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Chapter 12Congress

Copyright © 2011, 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Bicameralism

House Members Elected by direct popular vote Size of a state’s delegation depends on state’s population

Senators Chosen in statewide at-large elections, two per state



AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Membership

U.S. Constitution specifies Age, citizenship, and residency requirements for each body

The Voting Rights Act and changing social and cultural values have helped to elect an increasingly diverse Congress


Membership

Profile of the Membership Although most members of

Congress are older and relatively affluent, the institution is more diverse today than at any time in U.S. history.

Compensation In recent years, members of Congress have increased their salaries

substantially, sometimes without having to go on record in favor of higher pay. In 2010, Members of the House and Senate made $174,000 a year.


Membership

Personal StylesTraditionally, Congress members, got things done and advanced their careers by building relationships with colleagues, deferring to senior members, and bargaining.

Home StylesMany members of Congress believe they have a duty to “vote their district.”Reelection depends on their constituency.Constituency service is major part of the job.


Membership

Membership Turnover Incumbents seeking reelection usually win. Nonetheless, retirement and election defeats have produced significant turnover in recent

years. Senators are more likely to be defeated for reelection because they tend to draw more

substantial challengers than do House members. Critics have called for term limits on Congress for decades.


Organization

The House and Senate choose leaders, establish committees, and hire staff assistance.

Organization of the FloorThe organization of the floor is based on party

strength in each chamber. Real power on the floor of the Senate is in the hands

of the Majority Leader; the Speaker is the most powerful figure in the House.

The Senate Majority Leader and the Speaker hold positions of visibility and prestige.


Kevin Dietsch/Upi/Landov Media

Organization

The party in the minority in each house also elects a minority leader.

Both parties elect whips who serve as assistant leaders.Because party leadership posts are elected internally,

Senate Majority Leader and the Speaker maintain power by helping members achieve their goals.

Reelection Political influence Policy enactmentElection to higher office


Organization

Committee and Subcommittee Organization The detailed work of Congress takes place in standing

committees and subcommittees. When members are first elected, they request assignments

to particular committees that they believe will help them win reelection, gain influence, and affect policy.

Committee positions are given by the party leadership Party membership on each committee is determined by the party numbers in Congress.


Chip Somodevilla/ Getty Images

The Legislative ProcessOrigin and Introduction

Congress conducts much of its work through the legislative process.

Once a member introduces a bill or resolution, that chamber’s presiding officer refers it to one or more committees for consideration.


Ian Tragen/Shutterstock


Ian Tragen/Shutterstock

The Legislative Process

Committee and Subcommittee Action In the House, the most important pieces

of legislation that pass standing committees go to the Rules Committee.

Floor Action In the Senate rules do not limit the amount of time a

Senator or the chamber as a whole can spend discussing a measure — a bill’s opponents may filibuster.

The procedure for forcing an end to a filibuster is known as cloture.



Filibuster A filibuster is maneuver in the Senate based on the unlimited

debate rule that allows Senators to speak about a bill for as long as they please.

Generally, it is member so the minority party who filibuster to prevent passage of a bill they do not like.

A filibuster is not an option in the House because of the House Rules Committee which sets the parameters of debate.

Ending a filibuster in the Senate requires a vote of cloture by 60 Senators.



Conference Committee ActionA bill doesn’t pass Congress until it clears both the House

and the Senate in identical form. Should legislation pass each chamber in different forms,

one house can simply agree to accept the changes made by the other.

A conference committee is a joint committee created to negotiate differences on similar pieces of legislation passed by the House and Senate.



Presidential Action Sign a bill Allow it to become law without his signature (if Congress is in session) Kill the bill by refusing to sign it (if Congress has adjourned) Veto the measure — unlike most state governors, the president has no line-item veto. The veto can be overridden by a vote of 2/3 of each house of Congress.


Review Time!!!!!!!!!

Impeachment, the formal accusation of wrongdoing by an executive or judicial branch officeholder, can only be done by

a. The House of Representatives, by a majority vote.

b. The Senate, by a majority vote.

c. A majority vote of both the House and the Senate.

d. A majority vote of the Supreme Court.

Impeachment, the formal accusation of wrongdoing by an executive or judicial branch officeholder, can only be done by

The most powerful position in the House of Representatives is

a. Majority Leader.

b. Minority Leader.

c. Speaker of the House.

d. Majority Whip.

