Transcript Slide 1

I’m so confused! If the
opposite of “pro” is
“con,” does that mean
that the opposite of
progress is Congress?
The first branch of government,
Article I of the Constitution; main
roles—legislate, oversee the performance of
government agencies, provide services to
constituents
Students, I am Speaker
of the House, John
Boehner. Why were the
results of the 2010
United States
congressional elections,
taken as a whole,
considered an
earthquake?
GOP took 60 seats from Democrats in
House of Representatives
Democrats <200 seats
GOP took 6 Senate seats from Democrats
What factors can explain
those significant Democratic
losses in 2010?
I’m former Speaker and now
Minority Leader, Nancy
Pelosi. There are two of the
four reasons indicated
below.
President Obama’s placating of Blue Dog
Democrats led to watered-down bills that
disappointed the liberal base of the party.
Democrats did not publicize the good they had
done and failed to focus on jobs.
more
Here are the final two
reasons.
The Tea Party factor coupled with a general
disillusioned and disappointed Democratic
base
Huge advantage GOP enjoyed in campaign
finance, particularly in independent spending
on issue advertising
Form into small groups and
discuss the constitutional
foundations of the modern
Congress.
Article I, Section 8—enumerated powers and the
elastic clause
Article I, Section 9--limitations
Article I, Section 8: “Congress shall
have Power To. . .make all Laws which
shall be necessary and proper for carrying
into Execution the foregoing Powers, and
all other Powers vested by this Constitution
in the Government of the United
States, or in any Department or
Officer thereof.”
The Constitution prevents the
Senate from doing several
things. For example: Congress
cannot pass ex post facto laws,
bills of attainder or suspend the
writ of habeas corpus. Can
anyone define those terms?
Ex Post Facto Law: a law that applies to an
action that took place before the law was
passed
Bill of Attainder: a law that punishes a
person who has not been convicted in a
court of law
Writ of Habeas Corpus: a court order
requiring police to bring all persons
accused of a crime to court and to show
sufficient reason to keep them in jail
I am Senator Daniel
Inouye from Hawaii. Every
6 years since 1962 the
people of Hawaii have
elected me to the United
Stated Senate—I am now,
at age 87, the longest
serving member of the
Senate. Because I am
also in the majority party, I
am the President Pro
Tempore of the Senate.
Why did the Founders
specify that senators be
elected by state
legislatures and not the
people?
The objective was to insulate one
house of Congress from popular pressures
and to make it a seat of deliberation and
reflection.
The use of the Senate is to
consist in its proceeding with
more coolness. . . And with
more wisdom than the
popular branch.
I’m Congressman Jeff Denham
from California’s 19th District.
Under the Constitution, the
requirements to be a
Member of Congress are:
1. 25 years old
2. U. S. citizen for at least 7
years, and
3. A legal resident of the state
they represent
Members are elected every 2
years
Members of the House earn
$174,000 a year and are given
office space both in
Washington and in their
districts and allowances to hire
an office staff based on the
distance from Washington to
the center of the district. I am
also given money for
stationery, supplies and other
necessary items.
I am Senator Diane
Feinstein, from
California. Senators
differ considerably from
Members of the House
in many areas, although
their salaries are the
same. But Senators
serve for 6 years, must
be 30 years old, and
must have been a
citizen of the U.S. for 9years before they can
be elected.
I am Senator Barbara Boxer,
also from California. There are
no term limits on members of
Congress, although many
states, like California, have
them on their state legislators.
One of the key issues of being
a legislator: are you a delegate
or a trustee?
British author Edmund
Burke (1729-1797):
delegate—always vote the
way the majority of your
constituents want you to;
trustee—people elect you
to vote in line with your
own conscience—they
trust you to make the
right decisions.
Burke favored the trustee
Students, please tell us
some aspects of the
demographic backgrounds
of members of Congress.
Despite recent gains, women and racial
minorities underrepresented
Hispanics—largest minority group in US—
very low representation
Women—1992 “year of the woman”
111th Congress: 77 H; 17 S
Better educated than rest of population
75% legal or business backgrounds
Most career politicians/civil servants
Women: introduce more bills related to
women’s/children’s issues
I am Dennis Cardoza, the
Member of Congress
representing California’s 18th
District. How does your textbook
define the terms constituents?
