The First Branch of Government The United States Congress 3 types of behavior Advertising – Nobody’s senator but yours Credit claiming – Has to be credible –
Download ReportTranscript The First Branch of Government The United States Congress 3 types of behavior Advertising – Nobody’s senator but yours Credit claiming – Has to be credible –
The First Branch of Government The United States Congress 3 types of behavior Advertising – Nobody’s senator but yours Credit claiming – Has to be credible – Pork barreling; casework Position taking – Inherently costly http://www.house.gov A Map of Congress Congress is bicameral Bicameral (House and Senate) – different time perspectives – different rules and norms Senate and House Senate House – 6 year terms – 2 year terms – 100, prestige – 435 – More moderate – More partisan – generalists – specialists – Individuals senators – Most individual Reps are powerful are not important Bicameralism: Two Equal Chambers House • 435 members • Citizen representation • 2 year terms • Hierarchical • Partisan • Committees and leaders dominate • Speaker and Rules Committee Senate • 100 members • State representation • 6 year terms • Collegial • Less partisan • Members matter more • Filibuster Effect of Bicameralism Fragmentation – Geography – 435 and 100 people sharing power What would policy be like if Congress was unicameral and elected in at large elections? Congressional Staff Authorized Budget per Legislator – House = $570,000 – Senate = $2.3 million free mailings to districts. 54$ million in 1946; $2.2 billion in 1994. 659% increase controlled for inflation. House Staff 870 in 1930, 7,400 in 1993 How a Bill Doesn’t Become a Law— Congress as a lawdefeating, not lawmaking institution What does Congress do? What does Congress do? http://thomas.loc.gov/bss/d106/hotsubj.html 21 bills on defense economics 27 bills on taxation only 46 Major Bills Enacted Into Law This Congress Congressional Committees W. Wilson, Congress in Committees is Congress at work What do Committees do – Hold hearings – Write legislation – Exercise oversight Committees International Relations Committee Agriculture Committee Features of Committees 19 committees, 84 subcommittees Division of labor Fixed membership Fixed jurisdiction, like a monopoly Legislative Specialization Manage flow of legislative business Importance of seniority http://clerk.house.gov/committee_info/index.html Committee Membership Determined by Political Parties Guided by members’ seniority and preference Preferences based on constituency needs to better chances of reelection Policy Consequences of Committees PROs – more opportunities for credit claiming – Facilitate specialization serve institutional policy needs Cons – reinforces fragmentation – Encourages log-rolling Congressional Committees W. Wilson, Congress in Committees is Congress at work What do Committees do – – – – – Hold hearings Write legislation Exercise oversight http://commerce.senate.gov/public/ http://energy.senate.gov/public/ Congressional Leadership House Speaker: Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) http://speaker.house.gov/ http://www.dems.gov/ Minority Leader: John Boehnerhttp://republicanleader.house.go v/ House GOP Conference http://www.gop.gov/web/guest/ home Senate Leadership Majority Leader: Harry Reid (R-NV) Minority Leader: Mitch McConnell (RKY) Leadership and Parties Party caucuses – Elect leaders and committee chairs – structure the workings of Congress – Develop common policy positions – Weaker in senate than House Leadership powers Control committee appointments Refer bills to committees Control Rules Committee According to Sinclair, why is the House more likely to pass major legislation than the Senate? Party Discipline and Voting US Congress – rose to near 70% in 1996 UK Parliament --90% German Bundestag -- 98% Evaluating Leadership More useful for what they are not than what they are – 1994 Freedom to Farm Act No Sanctions Do not do anything to undermine the electoral needs of members Criticisms of Congress Process – Lengthy and inefficient – Favor policy minorities Results – Members focus on getting constituency benefits, NAFTA – Process of bad legislation- ESEA, EDA Why do we hate congress, but love our senator/representative Evaluate Congress by collective standards Evaluate Senator/Representative in representative term Standards are mutually exclusive Representation vs. Lawmaking Congress plays two important roles – Lawmaking or getting things done – Representation or Legitimacy- airing points of view Impact on Institutions Congress is a reelection machine. Mayhew-- "If a group of planner sat down and tried to design a pair of American national assemblies with the goal of serving members' electoral needs year in and year out, they would be hard pressed to improve on what exists."