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Chapter 12: Congress
American Democracy Now, 4/e
Congress
Where Do You Stand?
How would you rate the overall performance of
Congress today?
a. Favorably
b. Unfavorably
c. Neither favorably nor unfavorably
Source: “Democratic Party’s Favorables Rise, Congress Still Unpopular,”
http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=426.
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reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGrawHill Education.
The Origins of Congress


In structuring the Congress, the framers strove to create
a legislative branch that was at once powerful enough to
govern and to check the power of the president, and yet
not so powerful that the legislature itself would exercise
tyrannical rule.
The Constitution created a bicameral, or two-house,
legislature in which one house, the House of
Representatives, would be based on population, and the
other chamber, the Senate, would be based on state
representation.
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The Origins of Congress


The House of Representatives, with the smallest
constituencies of any federal office (currently
about 711,000 people reside in each
congressional district), is the chamber closer to
the people.
The framers conceived the Senate to be a more
elite, more deliberative institution, one not
subject to the whims of mass politics like its
lower-house counterpart.
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Congressional Elections




House members, as public servants in the legislative
body that the framers conceived as closer to the people,
are elected every two years, in even-numbered years.
But the framers also sought to check the power of the
people, who they believed could be irrational and unruly,
and so members of the Senate originally were chosen by
state legislators.
Ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment Constitution
in 1913 shifted the election of senators to popular
election within the states.
Senators serve six-year terms, which are staggered so
that one-third of the Senate is elected every two years.
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Incumbency

In any election year, about 90 percent of
incumbent members of the House of
Representatives running for reelection win, and
about 91 percent of their Senate counterparts
do.
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Incumbency

Why do incumbents so often win
reelection?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Stronger name recognition
Easier access to media coverage
Redistricting that favors the incumbent party
Campaign contributions
Casework
Franking
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Reapportionment and Redistricting



Reapportionment is the reallocation of seats in the
House of Representatives on the basis of changes in a
state’s population since the last census.
Redistricting, the redrawing of congressional district
boundaries within a state, is based on the
reapportionment from the census.
The redrawing of congressional boundaries for the
purpose of political advantage is a form of
gerrymandering, the practice of drawing legislative
district boundaries to benefit an incumbent, a political
party, or some other group.
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Reapportionment and Redistricting


A majority-minority district is composed of a
majority of a given minority community—say,
African Americans—and the creators’ intent is to
make it likely that a member of that minority will
be elected to Congress.
The Supreme Court has ruled that such racial
gerrymandering is legal unless the state
legislature redrawing the district lines creates
majority-minority districts at the expense of other
redistricting concerns.
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Powers of Congress

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The primary source of congressional authority is
the U.S. Constitution.
The Constitution enumerates to Congress a
number of different powers.
The necessary and proper—or elastic—clause
In addition to the Constitution, Congress derives
power from Supreme Court decisions, the
media, and the people.
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Functions of Congress


The Constitution is far more explicit in defining
the responsibilities of the national legislature
than it is in describing the function of the other
branches of the government.
In its shaping of congressional functions, the
Constitution’s concerns with limited government,
checks and balances, the separation of powers,
and the creation of a federal system are all
readily apparent.
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Representation Comes
in Many Forms

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
Representation traditionally involves a House or
Senate member’s articulating and voting for the
position that best represents the views of his or
her constituents.
But sometimes a member of Congress may
speak for other constituencies as well.
Often, Congress’s policy-making function is at
odds with its representation function.
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Models of Representation



According to the trustee model of representation, a
member of the House or the Senate follows his or her
own conscience when deciding issue positions and
determining how to vote.
Another model of representation is the instructed
delegate model, the idea that a legislator, as a
representative of his or her constituents, should vote in
keeping with the constituents’ views, even if those views
contradict the legislator’s personal views.
Most analyses of representation indicate that legislators
are likely to combine the approaches.
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Pork Barrel and Earmarks


Members of Congress also represent their
constituencies through pork barrel politics. Pork barrel
(also called simply pork) refers to legislators’
appropriations of funds for special projects located within
their congressional districts.
Members of Congress also use earmarks as a means of
representing constituent interests: a designation within a
spending bill that provides for a specific expenditure.
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Casework


A special form of representation called
casework refers to providing representation in
the form of personal aid to a constituent or a
group of constituents, typically by getting the
government to do something the constituent
wants done.
In doing so, they serve in the capacity of an
ombudsperson.
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Policy Making: A Central Responsibility

