AP Civics Chapter 11 Notes Congress: Balancing National Goals and Local Interests I. Introduction The NAFTA vote illustrates the dual nature of Congress Congress is both a lawmaking institution for the nation and a representative assembly for the states and districts Members of Congress have both an individual duty to serve the interests of their separate constituencies and a collective duty to protect the interests of the country as a whole Congressional elections are sometimes termed local events with national consequences II. Congress as a Career: Election to Congress Congress Before 1900 Not a career Turnover rate high in each election one-third to one-half Most left voluntarily National government not the center of power Modern Congress Professional politicians Pay, prestige Incumbents have a good chance of being reelected Incumbents have a clear edge over their opponents Most House incumbents and nearly half of Senate incumbents seeking reelection receives 60 percent or more of the votes Some states and districts are so heavily Republican or Democratic that the candidate of the majority party nearly always wins A. Using Incumbency to Stay in Congress 1. Getting reelected in a high priority 2. Members of Congress strive for electoral mastery a. a strong base of popular support that will free them from constant worry over reelection and allow them to pursue other goals 3. The Service Strategy: Taking Care of Constituents a. members of Congress promote their reelection prospects by serving their constituency (1) body of citizens eligible to vote in their state or district b. work hard to get their share of pork barrel projects (1) legislation that funds a special project for a particular locale (2) has declined recently because of cutbacks in federal spending c. service strategy (1) Congressmen cater to constituents individual needs to gain support for future elections House Member Office suite $800,000 annually to support a staff of approximately 20 employees Office space in state or district Staff Resources Senator Office suite Between $2-4 million (varies according to state population annually to support a staff of approximately 30-50 employees Office space as well as a mobile office (a) staffs spend much of their time on constituency relations d. publicity (1) newsletters, press releases, and personal appearances in their home states or district 1
e. free mailings (frank mail) (1) send out more than 1 million pieces of frank mail in election year 4. Campaign Fund-Raising: Raking in the Money a. cost of running for congressional office has risen sharply as campaign techniques television advertising, opinion polling, etc. have become more elaborate and sophisticated b. incumbents are usually better funded than their challengers (1) create mailing list of past or potential contributors (2) party campaign committees close races (3) PACs (a) incumbents can help PACs achieve legislative goals c. money does not always decide an election (1) political scientist, Gary Jacobson, ranks money third in importance behind partisanship and incumbency (2) flow of money still extremely important (3) incumbents spend heaviest when they face a serious challenger d. senate races can attract well funded challengers, however, incumbents still have an advantage (1) individual contributions, PACs, political parties (2) Senate incumbents fill campaign war chests well in advance of their reelection to discourage potentially strong challengers from running against them 5. Open seat election a. an election in which there is no incumbent (1) heavy spending (2) critically important to shifts in power in Congress 6. Redistributing: Favorable Boundaries for House Incumbents a. reapportionment (1) the reallocation of House seats among states after each census as a result of population change b. redistricting (1) redrawing House election districts after reapportionment (2) states must make their districts as nearly equal in population as possible (3) fewer districts than incumbents (incumbents may be forces to run against each other) c. gerrymandering (1) the process by which the party in power draws election district boundaries in a way that advantages its candidates B. Pitfalls of Incumbency 1. Disruptive issues a. disruptive issues are a potential threat to incumbents 2. Personal misconduct a. members of Congress can fall prey to scandals 3. Turnout Variations: The Midterm election problem a. historically, the party holding the presidency has usually lost seats in the midterm elections, particularity in the House of Representatives (1) loss attributable to a drop off in turnout for midterm elections not to presidential popularity (a) voters who vote during presidential elections have weaker party loyalties and are more responsive to issues at the moment (b) many of these voters who helped incumbents do not vote in midterm elections 4. Strong Challengers: A particular problem for Senators a. Governors, House members, and the wealthy b. Created recent competitive senate races c. House challengers are normally inexperienced 2
(1) unseen candidate potentially strong House challengers who end up deciding that the costs of a campaign outweighs the benefits C. Safe Incumbency and Representation 1. Safe incumbency is ordinarily a marked advantage, particularly for House members 2. In other democracies, incumbents tend to win or lose on the popularity of their political party, not on their capacity to generate public support through constituent service 3. Safe incumbency reduces the public s influence on Congress a. changes in congressional voting patterns occur primarily around the replacement of defeated or retiring lawmakers with new members D. Who are the Winners in Congressional Elections? 