Congress National Legislature. Bicameral Congress Historical- British Parliament, colonial & state legislatures Practical- Great Compromise: Va. & NJ.

Congress

National Legislature

Bicameral Congress Historical- British Parliament, colonial &

state legislatures Practical- Great Compromise: Va. & NJ

Plans Theoretical- establish check on one

another, fear of domination of National Government’s other 2 branches

* still some concern re: Senate undemocratic

Congress is a bicameral legislature made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

•1913: number fixed at 435

•Number of representatives each state can elect based on state’s population

•Apportionment: distribution of seats according to population

•Representatives serve two-year terms

The House of Representatives

• 100 members

• Each state represented by two senators

• Senators serve six-year terms

The Senate

The Structure of Congress

Terms and Sessions Term: Lasts two years, numbered

consecutively- 1st Congress 3/4/1789-3/4-1791, 112th Congress 1/3/2011-1/3/2013

Sessions: Period Congress Assembles and conducts business- 2 sessions for each term

Lasts “most of the year”

Uncle Jay Explains Congress

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QakVlC3X_s

House of Representatives Apportioned among states based on

population-Art. 1, Sect 2-Clause 3 Must have at least one: Alaska, N & S.

Dakota, Vermont, Montana, Wyoming, Delaware

Currently 435 (plus 1-American Samoa, DC, Virgin Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico- not members of House-no voting rights, except in committees)

2 year terms-no term limit

Congressional Elections Tuesday, Following 1st Monday in

November-even numbered years. Off-year elections- Non-presidential

election years (2010)Generally president’s party loses seats

Districts: Single-member Districts State Legislatures determine

Congressional Districts

Gerrymandering

Districts drawn to favor the political party in power

Wesberry v Sanders 1964-one person= one vote

Gomillion v. Lightfoot-1960 -race cannot be basis of gerrymandering

Gerrymandering

The Power of the Purse• Only Congress can deny

funding requests from executive branch

• Through appropriation, Congress can prevent president from carrying out policiesThe Impeachment Power

• Impeachment power rarely used

• Congress can charge officials with wrongdoing, bring them to trial

• Process only in cases involving treason, bribery, “high crimes and misdemeanors”

The Power of Advice and Consent

• Senate must approve treaties negotiated by president

• Senate has power to reject presidential appointees

Other Checks and Balances

• Begins process of amending Constitution

• Can override presidential veto of bill

• Congressional oversight: broad powers of executive review

Congress and Checks and Balances

•Three types of powers held by Congress

–Expressed: spelled out in Constitution

– Implied: suggested in Constitution in the necessary and proper clause

– Inherent: powers a government maintains simply because it is a government

•In addition to granting powers to Congress, the Constitution explicitly denies powers to the legislative branch.

Defining the Powers of Congress

Financing Powers• Uses power to “lay and collect

taxes” by levying direct taxes and indirect taxes

• Has power to borrow money on behalf of the United States in case of deficit

Defense-Related Powers• Framers granted Congress

power to declare war• Congress retains power to

raise army and navy and to provide for their funding

Commerce Power • Has power to regulate

interstate commerce under Constitution’s commerce clause

• Only Congress can pass laws affecting economic activity that takes place across state lines.Other Expressed Powers

• Deal with regulation of national economy (coinage, postal service, copyrights and patents, weights and measures)

• Include establishing bankruptcy law, naturalization process, courts

Expressed Powers of Congress

•Clause 1: To levy taxes

•Clause 2: To borrow money

Expressed Powers of Congress

•Clause 3: To regulate foreign and interstate commerce

•Clause 4: To establish uniform rules of citizenship

Expressed Powers of Congress (cont’d.)

•Clause 5: To coin money; to set uniform weights and measures

•Clause 6: To punish counterfeiters

Expressed Powers of Congress (cont’d.)

•Clause 7: To establish post offices and post roads

•Clause 8: To make copyright and patent laws

Expressed Powers of Congress (cont’d.)

•Clause 9: To establish national courts inferior to the Supreme Court

Expressed Powers of Congress (cont’d.)

•Clause 10: To define and punish piracy and other violations of international law

•Clause 11: To declare war

•Clause 12: To raise and support armies

Expressed Powers of Congress (cont’d.)

• Clause 13: To raise and maintain a navy

• Clause 14: To establish military laws

• Clause 15: To call up a national militia in times of uprising or foreign invasion

Expressed Powers of Congress (cont’d.)

• Clause 16: To organize, arm, and discipline a militia when it is called into service

• Clause 17: To exercise jurisdiction over the District of Columbia

Expressed Powers of Congress (cont’d.)

•Clause 18: To make all laws necessary and proper to the execution of any of the other expressed powers

Expressed Powers of Congress (cont’d.)

Over time, Clause 18, the necessary and proper clause, has become the source of authority for much of the congressional legislation that affects Americans’ everyday lives.

