CONGRESS

The Constitution and the Legislative Branch

• Article I creates a bicameral (2 House) legislative branch of government.

• The upper house is called the Senate in which each state receives two representatives. (NJ Plan)

• The lower house is called the House of Representatives which is apportioned by population. (Virginia Plan)

• The Senate has a 6 year term with 1/3 of the seats up for reelection every two years.

• House members serve 2 year terms.

Apportionment and Redistricting

• The Constitution requires that all Americans be counted every 10 years by a census.

• The census determines the representation in the House of Representatives.

• Redistricting (the redrawing of congressional districts to reflect changes in seats allocated to the states from population shifts) is done by state legislatures and, of course, always has political overtones.

• When the process is outrageously political, it is called gerrymandering and is often struck down by the courts.

The Expressed Power….ACTUALLY WRITTEN IN CONSTITUTION

Implies the Power… IMPLIED BUT NOT STATED

To lay and collect taxes •To create tax laws and punish tax evaders•To use tax revenues to fund welfare, public schools, and health and housing programs

To borrow money •To establish the Federal Reserve System of banks

To establish naturalization laws •To regulate and limit immigration

To raise armies and a navy •To draft Americans into the military

To regulate commerce •To establish a minimum wage•To ban discrimination in workplaces and public facilities•To pass laws protecting the disabled•To regulate banking

To establish post offices •To prohibit mail fraud and obstruction of the mail•To bar the shipping of certain items through the mail

Non-Legislative Powers

• Elect a President and Vice-President if no candidate gets the majority of the Electoral College

• Confirm appointments and treaties made by the President (Senate)

• Propose amendments to the Constitution• Bring (House) and try (Senate)

impeachment charges

House of Representatives      Senate

Number of representatives = 435    Number of Senators = 100

The number of Congressmen from each state is based on the state's population.

Each state, regardless of size, has two Senators.

Members served for two years after which they have to seek re-election.  There is no term limit.

A Senator's term of office is much longer- 6 years. Like the House, there is no term limit.

Members are elected from Congressional districts. Each state is divided into a number of districts e.g.. New York has 33 districts; hence 33 members in the House.

A Senator's constituency is the entire state. While a House member is elected by voters only in his district, a Senator has to seek votes throughout the state.  

The total number of members in the House is fixed at 435. Every ten years, based on a population census, seats are rearranged to reflect changes in each state's population.  States whose population has declined may lose seats while states with increased population may gain more seats.

Population changes do not affect the Senate. Whether a state gains or loses population, each state will still have two Senators.  

 

Members of Congress

• Congress is older, better educated, and richer than most of us.

• However, there are more women in Congress today than in history

Powers of Congress

• The most important constitutional power of Congress is the power to make laws.

• This power is shared by the House and the Senate.

• In order to become a law, a bill must be passed by both the House and the Senate.

• Senate- Has power of filibuster- talking a bill to death. Cloture- can end the filibuster if 60 people vote to end it.

Lawmaking

• Only a member of the House or Senate may introduce a bill but anyone can write a bill.

• Over 9,000 bills are proposed and fewer than 5 to 10% are enacted.

• Most bills originate in the executive branch.• A bill must survive three stages to become a

law: committees, the floor, and the conference committee. A bill can die at any stage.

Committees in Congress

• Standing Committees

• Select Committees

• Joint Committees

• Conference Committees

• Chairpersons of committees chosen by seniority system

• Political party and leadership chooses assignment to committees

Representative

Colleagues

Constituents Staff

CaucusesParty

Interest Groups

Political Action Committees

How Members Make Decisions

The Representational Role of Members of Congress

• How should an elected official represent his/her constituents?

• Trustee--representatives use their own best judgment

• Delegate--representatives vote the way their constituents want them to

• Politico--representatives act as trustee or delegate depending on the issue

Organization of Congress

• Every two years, a new Congress is seated.

• The first order of business is the election of leaders and adoption of new rules.

• Both houses of Congress are organized on the basis of party for both leadership and committee purposes.

How Members Make Decisions

• It is rare for a legislator to disregard strong wishes of constituents, particularly on hot button issues or those contentious issues that get a lot of media attention.

• Deciding how the voters feel is not possible.• The perceptions of the representative are important

since he/she cannot really know how all the constituents feel about an issue.

• If constituents have little knowledge or interest in an issue, the legislator often makes an autonomous decision.

Congress and the President• Especially since the

1930s, the president has seemed to be more powerful than Congress.

• However, Congress retains several key powers over the president:– funding powers – oversight– impeachment/removal.

Congressional Oversight of the Executive Branch

• Congress has the power to review the actions of the executive branch

• Congressional oversight is used to ensure that the bureaucracy is enforcing and interpreting laws the way Congress intended.