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11Congress

Representatives and Senators

Members

11.1

EQ: Characterize the backgrounds of members of Congress and assess their impact on the ability of members of Congress to represent average Americans

Members

Not a glamorous job, but there are perks Power $174,000 annual salary Generous retirement and health benefits

Constitutional requirements House: 25, citizen for 7 years Senate: 30, citizen for 9 years Reside in state they represent 435 Representatives; 100 senators

11.1

TABLE 11.1: Portrait of the 113th Congress:

11.1

Members

Demographics Descriptive versus substantive representation

This simply means that they can’t represent their constituents

by being from the same background and having the same

problems, but they can represent them as advocates who

understand their problems and concerns.

11.1

Why Aren’t There More Women in Congress? Women constitute more than half the U.S. population but hold

less than a fifth of congressional seats.

Fewer women running- win about ½ of the time. Childcare-Women without children are more politically ambitious

Bias When candidates are equally qualified, there’s a bias in voters toward the male

candidate, therefore females must be MORE qualified to win.

11.1

11.1 How old do you have to be to run for the office of senator?

a. 25

b. 35

c. 30

d. 21

11.1

Congressional Elections Who Wins Elections?

Advantages of Incumbency

Role of Party Identification

Defeating Incumbents

Open Seats

Stability and Change

11.2EQ: Identify the principal factors influencing the outcomes in congressional elections

Incumbents Over 90% win re-election in House Senators do not have it as easy

Represent a larger more diverse constituencies, more visible, held more accountable, serve a longer term

Incumbents perceive themselves as vulnerable Hence fundraising and campaigning

Who Wins Elections? 11.2

FIGURE 11.1: Incumbency factor in congressional elections

11.2

Americans disapprove of the performance of Congress as a whole, but tend to think that their own representatives are an exception and reelect them. This makes it hard to change the makeup of Congress in a given election.

Advantages of Incumbency Do Americans reelect their representatives because they agree with their

voting record? Hardly. Only 11% of Americans have any idea of how their

representatives voted on a given issue. If not policy, what gives

incumbents their electoral advantage?

Advertising Franking Privilege = Constituent contact, telephone,

email, twitter, FB, etc.

Credit claiming Casework-services to individual constituents Pork barrel projects (These are safer than taking credit for policy changes because

those win enemies as well as supporters)

11.2

Advantages of Incumbency

Position taking- risky but can be effective

Weak opponents who lack visibility and experience

Campaign spending

House more than $1mil on avg

Senate more than $10 mil

Incumbent outspend their challengers 2 to 1

11.2

Role of Party Identification Parties and districts

Drawn for one-party dominance-this also give incumbents an advantage When state legislatures redraw districts every decade, they look at the demographics of residents and

draw the districts to ensure that they’re safe seats for one party or the other

11.2

Defeating Incumbents Challengers are naïve

But sometimes incumbents are vulnerable (scandal)

Redistricting – every 10 years – done by the party in power in the STATE legislatures – Gerrymandering

Public mood

Dissatisfaction w/ economy or scandals

This happens most often in midterm elections, and the party that holds

the presidency almost always loses seats in both houses.

11.2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcUDBgYodIE&index=47&list=PLHTrUoI0-acy7fkBiZz0EaE1S-LS1cGgK

113th Congress

Open Seats and Stability and Change Vacant seat @ election = no incumbent running

Most turnover occurs here

Stability from incumbency Development of expertise

Term limits? Does this expertise outweigh the lack of responsiveness that results from career politicians in safe seats?

Some people have proposed term limits for members of Congress. Do you think that’s a good idea?

11.2

11.2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxiD9AEX4Hc&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtOfse2ncvffeelTrqvhrz8H&index=6

11.2 Why do incumbents have such a strong electoral advantage?

a. They attract more campaign contributions

b. They can use the congressional franking

privilege

c. They have more name recognition

d. All of the above

11.2

How Congress is Organized to Make Policy

American Bicameralism

Congressional Leadership

Committees and Subcommittees

Caucuses: Informal Organization of Congress

Congressional Staff

11.3EQ: Compare and contrast the House and Senate, and describe the roles of congressional leaders, committees, caucuses, and staff

American Bicameralism Bicameral legislature- Connecticut (Great) Compromise

Bills must pass both houses (exactly the same) Checks and balances

House More institutionalized and seniority-based Rules Committee-functions as a traffic cop for bills coming out of

committee. It gives each bill a “rule,” which schedules the bill on the calendar,

allots time for debate, and specifies what kind of amendments may be offered.

Senate Filibuster (can end w/ cloture of 60 votes) – weapon of

minority party https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMeGxoyDC5o&index=51&list=PLHTrUoI0-acy7fkBiZz0EaE1S-LS1cGgK

Less centralized and seniority-based

11.3

TABLE 11.2: House versus Senate: Some key differences

11.3

Congressional Leadership Leadership assignments are chosen by party

House Speaker of the House – chosen by majority party (3rd in line

for POTUS), presides over the House Majority leader/minority leaders-work with the party whips to

persuade members to vote with their party on important bills Whips-Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer

incentives and threaten party members to ensure that they vote

according to the official party policy

Senate Vice president –leader of Senate – only breaks a tie vote Majority leader is the de facto head (president pro

tempore)

11.3

Congressional Leadership 11.3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8urcMLGFyU&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtOfse2ncvffeelTrqvhrz8H&index=8


Four types of committees Standing committees-handle bills in different policy areas.