1. The winners of seats is not typical Americans a. members of Congress tend to be white, male, highly educated, lawyers or other professionals III. Congressional Leadership Party leadership is one of the various channels through which power is distributed in Congress A. Party Leadership in Congress 1. House and Senate are organized along party lines a. Democratic and Republican caucuses (members of Congress) select party leaders to represent the party s interests in the full chamber and to provide some central direction to the body s deliberations Speaker of the House Constitution provides for this post Chosen by vote of entire House Decides whom to recognize to speak on the floor Chooses chairperson and majority party members of the powerful House and Rules Committee Assigns bills to committees Places time limits on reporting of bills out of committees Assigns members to Conference The House Leadership Majority Leader Majority Whip Minority Leader Minority Whip Elected by majority party s members Party s floor leader Organizes debates on bills Works to line up legislative support Experienced and skilled Solicits votes from party members Informs them when critical votes are scheduled 3 Head the party s caucus and Policy Committee Leader in developing party s legislative position Lines up party members support on legislation Informs members when votes are scheduled
committees Active in developing party s position on issues Chairs Steering Committee Leadership role with some patronage power The Senate Leadership Vice-President Majority Leader Majority Whip Minority Leader Minority Whip Presiding officer Much like Informs Similar roles to Similar roles but rarely presides except to break a tie vote Speaker of the House but somewhat weaker members of when important votes are scheduled those performed by their counterparts in the House to those performed by their counterparts In the absence of Elected by Ensures that in the House the VP, the Senate protempore majority party members party s strongest advocates on a resides Formulates legislative (majority party s senior member) Residing officer has limited power since each Senator has majority s legislative policies and strategies (chairs Policy Committee) measure are present for debate the right to Develops speak at any length on bills under influential relationships with colleagues construction Works closely with the President if of the same party 4. Party leaders have some formal powers but their influence rests mainly on the fact that their colleagues trust them with the leadership B. Committee Chairs: The Seniority Principle 1. Committee chairpersons are another important source of leadership in Congress a. schedules committee meetings b. determines the order in which committee bills are considered c. presides over committee discussions d. directs the committee s majority staff e. can choose to lead the debate when a committee bill reaches the floor 2. Committee Chairs are always members of the majority party and are usually chosen according to the seniority principle a. the most consecutive years of service on a particular committee 3. Advantages of Seniority System a. reduces power struggles b. provides experience and knowledgeable leadership c. rewarding committee service 4
4. The disadvantage of the system are that it can elevate individuals who are unsuited for leadership and create centers of power outside the House and Senate elected leaders C. Oligarchy or Democracy: Which Principle Should Govern? 1. House Republicans in 1995 reversed many 1970s reforms in order to give committee chairs more control over legislation a. reforms of 1970s were designed to weaken the hold that chairs had on their committees (1) selection of subcommittee chairs by majority party members of each committee (2) increase independence of subcommittee (3) based on idea of more democracy and dispersing of power (4) served personal reelection and power needs of individual members 2. More internal democracy can mean less external democracy 3. Republican reforms of 1995 were designed to strengthen the House s capacity to act as a majoritarian institution a. committee and subcommittee leaders still with considerable power, but they would also be tied more closely to leaders at the next level b. Committee Chairs were given the power to select the chairs of their sub-committees and approve all majority staff members IV. The Committee System Most of the business of Congress is done in committees and subcommittees Standing Committees * Permanent committee with responsibility for a particular area of public policy * Standing committees have legislative authority in that it can draft and rewrite proposed legislation and can recommend to the full chamber the passage or defeat the legislation it considers * Committee s staff helps draft legislation, prepare reports, organize hearings, and participate in altering bills within the committee Select Committees * Created to perform specific tasks and are disbanded after they have done so Joint Committees * Members of both Houses, performing advisory or coordinating functions for the House and Senate Conference Committees * Joint committees formed to temporarily work out differences in House and Senate versions of a particular bill of A. Committee Power Full Membership of Congress Major issue bills Congress takes decisive action Most bills, full chamber votes to confirm or modify decisions made previously by committee or subcommittee 5
Committees Recommendation has 90% chance for approval Burial grounds of most legislation introduced in Congress Only 10% of bills that committees consider reach the floor for a vote Subcommittees Detailed legislative work: hearings, debates, and basic reworking of bills Advisory body to the full committee 1. Committee and subcommittee decisions are made in anticipation of the probable responses of other members of Congress B. Committee Jurisdiction 1. The policy area in which a particular congressional committee is authorized to act a. Legislative Reorganization Bill 1946 (1) requires each bill introduced in Congress to be referred to the proper committee 2. Sometimes a bill may be broad enough to be reasonably assigned to any of several committees 3. Responsibility in Congress is thoroughly divided with each subcommittee or committee having formal authority over a particular area of public policy C. Committee Membership 1. Committee membership varies, but the majority party has the majority of seats and holds the chair of each committee or subcommittee a. members of the House typically serve on two committees b. Senators often serve on four c. Committees must have vacancies before a new member can be appointed d. Biggest change in committee membership is when a party loses control of the chamber 2. Parties in each house have special committees to make assignments a. members request assignment to committees (1) that will help their constituencies and reelection bid (2) major v. non major 3. The members of each party on a committee decide who among them will serve on each of its subcommittees V. The Lawmaking Function of Congress Framers expected Congress to be the leading branch of government Lawmaking Function The authority to make laws necessary to carry out the powers granted to the national government 6
