Transcript Congressional Organization to Make Policy

Congressional Organization to
Make Policy
Congressional Leadership
House
• Lead by the Speaker of the
House (elected by House
members)
• Presides over the House
• Major role in committees
and assignments
• Assisted by House Majority
Leader and Whips
Senate
• Formally led by the Vice
President
• Really led by the Majority
Leader (chosen by party
members)
• Assisted by whips
• Must work with Minority
Leader
Speaker of the House
Job description
• Presides over the House
• Makes committee
assignments
• Appoints party legislative
leaders
• Exercises substantial control
over what bills get assigned
to what committees
Who is the current speaker of the
House? John Boehner (R-OH_
Majority Leaders
House
• Elected by the party
• Job = influence debate and
the party; role can be
maximized or minimized
based on the role that the
Speaker of the House takes
on
Current Majority Leader
• Eric Cantor (R-VA)
Majority Leaders
Senate
• Elected by the Party
• Job = Influence and direct
actions of the majority
party in the Senate
• Informally holds the power
of the Senate
Current Majority Leader
Harry Reid (D-NV)
Minority Leaders
House
• Job = Represent the party
on the House floor
• Current Minority Leader
– Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)
Senate
• Job = Represent the party
on the Senate floor
• Current Minority Leader
– Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
Whips
• Each party has a whip in the
House and Senate.
• Job = Member of the
legislative body who is
charged with the
responsibility of keeping
his/her legislative party
members disciplined and in
attendance at votes
• Key figures for the parties
• Senate
– Majority Whip: Richard
Durbin (D-IL)
– Minority Whip: John Cornyn
(R-TX)
• House
– Majority Whip: Kevin
McCarthy (RCA)
– Minority Whip: Steny Hoyer
(D-MD)
Committees in Congress
• Standing committees: Permanent committee in a
legislative body to which bills in a specified
subject matter area are referred
• Joint committees: Legislative committee
composed of members of both houses (usually
permanent also)
• Conference committees: Temporary joint
committee created to reconcile any differences
between the two houses’ versions of a bill
• Select committees: Legislative committee
created for a limited time and for some specific
purpose; also known as a special committee
Committees
• Committees exist in the House and Senate
• Reps and Senators usually serve on two
committees and four subcommittees
• Agenda is controlled at the committee level and
subcommittee level
• Committee members work as “floor managers”
for the bills once the bill leaves the committee
• Members also work in legislative oversight: The
process of monitoring the bureaucracy and the
administration of policies
Standing Committees in the House
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Agriculture
Appropriations
Armed Services
Budget
Education and the
Workforce
Energy and Commerce
Ethics
Financial Services
Foreign Affairs
Homeland Security
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
House Administration
Judiciary
Natural Resources
Oversight and Gov’t reform
Rules
Science, Space and Tech.
Small Business
Transportation and
Infrastructure
• Veterans’ Affairs
• Ways and Means
• Intelligence
Joint Committees
•
•
•
•
Joint Economic Committee
Joint Committee on the Library
Joint Committee on Printing
Joint Committee on Taxation
Standing Committees in the Senate
• Agriculture, Nutrition and
Forestry
• Armed Services
• Banking, Housing and Urban
Affairs
• Budget
• Commerce, Science and
Transportation
• Energy and Natural Resources
• Environment and Public Works
• Finance
• Foreign Relations
• Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions
• Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs
• Judiciary
• Rules and Administration
• Small Business and
Entrepreneurship
• Veterans’ Affairs
Special, Select and Other Committees
• House
– No Special Committees
as of now
• Senate
– Indian Affairs
– Select Committee on
Ethics
– Select Committee on
Intelligence
– Special Committee on
Aging
How do you get on a committee?
• Newly elected legislators tell congressional
leaders of their preferences
• Party leadership plays a major role
• Prior to the 1970s, committee chairs used by
based on seniority in the committee; Also
used to be able to vote by proxy.
• Seniority is still a factor in the Senate; in the
House, members vote on committee chairs
Caucuses
• These are informal groups that meet that have
shared interests.
– They are members of Congress, not interest
groups
– Around 250 of these
– Ex: Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus, Women’s
Caucus, Tea Party Caucus, Congressional Gaming
Caucus
Additional Staffing in Congress
• Each Congressman has a staff of advisors, writers, assistants
– Generally around 15-20 people
• Committee staff
– Organize committee work, hearings, draft reports, actually write
the legislation
• Staff Agencies
– Congressional Research Service (CRS): These are researchers
with LOC who gather info
– Gov. Accountability Office (GAO): oversight, determines legality
issues, settles claims
– Congressional Budget Office (CBO): Makes economic
projections and analyzes the budget coming from the President.