The most powerful position in the House of Representatives is

If the President does not sign a bill and the Congress has adjourned, the bill dies. This action is known as a

a. Adjournment veto.

b. Pocket veto.

c. Rider veto.

d. Modified veto.

If the President does not sign a bill and the Congress has adjourned, the bill dies. This action is known as a

Break!

Chapter 13 The Presidency


Doug Mills/The New York Times/Redux Pictures

Associated Press

The Constitutional Presidency

Qualifications and Backgrounds Most presidents have come from fairly narrow social circles even though the qualifications

are broad. Until now, all the nation’s presidents have been white males of Western European

ancestry.

Term of Office Four-year terms The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, limits the president to two terms.



Chicago Tribune/MCT/Newscom


Impeachment and RemovalThe process of impeachment and removal involves both

houses of Congress.Presidential Succession and DisabilityThe 25th Amendment,

ratified in 1967, reformed and clarified the process of presidential succession.


Martin H. Simon/Corbis


The Vice Presidency As the importance of the presidency has grown, so has the significance of the vice

presidency.

- Recent presidents have actively involved their vice presidents in their administrations.


AP Images

Brooks Kraft/Corbis News/Corbis

Presidential Powers

Diplomatic Powers

Chief of StateThe president has the power to negotiate treaties with other nations, subject to a two-thirds vote of ratification by the Senate. Executive Agreements


AP Photo

Presidential Powers Military Powers: President is commander in chief of the armed forces.

War Powers Act Inherent Powers: Powers vested in the national government which do not depend on a specific grant of authority.

Judicial Powers: President nominates all federal judges pending majority-vote confirmation by the Senate.


Presidential Powers Executive Powers

Chief Executive Head of the executive branch of government

Issues executive orders to manage federal bureaucracy


AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

Presidential Powers

Legislative Powers The Constitution gives the president sufficient legislative authority to participate in the legislative process but not enough legislative tools to dictate policy.

Executive OrdersState of the Union AddressVeto PowerPresidential Signing Statements


Development of the Modern Presidency

Modern presidential development has been accompanied by significant growth in both the size and power of the presidential bureaucracy.

White House StaffExecutive Office of the PresidentPresidential Bureaucracy and Presidential Influence


Franklin D. Roosevelt Library/Pearson Education

Organization of the Presidency

Development of the modern presidency has been accompanied by significant growth in the size and power of the presidential bureaucracy.

White House Staff: Consists of personal aides, assistants, and advisors to the president. Political loyalty is usually the foremost criterion the president uses in

selecting a staff.

Executive Office of the President: Congress established the Executive Office of the President in 1939 to

develop and implement president’s policies and programs. Major agencies of the Executive Office are the

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) National Security Council (NSC) Council of Economic Advisers (CEA)


Theories of Presidential LeadershipPolitical scientists take different approaches to describing and explaining presidential leadership. Presidential Character Leadership Style Power to Persuade Going Public

Unilateral Tools of Presidential Power

Executive Agreements

Presidential Signing Statements

Recess Appointments



(bl):CORBIS;(br):ASSOCIATED PRESS; (tl):Franklin D. Roosevelt Library/Pearson Education;(tr): AP Photo

Presidential Popularity

Popular support for a president can influence presidential power.

Honeymoon Effect Rally Effect

Role of the presidency in the policymaking process can also be explained by focusing on contextual factors:

international environment state of the nation’s economy party balance in Congress.


Review Time!!!!!!!!!

In addition to allowing the president to fill a vacant vice presidency, the 25th Amendment

a. Establishes procedures for the vice president to become acting president if the president is disabled.

b. Establishes procedures for the Speaker of the House to become president if the offices for both the president and vice president are vacant.

c. Establishes procedures for presidential impeachment.

d. Establishes procedures for the Supreme Court to declare the president disabled.

In addition to allowing the president to fill a vacant vice presidency, the 25th Amendment

When President Obama committed troops to Afghanistan, he was acting in his presidential role of

When President Obama committed troops to Afghanistan, he was acting in his presidential role of

a. Chief of State.

b. Commander in Chief.

c. Chief of Party.

d. Chief Executive.

Which of the following tools of presidential power allows the president to adopt a policy without legislative approval?

a. Executive order

b. Executive agreement

c. Presidential signing statement

d. Recess appointment

Which of the following tools of presidential power allows the president to adopt a policy without legislative approval?

legislative and executive branches

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