How Congress Works
Who s in Congress?
Demographic Profile of the 111th Congress Age Groups Party Gender Ethnicity Source: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/demographics.tt
House-Senate Differences House 435 members; 2 yr terms Low turnover Speaker bill referral hard to challenge Scheduling/rules controlled by majority party with powerful Rules Committee (controls time of debate, amends., etc) Senate 100 members; 6 yr terms Moderate turnover Referral decisions easily challenged Scheduling/rules agreed to by majority & minority leaders
House-Senate Differences House Debate limited to 1 hour Members policy specialists Emphasizes tax & revenue policy More formal & impersonal Senate Unlimited debate unless cloture invoked Members policy generalists Emphasizes foreign policy More informal & personal
Strength of Party Structure? Measure of party strength: 1. Ability of leaders to control party rules and organization 2. Extent to which party members vote together in the House and Senate Senate: less party-centered and leader oriented
CAUCUSES Groups (may be bipartisan) meeting to pursue common legislative objectives Rivals to parties in policy formulation Examples: Democratic Study Group, Congressional Black Caucus, Tuesday Lunch Bunch, Human Rights, Congressional Caucus for Women s Issues, Out of Iraq Caucus, Rural Caucus, Travel & Tourism Caucus, House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children
Legislative Committees: Function and Purpose
Legislative Committees: Function & Purpose 1. Consider bills (a.k.a. mark-up bills) A bill with a member s mark-up notes
Legislative Committees: Function & Purpose 2. Maintain oversight of executive agencies Secretary Donald Rumsfeld testifies before a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing re: the Department of Defense Budget (May, 2006)
Legislative Committees: Function & Purpose 3. Conduct investigations New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Hurricane Katrina (Feb., 2006
Types of Committees Standing Committees - permanent panel with full legislative functions and oversight responsibilities Subcommittees formed to tackle very specific tasks within the jurisdiction of the full committees Select or Special Committees - groups appointed for a limited purpose and limited duration Joint Committees - includes members of both chambers to conduct studies or perform housekeeping tasks Conference Committee - includes members of House & Senate to work out differences between similar bills
Standing Committees
House Standing Committees Agriculture Appropriations Armed Services Budget Education & Workforce Energy & Commerce Financial Services Government Reform House Admin. International Relations Judiciary Resources Rules Science Small Business Standards of Official Conduct Transportation & Infrastructure Veterans Affairs Ways & Means
Senate Standing Committees Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry Appropriations Armed Services Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs Budget Commerce, Science, Transportation Energy & Natural Resources Environment and Public Works Finance Foreign Relations Governmental Affairs Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Judiciary Rules and Administration Small Business and Entrepreneurship Veterans Affairs
Special, Select Committees House Select Committee on Energy Independence & Global Warming Senate Select Committee on Ethics House & Senate Select Committees on Intelligence Gen. Michael Hayden is sworn in during a full committee hearing of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee on his nomination to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Joint Committees Joint Economic Committee Joint Committee on Printing Joint Committee on Taxation Joint Committee on Taxation hearing
Title: Resolution Date: 12/28/06 Artist: Bob Gorrell Source: http://www.gorrellart.com/
Artist: R.J. Matson, New York Observer & Roll Call Date: 1/18/07 Source: http://www.cagle.com
How Congress Works
A Bill v. A Law Bill - a proposed new law introduced within a legislature that has not yet been passed, enacted or adopted
A Bill v. A Law Law - a bill or act passed by a legislative body
Types of Bills public bill proposed legislative bill that deals with matters of general concern and application private bill a proposed legislative bill that deals with specific private, personal, or local matters rather than general affairs appropriation bill legislative motion authorizing the government to spend money
Types of Resolutions resolution - a measure expressing opinions on policies or issues simple resolution measure dealing with house-keeping or procedural matters that only affect one house joint resolution measure when approved by both houses and the president carries the force of law concurrent resolution legislative motion that must be approved by both houses, but does not have the force of law
Legislator Representative Committee Member Partisan Politician
A Congressman s Balancing Act How should I vote? My constituents first or my country??? Floor vote on the Energy Bill!
Navigating the Legislative Obstacle Course
Step 1: An Idea for a Bill Sources:
Step 2: Writing & Introduction of Bill Senate: Bill formerly read aloud on floor Bill then given to clerk Referred to committee by Steering Committee House: Sen. Smith introduces bill on the Senate floor ~ Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Bill dropped in hopper Referred to committee by the Speaker
Step 3: Committee Action House & Senate committees conduct public hearings Experts testify Markup of bills Committee vote: report favorably, unfavorably, or table bill House Armed Services Committee
Step 4: Floor Action - Senate Party leaders schedule bills for floor debate on the calendar Unlimited debate Filibuster - member(s) keep talking to block debate on a bill Cloture vote by 3/5 of Senators (60) can end filibuster Floor vote: Roll Call, Standing, Voice Senator Strum Thurman still holds the record for the longest filibuster - 24 hrs 18 min. on the 1957 Civil Rights Act
Step 4: Floor Action - House Rules Committee schedules bills on calendar & decides whether amendments may be added Limited debate Floor vote: Recorded, Standing, Voice
Step 5: Approved Bill Crosses Over to Other House Approved bill must pass each chamber by a simple majority
Step 6: Conference Committee Members from each chamber meet to reconcile differences in the two bills Senate-House Conference Committee works out details of the 2003 Healthy Forest Restoration Act
Step 7: Both Chambers Vote on Final Version of the Bill
Step 8: President Considers Bill President can: 1. sign the bill into law 2. veto bill 3. pocket veto Note: Congress can override veto with 2/3 vote in each house; only 4% of vetoes have been overridden
Title: Imagine there s no Congress Date: 6/06/07 Artist: Joe Heller, Green Bay Press-Gazette Source: http://www.politicalcartoons.com/
Title: Breaking the Filibuster is not Enough Source: http://www.republicanvoices.org/may_2005_newsletter.html
Artist: RJ Matson Date: 6/14/07 Source: http://themoderatevoice.co m/category/politics/politic al-cartoons/
Source: http://bigpicture.typepad.com/ Date: 5/6/06
Congressional Earmarks Should We Bring Home the Bacon?
Who Likes Bacon? Who likes bacon? Is bacon always good for you? What are some alternatives for bacon? What would happen if you ate bacon all day, everyday? What recommendations would you make to people who are considering adding bacon to their diets?
Pork Barrel Spending Earmark- a congressional provision that directs sets aside funds to be spent on specific projects within a member s district. From hog slaughtering houses. Distinguishes the pigs selected for specific purposes. Is a notch in the pigs ear.
Pork BarrelSpending cont. Pork Barrel- legislation that allows representatives to bring home the bacon to their districts in the form of public works programs, military bases, or other programs designed to directly benefit their districts. From early American history Slaves were given a barrel of salt port as a reward Slaves competed amongst themselves for the handout
Pork Barrel Spending
The Prince of Pork Due to his position on the Senate Appropriations Committee and his leadership as President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Robert Byrd (D- WV) is known as the Prince of Pork for his ability to bring home the bacon in the form of public works projects to West Virginia.
Bringing Home the Bacon? Who is the pig? Why is he happy? What does the pot-o-gold represent? Why is the leprechaungressman lucky? What is the artist saying about congressional spending? How do you know? Should congressman bring home the bacon?