CHAPTER 9

Congress

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Introduction 2

Because it was established in Article 1 of the Constitution, Congress is often called the “first branch.”

Congress is also called the “people’s branch” because it is the branch of government that is most responsive to, and representative of, the American people.

The Constitutional Powers of Congress

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The Constitution enumerates certain powers to Congress and implies others through the necessary and proper clause.

Constitutional constraints on Congress: Restrictions on enumerated and

implied powers Specific limitations such as bans on

bills of attainder and ex post facto laws

The Constitutional Powers of Congress (continued) The constitution requires Congress to

share many of its powers. Congress shares powers with the president

and Supreme Court through the system of checks and balances.

Congress shares powers within itself, between the House of Representatives and Senate. The House was designed to be more

representative, and thus more impulsive. Until the Seventeenth Amendment, the Senate

was indirectly elected and designed to be more deliberate.

Many differences remain between the House and Senate.

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The Constitutional Powers of Congress (continued)

Article I of the Constitution grants many powers to Congress. In most cases, both houses must act; but in a few instances, the Constitution specifies that one house or the other has a special role.

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Differences Between the House and the Senate

Although the House and the Senate are alike in many ways, differences give each a special character. In addition, the Constitution assigns to the Senate particular confirmation and treaty-ratifying powers and to the House the right to originate tax bills.

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The Members of Congress

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Who are they? Constitutional requirements for membership in

Congress include very few restrictions. However, members are primarily white, upper-

middle-class, and male. How do they see their roles?

Trustees follow their own judgment, voting based on their consciences and the broad interests of the nation.

Delegates vote according to their constituents’ desires, regardless of personal views.

Politicos combine both roles, attempting to strike a balance between the interests of their constituents and their own judgment.

Profile of the 111th Congress (2009-2011)

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The Members of Congress

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How long do they stay? In the 1800s, members of Congress served fewer terms

than they do now. Between 1850 and 1950, the average tenure increased

and the percentage of first-term members declined. In the 1970s, these trends flattened. Americans

continued to re-elect incumbents, but politicians seem less interested in a lengthy congressional career.

How much do they do? In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the

workload in Congress was light and needed less time. Today, the business of Congress has expanded in both

volume and complexity, requiring full attention.

The Members of Congress

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What do members of Congress do? Due to the need for reelection, members must see to the

desires of their district or state through constant communication and pork barrel politics.

A member is expected to serve as an ombudsman to help individual constituents through casework.

How do members see each other? Legislative norms are standards of behavior in Congress.

Members are expected to do the following: Practice reciprocity or logrolling Be courteous to each other Specialize in one or two subjects

Having a period of apprenticeship for new members of Congress has become an outmoded tradition for the most part.

The Structure of Congress

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Party Leadership: The House The Speaker of the House is its presiding

officer. The Speaker is next in line to succeed the

President of the United States after the Vice president.

The Speaker is nominated by the majority party.

The Speaker’s power reached its pinnacle under Joseph Cannon, but a House revolt in 1911 took many of the Speaker’s powers away.

In 1975, House Democrats increased the substantive powers of the Speaker by making him the chair of the Steering and Policy Committee, with the power to nominate all Democratic members to the Rules Committee.

The Structure of Congress (continued)

The majority leader is the Speaker’s chief deputy and the second most powerful figure in the majority party.

The leader of the loyal opposition is the minority leader.

The party whip acts as an assistant majority or minority leader and is the heart of the party communication system.

Party Leadership: The Senate The roles of president of the Senate

(occupied by the vice president) and president pro tempore are primarily ceremonial and honorific.

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The Structure of Congress (continued)

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The majority leader is the dominant figure in the Senate. The majority leader controls debate on the

floor and influences committee assignments. Senators are more independent and harder

to lead than members of the House. Party leaders are media personalities and

spokespersons for their party. Senate whips basically serve floor leaders

as vote counters.

The Committee System

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Standing committees approve legislation for floor debate.

Joint committees are permanent committees made up of members from both houses.

Special or select committees are created periodically to study particular problems or new areas of legislation.

Congressional seniority and committee seniority are based on length of service and affect privileges granted to members.

The Committee System (continued)

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Committee assignments are made by party leaders and caucuses. Members concerned with reelection seek committees

with direct impact on their constituents. Members interested in influencing policy seek

committees concerned with broad public issues. Members who want to expand their influence seek

committees that deal with matters important to all members.

