AP U.S. Government & Politics 2017-18 Unit 3: Institutions of National Government: The Congress Textbook: Chapter 11; Congress: Balancing National Goals and Local Interests ; pp. 286-321 Web sites to use: Office of the Clerk: U.S. House of Representatives - http://clerk.house.gov/ United States Senate - http://www.senate.gov/index.htm Congress.gov. - http://www.beta.congress.gov/ The Dirksen Congressional Center - http://www.dirksencenter.org/ CQ Press: Political reference Suite of online editions - http://library.cqpress.com/index.php (Use log in information from KHS Library pamphlet) The LIBRARY of Congress THOMAS - http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php USC Annenberg Center: The ReDistricting Game - http://redistrictinggame.org/ Incumbent Advantage http://www.opensecrets.org/overview/incumbs.php Roll Call: The Source For News On Capitol Hill Since 1955 - http://www.rollcall.com/ Syllabus Thursday 10.19 In Class: Finish Fine Presentations In Class: Lecture and Notes on Federalism Homework: Assignment 1 Monday 10.23 Due: Assignment 1 In Class: Quiz on Expressed, Concurrent, and Reserved Powers In Class: Discussion on constitutional basis of U.S. Congress Homework: Assignment 2 Wednesday 10.25 Due: Assignment 2 In Class: Quiz over Assignments 1 and 2 In Class: The Congress and representation Homework: Assignment 3 Friday 10.27 Due: Assignment 3 In Class: The Congress and Party Leadership Homework: Assignment 4 Tuesday 10.31 Due: Assignment 4 In Class: Quiz over Assignments 3 and 4 In Class: The Congress and Committees and Committee Leadership Homework: Assignment 5 Thursday 11.2 Due: Assignment 5 In Class: How a Bill Becomes a Law Homework: Study for Objective and Short Answer Essay Test over Unit 3 End of Quarter 1 Monday 11.6 In Class: Unit 2 Objective and Free Response Questions Test over 1
Please remember to pay attention to current events that involve the U.S. Government. In this unit the focus should be on Congress and congressional actions. Knowledge of current events will be included in the class participation grade. It is a great idea to visit the web pages listed above and get to know your Congress. Institutions of National Government: The Congress, the Presidency, the Bureaucracy, and the Federal Courts: The major formal and informal institutional arrangements of power; relationships among these four institutions and varying balances of power; linkages between institutions and the following public opinion and voters, interest groups, political parties, the media, subnational governments Reminder of Late Policy: Work is due on due date. The next school day it is considered late, so if there is an assignment, and you have not handed it in when it is due, then you have one day. It will not be graded if you hand it in the next class. Assignment 1: Due: Monday, 10.12 - Reading and Note Taking and Constitution Learning Getting to Know Your U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives This assignment is about exploration. That exploration involves visiting the official websites of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as other interesting online sources. 1. Please read about the 115 th Congress in Congressional Research Service, Membership of the 155 th Congress: A Profile. You will find that reading in nixonland74. 2. Please read the nifty graphic organizers, try the Congress Scavenger Hunt, and fill in the information on members of leadership in the Senate. 3. Visit the House of Representatives web page - http://www.house.gov/ 4. Office of the Clerk Committees - http://clerk.house.gov/ 5. Visit the Senate web page www.senate.gov/ 6. Stay on thehill.com website and go to the link Business on the bar, and go to Lobbying Contract and Lobbying Revenue. Find out the lobbyists who have spent the most on whom and why. Be able to answer questions about the different lobbyists. 7. Visit The LIBRARY of Congress THOMAS - http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php - and learn about the Congress by looking at bills in sessions or committees, members of Congress, and current activities 8. Learn and study for quiz: Expressed Powers & Examples, Concurrent Powers & Examples, and Reserved Powers & Examples. Terms: Franking privilege Simple resolution Open rule unicameral descriptive representation Concurrent resolution bicameral substantive representation Joint resolution Speaker of the House sophomore surge multiple referral Newt Gingrich privileged speech sequential referral Paul Ryan Edmund Burke discharge petition Mitch McConnell Representational theory closed rule Organizational theory 2
