Overview

• Structure• Organization• Functions

– Legislative Process– Representation

• Reapportionment and Redistricting• Gerrymandering

• Elections/Demographics/Democracy

Structure

Congress

House of Representatives Senate

Structure

Congress

House of Representatives Senate

435 members2 year term

local districts

100 members6 year term

state

Structure

Congress

House of Representatives Senate

Must be 25 years oldUS citizen for 7 yearsResident of state

Must be 30 years oldUS citizen for 9 yearsResident of state

Demographics

Congress

House of Representatives (435)

Senate(100)

257 Democratic178 Republican

56 Democratic41 Republicans2 Independents

1 race undecided yet

Demographics

Congress

House of Representatives (435)

Senate(100)

360 Men75 Women

83 Men17 Women*

*Highest total ever

Demographics

Congress

House of Representatives (435)

Senate(100)

364 White42 Black

25 Hispanic4 Asian

94 White1 Black

3 Hispanic2 Asian

Demographics

Congress

House of Representatives (435)

Senate(100)

Average age: 57 Average Age: 62

Powers

Congress

House of Representatives Senate

Impeach federal officalsOriginates all revenue raising bills

Convict federal officals forimpeachable offensesAdvise and Consent role on presidential powers

Procedures

Congress

House of Representatives Senate

More formal rulesMore partisan

Fewer rules and restrictionsMore individualistic

Prestige

Congress

House of Representatives Senate

More local/regional power baseMore local media exposure

Greater national leadershipMore national media exposure

Organization

• Both chambers rely on two overlapping organizational features to get work done:– The Party System– The Committee System

Organization

• Parties determine leadership in both chambers

• Leadership determines committee structure and assignments

Party System in House

• Majority Elects– Speaker– Leader– Whips

• Minority Elects– Leader– Whips

Official House Leadership Webpages: http://www.house.gov/house/orgs_pub_hse_ldr_www.shtml Campaign Finance of Leadership

http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/index.asp

Nancy Pelosi(D, CA)

John Boehner(R, OH)

Party System in Senate

• Majority elects:– President Pro

Tempore– Leader– Whips

• Minority Elects– Leader– Whips

Official Senate Leadership Webpages:http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/senators/a_three_sections_with_teasers/leadership.htmCampaign Finance of Leadershiphttp://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/index.asp

President of the Senate

(Vice President)

Mitch McConnell (R, KY)

Robert Byrd (D, VA)

Harry Reid(D, NV)

Party in Congress

• Over the past 20 years we have seen a marked increase in partisan divide in Congress

• Party unity scores (the number of times that members of party vote with other members of the party) have increased dramatically

• Bipartisan agreements are more difficult to obtain (e.g., stimulus package vote)

Committee System

• Three (3) types of committees– Standing– Select– Joint

Committee System

• Three (3) types of committees– Standing

• Semi-Permanent (they can be changed, but rarely are) committees in House and Senate devoted to relatively narrow area of public policy

links: http://www.house.gov/house/CommitteeWWW.shtmlhttp://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/committees/d_three_sections_with_teasers/committees_home.htm

Committee System

• Three (3) types of committees– Select

• Temporary committee established for a limited time period and for a specific purpose

– House select committeeshttp://www.house.gov/house/CommitteeWWW.shtml

– Senate select committeeshttp://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/committees/d_three_sections_with_teasers/committees_home.htm

Committee System

• Three (3) types of committees– Joint

• Legislative committee composed of members of both chambers of Congress

• Most common is the “Conference Committee” which reconciles competing House and Senate versions of a bill

Functions of Congress

• Lawmaking• Representation• Constituent Service• Oversight• Public Education• Conflict Resolution

Functions of Congress

• Lawmaking– Enumerated Powers

(most are in Article I, section 8)

– Implied powers of “necessary and proper” clause

Legislative Process

• Click here for a quick video description of the legislative process

link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dVo3nbLYC0

Representation

• Basic Theories of Representation– Delegate: Elected

official attempts to determine as best as possible the views of the electorate and vote accordingly

Representation

– Trustee: Elected official attempts to determine what is in the best interest of the electorate and vote accordingly

Representation

• Politico: Combination of the preceding two

Representation

• Representation in the House requires states to divide themselves into legislative districts, based on a number determined by the state’s population– Each state required (Art. I, clause 3) to

have at least one (1) representative

Reapportionment

• Up through 1910 census, size of the House membership expanded as the population expanded

• 1911 Congress capped the membership at 435, so since 1920 census Congress must reapportion seats among the states to reflect shifts in population growth rates

Redistricting

• Redrawing legislative districts within states to reflect population shifts and reapportionment results

• Occurs every 10 years, after the decennial census

• Next census is 2010• Districts are drawn according to state

government plans (some states use the legislature, some use special “commissions”

Gerrymander

• Drawing congressional districts for partisan advantage

Gerrymander

Packing

1

2

3

4

Gerrymander

Cracking

1

23

4

Redistricting

• Since the 1960s though, districts are required to contain roughly the same number of people– Baker v. Carr (1964)– Wesberry v. Sanders (1964)– Drawing gerrymandered districts is more

difficult now than it was, but it can still be done

Elections

• Impact of districting:– fewer “competitive” seats

• 2008 New Jersey datahttp://www.opensecrets.org/states/election.asp?State=NJ&year=2006

– higher re-election rates for incumbents

• see chart in text for data from 1946 through the 2004 election

• 2008 results: 95.3% of incumbents reelected

Elections

• Other factors contributing to incumbent advantage:– Fundraising

• Check the Center for Responsive Politics website for the spending differentials among challengers and incumbents

http://www.opensecrets.org/races/index.asp

Elections

• Other factors contributing to incumbent advantage– Name recognition among electorate– Easier access to media– Easier access to electorate

• “franking” privilege

Useful Links

• Overview of the Legislative Process:http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html

• Rules of the 110th Congress (House)http://www.rules.house.gov/ruleprec/house_rules.htm

• Process in the Senate Legislativehttp://thomas.loc.gov/home/enactment/enactlawtoc.html