The Necessary and Proper Clause Today• Has led to expanded federal authority over time

Loose and Strict Constructionists• Founders disagreed about how necessary and proper clause

should be defined

• Strict constructionists

– Congress should only exercise powers explicitly granted in Constitution

– Known as Antifederalists

• Loose constructionists

– Congress should have more freedom to interpret Constitution

– Known as Federalists

Implied Powers of Congress

Powers Common to Both Houses• Propose constitutional amendments• Conduct investigations• Ability to issue subpoenas, documents that require person

to testify

• Under Twelfth Amendment, House can choose president if no candidate receives majority of electoral votes

Powers of the House

Nonlegislative Powers

• May choose vice president • Provides advice and

consent on presidential appointments

• Must approve treaties negotiated by president

Powers of the Senate

• Many clauses in Constitution protect citizens’ basic civil rights

• Congress may not suspend writ of habeas corpus, except in cases of rebellion or invasion

• Congress is forbidden from passing bill of attainder, law that allows person to be punished without trial

• Constitution also forbids Congress from passing ex post facto laws, laws that criminalize a past action

Limits on the Powers of Congress

House of Representative

The House of Representatives•Membership in the House of Representatives

is apportioned to each state on the basis of its population. After each census, seats in the House are reapportioned among the states and new district boundaries are drawn.

•The Speaker of the House is one of the most powerful leaders in government.

•The House relies on a committee system to conduct much of its business.

Formal Qualifications• House members chosen by

direct popular vote

• According to Constitution, House is responsible for “Elections, Returns, and Qualifications of its own Members”

• Representative must be at least 25 years old and resident of state he or she represents.

• Members must also have been U.S. citizen at least 7 years

Informal Qualifications

• Candidates with military backgrounds, celebrities often popular choices for House membership

• Ability to raise significant funds for campaigning is important informal qualification for House membership

Membership in the House

Salary & Benefits

Salary- $174,000 Leaders-$193,400 Speaker- $223,000

Changes in Population• Each state must have at least

one representative

• Constitution requires that House redistribute number of seats available to each state every 10 years

• Reapportionment based on most current census figures

Gerrymandering• State governments responsible

for creating voting districts within state

• Gerrymandering: redrawing district boundaries for political gain

Reapportionment and Redistricting

One Person, One Vote• According to Constitution, each person’s vote must have same

basic value

• Gerrymandering has been used to disenfranchise racial minorities

• Supreme Court has restricted use of gerrymandering

Review from yesterday: Qualifications for the Senate? Where in the Constitution you find

“Expressed Powers”?-Give an Example What is the “Elastic Clause”?- Where? When are Federal elections? Speaker of the House? Other House Leadership positions? Role of Committees?

The Speaker of the House• The presiding officer of the House is called the Speaker of

the House. – Elected by his or her peers

– Member of majority party

• The Speaker has authority over much of the business of the House.

– Presides over debates

– Rules on points of order

– Assigns bills to committees

• The Speaker is behind the vice president in the line of succession to the presidency.

Leadership in the House

John BoehnerSpeaker of the House

House Rules• House has congressional authority to make own rules

• House Rules Committee very powerful, responsible for setting conditions under which bills are debated

Other Leadership Posts• Party officers elected at beginning of term at party caucus

• Both Democratic and Republican Parties elect floor leader

• Majority leader serves as assistant to Speaker of the House

• Both parties elect whips, function is to secure votes in line with party leadership

Leadership in the House (cont’d.)

House of Representatives-LeadersEric Cantor (VA)Majority Leader

Nancy PelosiMinority Leader

House of Representatives- Whips

Kevin McCarthyMajority Whip

Steny HoyerMinority Whip

Standing Committees• Standing committees:

permanent committees that address broad topics

• Subcommittees: specialize in areas within a broader topic

Committee Chairs• Position of committee chair

very powerful• Chairs chosen by majority

party• Position usually goes to most

senior member on committee

Other Committees• Select committees: meant to

carry out specific task

• Joint committees include both House and Senate members; address issues that affect both chambers

Committee Membership• House members usually

serve on two standing committees, four subcommittees at a time

• Members request assignments based on personal interest, concerns of constituents

The Role of Committees

The Senate

Article 1 Sect. 3 Originally- State Legislatures

chose- 17th Amendment- Direct Election

6 year terms- 1/3 every 2 years= continuous body

No term limts

Formal Qualifications• Must be at least 30 years old

• Must reside in state he or she represents

• Must be U.S. citizen at least nine years

• Serve six-year terms

Informal Qualifications

• Tend to be older and wealthier than House members

• Senate does not reflect diversity of U.S. population

• Less diverse body than House

The Senate and Its Membership

Election of Senators• State legislatures originally chose senators

• Since 1913, 17th Amendment, elected by direct popular vote

Salaries for US Senators Salary- $174,000 Leaders-$193,400

Party Leaders• Leading the majority

– Senate majority leader most powerful position in Senate– Chosen by party caucus, works to fulfill party’s agenda in Senate

• Minority leader guides work of minority party in Senate

Constitutional Positions• Senate’s presiding officer

– Vice president of the United States is president of the Senate

– Largely ceremonial; votes only in circumstance of tie, casts deciding vote

• When presiding officer absent – President pro tempore presides in absence of president of

the Senate, traditionally longest-serving senator of majority party

– Third in line in presidential succession behind Speaker of the House

Senate Leadership

Joe Biden- President of the Senate (VP)