Assignment 2: Due: Wednesday, 10.25 Quiz over readings in textbook, terms, readings from websites listed below Legislative functions and process Directions: 1. Please read pages 286-296 in your textbook and take notes to be used in class for discussion. The content listed below is your first organization, but feel free to use web pages to gain a deeper understanding. You should have a good understanding of the House and Senate Representation and the electoral system for class. 2. Please visit the Bipartisan Policy Center website and read interesting articles about the 1115 th Congress. https://bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/tag/115th-congress/ 3. Please go to Oyez: U.S. Supreme Court Media web page and read about the Court case, Reynolds v. Sims (1963) - http://www.oyez.org/cases/1960-1969/1963/1963_23. Take notes to understand the significance of one man, one vote decision and how it relates to congressional districts. (You do not need to read all of the Court s opinion, just the brief summary on the page. You do need to understand what it means and how it was applied.) 4. Please play this game at USC Annenberg Center: The ReDistricting Game - http://redistrictinggame.org/ 5. Please read this article: Incumbent Advantage http://www.opensecrets.org/overview/incumbs.php and take notes on the information given about the incumbent advantage. Think about what this would mean when elections take place. Investigate the breakdown by party and be able to share your notes with the class. 6. Fill in information on handouts Content: House and Senate Representation: bicameral legislature different rules, procedures, powers, elections constituents service strategy The Electoral System: running for office incumbency professional legislature casework-patronage-pork-barrel legislation campaign funding open seat election -congressional districts gerrymandering reapportionment midterm elections Learning Objective: Explain what factors have the greatest influence on congressional elections. 1. List and explain five advantages incumbents have over their opponents in congressional elections. 2. What is the difference between casework and pork barrel? 3. List and explain three ways that incumbents may be defeated. 4. List three criticisms of term limitations Know these terms along with the bolded terms in your textbook: Agency representation Standing Committee Staff agencies Incumbency Gate keeping authority Cloture Pork-barrel legislation Distributive tendency Whip system Executive agreement Casework Filibuster Seniority system Caucus Legislative oversight Gerrymandering Reapportionment Patronage Assignment 3: Due: Friday, 10.17: Reading and Note Taking for Quiz over readings Parties and Party Leadership Notes and no written homework quiz in class over all readings Directions: 1. Please read pages 296-300 in the textbook and take notes on content listed above. 2. Please read the handouts, Power of the Purse, Investigations & Oversights, How A Bill Becomes a Law Flowchart, and The Congressional Budget Act. 3
3. Please visit OpenSecrets.org: Center for Responsible Politics website and read up on Update: New data on the Personal Finances of Members of Congress and What is dark Money? on their website: https://www.opensecrets.org/. 4. Keep visiting the sites listed on first page to gain an understanding of political parties and party leadership in Congress and in today s Congress and be able to discuss what you know. Find something interesting to share with the class. 5. Know the importance of the majority party in both houses and how the majority party controls procedure and the floor. 6. Be able to connect parties and party leadership with incumbency, pork-barrel legislation. 7. In what ways does the majority party control the House? The Senate? Find current examples, please. Content: Parties and Party Leadership party leaders party caucus- party unity- Speaker of the House majority leaderminority leader-minority whip - Know these terms along with the bolded terms in your textbook Rules Committee Attitudinal theory restrictive rule filibuster President Pro Tempore quorum 17th Amendment Majority and Minority leaders quorum call Rule 22 Party Whip cloture rule Steering Committee double-tracking term limits roll-call vote Committee on Committees Sunshine laws US Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton (1995) Policy Committee Caucus Assignment 4: Due: Tuesday, 10.31 Reading and Note taking and Written work to hand in Committees and Committee Leadership Directions: 1. Please read pages 301-305 in your textbook and take notes using the content listed below. You might need to use other sources to find information. 2. Please visit the sites listed on first page and learn about committees and committee leadership. 3. Visit the web page, Office of the Clerk, go to History, Art & Archives link and go to Historical Highlights for information about House committees. http://clerk.house.gov/ 4. Take notes and know the difference between committees in the House and committees in the Senate. Know who and what holds the power in both houses when it comes to committees. TO DO: Please compose responses to the following question using each prompt as a way to learn these key facts about Congress. Share as a google doc after name and heading is on it please. 