The attraction of certain committees changes with time. Members must actively lobby to get the assignments

they want. Once all-powerful, committee chairs lost much of their

power in the reforms of the 1970s.

Subcommittees16

Standing committees are usually divided into subcommittees. Subcommittees have gained legislative

independence and power in the House (subcommittee government), but less in the Senate.

The rise of subcommittee government has made coalition-building and compromise more difficult.

Congressional Staff and Agencies

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The increasing number of congressional staff members reflects the complexity of modern government.

A typical congressional office will include a legislative assistant, an administrative assistant, caseworkers, and press aides, among others.

Staff members are usually young, well educated, and male.

Committee staffers are responsible for developing the legislation that comes form the committees.

Congressional Staff and Agencies (continued)

Members have become increasingly dependent on their staffs.

Agencies that provide Congress with policy research and analysis: The Congressional Research Service The Government Accountability Office The Congressional Budget Office

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Congressional Procedures: How a Bill Becomes a Law

Figure 9.1

At each step along the way, a bill can be stymied, making this journey a genuine obstacle course.

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Congressional Procedures: How a Bill Becomes a Law (continued)20

Committee to Floor Debate After a member introduces a bill, it is sent to the

appropriate committee and subcommittee for study and public hearings.

After hearings, the bill is marked up (given precise language and amendments).

If approved, the bill goes to the respective chamber. Floor Debate: The House

Bills reported out of committee are listed on a house calendar (Union, House, or Private).

The Speaker and majority leader determine when bills are called off the calendar and placed on the floor. Minor bills may be sent directly to the floor by a suspension of the rules.

Congressional Procedures: How a Bill Becomes a Law (continued)21

Most major bills go to the Rules Committee that then sends the bill to the floor with a closed, open, or modified rule.

Floor debate follows specific rules and may be conducted in the Committee of the Whole.

Floor debate is followed by amendments (which must be germane to the bill) and electronic voting.

Floor Debate: The Senate Senate procedures are more flexible with only

two calendars (the Executive Calendar and the Calendar of General Orders) and no restrictions on debate length or on the number of amendments.

Congressional Procedures: How a Bill Becomes a Law (continued)22

A rider is a nongermane amendment that allows a proposal to pass a hostile Senate committee that would have probably killed it. The rider must only survive the conference committee if the complete bill passes the Senate.

Unanimous consent agreements limit the terms of Senate debates. They are usually secured by the majority leader in cooperation with the minority leader, and accommodate the desires of senators who wish to speak or offer amendments.

A filibuster (talking a bill to death) can be stopped by cloture whereby a three-fifths vote ends debate.

Congressional Procedures: How a Bill Becomes a Law (continued)23

The Conference Committee: Resolving Senate-House Differences When major differences exist between the

House and Senate versions of a bill, a House-Senate Conference Committee must reconcile them.

The conference often requires hard bargaining and compromise.

Once finished, the conference compromise bill is sent back to both the House and Senate for approval.

Congress and the Political System

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Lobbies Although criticized for involvement in

scandals, lobbyists foster dialogue between the people and Congress.

Lobbyists are most successful in affecting distributive policies and least successful with redistributive policies.

Lobbyists often utilize public opinion to affect laws.

Informal legislative caucuses have strong ties to interest groups (such as the textile caucus and steel caucus).

Congress and the Political System (continued)

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The Bureaucracy Together with interest groups and

congressional committees, bureaucratic agencies often develop informal partnerships, called subgovernments or iron triangles, to collectively influence distributive policy.

The effectiveness of iron triangles has declined as a result of aggressive media and new public interest groups who watch carefully for favoritism.

The “Iron Triangle” and Veteran’s Policy

The triangular relationship among congressional committees, bureaucratic agencies, and interest groups indicates how relatively few people can determine public policy on some questions. The relationship does not mean that the groups

are always in agreement, but it does mean that the dominant opinion represented will usually have the largest say in setting veterans’ policy. Sometimes the components in the triangle are more numerous. A proposed change in the

educational benefits, for example, would involve higher education lobbies and other committees and agencies. A change in job-training policy for veterans would

involve the Labor Department as well as the labor committees in Congress.

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What Role for a Changing Congress?

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Congress has democratized its rules and opened up its procedures.

Since Vietnam, Congress has challenged presidential control of policy by altering presidential proposals and initiating major reforms.

Although Congress cannot lead the nation, like the president does, it does reflect the democratic process.