Congress
I.
Structure of Congress
oBicameralism
oHouse
of Representatives
§Allocation
of Representation
§Requirements
for the job
§Reapportionment
oThe
Senate
II.
Evolution of Congress
oFirst
half of the 19TH century
oSecond
half of the 19th century
oChanges
in the House
§19th
Century (power concentrated with speaker)
§Early
20th Century (power shifted from speaker to committee chairs/seniority
system)
§Change
in 1970s/80s (power shifted from committee chairs to subcommittee chairs)
§Changes
in 1990s (Swing back to 19th Era?)
oChanges
in the Senate
§1940/50s
senate was often characterized as an elite men’s club were a handful of
senior members dominated decision making.
§1970s
senate adopted new rules encouraging decentralization
§1990s
power in the senate is dispersed into the hands of many members.
III.
Congressional Elections
§Incumbents
and Reelection
§Gerrymandering
§Incumbents
Advantages
oHome
style
oAdvantages
of Responsibility
oResources
of the Office
oCampaign
Money
oName
Recognition
§Challengers’
Disadvantage
IV.
Voter and Elections Outcomes
§Why
do incumbents ever lose?
V.
Serving in Congress
§Who
Serves?–Descriptive and Political Representation
§Congress
as a Job
§Congress
as an Organization
§Political
Parties
VI.
Party Leadership in Congress
§Majority
Leadership in the House
§Minority
Leadership in the House
§Leadership
in the Senate
VII.
Committees
§Conference
committee
§Standing
committees
§Distributive
vs. Informational theories of committee behavior
§Senators
serve on more committee and address a wide array of issues–"generalists"
VIII.
Congressional Staff
IX.
The Business of Congress– How
a Bill Becomes a Law (Click here for a diagram of the process)
§Legislative
Process
§Committee
Process
§The
House Floor
§The
Senate Floor
oFilibuster
§Conference
Committee
X.
Policy Oversight
Police-patrol
oversight
Fire
alarm oversight
XII.
Congress and Representation