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11. Congress. 11. Learning Objectives. Characterize the backgrounds of members of Congress and assess their impact on the ability of members of Congress to represent average Americans. 11.1. Identify the principal factors influencing the outcomes in congressional elections. 11.2. 11.
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11 Congress
11 Learning Objectives Characterize the backgrounds of members of Congress and assess their impact on the ability of members of Congress to represent average Americans 11.1 Identify the principal factors influencing the outcomes in congressional elections 11.2
11 Learning Objectives Compare and contrast the House and Senate, and describe the roles of congressional leaders, committees, caucuses, and staff 11.3 Outline the path of bills to passage and explain the influences on congressional decision making 11.4
11 Learning Objectives Assess Congress’s role as a representative body and the impact of representation on the scope of government 11.5
Representatives and Senators 11.1 • Members • Why Aren’t There More Women in Congress?
Members Not a glamorous job, but there are perks Power $174,000 annual salary Generous retirement and health benefits Constitutional requirements House: 25, citizen for 7 years Senate: 30, citizen for 9 years Reside in state 435 Representatives; 100 senators 11.1
11.1 TABLE 11.1: Portrait of the 113th Congress: Some statistics
Members Demographics Descriptive versus substantive representation 11.1
11.1 Arab-American Heritage festival
Why Aren’t There More Women in Congress? Fewer women running Childcare Risk averse Bias Must be more qualified 11.1
11.1 11.1 How old do you have to be to run for the office of senator? • 25 • 35 • 30 • 21
Congressional Elections 11.2 • Who Wins Elections? • Advantages of Incumbency • Role of Party Identification • Defeating Incumbents • Open Seats • Stability and Change
Incumbents Over 90% win reelection in House Senators do not have it as easy Incumbents perceive themselves as vulnerable Hence fundraising and campaigning 11.2 Who Wins Elections?
11.2 FIGURE 11.1: Incumbency factor in congressional elections
Advantages of Incumbency Advertising Constituent contact Credit claiming Casework Pork barrel projects 11.2
11.2 Big Dig
Advantages of Incumbency Position taking Weak opponents Campaign spending 11.2
Role of Party Identification Parties and districts Drawn for one-party dominance 11.2
Defeating Incumbents Challengers are naïve But sometimes incumbents are vulnerable Redistricting Public mood 11.2
Open Seats and Stability and Change Vacant seat = no incumbent running Most turnover occurs here Stability from incumbency Development of expertise Term limits? 11.2
11.2 11.2 Why do incumbents have such a strong electoral advantage? • They attract more campaign contributions • They can use the congressional franking privilege • They have more name recognition • All of the above
How Congress is Organized to Make Policy 11.3 • American Bicameralism • Congressional Leadership • Committees and Subcommittees • Caucuses: Informal Organization of Congress • Congressional Staff
American Bicameralism Bicameral legislature Bills must pass both houses Checks and balances Result of Connecticut Compromise House More institutionalized and seniority-based Rules Committee Senate Filibuster Less centralized and seniority-based 11.3
11.3 TABLE 11.2: House versus Senate: Some key differences
Congressional Leadership Chosen by party House Speaker of the House Majority and minority leaders Whips Senate Vice president Majority leader 11.3
11.3 Congressional Leadership
Committees and Subcommittees Four types of committees Standing committees Joint committees Conference committees Select committees 11.3
11.3 TABLE: 11.3: Standing committees in the Senate and in the House
Committees and Subcommittees Committees at work: Legislation Legislative oversight 11.3
11.3 Congressional committee at work
11.3 TABLE 11.4: Sharing oversight of homeland security
Getting on a committee Constituent needs Appealing to leadership 11.3 Committees and Subcommittees
Caucuses: Informal Organization of Congress As important as formal structure Dominated by caucuses 500 caucuses today Goal is to promote their interests Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus 11.3
11.3 Congressional Hispanic Caucus
Congressional Staff Personal staff Casework Legislative functions Committee staff 2,000 staff members Legislative oversight Staff agencies Congressional Research Service (CRS) Government Accountability Office (GAO) Congressional Budget Office (CBO) 11.3
11.3 11.3 How many staff members does Congress employ to help it do its job? • More than 11,000 • 3,200 • Less than 2,000 • Staff are volunteers from the member’s constituency, and their numbers vary
Congressional Process and Decision Making 11.4 • Presidents and Congress: Partners and Protagonists • Party, Constituency, and Ideology • Lobbyists and Interest Groups
11.4 FIGURE 11.2: How a bill becomes a law
Presidents and Congress: Partners and Protagonists President’s legislative agenda Persuade Congress Work at the margins but usually win Yet Congress is quite independent 11.4
Party, Constituency, and Ideology Party influence Economic and social welfare policies Polarized politics Parties more internally homogeneous Less likelihood of compromise 11.4
11.4 FIGURE 11.3: Increasing polarization in Congress
Party, Constituency, and Ideology Constituency opinion versus member ideology Trustees versus instructed delegates 11.4
Lobbyists and Interest Groups D.C. is crawling with lobbyists 12,000 of them Spent $3 billion in 2011 Former members of Congress How lobbyists persuade Provide policy information Provide promises of money Ghostwrite legislation Who really wrote ACA? Status quo usually wins Disclosure requirements 11.4
11.4 11.4 On what tactics do lobbyists rely to influence policy in Congress? • Promising money for reelection campaigns • Providing expert policy information • Ghostwriting legislation • All of the above
11.5 Understanding Congress • Congress and Democracy • Congress and the Scope of Government
Congress and Democracy Democracy depends upon successful representation Congress unrepresentative Members are elites Leadership chosen, not elected Senate based on states, not population Obstacles to good representation Constituent service Reelection campaigns Representativeness versus Effectiveness 11.5
Congress and the Scope of Government Does size of government increase to please public? Pork barrel spending Contradictory preferences Against large government, for individual programs 11.5
11.5 11.5 How does the Senate undermine democratic representation? • Its members tend not to show up for roll call votes • It is forbidden from overriding a presidential veto • It represents states rather than people • None of the above
Discussion Questions 11 Based on what you have learned in this chapter, do you prefer the trustee or instructed delegate model of representation? Which model is closer to the system we have now?