Today Congress and the President substantially share the lawmaking function President Small number of broad legislative measures that arise each year in response to overarching national problems Congress Congress plays a large part in broad legislative measures but also has the lead and in many cases nearly full say on narrower legislation that constitutes the great majority of the roughly 10,000 bills introduced during a two-year congressional session In its lawmaking activities, Congress has the support of three congressional agencies General Accounting Office (GAO) Oversees executive agencies spending of money that has been appropriated by Congress Congressional Research Service (CRS) Nonpartisan reference agency providing historical or statistical information Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Provides Congress with projections of the nation s economic situation and of government expenditures and revenue A. How a Bill Becomes a Law 1. A bill is a proposed legislative act 2. Only Congress can formally submit a bill for consideration by their chamber 3. If a bill is passed by both House and Senate (in identical form) and signed by the President it becomes law 4. From Committee hearings to floor debate a. once bill is introduced, it is given a title and number and sent to the appropriate committee (1) S for Senate bills and H.R. for House bills b. Committees then assign bill to one of its subcommittees (1) most bills are set aside on the grounds that they are not worthwhile (2) if bill has merit, subcommittee will schedule hearings c. subcommittee then recommends bill to the full committee (1) can hold additional hearings (2) can kill the bill by taking no action (3) mark-up of bills (a) revised by the committee d. committee reports a bill out to the House or Senate to be scheduled for floor debate (1) House Rules Committee sets the rules for consideration (a) closed rule: no amendments permitted (b) open rule: members can propose amendments relevant to any of the bill s sections (c) no direct equivalent in the Senate (2) the Rules Committee has scheduling power because the House is too large to operate without strict rules (a) Union Calendar: sets the order of debate for finance and economic bills (b) House Calendar: covers nonfinancial and noneconomic bills e. House and Senate require a quorum (majority of members) be present to conduct business on the floor (1) Committee of the Whole (a) expedites House consideration of bills (b) requires a quorum of 100 members (c) when agreement is reached, the House will reconvene and proceed to vote on legislation at hand f. Senate floor debate (1) Majority leader schedules its bills 7
(2) No rule limiting debate or germaneness: filibuster (a) tactic whereby a minority of senators prevent a bill from coming to a vote by holding the floor and talking until other senators give in and the bill is withdrawn form consideration (3) Cloture (a) three-fifths majority of the Senate vote to limit debate to one hundred hours in order to defeat a filibuster g. the Senate, unlike the House, can propose any amendment to any bill (1) rider (a) an amendment to a bill that deals with an issue unrelated to the content of the bill 5. From floor debate to enactment into law a. bill must be passed in identical form by both the House and Senate b. differences in Senate and House versions of a bill (1) if minor, last house to act merely sends bill to the other house, which accepts the changes (2) if major, a conference committee is appointed (a) reach a compromise (b) conferences report back to each house for acceptance or rejection c. after identical versions of a bill have passed both houses, the bill goes to the President for signature or veto (1) President signs the bill it becomes law (2) If President vetoes it, it returns to the house of origin (a) Congress can override a veto by vote of two-thirds majority of each chamber (bill would become law) (3) If President fails to sign a bill within ten days (a) and Congress has remained in session, the bill automatically becomes law anyway (b) and Congress has adjourned for the term, the bill does not become law: pocket veto d. program or project that requires appropriation of funds (1) funding legislation goes through the same steps as authorizing law B. Congress s Policy Role 1. Major legislation nearly always takes a great deal of time to make its way through Congress 2. Broad Issues: The Limits of Fragmentation on Congress s Role a. structure of Congress makes agreement on large issues difficult to obtain (1) neither the House nor the Senate can enact legislation without the others approval (2) representation (3) Congress includes a lot of people coming from different constituencies with different interests (a) members often take different positions on legislative issues, even when they agree on the general goal b. fragmentation of its authority and workload works against Congress s ability to take the lead in formulating national policy c. the members reelection needs are a further obstacle to developing or implementing broad national policy d. in general Congress looks to the President to initiate larger policy measures (1) President is a singular authority (a) can unilaterally choose a course of action and direct assistants to prepare a legislative proposal for implementing it (2) President represents a national political base (a) the President cannot ignore specific state and local interests but must concentrate on broad national ones in order to retain power e. President gets considerably more attention from the press that any member of Congress 8