Constituents are residents of a Member’s
district or state—they can be citizens or
non-citizens; voters or non-voters; adults
or children.
Hello constituents. Jeff
Denham again. Many of you
live in my district. Who can tell
me how state representation in
the House is determined?
The 19th District, like
all districts, was
determined based
on the census and
apportioned by
Congress.
What is a census?
What does
apportioned mean?
Census: the official
population count.
Apportioned: House seats
are distributed based on
the census; reapportioned
every 10 years
Since the 1910 census, there
have been 435 voting
members of Congress with
at least one from each state.
Again, House membership
per state is based on
population. Right now, our
California delegation has 53
seats. There are also 5 nonvoting seats: Puerto Rico,
Guam, the American Virgin
Islands, American Samoa,
and Washington, D. C.
On the average, each Member
of the House of
Representatives represents
about 646,952 people. State
legislatures draw the districts in
the state, trying to average
around 650,000 people per
district. Based on
reapportionment, state
legislatures redistrict every 10
years—change district
boundaries.
Barbara Boxer again.
Sometimes state legislatures
create weird-looking
congressional districts in order
to preserve the majority party’s
power in Congress. The
technique for drawing such
boundaries is called
gerrymandering, named after
the founding father,
Elbridge Gerry of Mass.
Chief Justice John Roberts again. How
has the Supreme Court weighed in with
regard to district boundaries?
Baker v. Carr (1962)
Voters have the right to
challenge how state
legislatures allocate legislative
seats and such questions could
be considered in federal courts.
Essentially, we have gone along
with the old adage: “to the
victor belong the spoils.”
I am former Congressman Tom
DeLay of Texas. What does
the phrase “cracking a district”
mean?
A party does not want a district with too great of
a majority (wastes votes). It chooses to draw
congressional district boundaries to spread its
popular strength across two or more districts in
hopes of winning more seats in the state’s
congressional delegation. Validated by United
Latin American Citizens v. Perry (2006)
Edward Greenberg, one of your
textbook’s authors again. What is
incumbent-protection re-districting
and what have been its affect has
been on House membership
Majority parties in state legislatures redrawing
congressional district boundaries to protect incumbents
of a particular party. It has become so extensive that in
2008, only about 75 out of 435 seats were competitive—
winning margin 5% or less (100/435 in 2010). Has
contributed to partisan divide in Congress.
Thank you, Dr.
Greenberg. So what
are majority-minority
districts and how did
the Supreme Court’s
decision in Hunt v.
Cromartie (2001) affect
them?
Majority-minority districts are congressional
districts drawn to ensure that a racial minority
comprises the majority of voters. Today there
are 15 with African-American majorities and 9
with Hispanic majorities. Hunt v. Cromartie
(2001) ruled that race can be a significant factor
in drawing district lines “so long as it is not the
dominant or controlling one.”
Since World War II, on average, 93%
of House incumbents and 80% of
Senate incumbents have won reelection. So incumbents definitely
have advantages. What are some of
them?
Name recognition, the redistricting process,
franking privileges (free postage), time spent in
the district*, and political “war chests”—built-up
contributions from people, organizations and
Political Action Committees (PAC)—committees
focusing on particular issues that back
political candidates.
*Most congressional business: Tue-Thu
Hello, I am Senator Mitch
McConnell and I am the
Republican, or Minority, Leader
of the Senate. Another
advantage incumbents have is
case work. What is that?
Members of Congress receive more than
200 million pieces of mail each year. These
include:
Requests for flags flown over the capital
Opinions on issues facing Congress/
urging the member to vote a certain way
Requesting help with the Federal bureaucracy
Military or veterans issues
Asking for a Congressional Record insert
Senator Daniel Inouye
again. Incumbents can also
use pork barrel legislation.
What is that?
Pork-barrel legislation:
federally funded projects
designed to bring to the
constituency jobs and public
money for which Members of
Congress can claim credit.
