CONGRESS

Chapter 7

O’Connor and Sabato

American Government:

Continuity and Change

CONGRESS

In this chapter we will cover…

• Roots of the Legislative Branch

• The Constitution and the Legislative Branch

• The Members of Congress

• How Congress is Organized

• The Law-making Function of Congress

• How Members Make Decisions

• Congress and the President

•Roots of the
Legislative Branch

• The U.S. Congress was greatly influenced by the American colonial experience and by the Articles of Confederation.

• Under the British, colonial assemblies were chosen as advisory bodies to the royal governors.

• These assemblies gradually assumed more power and authority in each colony, eventually gaining responsibility over taxation and spending.

• The weaknesses of the Articles led to the Philadelphia Convention in 1787.

•The Constitution
and the Legislative
Branch of Government

• Article I creates a bicameral legislative branch of government.

• The upper house is called the Senate in which each state receives two representatives.

• The lower house is called the House of Representatives which is apportioned by population.

• The Senate has a six-year term with 1/3 of the seats up for reelection every two years.

• House members serve two-year terms.

Apportionment and Redistricting

• The Constitution requires that all Americans be counted every ten years by a census.

• The census determines the representation in the House of Representatives.

• Redistricting (the redrawing of congressional districts to reflect changes in seats allocated to the states from population shifts) is done by state legislatures and, of course, always has political overtones.

• When the process is outrageously political, it is called gerrymandering and is often struck down by the courts.

Constitutional Powers
of Congress

• The most important constitutional power of Congress is the power to make laws.

• This power is shared by the House and the Senate.

• In order to become a law, a bill must be passed by both the House and the Senate.

Key Differences
House Senate

• Initiate revenue bills

• Two-year term

• 435

• Formal

• Specialist

• Tax policy

• Advise and consent

• Six-year term

• 100

• Relaxed

• Generalist

• Foreign policy

•The Members of Congress

• Congress is older, better educated, whiter, and richer than most of us.

• However, great strides have been made. Currently, both California senators are women.

• Can a man represent a woman?

• Can a white person adequately represent the views of a black person?

WOMEN MEMBERS OF THE 106TH CONGRESS

HOUSE WOMEN REPRESENTATIVES: 56 Total Democratic Congresswomen: 41
Total Republican Congresswomen: 17

The Representational Role of Members of Congress

• How should an elected official represent his/her constituents?

• Trustee--representatives use their own best judgment

• Delegate--representatives vote the way their constituents want them to

• Politico--representatives act as trustee or delegate depending on the issue

•How Congress is Organized

• Every two years, a new Congress is seated.

• The first order of business is the election of leaders and adoption of new rules.

• Both houses of Congress are organized on the basis of party for both leadership and committee purposes.

Different Types of
Congressional Committees

• Standing Committee: continues from one Congress to the next.

• Joint Committee: set up to expedite business between the two houses.

• Conference committee: special joint committees that resolve differences in bills passed by either house.

• Ad hoc, special, or select committees: temporary committees designed for a specific purpose.

•The Law-Making
Function of Congress

• Only a member of the House or Senate may introduce a bill but anyone can write a bill.

• Over 9,000 bills are proposed and fewer than 5 to 10% are enacted.

• Most bills originate in the Executive Branch.

• A bill must survive three stages to become a law: committees, the floor, and the conference committee. A bill can die at any stage.

•How Members Make Decisions

• It is rare for a legislator to disregard strong wishes of constituents, particularly on hot-button issues or those contentious issues that get a lot of media attention.

• Deciding how the voters feel is not possible.

• The perceptions of the representative are important since he/she cannot really know how all the constituents feel about an issue.

• If constituents have little knowledge or interest in an issue, the legislator often makes an autonomous decision.

•Congress and the President

• Especially since the 1930s, the president has seemed to be more powerful than Congress.

• However, Congress retains several key powers vis-a-vis the president:

– funding powers

– oversight

– impeachment/removal

Congressional Oversight of the Executive Branch

• Congress has the power to review the actions of the Executive Branch

• Congressional oversight is used to ensure that the bureaucracy is enforcing and interpreting laws the way Congress intended.

Continuity and Change

• The framers of the U.S Constitution placed Congress at the center of the government.

• In the early years of the republic, Congress held the bulk of power.

• The face of Congress is changing as women and minorities have achieved seats.

• Today, the presidency has become quite powerful, particularly since FDR.

• Congress now generally responds to executive branch legislative proposals.