The policy making function is the central
responsibility that the Congress carries out, and
nearly all its other functions are related to its
policy-making role.
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Oversight: A Check on the
Executive Branch


Oversight is the process by which Congress
“checks” the executive branch to ensure that the
laws Congress passes are being administered in
keeping with legislators’ intentions.
In carrying out their oversight function, members
of Congress use a variety of tools, including:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Congressional hearings
Confirmation hearings
Investigations
Appropriations
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Agenda Setting and
Civic Engagement

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Congress engages continuously in agenda
setting: determining which public policy issues
the federal legislature should consider.
In setting the national agenda, Congress serves
as a key agent in molding the scope of civic
engagement and discourse, as people learn
about, discuss, and form positions about issues.
Frequently, agenda setting is itself influenced by
public discourse.
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Managing Societal Conflict

Congress also has a significant influence in
managing the societal conflict inherent in a
divided society such as the United States.
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The House and the Senate Compared


The Constitution empowers the House of
Representatives, as the legislative body closer
to the people, with initiating any bills that result
in taxes; whereas it empowers the Senate, as
the more deliberative house, to give the
president advice and consent on appointments
and the ratification of treaties.
The electoral and legislative structures are also
sources of differences between the two houses.
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The House and the Senate Compared



The differing length of representatives’ and
senators’ terms of service affects how members of
each chamber of Congress relate to their
constituents.
Although the House and the Senate differ in their
constitutionally determined duties, both must pass
any piece of legislation before it can become law.
The larger size of the House of Representatives,
with its 435 members, necessitates a more formal
legislative structure to prevent unruliness.
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The Legislative Process

Five steps to a bill becoming law
1. Introduction
2. Committee review
3. House and Senate approval
4. Conference committee reconciliation
5. Presidential approval
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Introducing a Bill


In the House of Representatives, a member of a
legislator’s staff drafts the proposed legislation,
and the House member puts the bill into the
hopper.
In the Senate the process is less formal.
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The Bill in Committee

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Most bills that are introduced “die” in committee.
The parties in each chamber decide members’
committee and subcommittee assignments.
Committee chairs are often chosen using the
seniority system.
Standing committees are permanent
committees with a defined legislative jurisdiction.
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The Bill in Committee



Select committees are specially created to
consider a specific policy issue or to address a
particular concern.
Joint committees are bicameral committees
composed of members of both chambers of
Congress.
In addition to the congressional committees, the
House has more than 90 subcommittees, and
the Senate has 68.
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The Bill in Committee

When a committee or a subcommittee favors a
measure, it usually takes four actions:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Agency Review
Hearings
Markup
Report
In the House of Representatives, a special
measure known as a discharge petition is used
to extract a bill from a committee to have it
considered by the entire House.
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Debate on the House and Senate Floor



If a House bill is “discharged,” or makes it out of
committee, it then goes to the Rules Committee , one of
the most important committees in the House, which
decides on the length of debate and the scope of
amendments that will be allowed on a bill.
The Senate’s small size allows members to agree to the
terms of debate through unanimous consent
agreements.
If the Senate does not reach unanimous consent, the
possibility of a filibuster arises—a procedural move that
attempts to halt passage of the bill.
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Debate on the House and Senate Floor



A filibuster can end by a vote of cloture, in which a
supermajority of 60 senators agrees to invoke cloture
and end debate.
If both the House and the Senate pass bills on the same
topic but with differences between the bills, the bills are
then sent to a conference committee, a bicameral,
bipartisan committee composed of legislators whose job
is to reconcile the two versions of the bill.
After the committee develops a compromise version of
the bill, the bill then goes back to both chambers for
another vote.
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Presidential Action

When both the House and the Senate manage
to pass a bill in identical form, it proceeds to the
president, who may take one of three actions.
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Presidential Action
1.
2.
3.
President may sign the bill, and the bill becomes a
law.
The president may do nothing. If the President does
nothing and Congress is in session, the bill becomes
law after 10 days without the president’s signature. If,
however, the Congress has adjourned the president
may exercise a pocket veto and the bill dies.
The president may exercise the power of a veto.
Congress can vote to override the veto with a twothirds vote in both houses. But overriding a
presidential veto is rare.
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Congress
Where Do You Stand?
Looking ahead to the next twelve months, how would
you describe the likelihood that Congress will legislatively
address the country’s most urgent problems?
a. Very likely
b. Somewhat likely
c. Not very likely
d. Not likely at all
e. Not sure
Source: “Toplines: Supreme Court/Congress,”
www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/pt_survey_topline
s/may_2008/toplines_supreme_court_congress_may_14_15_2008.
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Congressional Leadership