They are also referred to as
“earmarks.”
Some of you may know that I
worked as an aide for Senator
John Warner of Virginia from
December 1994 until August
1996. During that time, I
worked several constituent
issues. I’ll now share some of
those with you. Often people
ask for the Member to put
something in the
Congressional Record—the
official and verbatim (exact)
record of what is said each day
in both houses.
To begin this second
section, I’m going to ask
you the last question first.
After reading the entire
section what can you
summarize about who
makes things happen in
both houses of Congress?
Over the years, congressional party leaders have
amassed the vast majority of power in Congress.
Therefore, decisions as to who becomes
Speaker, Majority Leader and even Minority
Leader are very important.
I am Senator Harry Reid
from Nevada, the Majority
Leader of the U. S. Senate.
In the same vein as what
Speaker Boehner just
asked, what is the role of
the party conference (party
caucus)?
All the members of a political party in a given
house of Congress meet at the beginning of a
session (January) and elect leaders, approve
committee assignments (including committee/
subcommittee chairs) and reach agreement on
the legislative goals for the session.
I am Senator Mitch
McConnell from Kentucky,
the Minority Leader of the
U. S. Senate. How partisan
is congressional voting
today?
Congressional voting is highly partisan. Party
affiliation is the best predictor for voting behavior
in Congress. Partisanship has been rising
steadily since the early 1970s and is evident
today in about 90% of votes. Consequently,
bipartisan agreements is becoming more difficult.
So Harry,
members
closely
adhere to
party lines.
Mitch, exactly why is partisanship
increasing in Congress?
Changing regional bases of parties--for example,
the Deep South now predominantly GOP
Partisan conflict is on the rise nationally—the
electorate is more divided along party lines
Ideology is a major reason—the fundamental
ideas of the parties conflict.
Some history on Congress before
going further
Prior to 1958: Conservative coalition era
Oligarchy of senior leaders
Safe seats
Southern Democrats &
Republicans of NE & NW
Powerful committee chairs
Hostile to activist presidents
(Truman & Civil Rights)
1958 election: More liberals
Lyndon Johnson rose to leadership
of Democratic (majority) Party
Johnson began a “power
earthquake”
Power of old seniority system cut
1965-1978: Reform Era
Post Vietnam & Watergate
Leadership & decision-making open
to a wider circle of players
New House & Senate rules
and procedures
Folkways of Senate revamped
Today: Post Reform Congress
I’d like to discuss
with you
congressional
leadership.
What are floor leaders and whips in the
House of Representatives?
House floor leaders:
Speaker: presiding officer of the House;
elected by whole House but reflects the
majority party; second in line to presidency.
John Boehner of Ohio. Extraordinary power.
Majority leader: assistant to the Speaker
and is the second-most-influential member
of the House. Eric Cantor of VA
Minority leader: the minority party’s chief
Spokesperson. Nancy Pelosi of CA
What are party whips in Congress?
Party whips are Members whose
main function is to monitor and
influence how the party members
vote on legislation. They form an
intelligence network for the leaders.
Republican: Kevin McCarthy
of California
Democratic: Steny Hoyer of
Maryland
How the House is structured
The most powerful member of the
Senate is the Majority Leader. The
most important member of the
minority party is the Minority
Leader.
Majority Leader: Sen. Harry
Reid of NV. Minority Leader:
Sen. Mitch McConnell of KY
Our power
is more
informal—
powers of
persuasion
and such.
Yes, but remember my power is less
visible. I don’t have nearly the power
of the House Speaker. I have some
influence on committee assignments
and scheduling the business of the
Senate, and over certain
administrative matters.
How the Senate is Structured
Let’s discuss committees. Why
has there been “a dramatic
decline in the power of
committees and of committee
chairs in the legislative
process?”
As partisanship rose, more power became
centered in the hands of the House Speaker and,
to a lesser degree, the Majority Leader of the
Senate. One major power in that regard is who is
appointed as committee chairs and committee
members. Those members are therefore
beholden to the Speaker/Senate Majority Leader.
Much of the work of
Congressmen and Senators is
done in the various
committees of each house.
