Transcript Congress-Legislative

Chapter 10: Congress
What we already know…
 Two Houses: Why?
 House & Senate
 Size
 Qualifications
 Elections? Terms? Limits?
 Leadership
 Speaker of the House
 House Majority,
Minority Leader
 Senate Majority,
Minority Leader
Comparative Government: Legislative
Bodies
Apportionment
• The exact size of the House of Representatives, currently at
435 members, is determined by Congress.
– The Reapportionment Act of 1929 set the “permanent” size
of the House at 435 members, and provided for “automatic
reapportionment.”
• The Constitution provides that the total number of seats in
the House shall be apportioned (distributed) among the
States on the basis of their respective populations.
• Article I of the Constitution directs Congress to
reapportion—redistribute—the seats in the House
after each decennial census (10 years).
Current Apportionment
Previous Reapportionment
Upcoming Reapportionment
Congressional Elections
• Congressional elections
are held on the
Tuesday following the
first Monday in
November of each
even-numbered year.
• Off-year (or midterm)
elections are those
congressional elections
held between
presidential elections.
113th U.S House of Representatives
113th U.S House of Representatives
113th U.S House of Representatives
113th U.S. Senate
113th U.S. Senate
Chapter 11: Powers of Congress
Penalty
• Checkpoint: What is
the penalty if the
President is
impeached and
convicted?
– Convicted officials,
including the
President, are
removed from office
and can be banned
from holding office
again.
Chapter 11, Section 4
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Slide 46
Executive Powers
• All major presidential appointments must be
confirmed by a majority vote of the Senate.
– The Senate rarely rejects a Cabinet appointment,
though candidates may be withdrawn.
– The custom of senatorial courtesy means the
Senate will only approve appointees supported by
the Senators from the appointee’s state who
belong to the President’s party.
Chapter 11, Section 4
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Slide 47
Chapter 12: Congress in Action
Duties of Congressmen
• Legislators/Lawmakers
• Committee Members
– Screen bills and make
recommendations
– Oversight function of
governmental agencies
• 3. Representatives of their
Constituents
– Those who elect them
• 4. Servants of their Constituents
• 5. Politicians
– Much time spent fundraising for
future elections
Chapter 12, Section 1
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Slide 50
Congressmen can vote
as…
T ru s te e s
T ru s te e s b e lie v e th a t
e a c h q u e s tio n th e y fa c e
m u s t b e d e c id e d o n its
m e rits .
D e le g a te s
D e le g a te s s e e th e m s e lv e s
a s a g e n ts o f th e p e o p le
w h o e le c te d th e m .
P a rtis a n s
L a w m a k e rs w h o o w e
th e ir firs t a lle g ia n ce to
th e ir p o litica l p a rty a re
p a rtis a n s .
P o litic o s
P o litic o s a tte m p t to
c o m b in e th e b a s ic
e le m e n ts o f th e tru ste e ,
d e le g a te , a n d p a rtis a n
ro le s .
Chapter 12, Section 1
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Slide 51
Speaker of the House
• The Speaker of the
House is the
presiding officer of the
House and the leader
of its majority party, a
powerful combination.
• Democrat Nancy
Pelosi (right) was the
first woman to serve
as Speaker.
Chapter 12, Section 1
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Slide 52
Presiding Officers
 Speaker of the House- doesn’t vote
 Elected from the majority party
 President of the Senate-Vice President
 President Pro Tempore
 Elected by the senate from majority
party
 Honorary position based on seniority
 Floor Leaders (Majority, Minority)
 Whips (Majority, Minority)
 Party Caucus
 Committee Chairmen
 Seniority Rule-no longer the rule
Chapter 12, Section 1
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Slide 53
Who’s Who in Congress
Senate:
• President of Senate:
Vice President Joe Biden
• President Pro Temp:
Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
• Majority Leader:
• Harry Reid (D-NV)
– Assistant Majority Leader:
Dick Durbin (D-IL)
• Minority Leader: Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
– Assistant Minority Leader:
Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Chapter 12, Section 1
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Slide 54
U.S House Leadership
contd
House:
• Speaker of the House:
• John Boehner (R-OH),
• Majority Leader:
• Eric Cantor (R-VA)
• Majority Whip:
Kevin McCarthy
• (Minority Leader:
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
• Minority Whip:
Steny Hoyer (D-MD)
Chapter 12, Section 1
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Slide 55
Compensation
 Most Members: $174,000 per year (2013)
 Senate Leadership
Majority Leader - $193,400
Minority Leader - $193,400
• House Leadership
Speaker of the House - $223,500
Majority Leader - $193,400
Minority Leader - $193,400
 The franking privilege allows members of Congress to mail
letters and other materials postage-free by substituting their
facsimile signature (frank) for the postage.