Members of Congress each serve on several standing

committees and subcommittees. Joint committees-between the two chambers exist in a few

key policy areas, such as the economy and taxation Conference committees- created when the House and

Senate need to reconcile different versions of the same bill Select committees-deal with a policy issue, such as deficit

reduction, and may be temporary or permanent

11.3

TABLE: 11.3: Standing committees in the Senate and in the House

11.3


Committees at work: Legislation 9000 bill introduced annually New bills are assigned to a subcommittee, where they usually die. If they are debated and passed, they move on to the full

committee, where they have another good chance of never again seeing the light of day

If the bills pass out of committee, they move to the full floor of the chamber for debate and voting, where they can also die!.

legislative oversight- Once a bill becomes law, committees remain involved in assigning budgets and monitoring the work of the executive branch agency responsible for implementing the law. legislative oversight.

11.3

TABLE 11.4: Sharing oversight of homeland security

11.3

Getting on a committee Constituent needs Appealing to leadership


11.3

Caucuses: Informal Organization of Congress

As important as formal structure- networks spring

mainly from friendship, ideology, and geography.

Dominated by caucuses 500 caucuses today Goal is to promote their interests Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus, Caucus for Women’s Issues, etc

11.3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evLR90Dx79M&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtOfse2ncvffeelTrqvhrz8H&index=7

Congressional Staff Personal staff (11,000+)

Casework Legislative functions-ghost legislation, meet with interest

groups/lobbyists, negotiate agreements on behalf of congressmen, summarize bills, brief legislators.

Committee staff 2,000 staff members organize hearings, research legislative options, draft committee reports on

bills, write legislation, and engage in legislative oversight.

Staff agencies Congressional Research Service (CRS)- research Government Accountability Office (GAO)-legislative oversight Congressional Budget Office (CBO)- analyses president’s budget

11.3

11.3 How many staff members does Congress employ to help it do its job?

a. More than 11,000

b. 3,200

c. Less than 2,000

d. Staff are volunteers from the member’s

constituency, and their numbers vary

11.3

11.3 How many staff members does Congress employ to help it do its job?

a. More than 11,000

b. 3,200

c. Less than 2,000

d. Staff are volunteers from the member’s

constituency and their numbers vary

11.3

Congressional Process and Decision Making

Presidents and Congress: Partners and Protagonists

Party, Constituency, and Ideology

Lobbyists and Interest Groups

11.4EQ: Outline the path of bills to passage and explain the influences on congressional decision making

FIGURE 11.2: How a bill becomes a law 11.4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66f4-NKEYz4&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtOfse2ncvffeelTrqvhrz8H&index=9

Presidents and Congress: Partners and Protagonists

President’s legislative (Chief Legislator) agenda Persuade Congress (easy if the majority party is the same party

as president) Yet Congress is quite independent

11.4


Party influence Economic and social welfare policies

Polarized politics Parties more internally homogeneous Less likelihood of compromise

11.4

FIGURE 11.3: Increasing polarization in Congress

11.4


Constituency opinion versus member ideology Trustees versus instructed delegates

What if a member of Congress has a different preference on a

policy than his constituents? The trustee model of representation says that legislators are

elected to use their best judgment. They have access to

information that their constituents don’t have and they should act

in their best interests. The instructed delegate model of representation states that

representatives must mirror the preferences of their constituents.

11.4

Lobbyists and Interest Groups

D.C. is crawling with lobbyists 12,000 of them Spent $3 billion in 2011 Many were former members of Congress

How lobbyists persuade Provide policy information Provide promises of money Ghostwrite legislation Status quo usually wins

Disclosure requirements- meaning influence is made

public (but that doesn’t slow them down)

11.4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT9ipQdYL-s&index=10&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtOfse2ncvffeelTrqvhrz8H

11.4 On what tactics do lobbyists rely to influence policy in Congress?

a. Promising money for reelection campaigns

b. Providing expert policy information

c. Ghostwriting legislation

d. All of the above

11.4

Congress and Democracy

Congress and the Scope of Government

11.5

Understanding Congress

EQ: Assess Congress’s role as a representative body and the impact of representation on the scope of government

Congress and Democracy

Democracy depends upon successful representation

Congress unrepresentative Members are elites Leadership chosen by members, not voters Senate based on states, not population

Obstacles to good representation Constituent service vs. national interests Reelection campaigns (time consuming)

Representativeness versus Effectiveness Senate represents each state equally, regardless of population

11.5

Congress and the Scope of Government

Does size of government increase to please public? Pork barrel spending

Contradictory preferences Against large government, for individual programs

11.5

11.5 How does the Senate undermine democratic representation?a. Its members tend not to show up for roll

call votes

b. It is forbidden from overriding a presidential veto

c. It represents states rather than people

d. None of the above

11.5

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