Why does Congress have
committees?
Students, I am Vice President
Joe Biden, a former senator
from Delaware. Congress has
committees to help process
the huge flow of business.
Committees are also islands
of specialization, where
members and staff develop
the expertise to handle
complex issues and to meet
executive branch experts on
equal terms.
There are two basic types of
congressional committees:
authorizing and appropriations.
Each house has many
authorizing committees, but
only one appropriations
committee. What are
appropriations (not in book)?
Authorizing committees
authorize government programs
to exist while funding must come
from the appropriations
committee. That’s why almost all
members really want seats on
the appropriations committee of
their respective house.
There are also 4 other categories of
committees: standing, select, joint, and
conference. There are also subcommittees.
Discuss each.
What are standing committees and
how many of them are there in each
house?
Standing committees are the
permanent committees in each house.
In the House there are 24 standing committees.
Here they are. In the Senate there are 20
standing committees and here they are.
Students, I am Senator Joe
Lieberman, from Connecticut.
You may recall that I was Al
Gore’s vice presidential running
mate in 2000. What are select
committees?
Committees that deal with special
issues not covered by standing
committees. They have no power to send bills
To the floor of either house, usually focus on
investigations and are generally temporary.
The most famous select committee was the
Senate’s Watergate Committee in the mid-1970s.
Good. How about joint
committees?
Committees made
up of members of
both the House and
the Senate—Joint
Budget Committee.
OK—how about conference
committees?
Temporary bodies appointed to
work out a compromise between
House and Senate versions of a
bill that has been passed by both
Houses. More about these later.
I am Senator Olympia Snowe of
Maine—the only Greek-American
in the Senate. Remember two
standing committees—intelligence
and budget—limit membership to
7 years.
What are subcommittees?
Subcommittees are divisions of
standing committees, that give
Members and Senators a chance to
specialize in certain areas. There
are about 175 subcommittees in
Congress.
Party leaders in Congress assign
members to committees. Of
course, most want seats on the
Appropriations Committees and
not all can have seats. Other
popular committees are the
Budget Committees, in the
House, the Ways and Means
Committee, the Senate Finance
Committee and, in both houses,
The Armed Services and Foreign
Affairs committees. Leaders
often assign members to
committees based on political
needs. One guideline for
selection is seniority.
As one of our local representatives,
Congressman Denham serves on
the Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure, the Committee on
Natural Resources and the Committee
on Veterans Affairs
Congressman Cardoza is a Blue Dog
Democrat who serves on the powerful
Rules Committee as well as the
Agriculture Committee and is on the
sub-committee on Horticulture and
Organic Agriculture the subcommittee
on Livestock, Dairy & Poultry
Senator Boxer serves on:
Commerce, Science & Transportation
Environment and Public Works;
Foreign Relations; Chair of the
Committee on Ethics; and 9 subcommittees
Senator Feinstein serves on:
The Judiciary Committee;
The Appropriations Committee;
Chair of the Intelligence Committee
The Rules & Administration Com.
2 minor committees & 11 sub-coms;
Chair of 4 subcommittees
Committee chairs have a great deal
of power. All chairs are from the
majority party and are based on
seniority.
Senior members have great
expertise—they are experts on
committee business. Also, the
seniority situation has changed
since the Reform Congress of the mid-1970s,
when more junior members could become
chairs. The ranking minority member is the
most influential committee member from the
minority party.
Don’t forget that in the Senate,
seniority is an important
criterion for appointing
committee chairs, while in the
House the Speaker appoints
chairs based on the needs of
the party agenda. Chairs must
be attentive to what their party
wants, or they may be removed
from the chairmanship.
Now we are going to
discuss the rules and
norms in the House
and Senate. Discuss
the concept of
reciprocity as it pertains
to Members of
Congress.
Members have been expected to become
specialists in some area or areas of policy and to
defer to the judgment of other specialists on most
bills. Of course, the principle of reciprocity is
declining in recent years in favor of deferring to
the wishes of party leaders.
A member may vote with a colleague
in the expectation that the colleague
will later return the favor.