SenateDaniel Inouye-President Pro

TemporeHarry ReidMajority Leader

Mitch McConnellMinority Leader

Senate Whips

Richard DurbinMajority Whip

John KylMinority Whip

“Never too Old” Strom Thurmond-

(R-SC) 1954-2003 (100 years old when he left office)

Robert Byrd (D-W.VA) 1959-2010

Types of Senate Committees

• 16 standing committees and dozens of subcommittees

• Assignments allow senators to become familiar with specific issues of public policy

Committee Chairs• No senator can chair more

than one committee• Committee chairmanships

generally chosen by seniority rule

Membership in Committees

• Usually serve on three committees and five subcommittees

• Members seek assignments that align with constituents’ concerns and personal interests

Senate Committee Power• Top nominees of president

reviewed by relevant Senate committee

• Debate and vote on treaties, need two-thirds majority to become law

Committees in the Senate

The Filibuster• Senate places fewer limits on debate than House • Senators may use stalling tactics like filibuster

– Opponents of measure refuse to stop talking hoping to prevent measure from coming to vote

– Cloture can limit filibuster, requires two-thirds vote to end debate

Discipline in the Senate• Constitution states Senate should judge conduct of own

members• Senators can be expelled or censured

Filling Vacancies• Vacancy occurs if senator dies in office or retires during term• State’s governor appoints temporary replacement

Rules and Traditions

Members of Congress

Makeup of 111th Congress

Handout

Senators and representatives are elected to represent people. As legislators, they have four voting options:

TrusteesTrustees believe thateach question they facemust be decided on itsmerits.

DelegatesDelegates see themselvesas agents of the peoplewho elected them.

PartisansLawmakers who owetheir first allegiance totheir political party arepartisans.

PoliticosPoliticos attempt tocombine the basicelements of the trustee,delegate, and partisanroles.

Committee Membership and Public Servants

As committee members, senators and representatives screen proposed laws before they are voted on.

Another vital part of their committee work involves the oversight function.

Oversight is the process by which Congress, through its committees, checks to see that the agencies of the executive branch are working effectively.

Members of the House and the Senate also act as servants of their constituents.

Requests from voters vary widely, and members of Congress take heed to many of them. Ignoring their constituencies would not bode well in the next election.

Other Types of Action• Joint resolution: similar to a bill

– Used for certain circumstances

– Must be signed by president, carries force of law

• Concurrent resolutions: address operations in both chambers, do not carry force of law

Introducing Bills• Both houses of Congress introduce bills

– Most bills are public and affect entire country

– Private bills affect only one individual or small group of people

• Rider: provision added to a bill that has little or no relationship to bill’s main intent (also called earmarks)

– Usually unpopular provisions unlikely to pass on their own

Bills in Congress

Most bills submitted to Congress do not become law.

• Bills first referred to particular committee in House or Senate

• Bill may later be assigned to subcommittee

Committee and Subcommittee Hearings

• Public hearings get input on bills under consideration

Referral

Bills in Committee

• Subcommittee issues report on bill to full committee following hearing

• Subcommittee’s report based on majority of committee members’ recommendation

• Report can be favorable, unfavorable, neutral

The Subcommittee’s Report

House Rules• House Rules Committee sets rules to govern how bills

debated or amended• Some major budget or appropriations bills bypass Rules

Committee• Three main types of rules: open, closed, modified

– Open rules allow amendments– Closed rules forbid amendments– Modified rules limit amendments

The Markup Process• Full committee further debates bill, considers any

amendments• If committee decides to take no further action, bill is virtually

killed• Rarely, discharge petition used by House to force bill out

of committee

Bills in Committee (cont’d.)

After a bill leaves committee, it moves on for the full

consideration by the House or Senate.

• House votes to accept rules• Committee of the Whole is

formed by all members • Debates bill, recommends

amendments• Quorum for Committee of the

Whole is only 100• Members must publicly state

votes in roll-call vote

The Bill in the House

The Bill on the Floor

• Requests for debate limits and amendment restrictions require unanimous consent of Senate.

• Important bills subject to roll-call votes, as in House

The Bill in the Senate

Resolving differences between House and Senate versions of a bill is the responsibility of a conference committee.

• No formal rules for dual-chamber committee meetings

• If conference committee does not reach agreement, bill may die

• If conference committee does reach agreement, issues report to both houses

• If both House and Senate accept, bill moves on for president’s approval

The Conference Committee

Resolving differences between House and Senate versions of a bill is the responsibility of a conference committee.

• No formal rules for dual-chamber committee meetings

• If conference committee does not reach agreement, bill may die

• If conference committee does reach agreement, issues report to both houses

• If both House and Senate accept, bill moves on for president’s approval

The Conference Committee

• President can sign bill into law• President can choose not to sign bill

– After 10 days if Congress still in session, bill becomes law

– If Congress adjourns during 10-day period, bill does not become law; known as a pocket veto

• President may outright veto bill• Congress can override veto with two-thirds

majority vote in both houses

Presidential Action on a Bill