto.
Override: Congress can override a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority in both houses.
Congressional Leadership
House of Representatives
Speaker of the House: Leads the majority party, wielding significant influence.
Floor Leaders: Assist in guiding bills through committees.
Party Whips: Aid in rallying party members’ support.
Senate
Vice President: Presides but holds less power than the Speaker of the House; the president pro tempore often presides.
Majority Leader: Guides bills in the Senate, supported by whips to ensure key votes are present.
Introduction: A new bill is introduced in Congress as the first step in the lawmaking process.
New bills are sent to committees and sometimes subcommittees for detailed examination and discussion.
Both houses usually agree with the committees' decisions on a bill if it has been thoroughly reviewed.
If a committee decides to act on a bill, it holds hearings where experts and stakeholders can provide input.
When a committee hearing is complete, committee members review the bill line by line, making changes by a majority vote.
The committee then either kills the bill or reports it to the House or Senate, accompanying it with a written report that describes the bill, explains the committee's actions, lists the committee's changes, and recommends either passage or defeat.
Final Steps in Passing a Bill: To become a law, a bill must pass in identical form in both houses; conference committees work to reconcile differences and send a compromise bill for final action in each house of Congress.
The president may then allow the bill to become law by signing it or keeping it for 10 days without signing, or veto it using a regular veto or pocket veto.
Congress can override a presidential veto with a two-thirds vote in each house.
Congressional Leadership:
House of Representatives:
The Speaker of the House is the leader of the majority party and holds significant power and influence over its members.
Floor leaders from both the majority and minority parties are party leaders who steer bills through committees.
Party whips assist floor leaders in persuading party members to support favored legislation.
Senate:
The vice president presides over the Senate but has less power than the Speaker of the House; often, the president pro tempore presides.
The Senate majority floor leader guides bills through the Senate, while the minority floor leader criticizes majority party bills and strives to unify opposition party members.
Majorities and minorities have whips who help ensure members are present for important Senate votes.
Committees ease Congressional workload by dividing work among smaller groups, allowing members to specialize on key issues. They also allow members to discuss and select the most important bills Congress will consider. Additionally, committees hold investigative hearings on key problems and issues to inform the public.
Types of Committees
a. Standing Committees
i. Deal with certain issues that continue from one Congress to the next, addressing ongoing legislative concerns.
b. Subcommittees
i. Handle special subcategories of standing committees' work and continue from one Congress to the next, allowing for more focused discussions.
c. Select Committees
i. Special committees created in both houses of Congress, usually for one term only, to study a specific issue and report their findings.
d. Joint Committees
i. Comprise members of both houses to act as study groups, fostering collaboration between the Senate and House on shared interests.
e. Conference Committees
i. Temporary committees set up to resolve the differences in the House and Senate versions of a bill by working out a compromise bill that each house can then accept or reject.
Most Prestigious Committees
a. House
i. Rules Committee
ii. Ways and Means Committee (Tax Law) - this committee is particularly prestigious due to its significant role in tax legislation.
b. Senate
i. Foreign Relations Committee - oversees foreign policy legislation and international treaties.
ii. Finance Committee - deals with taxation and revenue measures, crucial for economic legislation.
Interest groups and their lobbyists represent various interests, including labor and business groups, education and environmental organizations, and minority groups. These organizations mobilize individuals to advocate for specific policies that align with their objectives. Political action committees (PACs) are political fundraising organizations that give their funds to support lawmakers who favor the PAC's position, significantly impacting political campaigns and elections. Members of interest groups typically share common goals and organize to influence government decisions and policy outcomes. Interest groups are often focused on a limited number of issues or problems, uniting individuals with shared values or attitudes from diverse backgrounds and regions. Additionally, interest groups play a crucial role in bridging the gap between citizens and the government, ensuring that various perspectives are heard in the policy-making process.
Lobbyists
a. Most interest groups use lobbying, or making direct contact with lawmakers or other government leaders, to influence government policy. This form of advocacy can include a range of actions from meetings to grassroots campaigning.
b. Many lobbyists formerly worked for government and therefore possess valuable insights into its politics and key players; other lobbyists may be lawyers or public relations experts with expertise in advocacy strategies.
c. Lobbyists can:
i. Provide lawmakers with useful information that supports an interest group's position, helping to inform legislative decisions.
ii. Give testimony before congressional committees to advocate for specific policies or regulations.
iii. Help draft bills, ensuring the legislation reflects the interests and needs of the groups they represent.
Making Laws is a Big Job, But..• Yes, that's right: Somebody has to do it. In the United States, that somebody is Congress. Congress Who? If you read the Constitution of the United States, you'll see that 'all legislative powers' were given to 'a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.' Sound complicated? It's not. All the Constitution does is create one group of lawmakers (Congress) that is divided into two smaller groups (the Senate and the House of Representatives). Can you imagine what would happen if everyone in the country had to spend their time making laws? That's why the citizens of each state elect a certain number of Senators and Representatives to represent them in the lawmaking process. 'Legislative' means 'able to pass laws'. So how does Congress decide what laws to pass? Most often, the President or a member of Congress get an idea for a new law. Usually the ideas start with some kind of problem that Congress hopes a law can solve. For example, Congress might want to do a better job of controlling the flow of immigrants across the country's borders while also providing a good process for immigrants to apply for citizenship. Or maybe Congress wants to help create jobs by passing tax cuts for employers and spending money on construction projects. No matter who thinks up an idea for a new law, the idea must be written down and either a Senator or Representative must introduce the idea to Congress. Let's Make it Official A bill can't become a law unless the members of Congress vote in favor of it. If a bill is introduced in the Senate, the Senators will vote first. If they approve the bill, it goes to the House of Representatives (or vice versa if the House votes first). But if you think the trouble is over, think again: If the other group wants to make changes, then the fun part starts over. There will be more mark-ups, more debates, and more re-writes. A bill can't become law until both the Senate and the House agree on a bill that says exactly the same thing. But wait! That's not all. Even if Congress votes in favor of the bill, it still can't become law until the President approves it. The President can either sign the bill to approve it or veto the bill to reject it. Veto This! You mean after all that, the President can just reject the bill? Yep! But that doesn't mean the end of the line for the bill. Congress can override the President's veto by voting again. If two-thirds of the members of Congress vote for the bill, then it will become law even if the President doesn't like it. It's really hard to get that many people to agree, so after a veto, members of Congress usually discuss the bill again and try to work out a compromise that the President will approve. That means going back to… You guessed it! The fun part. When an idea for a law is written down, it is called a bill. A bill is like a rough draft of a law. Just like the rough draft of a paper you write for school, a bill gets marked up and re-written over and over. The bill starts in a committee that studies the bill and decides whether the idea is even worth becoming a law. Some bills 'die' in the committee and never get any farther. If a bill survives (whew!), it still must pass through a series of debates and revisions before it can move forward.
The Impeachment Process involves several critical steps designed to hold public officials accountable. The process begins in the House of Representatives, which has the authority to impeach. A simple majority of the House members must vote to impeach the official in question. If the House decides to impeach, members are designated as managers to conduct the trial in the Senate. The House then formally notifies the Senate of the charges against the official. In the Senate chamber, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over the trial to ensure fairness and impartiality. During the trial, attorneys for both the prosecution and the defense present their cases, make statements, and examine witnesses. After all evidence and arguments have been presented, the Senators vote on each article of impeachment. A two-thirds majority is required for conviction, and if convicted, the official may be removed from office. This multi-step process is crucial in maintaining checks and balances within the U.S. government.