In Alaska,
this is what
we call log
rolling.
What does
the term
mean in
Congress?
Mr. Speaker, the textbook says that
legislative life is much more “rule-bound” in
the House of Representatives, as opposed to
the Senate? Why?
Compared to the Senate, and with
440 members, the House is very
large. House leaders: more power;
majority party: more control over
legislative affairs; procedures: much
more structured
Electronic voting
Suspending of ordinary rules
by 2/3 vote
Immediate action by unanimous consent
Informal procedures as Committee of the Whole
More differences when we discuss how a bill
makes its way through Congress
How does the Senate differ from
the House?
Smaller (100 v. 435/440)
More informal procedures
More time for debate
100 separate power centers
Individualistic
Thank you, Mr. President
Pro Tempore. Let’s focus
on the fact that in the
Senate there usually is no
limit on the length of
debate.
Senators can:
1)Speak without time limit on a bill
2)Engage in a colloquy with another senator
3)Engage in a debate (“Will the Senator yield?”)
4)Make an “insert for the record” without
actually speaking on the floor.
All floor business televised on CSPAN
The Senate also has some
expressed powers not held by the
House.
Treaties—must be approved by a
2/3 vote of the Senate
The Senate also approves all major
appointments made by the President: Supreme
Court justices, cabinet officers, military officers,
etc. These approvals are by majority vote.
V. P. Joe Biden here. As a senator from Delaware,
I served, in 1991, as the Chairman of the Senate
Judiciary Committee. As such I presided over one
of the most acrimonious and controversial
confirmation hearings of all time—that for Supreme
Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The Senate also
has the power to confirm.
Begins in appropriate committee
Nominees appear before the committee to
answer questions
Typically, nominees meet with key senators
prior to hearings
Called the Advise and Consent powers
How does the way bills are
scheduled for floor debate differ
between the House and the
Senate?
Unanimous consent: business
can be blocked by a single
dissenter.
In that same vein, what is a hold?
Any senator may temporarily block
the consideration of either a
legislative bill or a presidential
nomination. Holds are regulated
only by the majority leader, who
may decide on whether to grant
holds and how long they can be
in effect.
The rule that allows unlimited
debate can lead to a stalling
tactic to try to prevent a vote on
a bill that is unique to the U. S.
Senate.
Sometimes, if a party or individual members
want to prevent a vote they can filibuster—a
delaying tactic in which Senators just keep
talking and talking and then yielding the floor
to other senators who support the filibuster.
Today: much more informal—senators simply
can announce a filibuster and consideration of
the bill is stopped. No wasting time with talk.
The only way to stop a filibuster
is by a vote of cloture, although
often party leaders meet outside
the chamber to work out
compromises that end the
filibuster. Other times, the bill’s
sponsors simply have to pull the
bill—remove it from
consideration. So what is the
definition of cloture?
Cloture is a vote of 3/5 of the Senate,
or 60 members to halt debate on a bill and
vote
Here we are—all the major leaders of our
government: Speaker Bohner, Leader
Pelosi, Leader Reid and Leader McConnell.
How does a bill get through Congress to
me, the President?
Before moving on, let’s discuss,
for a few minutes, the major roles
of Congress. The top role of
Congress is to enact laws; but
more and more, that role means
reviewing the annual President’s
Budget and then creating,
discussing and passing a Federal
Budget for a fiscal year, which
runs from 1 October to 30
September.
Students, I am Representative
Steny Hoyer from Maryland. I am
presently the Democratic, or
Minority, whip. Members of
Congress spend most of their time
debating the federal budget and
most of the laws that we enact are
somehow associated with the
budget.
Congress is therefore called a deliberative
body—they deliberate about, or discuss, issues
before making decisions by voting.
Now, students, let’s talk about how
a bill becomes law.
Only members of Congress may
introduce legislation. Often times,
A member of the Executive Branch
may write a bill, but if the President
wants a bill introduced, a member of the House
or Senate must do it for him. In the House:
placed in the hopper; in the Senate: announced
on the floor.
And Senator Feinstein, let’s
not forget that all revenue
(tax) bills must originate in the
House of Representatives.
