CONGRESS
Chapter 7
OConnor 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.