(1) C-Span (a) cable network for Congress f. often Congress will act to delay or modify initiatives of the President C. Congress in the Lead: Narrow Policy Issues 1. Congress is well designed to deal with narrow policy issues and local concerns a. standing committees and subcommittees decide most legislative issues (1) interest groups and bureaucratic agencies with a stake in a policy issue concentrate their efforts on the committee responsible for formulating legislation in that policy area b. when a committees vote divides sharply along party or ideological lines the committees recommendation on a bill is more likely to be debated, amended, or defeated on the floor (1) Has the committee done its job in weighing the needs of special interests against the general interests? 2. Big government and social complexity have increased the pressure on committees to weigh the effects of their decisions on other policy areas and to respond to the views of people outside the committee a. unlike iron triangles, issue networks cut across committee boundaries, with the result that members of a committee now operate less independently than they one did 3. Unofficial caucuses is an important congressional subgroup a. informal group of legislators with a shared interest who meet periodically to exchange information and coordinate a legislative strategy designed to foster that interest 4. The United States Congress has retained a significant lawmaking role a. constitutional separation from the executive b. committee system gives it an independent source of policy leadership and expertise VI. The Representative Function of Congress Representation Function: the responsibility of a legislature to represent various interests in society Interest of the nation v. interest of their constituencies To the writers of the Constitution, the higher duty was to the nation Members of Congress should be those persons least likely to sacrifice the national interests to local prejudice (Madison Federalist #10) Most members of Congress have a local orientation that is modified by overarching and partisan concerns A. Representation of States and Districts: Constituency British House of Commons French National Assembly Serve the interests of the nation Unitary government and strong parties United States Congress Primarily to serve the interests of state/district Federal system and weak parties force members of Congress to take responsibility for their reelection campaigns and to be wary of antagonizing interests Committee system promotes local orientation 1. Constituency interests are advanced by logrolling a. the trading of votes between legislators so that each gets what he or she most wants (1) occurs mostly in committees where interests varies 2. Members of Congress often have no choice but to go against the wishes of a significant portion of their constituency B. Representation of Interests: Group Politics 1. Congress fragmented nature, and focus on specific policy areas makes it an ideal target for interest group activity 9
2. In recent years, the rising influence of PACs and lobbying has resulted in the increased representation of organized groups C. Representation of the Nation: Party Politics 1. Members of Congress can be expected to respond to a clear-cut and vital national interest a. in Congress, conflict over national goals occur primarily along party lines (1) Republicans and Democrats differ on their basic philosophies and along the liberal conservative issue 2. Partisanship is the main source of cohesion division within Congress a. historically, nearly every major wave of national legislation has been driven by party ideology and enacted along party lines b. party is also a basis of ongoing conflict in Congress 3. More than half the time, presidential initiatives split along party lines VII. The Oversight Function of Congress Oversight Function: Congress has the responsibility to see that the Executive Branch carries out the laws faithfully and spends the money properly A. The Process of Legislative Oversight 1. Oversight is carried out largely through the committee system of Congress a. facilitated by the parallel structure of the committees and the executive bureaucracy 2. The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970 a. each standing committee shall review and study, on a continuing basis, the application, administration, and execution of those laws, or parts of laws, the subject matter of which is within the jurisdiction of that committee 3. Oversight is an important, but often unrewarding congressional function, and is hence often awarded lowest priority in relation to the other functions 4. Oversight is pursued vigorously when a. committee members are displeased with a particular agency b. particular program requires major change c. there is the appearance of a scandal or wrongdoing, especially by the other party (1) committee will hold hearings B. Legislative Devices for Restraining the Bureaucracy 1. Detailed instructions in appropriation bills 2. Sunset Laws a. fixes a date on which a program will end unless renewed by Congress 3. Reliance on General Accounting Office C. Obstacles to Oversight 1. Sheer magnitude of the task 2. Congress s zeal for oversight changes dramatically when allegations of scandal or wrongdoing engulf the presidency VIII. Congress: Too Much Pluralism? Congress reflects the individualism and diversity that characterizes the United States as a nation Strengths of Congress Weaknesses of Congress Capacity for deliberations, compromise, and the Inability to address broad national issues in a weighing of many interests coherent fashion Tendency to cater to special interests The enduring question: Does Congress lean too far toward the local and the particular? 10