Any other bill can begin in
either house.
Next, the body’s presiding officer
refers a bill to the appropriate
committee. For example, in the
House, tax bills are referred to the
Ways and Means Committee.
Committee chairs can refer a bill
to a subcommittee or keep it for
the full committee. The appropriate
chair can then schedule hearings on the bill. In
hearings, important people come to testify before
the pertinent committees. The witnesses make
opening statements and then the members ask
questions. No one really tries to fool anyone
else with trick questions.
Hearings are usually open to the public.
After the hearings have been completed,
members, their personal staffs, and committee
staffs go into markup sessions. Markup
sessions are done behind closed doors and
important decisions are made about the bills
in those sessions including the insertion of
pork barrel projects.
Pork-barrel spending awards projects and
grants, or “pork,” from the government
“barrel” to a member’s home district or state.
Also called “earmarks.”
A discharge petition is a
petition that, if signed by a
majority of the members of
the House, will pry a
bill from committee and
bring it to the floor for
consideration. Can prevent
a bill from dying in
committee, but rarely
successful
I am Congressman David Dreier of
California. I am the chairman of
the important House Rules
Committee. My committee devises
rules that determines the
conditions for debate and
amendments in the House. The
House has so many members that
the length of debate must be
limited to get through business.
The Rules Committee sets the
length of debate.
Three main types of rules
Open—any amendments that relate to the
bill’s subject can be proposed
Closed—prohibits any amendments
Modified—some parts of a bill can be
amended while other parts cannot.
Usually bills are debated for 40
minutes, one hour or an hour-and-ahalf, with time evenly divided
between parties (or “sides of the
aisle”)
Both houses must pass a bill for it to go to
the president to signed into law. Both versions
must be identical. If they are not, then
members of both houses meet in a conference
committee to make the bills identical. After
that is done, both houses must vote on the
version agreed upon by the conference
committee.
Once both houses of Congress have passed
the final version of the bill, it becomes known
as an act. To become a law, it must be signed
by the president.
Once he receives the bill, the
President can:
Sign the bill
Veto the bill
Keep the bill for
10 days without signing it.
If Congress is in session, the
bill becomes law without the
president’s signature. President
Grover Cleveland used this technique in 1892
when he wanted a tariff but not increased taxes.
I can also exercise a pocket veto.
Who can tell me what that is?
If the president receives a bill
within 10 days of Congress’s
adjournment, he or she may
hold the bill without signing it, and the bill
does NOT become law
Several small bills, such as the list of new
Army lieutenants in the Senate, are passed
by a voice vote (all those in favor say “Aye”
and all those opposed say “No.”)
In both houses, important votes are done as
roll-call votes—each member is called on
individually to declare his or her vote. The
procedure in both houses is different, however.
As you read, the second
major job of Congress is
oversight.
To help carry out
this important
function, the
Congress
sponsors the
General
Accounting Office
(GAO)
Oversight involves
conducting
investigations
of agency actions and
programs.
In addition to the General
Accounting Office, the Congress
also sponsors the Congressional
Budget office, to oversee the
President’s Budget, the
Congressional Research Service,
and other smaller offices to
help with oversight.
In the past 25 years, investigations by
Congress have increased greatly, due to
tight budget restrictions and several
past abuses and scandals.
The oversight function also includes
a series of hearings, which are not
simply information-gathering
exercises. They can send clear signals to the
Executive Branch and other entities.
I am the late Senator Ted Kennedy of
Massachusetts. My brother, John, was our
nation’s 35th president. Congress began
serious investigations with the Watergate
Scandal. We also found we had to
investigate the military, for example, when
we found out the Air Force paid $750.00 for
toilet seats and $500.00 for certain hammers.
Another form of the oversight
process is impeachment. Here is
how that works.
Impeachment—to formally accuse
an office holder of offenses that can lead to their
removal from office.
The House of Representatives votes on whether
or not to impeach. If they do impeach, then
the Senate tries the official. The Vice President
acts as judge, unless the President is on trial.
In that case the Chief Justice sits as judge.