Functions of Congress Make laws Represent people Perform oversight Help constituents Educate the public Powers of Congress 1
Congressional Powers Legislative Powers Power to Tax Power to Borrow Regulate Commerce Currency Power Regulate Bankruptcy Conduct Foreign Relations Declare War Others Nonlegislative Powers Propose Amendments Electoral Duties Impeachment Confirm Executive Appointments Confirm treaties Investigate matters that relate to its legislative powers Impeachment House has sole power to impeach (to accuse or bring charges) Pertains to President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the U.S. To be impeached must commit Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors Impeachment requires a majority vote of the House Conviction requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over the Senate when a President is to be tried Seven people have been convicted (all federal judges) CONGRESSIONAL DEMOGRAPHICS 2
By Danny Dougherty and Alex Tribou, Bloomberg UPDATED Nov. 8, 2012 10:30 a.m Personal and Political Background Not representative of American people Average member of Congress (both houses) is white male in mid-50s Most are married with children Most are members of Christian church Most are lawyers Others have business, education, agriculture, journalism, professional politics background Gender and Race House of Representatives (1950 2008): 9 74 women 240 African-Americans 027 Hispanics 7 Asians Senate (2008): 17 Women 1 African-American (Obama resigned) 3 Hispanics 2 Asian-Americans (both from Hawaii) 3
Does Race/Gender Matter? Descriptive representation: Goal is to have similar demographic characteristics between representatives and constituency Substantive representation: Goal is to have similar opinions between representatives and constituency Benefits 4
Congressional Perks Salary = $158,000 a year Leaders get more (i.e. Speaker gets $192, 600) Tax deduction for maintaining two residences Travel allowances Low life & health insurance rates Pension plan based on years of service (they contribute) Office space in Washington D.C. & allowance for offices in home district/state $ to hire staff and for operating expenses of offices Franking privilege Congressional Perks Nice restaurants in Capitol building Two gyms Free parking near Capitol and Washington s airports Support of Library of Congress Cannot be arrested while attending a House or Senate session or on way to a session (except for treason, felony, or breach of peace) Have immunity for things said during legislative debate Representation 5
Representation On what basis do members of Congress cast their vote? Trustees: Use their own conscience and independent judgment to decide issues regardless of the views held by their constituents Delegates: Believe they should vote the way they think the folks back home would want. Partisans: Lawmakers who owe their first allegiance to their political party. They vote the party line. Politicos: Combine the roles above. They try to balance and weigh their own views, views of constituents, and party views to arrive at the best decision. Organization of Congress House of Representatives Leadership Speaker of the House Majority Leader Majority Whip 6
John Boehner (OH) Speaker of the House Second in line of succession Presides over house when in session Major role in making committee assignments Extensive control over which bills are assigned to which committees Appoints or plays key role in appointing legislative leaders House Majority/Minority Leader Rounds up votes Influences committee assignments Schedules bills Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA) Majority Leader Eric Cantor (VA) Back Whips Work with majority (minority) leader to round up votes Report views and complaints of party members back to leaders Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (MD) Republican Whip Kevin McCarthy (CA) 7
Senate Leadership President of the Senate President Pro Tempore Majority Leader Majority Whip President of the Senate Vice President Votes if there is a tie Joe Biden (DE) President Pro Tempore Presides in the absence of the Vice President Mostly honorary position Typically goes to most senior member of majority party Daniel K Inouye (Hawaii) 8
Senate Leaders Corralling Votes Schedule Floor action Influence committee assignments Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) Senate Whips Majority Whip Dick Durbin (IL) Similar role to counterparts in the House Minority Whip Jon Kyl Republican (AZ) Committees and Subcommittees Standing Committees: Permanent Each deals with separate policy areas or subject matter Joint: Members from both Houses Often related to economy and taxation Conference Committees: resolve disputes in legislation between houses and reports back a compromise bill Select: Temporary Specific purpose (e.g., Watergate) 9
Purpose of Committees Hold hearings Conduct other research Write and rewrite (marked up bill) Floor managers: help gather votes Cue givers: experts on the bill Legislative oversight/watchdog: monitor bureaucracy s administration of policy via hearings Approve budgets Investigate wrongdoing Chairs and Seniority System Most important influencers of committee agenda: Schedule hearings Hire staff Appoint subcommittees Manage committee bills brought before the full House Bottle up legislation in committee Until the 1970s, chairs always selected through seniority system. Chairs and Seniority System In the 1970s, Congress faced a revolt of its younger members: Both parties in both houses permitted members to vote on committee chairs. Seniority still remains general rule, but many exceptions These and other reforms have somewhat reduced the clout of chairs 10
