American Political Institutions: The U.S. Congress

Overview of American Political Institutions

Constitutional Framework: The U.S. Constitution establishes a tripartite structure of government consisting of the following branches: * Legislative Branch: Congress, which is subdivided into the House of Representatives and the Senate. * Executive Branch: The President and Vice President. * Judicial Branch: The Supreme Court.
Structural Entities and Hierarchy: * The Electorate: Encompasses the voting age population ( $18$ years old per the $26^{th}$ Amendment). * Elected Officials: The President is elected via the Electoral College. * State Government: Comprised of Governors and Legislatures. * Bureaucracy: Administrative agencies supporting government functions.
Critical Thinking Scenarios: * Power Dynamics: Nancy Pelosi, as Speaker of the House, was unable to remove former President Donald Trump from office, raising questions about the limitations of the Speaker's power. * Internal Removal: On October $4, 2023$ , the U.S. Congress removed Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), demonstrating the internal disciplinary mechanisms of the House.

Bicameralism and the Structure of the Institution

The Concept of Bicameralism: A two-chambered legislature resulting from the Great Compromise, designed with internal checks and balances.
The House of Representatives: * Membership: $435$ members. * Term Length: $2$ years. * Representation: Membership per state varies based on population. * Constituency: Tends to be localized and narrow. * Historical Shift: In $1789$ , the average representative had a constituency of $30,000$ people; currently, it is approximately $550,000$ . * Member Requirements: * Minimum Age: $25$ years. * U.S. Citizenship: At least $7$ years. * Number per State: Between $1$ and $53$ (depending on population size).
The Senate: * Membership: $100$ Senators. * Term Length: $6$ years. * Representation: States are represented equally with $2$ Senators each. * Constituency: Both local and national interests are addressed. * Member Requirements: * Minimum Age: $30$ years. * U.S. Citizenship: At least $9$ years. * Historical Context: In $1789$ , Senators were selected by state legislatures. This changed in $1913$ with the ratification of the $17^{th}$ Amendment, which provided for the direct election of Senators by the people.

Concepts of Representation

Sociological (Descriptive) Representation: A type of representation in which representatives have the same racial, gender, ethnic, religious, or educational background as their districts.
Agency (Substantive) Representation: The type of representation by which representatives are held accountable to their constituency if they fail to represent it properly.
Representation Styles: * Delegate Representation: The type of representation where representatives act according to the preferences of their constituents. * Trustee Representation: The type of representation where representatives vote based on what they think is best for their constituency.

The Electoral Connection and Apportionment

Incumbency: Defined as holding the political office for which one is running. Incumbents typically provide services to constituents to ensure reelection and maintain their position in the absence of term limits.
Apportionment and Redistricting: The process of reassessing seat distribution in the House based on population shifts recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau. * Census Cycles: Data is collected every decade ( $1990$ , $2000$ , $2010$ , $2020$ ). * 2020 Census Results: * Gaining 2 Seats: Texas ( $TX$ ). * Gaining 1 Seat: Colorado ( $CO$ ), Florida ( $FL$ ), Montana ( $MT$ ), North Carolina ( $NC$ ), Oregon ( $OR$ ). * Losing 1 Seat: California ( $CA$ ), Illinois ( $IL$ ), Michigan ( $MI$ ), New York ( $NY$ ), Ohio ( $OH$ ), Pennsylvania ( $PA$ ), West Virginia ( $WV$ ). * Total Representatives: Fixed at $435$ .

Direct Patronage and Earmarks

Definition: Special favors higher officials offer their supporters, typically including job appointments, grants, or licenses.
Earmark Strategies: * Pork Barrel: The ability to bring home funds to one district, which contributes positively to a member’s chance for re-election. * Example: In $2004$ , Representative Don Young (R-Alaska) urged the House to approve a bridge connecting a town of $7,845$ people with an island of $50$ residents. The structure cost $200$ million dollars and had a longer span than the George Washington Bridge in New York. * Private Bill: A congressional proposal to provide a specific person with relief, special privilege, or a special exemption.

Leadership and Committee Systems

Leadership in the House of Representatives: * Speaker of the House: The elected leader of the House (Current: Mike Johnson, R-LA, who replaced Kevin McCarthy). * Majority Leader: The elected head of the party holding the majority seats. * Minority Leader: The elected head of the party holding the minority seats. * Whip System: An organization of House leaders who work to disseminate information and promote party unity in voting. Functions include information gathering, information dissemination, and coalition building.
Leadership in the Senate: * President of the Senate: The Vice President of the United States (Current: Kamala Harris) serves as the presiding officer. * President Pro Tempore: Exercises ceremonial leadership. This individual is third in the line of presidential succession after the Vice President and the Speaker of the House (Current: Patty Murray, D-WA, since January $20, 2023$ ). * Historical Note: Robert Byrd served from January $3, 1959$ until his death on June $28, 2010$ .
Committee Types (The "Core" of Congress): * Standing Committees: Propose and write legislation covering finance, tax, trade, Social Security, and Medicare. * Select Committees: Temporary legislative committees set up to highlight or investigate specific issues. * Joint Committees: Legislative committees formed by members of both the House and Senate. * Conference Committees: Temporary committees created to work out a compromise between the House and Senate versions of a bill.

The Legislative Process: How a Bill Becomes a Law

Introduction: A bill is introduced in either the House or the Senate (most legislation begins as similar proposals in both).
Committee Action: * Referred to a committee. * Subcommittee holds hearings. * Committee recommends passage.
Floor Action: * House and Senate debate the bill and pass it. * Filibuster: Making long speeches and using parliamentary tactics to delay action on a bill or nomination. (Example: In $1957$ , Senator Strom Thurmond, D-South Carolina, filmed the longest filibuster of $24$ hours and $18$ minutes to prevent a civil rights bill). * Cloture: Tactics used to end debate on a bill, requiring $60$ votes. * Logrolling: A practice in the "Congressional College" where support is traded between congressmen ("If you support me in this bill, I will support your bill").
Conference Action: House and Senate members confer to reach a compromise.
Final Approval: Both the House and Senate must approve the compromise version.
Enactment: The President signs the bill into law.

Institutional Responsibilities

Oversight: The effort by Congress through hearings, investigations, and other techniques to exercise control over executive agencies (e.g., investigations into Enron or WorldCom).
Advice and Consent (Senate Special Power): Requires a $2/3$ approval for treaties and nominations for the Chief Justice.
Impeachment: The House acts as a grand jury by voting on whether to convict. Removal from office requires a $2/3$ majority vote in the Senate.
Decision-Making Influences: * External Influences: Constituency, Political Party, and Interest Groups. * Internal Influences: Party Discipline (Party Unity), The Presidency (Unified vs. Divided Government), and Logrolling.

Compensation and Historical Firsts

Congressional Pay: * In $1873$ , annual salaries were set at $7,000$ dollars. * $27^{th}$ Amendment: Requires an election to intervene before members of Congress can receive a pay raise.
Historical Milestone: Jeannette Rankin was the first Congresswoman, serving in the $65^{th}$ ( $1917$ – $1919$ ) and $77^{th}$ ( $1941$ – $1943$ ) Congresses.