In earlier eras, forceful leaders rose to the position of
majority leader in both houses and strongly influenced
congressional priorities and legislation.
But as political parties have come to play a less
important role in the election of members of the House
and the Senate, allegiance to party leaders in these
institutions has dwindled.
Despite the evolution in the role of congressional leader,
partisanship remains a strong aspect of congressional
politics, particularly since 1994.
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Leadership in the House of
Representatives



It is really the members of the majority party who
select their Speaker of the House.
The Speaker serves as the presiding officer and
manager of the House.
The Speaker is also the leader of his or her party
in the House.
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Leadership in the House of
Representatives


The Speaker relies on the House majority
leader to help develop and implement the
majority party’s legislative strategy, work with the
minority party leadership, and encourage unity
among majority party legislators.
The Speaker and the House majority leader are
assisted by the majority whip, who acts as a
go-between with the leadership and the party
members in the House.
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Leadership in the House of
Representatives

The minority party in the House also elects
leaders, the House minority leader and the
minority whip, whose jobs mirror those of their
majority party colleagues, but without the power
that comes from holding a majority in the House.
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Leadership in the Senate



The vice president of the United States serves as the
president of that body, according to the Constitution.
The majority party in the Senate elects a Senate leader
called the president pro tempore.
The real power in the U.S. Senate is held and wielded by
the Senate majority leader, whose job is to manage the
legislative process so that favored bills are passed; to
schedule debate on legislation in consultation with his or
her counterpart in the minority party, the Senate
minority leader; and to act as the spokesperson for the
majority party in the Senate.
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Congress
Where Do You Stand?
What issue is of more concern to you today, and is
one that the members of Congress urgently need to
address—the economy or national security?
a.
The economy—issues such as jobs and
economic growth
b.
National security—issues such as the Iraq
war and the war on terror
c.
Other issues
Source: “Economy Tops National Security as New Voter Concern,”
www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_president
ial_election/economy_tops_national_security_as_new_voter_concern.
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Decision Making in Congress:
The Legislative Context
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Political Parties and Partisanship in Decision
Making
Colleagues and Staff: Trading Votes and
Information
Interest Groups: Influence Through
Organization
The President’s Effect on Decision Making
Constituents: The Last Word
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Political Parties and Partisanship
in Decision Making


The partisan breakdown of Congress is
important because most major legislative votes
cast are “party votes,” meaning that most
members of one political party vote one way,
and most members of the other party vote the
other way.
Partisan voting increased after the Watergate
scandal in the 1970s and rose again after the
1994 congressional elections, in which
Republicans took control of Congress.
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Party Representation in the House of
Representatives, 2015
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Colleagues and Staff:
Trading Votes and Information



Congressional colleagues provide cues for
members of the House and the Senate in their
decision making over whether to vote for a
pending piece of legislation.
Members of Congress also engage in
logrolling, the practice of trading votes between
members.
In addition, House and Senate members rely on
their staffs to inform their decision making on
legislation.
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Interest Groups:
Influence Through Organization

Interest groups make their mark by influencing
congressional campaigns, by providing
information to members of Congress as they try
to decide whether to vote for a particular piece of
legislation, and by lobbying members of
Congress to support or oppose legislation.
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The President’s Effect on Decision
Making


The president determines whether to sign or to
veto legislation that reaches his desk.
But often, before a bill reaches the signing
stage, the president’s position on it carries
enough influence to sway members of
Congress, particularly members of his political
party, to vote for or against the proposed
legislation.
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Constituents: The Last Word


Most members of Congress want to be
reelected, and representing constituents’ views
(and being able to convince voters that their
views are represented well) is a major avenue to
reelection to Congress.
Constituents influence the legislative process by
ensuring that their representatives in Congress
work hard to represent their perspectives and
policy interests.
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The People and Their Representatives



Although members of Congress may make it a
priority to represent the viewpoints and interests
of their constituents, demographically speaking,
they do not represent the American public at
large.
Congress, especially the Senate, is older, whiter,
more educated, and more likely to be male than
the population as a whole.
Yet Congress is more diverse today than at any
other point in history.
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McGraw-Hill Education.
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