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The
Organization of
Legislative Bodies
Centralization 1:
Leadership in the US
Congress
The Tension
Two Organizing Principles of Legislative Bodies
– Centralization
• Concentration of power into a few hands
• Sometimes called the ‘oligarchic’ tendency
• Focus on principal officers and leadership
– Decentralization
• Diffusion of power across the entire body
• Sometimes called the ‘democratic’ tendency
• Focus on committees and subcommittees
Centralization in the US Congress
• US House of
Representatives
– Principal Officers
• Speaker of the House
• Majority Leadership
– Floor leader
– Principal Whip
– Deputy Whips
• Minority Leadership
– Floor leader
– Principal Whip
– Deputy Whips
Speaker of the US House
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Mode of appointment
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Technically chosen by an election in the House
Almost always from the Majority Party
Rare unanimity of majority
Roles & Powers
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Presides over House Proceedings
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Refers all bills to committees
Appointment power
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House members to select committees
House members to joint committees
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Speaks for the Congress as a whole
Liaison to the President of the United States
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2nd
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Recognizes speakers on the House floor
Determines points of order
Maintains House schedule
Only when both Speaker and President are from the same party
in line of succession to the President of the United
States behind Vice President
Historical Trend of Speakers suggests a reduction in
power
The Floor
• Members of the House split into Majority and Minority Congressional
caucuses
– Majority- Party with the most members
– Minority- Party with the Second-most members
– Third party and independents typically must choose one or the other to
secure committee appointments
• Roles of Majority and Minority caucuses
– Choose principal officers
• Speaker candidate
• Floor leader
• Principal whip
– Establish party legislative agenda for the session
– Assign members to steering committees
• Committees that assign members to legislative committees
• Follows a seniority system
• Committee membership in proportion to representation
US House Floor Leaders
• Principal voice of their respective parties in the House
• Chief legislative strategist for their parties
– Develops legislative strategy
• How to accomplish legislative agenda
– When and how often to submit bills
– When to find support
– How many speakers to find
• How to block opposition agenda
– When and how to oppose bills
– When and how to compromise
– Communicates strategy with their party through House whips
• Minority Floor leader may be liaison to the President if
they belong to the same party
Whips
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Encourages party unity
Communicates legislative agenda to party members
Communicates legislative strategy to party members
Manages legislative strategy
Encourages party members to
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attend or not attend floor debate
speak or not speak
yield their allotted speaking time to other house members
support bills consistent with the legislative agenda
oppose bills inconsistent with the legislative agenda
• Coordinates efforts by deputy whips on specific bills and
resolutions
The US Senate
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Two principal officers mentioned in the Constitution
– President of the Senate
• Vice President of the United States
• Few formal roles
– Casts deciding vote in case of a tie
– Opens and reads electoral college ballot results
• Stripped of most presidential powers in the First Congress
– President pro tempore of the Senate
• Member of the majority party with the longest continuous service in the Senate
• Few formal roles
– Formal power to refer all bills to committees
» Usually defers to Senate Majority leader
– Presides over the Senate in the Vice President’s absence
– 3rd in line of succession to the President of the United States (behind House Speaker)
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Majority and Minority floor leaders
– Share most procedural powers
– Actual referral to committees
• Scheduling Senate action
– Principal voice of their respective parties
– Chief legislative strategist for their parties