1. What are the main functions of the House Rules Committee? (May list functions and think about what those functions are meant to accomplish include the significance of the House Rules Committee in the House procedure.) 2. List four formal powers of the Speaker of the House. 3. List four types of congressional committees and include their expertise. 4. What is meant by legislative oversight? Give a specific example of it in recent (last 15 years) history. 5. What is the difference between the personal staff and the committee staff? 6. List three congressional staff agencies and include their jurisdiction and purpose. 7. List the current standing committees of the House. 4
Content: Committees: standing committees- jurisdiction of a congressional committee seniority gate keeping authority proposal power whip system logrolling access to the floor - oversight- subcommittees select committees joint committees- quorum of a standing committee committee hearing markup committee report - staff agencies closed rule open rule filibuster cloture veto pocket veto Terms to know: Staff agencies Standing Committees Congressional courtesy Redistricting Select Committees logrolling malapportionment Joint Committees Nongermane amendment Conference Committees Unanimous consent seniority system Holds Wesberry v. Sanders 1964 Congressional Research Service Constituent service or casework Baker v. Carr (1962) General Accounting Office (GAO) one man, one vote Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Joint Committees Markup Gate keeping authority Proposal power Closed rule Open rule Assignment 5: Due: Thursday, 11.2 Work to hand in for credit How a Bill Becomes a Law Directions: Please read pages 305-317 and take notes on the content below. 1. Pay attention to the process of how a bill becomes a law: you need to know every step that it would take. 2. Please read the handouts: CRS Report for Congress: Invoking Cloture in the Senate, 2. Visit the web page from The Dirksen Congressional Center and go through the process that a bill would, please. - http://www.congresslink.org/frantzich/ 3. Fill in all the answers on the worksheets for this assignment. Will hand in for credit. To Do: 4. Visit both the House and the Senate web pages and take notes on four bills two in each house to be handed in. Start with the Great State of Maine s two U.S. Representatives and our two Senators, and try to find one bill from each. If you find that one of our congressional elected officials has not sponsored any bills during his or her term, find out what he or she has been doing. What you should have in your notes: 1. The sponsor full name and title 2. Purpose of the bill 3. Trace the bill s path through the chamber, and find where it is today 4. Co-sponsors: Specific information about the distinguished members of Congress who support the bill. Why do they support the bill? (Not a guessing question.) What are the compromises? What does the bill hold that other members of Congress would support and why? As you do this, think about the process and why it would take so long, or not, and think about the party leadership, committee system, electoral system, and the potential outcome of this bill. U.S. Senate: http://www.senate.gov/index.htm U.S. House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/ Content: Legislative process conference committee rider joint committees revised bill standing House committee work law veto pocket veto types of bills private bill public bill resolution joint resolutions 5
Congress s policy making role lawmaking function limits on role of Congress representative function logrolling constituency party representation partisan divisions oversight function effectiveness of Congress Terms to know: Marginal districts Party polarization Christmas tree bill Safe districts Caucus Committee of the Whole House Banking scandal Congressional Black Caucus Pork-Barrel House Post office scandal Blue Dog Democrats Earmarks Joint resolutions Conference Committees Congressional courtesy Redistricting Select Committees logrolling Revised bill majority-minority districts seniority system Pocket veto Private bill Public bill Oversight function Partisanship Bipartisanship When we finish this unit of study, can you? 1. Describe the essential roles and functions of a senator and representative? 2. Explain the impact that the bicameral division of Congress has on congressional procedures and the passage of legislation? 3. List the characteristics of a member of Congress? 4. Identify the advantages of incumbency in the congressional election process? 5. Contrast the major leadership positions in the House and Senate and summarize the functions of each office? 