Chapter 12, Section 1
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Select Committees
• Checkpoint: What is a select committee?
– Select or special committees are typically temporary
panels set up to investigate a specific issue.
– The Senate Watergate Committee investigated the
Watergate scandal.
– The Iran-Contra Committee examined the arms-forhostages deal and illegal aid to the Contras.
– The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs uncovered
corruption tied to lobbyists for Native American tribes.
Chapter 12, Section 2
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Slide 62
Joint Committees, cont.
• Joint committees include members from both houses.
• Those shown in the chart are permanent groups, while
others are select committees.
Chapter 12, Section 2
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Slide 63
The First Steps
• Most bills are drafted in the executive branch or
by special interest groups before being
presented to members of Congress.
• Members often try to get support or cosponsors
from members before introducing a proposed
bill.
• All tax bills must begin in the House.
• House members introduce bills by dropping
them into a hopper on the clerk’s desk.
Chapter 12, Section 3
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Slide 64
First Reading
• Each bill is numbered by
the clerk, given a short
title summarizing its
contents, and entered
into the official record.
• After this first reading, the
bill is assigned to a
committee.
– What does this
cartoonist say about the
political process?
Chapter 12, Section 3
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Slide 65
What Does Congress Do?
 Bills
 Resolutions
 Joint resolutions
 Unusual or temporary measures
 Constitutional amendments
 Concurrent Resolutions
 Jointly between the House and Senate
 Not sent to the President
 Resolutions
 Rule of procedure or amendment to rule
 Not sent to the President
 Rider
 Addition to a bill
 Would not necessarily pass as own bill
Chapter 12, Section 3
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Slide 66
The Bill in Committee
• Though not mentioned in the Constitution,
committees play an essential role by filtering the
many bills submitted to Congress.
• Most bills are pigeonholed. That is, they die in
committee.
Chapter 12, Section 3
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A Committee at Work
• Committees refer bills to one of their
subcommittees.
• Public hearings to
gather data and
hear testimony
are held for key
measures.
• Sometimes
members of a subcommittee will
take trips to
research a bill.
Chapter 12, Section 3
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Slide 68
Committee Actions
• A committee can:
– Report a bill with a “do pass”
recommendation.
– Pigeonhole the bill and kill it.
– Report an amended version of the bill.
– Report the bill with a “do not pass”
recommendation.
– Report a committee bill as a substitute for a
bill referred to it.
Chapter 12, Section 3
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Slide 69
The Bill on the Floor
• Minor bills get a brief second reading and are
passed or defeated.
• Major bills are addressed on the House floor by
the Committee of the Whole, which consists of at
least 100 members.
– The House session is suspended as the Committee
reads the bill section by section, debating and
possibly amending each section.
– The House then returns to session to adopt the
completed bill.
Chapter 12, Section 3
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Slide 70
Debate
• House members must have unanimous consent
to speak for more than an hour.
• The Speaker
can force a
member to give
up the floor.
• Any member
can move for an
up-or-down vote
on an issue at
any time.
Chapter 12, Section 3
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Voting in the House
• Checkpoint: What are the four types of votes
that the House can take?
– Voice votes in which the Speaker counts the “yes” and
“no” votes.
– A standing vote, where those in favor and against are
counted by the clerk.
– A roll-call vote that goes member by member can be
demanded by one fifth of the members present.
– The rare teller vote has a teller count the votes for each
party.
Chapter 12, Section 3
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Debate in the Senate
• There are few limits on floor debate in the
Senate.
• In general, a senator can speak on the floor as
long as he or she pleases about any topic that
he or she wants to. However, no senator may
speak more than twice on the same question on
the same day.
• Many Senate bills are debated under a
unanimous consent agreement that limits the
amount of floor debate.
Chapter 12, Section 4
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Slide 73
How a Bill Becomes a Law, Pt. 1
• A bill introduced in the
House follows the 4
steps shown in the
graphic and then
moves on to the
Senate.
• Bills are often referred
to more than one
standing committee
for study and
approval.
Chapter 12, Section 4
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How a Bill Becomes a Law, Pt. 2
• A bill introduced in the
Senate begins with
steps 5-7 and then
moves to the House.
– How does the
lawmaking process for
the Senate differ from
that of the House?
Chapter 12, Section 4
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Slide 75
How a Bill Becomes a Law, Pt. 3
• Steps 8-9 are often
not needed, as a bill
approved by one
house is often left
unchanged by the
second.
• The threat of a veto is
often enough to block
or force changes in a
proposed bill.
Chapter 12, Section 4
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