Chapter 12 Congress

American Democracy Now 4th Edition Harrison

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American Democracy Now

Chapter 12: Congress

Chapter Summary:
Understanding the constitutional powers of Congress enables citizens to participate more easily
in the political process. This chapter provides such understanding to students through its
explanations of the following:

 The origins of Congress

 Congressional elections
 The powers Congress
 The functions of Congress
 A comparison of the bodies of Congress
 The legislative process
 The structure and powers of Congressional leadership
 Decision making in Congress and the impact of political parties, interest groups, the
president, and constituents
 The people and their representatives (demographics of Congress)

Chapter Learning Objectives:

Having studied this chapter, students should be able to do each of the following:

1. Explain how Congress was structured by the framers.

2. Describe factors affecting congressional elections.
3. Describe the sources of congressional power.
4. Compare and contrast features of the House and the Senate.

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 Chapter 12 Congress

5. Explain the legislative process in detail.

6. Describe the leadership positions in the House and Senate.
7. Compare Congress’s demographics with those of constituents.

Chapter Outline:
I. The Origins of Congress
II. Congressional Elections
a. Incumbency
b. Reapportionment and Redistricting
III. Powers of Congress

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 Chapter 12 Congress

IV. Functions of Congress

a. Representation Comes in Many Forms
i. Models of Representation
ii. Pork Barrel and Earmarks
iii. Casework
b. Policy Making: A Central Responsibility
c. Oversight: A Check on the Executive Branch
d. Agenda Setting and Civic Engagement
e. Managing Societal Conflict
V. The House and Senate Compared
VI. The Legislative Process
a. Introducing a Bill
b. The Bill in Committee
c. Debate on the House and Senate Floor
d. Presidential Action
VII. Congressional Leadership
a. Leadership in the House Of Representatives
b. Leadership in the Senate
VIII. Decision Making in Congress: The Legislative Context
a. Political Parties and Partisanship in Decision Making
b. Colleagues and Staff: Trading Votes and Information
c. Interest Groups: Influence Through Organization
d. The President’s Effect on Decision Making
e. Constituents: The Last Word
IX. The People and Their Elected Representatives

Complementary Lecture Topics:

 Today, the combination of safe seats and the incumbency advantage makes it difficult for
challengers to remove members of Congress from office. Does this mean that voters no
longer have a real choice during elections? What does safe incumbency imply for public
influence on the legislative process?

 Americans tend to hold a negative view of Congress as an institution, often accompanied

by a favorable impression of their local representative. Can this apparent contradiction be
explained by the constituency orientation of many members of Congress?

 Compared to legislatures of other Western democracies, which put more emphasis on

party leadership and unity, Congress is far more individualistic by nature. Why? What are
the advantages and disadvantages of each system? Which interests tend to dominate each
system?

 Congressional careerism was not widespread in nineteenth-century America, but has

become the norm in present-day American politics. Relate this development to social,

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 Chapter 12 Congress

economic, and political change, and assess its implications.

 Some analysts maintain that the United States is poorly served by a Congress that is often
beset by inaction and localism. Supporters of Congress maintain that the institution is a
superior deliberative and representative institution. Which argument is the more
persuasive, and why?

 The focus of members of Congress on local and constituent concerns can be explained by
the importance of these issues to reelection. Should steps (such as a constitutional limit
on length of service in Congress) be taken to reduce the policy influence of reelection
pressure?

 Discuss the policymaking relationship between the president and Congress in terms of the
distribution of power between the two institutions. What impact would a line-item veto
have on this relationship?

 What are the chances of Congress formulating a successful national drug policy (or any
similar policy)? How would the fragmented nature of Congress affect the policy-making
process? What would be the sources of leadership and information within the institution?

Class Discussion Topics:

 Congress is admired by those who favor negotiation, deliberation, and the rewarding of
many interests, particularly those with a local constituency base. Critics of Congress
maintain that it hinders majority rule, fosters policy delay, and caters to special interests.
Encourage students to debate these features, and assess, using evidence, the relative
merits of each of these positions.

 Congress lacks the direction and organization required to provide consistent leadership
on major national policies, but it is well organized to handle policies of relatively narrow
scope. At times, Congress takes the lead on broad national issues, but ordinarily it does
not do so. Although this approach has proven prudent in the past, how effective will it be
in addressing some of the major challenges of the twenty-first century? Ask students to
identify some of these challenges, some of which might be characterized as “broad
national issues” (energy scarcity, infrastructure upgrades, security and defense policy
challenges, etc.), and get them to assess, based on precedent, whether Congress will be
able to address them.