6. Cite the four types of congressional committees and analyze how they control the congressional agenda and guide legislation? 7. Determine the significance of legislative procedures like the filibuster and oversight? 8. Outline the process by which a bill would move through the legislative process, from introduction to the point where it is sent to the president? 9. Identify both representative and unrepresentative aspects of Congress? 10. Examine the effect that the U.S. Congress has had on the scope of government? Just a few terms to know 1. franking privilege 28. Shaw v. Reno (1993) 56. Simple resolution 2. unicameral 29. descriptive representation 57. Concurrent resolution 3. bicameral 30. substantive representation 58. Joint resolution 4. Speaker of the House 31. sophomore surge 59. multiple referral 5. Newt Gingrich 32. privileged speech 60. sequential referral 6. Paul Ryan 33. Edmund Burke 61. discharge petition 7. Mitch McConnell 34. Representational theory 62. closed rule 8. Party caucus 35. Organizational theory 63 open rule 9. Rules Committee 36. Attitudinal theory 64. restrictive rule 10. filibuster 37. President Pro Tempore 65. quorum 11. 17th Amendment 38. Majority and Minority leaders 66. quorum call 12. Rule 22 39. Party Whip 67. cloture rule 13. cloture 40. Steering Committee (D) 68. double-tracking 14. term limits 41. Committee on Committees (R) 69. roll-call vote 15. US Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton (1995) 42. Policy Committee 70. rider 6
16. Marginal districts 43. Party polarization 71. Christmas tree bill 17. Safe districts 44. Caucus 72. Committee of the Whole 18. House Banking scandal 45. Congressional Black Caucus 73. Pork Barrel 19. House Post office scandal 46. Blue Dog Democrats 74. Earmarks 20. Reapportionment 47. Standing Committees 75. Congressional courtesy 21. redistricting 48. Select Committees 76. logrolling 22. malapportionment 49. Joint Committees 77. Nongermane amendment 23. gerrymandering 50. Conference Committees 78. Unanimous consent 24. majority-minority districts 51. seniority system 79. Holds 25. Wesberry v. Sanders 1964 52. Congressional Research Service 80. Constituent service or casework 26. Baker v. Carr (1962) 53. General Accounting Office (GAO) 27. one man, one vote 54. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Questions and Themes Demographics in general of those in Congress Elements of the Constitution that relate to Congress and its powers Article I: delegated powers, qualifications for serving in House and Senate Reasons for a bicameral legislature Differences b/t House and Senate; vote requirements Powers of the Senate and House Non-legislative tasks of Congress: legislative oversight, public education, representing constituents within government, casework Delegate vs. trustee model Power of Senate to advise and consent to nominations and treaties Filibuster, cloture, Rule 22, impact of filibuster on climate of Senate Types of Committees in Cong: standing, joint, select, conference Standing only ones to write legislation and conduct oversight Evolution of House rules since 1970s Job of Speaker. Majority/Minority Leader/ Pro-tem, what do Whips do? How can party leadership affect legislative process House Ways and Means/Senate Finance > taxes Appropriations > how money is apportioned to federal agencies How a bill becomes a law and where a bill can be killed Resolutions: simple and concurrent Important Committees: House Rules what it can do, House Ways and Means, Senate Finance, Appropriations Committee Mark up; Discharge Petition; Franking privilege Advantages of incumbents: credit claiming, constituent service or casework Role of lobbyists and IGs Advantages and disadvantages of committee system, role of subcommittees Pork barrel legislation, earmarks What affects how congressmen vote? What are the pressures on them to vote? Presidential jawboning Logrolling PACS, IGs Constituents Ideology, religious beliefs Party Affiliation most important factor Effect of 1982 Voting Rights Act to encourage states to create majority minority districts Impact of having majority-minority districts What has the Supreme Court said about race as a factor? Principles in districting? 7
Reapportionment and redistricting what is the difference? Census, apportionment, malapportionment, redistricting, gerrymandering, racial gerrymandering Who becomes chair of committees? How committee assignments are determined? majority party has majority on committees; Seniority system Congressional caucuses: party and other caucuses Term limits debate: arguments on each side Changes made after 1994 election by Gingrich Republicans in House Role of the parties in Congress Oversight function of executive branch, bureaucracy Specialization in Congress How Congress reasserted its powers after Nixon what made 1974 an earthquake in the power system How impeachment works 8