Standing Committees - House Agriculture Appropriations Armed Services Budget Education & Labor Energy and Commerce Financial Services Foreign Affairs Homeland Security House Administration Judiciary Natural Resources Oversight and Government Reform Rules Science and Technology Small Business Standards of Official Conduct (Ethics) Transportation & Infrastructure Veterans Affairs Ways and Means Standing Committees - Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Appropriations Armed Services Budget Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Commerce, Science, and Transportation Energy & 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 Congressional Caucuses Informal groups of members of Congress sharing some interest or characteristic Intraparty Ideological Economics/Industry Concerns Personal Interest National Concerns Regional Concerns State Concerns 11
Legislative Process Types of Bills and Resolutions Private bills vs. public bills Resolutions Joint: A proposal for some action that has the force of law when passed; usually deals with special circumstances or temporary matters. Used to propose constitutional amendments. Concurrent: A statement of position on an issue adopted by the House and Senate; does not have the force of law; does not require the President s signature Resolution: A measure dealing with some matter in one house; does not have the force of law; does not require the President s signature Legislative Process Bill is introduced by Senator or Representative and assigned a number (H.R. or S.). It is then assigned a committee. The committee conducts hearings on the bill to gain information Special interest groups, government agencies/departments, citizens, experts, etc. often testify before the committee about the bill, its possible consequences, etc. Committees will also conduct mark up sessions where the bill will be amended 95% of bills die in committee Committee process can be avoided in the House by a discharge petition If a bill passes committee, the committee constructs a report summarizing the provisions and their rationale as well as the committee deliberations and their amendments 12
Floor Debate Floor speeches rarely influence congressmen but are used more to inform or justify to constituents how one is voting Power is given to the Speaker and president of the Senate to recognize speakers They typically know why a member wishes to speak Spontaneous speakers are often asked for what purpose does the member rise in order to understand what will be said Floor Debate (cont.) In the House, the Rules Committee gives control to the bill s sponsor as well as its leading opponent (most often these are the committee chair and the minority chair) They often allot small amounts of time to other members, with preference for fellow committee members The Rules Committee, led by the Speaker, will also schedule when debate will occur on the calendar Scheduling often allows the bill to die when it is put off until the end of a legislative session Floor Debate (cont.) Senate leadership has much less control than the House over who speaks Unanimous consent is required in the Senate to limit debate Senators do much more legislating on the floor in comparison to the House 13
Floor Debate (cont.) Amendments can also be passed and debated while the bill is on the floor but with many more restrictions in the House Killer amendments: some members insert amendments, which when included makes the bill unacceptable to the majority Unlike the House, amendments do not have to be germane or pertinent in the Senate (a rider); thus, whole bills may be introduced as amendments on the floor of the Senate The House may adopt a closed rule setting a strict limit on debate and forbidding the introduction of any amendments from the floor Debate in the House may be discussed by the Committee of the Whole (100 members) and then referred to the entire House for the final vote. Floor Debate (cont.) The Filibuster (Senate ONLY) Due to the need for a unanimous consent agreement to limit debate, Senators can speak for as long as they wish To break a filibuster, it requires a 3/5 s vote to invoke cloture Filibusters are becoming more common rising from an average of 1 filibuster per Congress in the 1950s to 32 in the 106-107 th Congress (1999-2002) Voting Voting requires a quorum (218 members in the House) to be present Voice vote: used in both bodies in which members simply shout yea or nay Division vote (also known as standing vote): method of voting in both bodies in which members stand and are counted Teller vote: used in the House, members walk between two tellers (first the yeas, then the neas) Roll-call vote: names of members are called and each member responds with their vote Present can be used to avoid recording a stance on an issue or vote Electronic counters in House 14
Passage of bill from first body (House or Senate) means the bill must then go through the same process in the other body Conference committee (not a joint committee) is needed to meet to reconcile differences between House and Senate versions of a bill Members are often the senior committee members of each body that initiated the bill Conference committee report, not the final bill, must be approved by both the House and Senate Veto A bill is delivered to the president for approval President has ten days to approve or reject legislation If congress adjourns during ten day period and the president neither signs or vetoes the bill, it is known as a pocket veto If a bill is vetoed, both the House and Senate can override the veto with a 2/3 s vote of both bodies 15