Congress

Chapter 11
 Constitution
 Article 1 - Section 1
 Bicameral Legislature
 Article 1 - Section 2
 House of Representatives
 Election and Candidate Requirements
 States fill vacancies
 Choose their own speaker and officers
 Sole Power to Impeach (simple majority House vote)
 Constitution
 Article 1 - Section 3
 Senate
 Election and Candidate Requirements
 States fill vacancies
 VP – President of Senate
 Senate Pro-Tempore
 Try Impeachments from HR
 Other Structural Rules for Congress
 Rules: When and how often to meet
 Override Veto 2/3 vote in both chambers
 Can object to new members
 Compensation and Appointments to other branch
 Constitution
 Article 1 - Section 8
 Lists Powers that Congress has
 Article 1 - Section 9
 Lists Restrictions on Congress
 Article 1 - Section 10
 Limits Powers of the states
B. What is the Job of a member of
Congress?
Bill Nelson (D)
 1. Trustee elected 2000

 2. Instructed Delegate
Marco Rubio (R)
 4 types of Representation elected 2010
 3. Politico
 C. Congressional Elections
 1. Review of Constitution
 2. Congressional Districts
 a. Reapportionment
 b. Redistricting
 Malapportionment
 Gerrymandering
 Cracking and Packing
Pinellas County Districts -
Gerrymandering?
 C. Congressional Elections
 3. Advantages & Disadvantages of
Congressional Representatives
 a. Incumbency Advantage
 b. Coattail Effect
 c. Midterm Loss
 D. Congress as an Organization
 1. Leadership Speaker:
 a. House Nancy Pelosi
(CA)
 Speaker of the House
 Majority / Minority
Leaders

Minority: Kevin Majority: Steny

McCarthy (CA) Hoyer (MD)
D. Congress as an Organization
b. Senate Vice-Pres.:
 Vice president Mike Pence
(IN)
 Senate Pro-Tempore
 Majority / Minority Leaders

Majority Leader:
Minority Leader:
Mitch McConnell
Chuck Schumer (NY)
(KY)
 D. Congress as an Organization
 c. Majority / Minority Whips



HR Min Whip S Maj Whip John

HR Maj Whip
Steve Scalise (LA) Cornyn (TX) S Min Whip Dick
James Clyburn
 2. Committees (SC) Durbin (IL)

 a. 4 types
 b. What does a standing committee do?
 c. Major Difference between the House and
Senate
 What do committees do?
 Hold hearings
 Report on proposed legislation
 ‘mark-up’ bill
 Floor managers of the bill
 Cue givers
 Serve on conference committees if need be
 Legislative oversight
 How do members of Congress get on a
committee?
 Three goals:
Reelection
Influence in Congress
 The opportunity to make policy in areas
they think are important.
 New members can request but the final
decision is left to the party leaders.
 How does seniority work?
 Committee chairs are the most important
influences on committee agenda.
 Until 1970 – seniority system
 Today – seniority is the general system
 How a Bill becomes a Law!
Introduced

Committee
Subcommittee Senate Rules Committee
Filibuster
Floor Vote House

Conference Committee
Veto President

Override Veto Law!!!!

 E. How a Bill becomes a Law!
 1. The proposal of the bill
 3 types of agenda setting
 2. The journey of the bill
 a. Introduced
 b. Committees
 c. Subcommittees
 d. The floor vote
 Rules committee & the House
 Unlimited Debate & the Senate
 E. How a Bill becomes a Law!
 e. Conference Committee
 f. Executive Check
 President has 4 options
 3. Madisonian Process
 Easier to Defeat a bill than to pass one
 The Role and Impact of the
President
 President is the Chief Legislator
 Have their own legislative agenda
 Task is to persuade Congress that their
agenda should be Congress’s agenda.
 “If an issue is not included on the presidential
agenda, it is almost impossible – short of
crisis – to get the Congress to focus on it.”
Lyndon B. Johnson
 Resources to influence Congress
 Directly
Rarely used
 Mostly use the Congressional Liaison Office
 Typically creating an environment that
permits important shifts in public policy works
best. (at the margins)
 Typically unsuccessful
 Lobbyists & Interest Groups
 The bigger the issue, the more lobbyists are
involved.
 Interest groups pass out ‘scorecards’ on how
members of Congress voted on issues and
threaten electoral retaliation.
 Congressmen can ignore lobbyists.
 Congress can also regulate lobbyists
 1995 – forced lobby groups to register
 Understanding Congress
 Is Congress democratic?
 Members are elite
 Leadership is chosen by its members
 Voters have little direct influence over the
individuals who chair committees or lead
 HOWEVER:
 Congress does try to listen to the American
people
 Linkage institutions aid in this relationship