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 Chapter 12 Congress

Chapter Activities:
I. THEN, NOW, NEXT Discussion Activity
Participants: entire class in small-group or large-group discussion
Time: 10–15 minutes

Directions
Utilize the “Then, Now, Next” questions from the beginning of the chapter as a basis for
class discussion.
 Then—The framers granted to Congress certain explicit powers, as well as key
implied powers by which the national government strengthened and broadened its
authority.
 Now—A much more demographically diverse but ideologically polarized Congress
exercises wide powers, its decision making influenced by shifting constituencies in a
fast-changing country.
 Next—
 Will increased polarization of Republicans and Democrats in Congress
continue to define the Congressional agenda?
 Will the composition and policy making of Congress more broadly reflect the
changing face of the United States?
 Will technology significantly affect the ability of “average” citizens to
influence Congress?

II. Cri-Think Team Activity

Participants: entire class in pairs
Time: 6 minutes

What to Do
Students will engage in a mini debate. Taking ONE of the prompts below, one student will
argue the pro position and one student will argue the con position. (In order to save time in
choosing, you may simply designate the person whose last name comes first alphabetically
to the pro position and the other student to the con position.) Students will each have two
minutes to state their side, and one minute each for rebuttal.

Suggested Prompts
 Should the United State move to a form of proportional representation to elect
legislative representatives?
 Should there be term limits placed on members of Congress?
 Yes/No: Members of Congress are unduly influenced by lobbyists and special interest
money.

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 Chapter 12 Congress

III. Blog/Forum Activity

Participants: entire class
Time: 15 minutes initial set-up; 20 minutes for students outside class time

You will need to spend approximately 15 minutes on initial set-up, using the blog platform
or forum of your choice. Each student will then spend approximately 20 minutes outside of
the classroom, reading and responding to postings by class members.

What to Do
Brief students on the topic to be discussed on the Internet forum. Then ask students to visit
the discussion site and respond to the question posed. Students may also be asked to visit
the discussion a second time to comment again, based on the thread of the conversation
generated by the rest of the class.

Suggested Prompts
 Discuss: Incumbency provides unfair advantages that are nearly impossible for
challengers to surmount.
 Discuss: Congress as an institution unfairly attracts the most criticism from the
public.
 Individual members of Congress are generally viewed favorably by citizens in their
own district. Examine both the voting record and the constituency work of your
member of Congress and evaluate how good of a job that person is doing for your
district. How does that rating differ from how you would rate Congress as a whole?
 Reflect on what you still “just don’t get” about the way Congress works in America.
(After the initial round of responses, ask students to reflect on whether these
questions can be answered or whether they are a reflection of dissatisfaction with the
system rather than a lack of comprehension.)

IV. Online & Library Out-of-Class Research

Participants: individual
Time: 20–30 minutes, to be done outside of class time

What to Do
Ask students to independently research the following:
 Think of an issue of specific importance to you. What, if anything, has Congress done
regarding your issue? Has Congress passed a piece of legislation dealing with this
topic? What does this legislation say? What committee normally deals with this
issue? Is there a bill that hasn’t passed yet, but is stuck somewhere in a congressional
committee? What is the expected impact of the legislation? How easy is it for an
average citizen to follow a topic through the legislative process? (Students may be
directed to the website for the Library of Congress: http://thomas.loc.gov/.)

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 Chapter 12 Congress

V. Peer Quiz Activity

Participants: 2-person teams
Time: 20-30 minutes

What to Expect
This easy activity allows the students to participate in groups as they review and test
themselves on the content of the chapter. They will also provide each other with
constructive and positive feedback for enhanced exam performance.

What Students Will Learn

In this activity, instructors help students exercise effective study skills for important
examinations based on textbook material. The students become familiarized with textbook
material and/or exam material. This activity can be done at the end of a lecture to determine
comprehension.

What to Do
Have students use the review section at the end of the chapter to increase their
understanding of the material and to prepare for upcoming examinations.
 Have students divide the “Key Terms” evenly and take turns explaining the concepts
to the other members of the group. Group members are encouraged to ask questions
of the speaker to further test depth of knowledge.
 Have students take turns leading the group through each of the “For Review”
questions. Each student can then try to come up with one additional question that they
believe could be a plausible test question.
 Have students independently take the “Practice Quiz” at the chapter’s end. Instruct
students to review their answers and ask group members to explain the correct answer
to any question that was missed.

Internet Resources:
http://www.senate.gov – U.S. Senate website, which provides information about members, votes,
pending legislation, committees, and session schedules, as well as information about the Capitol
building and visitor information.

http://www.house.gov – The U.S. House of Representatives website, which provides information

about members, votes, pending legislation, committees, and session schedules, as well as
information about the Capitol building and visitor information.

http://thomas.loc.gov – Thomas is the website for the Library of Congress, the foremost authority
for information about Congress, legislation, hearings, votes, and other federal matters.

http://www.rollcall.com – The website for Roll Call, the newspaper of Capitol Hill since 1955,
offering insights into issue analysis, politics, and opinions.

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 Chapter 12 Congress

http://www.c-span.org – The cable television network’s source of information on Congress,

which includes Internet video, audio, and podcast programs of congressional hearings,
committee hearings, the C-Span video series, and other public affairs information.

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.action?collectionCode=FR – The Federal Register,

on GPO Access, is the daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of the federal
government. Also contains archives access.

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