Magleby & Light Government by the People Chapter 10 Congress: The People’s Branch

1. Magleby & Light Government by the People Chapter 10 Congress: The People’s Branch

2. 3 Constitutional Qualifications for President; • 3 Parts to Senate Rule #22; • President Pro Tempore (Name and Party); • Speaker of the House (Name and Party); • Majority Leader of the House-Name and Party; • Minority Leader of the Senate-Name and Party;

3. 3 Constitutional Qualifications for the Senate; 4 Possible Actions by a Committee After receiving a Bill; 4 Offices in Presidential Succession-In Order; 4 Actions of the President After Receiving a bill; 3 Constitutional Qualifications of the House; Describe the 2 Congressional Immunities.

4. The People’s Branch • The federal government did not become involved in providing access to college until Congress passed the “G.I. Bill” in 1944 • Over the next 50 years, Congress and the president expanded the loan system to make a college/university education almost universally accessible

5. Who Elects the Congress Apportionment Malapportionment The allocation of legislative seats to jurisdictions based on population. Seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are apportioned to the states on the basis of their population after every ten-year census. Unequal numbers of people in legislative districts resulting in inequality of voter representation.

6. Reapportionment, 2000

7. The Original Gerrymander

8. Gerrymandering PackingLumping oppositionvoters in one area CrackingSplitting up groups of voters so they do not constitute a majority in any district *Reapportionment occurs after the census conducted every 10 years of seats in the House

9. Advantages of Incumbency • Franking privilege • Greater access to media • High name recognition • High odds of victory give incumbents a natural fund-raising advantage • Greater experience as candidates • Greater ability to help constituents

10. A Divided Branch The architecture and floor plan of the Capitol building in Washington reflect the bicameral division of Congress

11. The Powers of Congress • To raise, make, and borrow money • To regulate commerce • To unify and expand the country • To prepare and declare war • To create the federal judiciary

12. Differences Between the House of Representatives and the Senate

13. Leading the House of Representatives

14. Leading the Senate

15. Congressional Committees • Types of committees • Authorizing • Appropriations • Rules and Administration • Budget and Revenue • Conference • Choosing committee members • Seniority

16. Congressional Committees Bureaucratic Oversight and Investigations Special committees may conduct investigations or hold hearings, such as Supreme Court confirmation hearings

17. Congressional Caucuses • Informal committees that allow individual members to promote shared legislative interests • Examples: • Black Caucus • Women’s Issues Caucus • Rural Health Caucus • Children’s Caucus • Pro-Life Caucus • Cuba Freedom Caucus

18. The Job of the Legislator: Customs and Norms Until recently, many norms guided the behavior of members of Congress. Members were supposed to specialize in a small number of issues, defer to members with longer tenure in office, never criticize anyone personally, and wait their turn to speak and introduce legislation.

19. Making Legislative Choices Philosophy and political convictions Voters Colleagues Congressional staff Party Interest groups The president

20. Congressional Ethics • In recent years, much greater scrutiny than in the past • Jack Abramoff: “The man who bought Washington” • Abramoff’s relationship with House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) led to DeLay’s resignation in 2006 • Since 2007, members of Congress may not accept gifts/meals from lobbyists

21. March 4, 1789 – 1st day the U.S. Congress convened under the new Constitution Session – a meeting during the year Term – 2 sessions House of Representatives *Qualifications: A. At least 25 years old;

22. U.S. citizen for at least 7 years; • Resident of the voting area. Term of office for the House of Rep. – 2 years (All of the House members are elected every 2 years) Basis of representation is – population Non – voting members - 5

23. Salary – Remuneration - $174,000 Benefits include: • Life insurance; • Health insurance; • Office space; • Office staff; • Government “credit card”.

24. Special power of the House of Rep. – bills concerning money are to begin in the House Special power of the Senate – must approve all appointments and treaties Senate *Qualifications: • At least 30 year old;

25. U.S. citizen for at least 9 years; • Resident of your voting area. Term of office for the Senate – 6 years (1/3 of the Senate is elected every 2 years – 33-33-34) Basis of representation is – 2 per state Non – voting members – 0 Salary and Benefits – Same as the House

26. Franking Privilege – right of a member of Congress to send mail, postage free – instead of a stamp, they use their signature Number of members in Congress: House – 435 voting members + 5 non – voting members = 440 TOTAL Senate – 100 voting members + 0 non – voting members = 100 TOTAL Congress = House + Senate

27. Whipper – In – a person, in foxhunting, whose job is to keep the hounds in line (together) Congressional Whip – a party officer in Congress whose job is to keep their party member in line (together) Filibuster – continuous talk, to block the vote on a bill (used only in the SENATE) Germane – pertaining to – (a filibuster does not have to be germane to the bill)

28. The only “legal” way to end the use of a filibuster is the passage of Senate Rule #22: • 1/6 of the Senate petitions to end; • A vote is taken; • If 3/5 agree, the filibuster is ended. Cloture – to end a filibuster

29. Strom Thurmond – holds the record for the longest single filibuster – 24 hours, 18 minutes – trying to block the vote on the Civil Rights Act of 1957 Seniority – giving rights and privileges to those that have served the longest Legislative powers of Congress – powers given to Congress when a bill becomes a law

30. Non – legislative powers – powers given to Congress without the passage of a law Constituents – people a member of Congress represents Senatorial courtesy – tradition in the Senate of approving or rejecting an appointment to a Senator’s state, based on the recommendation of that state’s Senators Average age for a U.S. Senator – 63

31. Caucus – a closed political meeting Censure – Strong Congressional disapproval Congressional Journal – an outline of the proceedings in Congress each day Congressional Record – a record of every speech given in Congress each day Adjourn – to formally end a meeting

32. Public bill – a bill that concerns “everyone” Private bill – a bill that concerns an individual *Voting in the House of Rep.: • Standing; • Voice; • Teller; • Roll-call.

33. Article 1, Section 7, Clause 2 – a roll-call vote must be used when you have a vote to “override” a veto Incumbent – a person seeking re-election *Congressional Immunities: • Members of Congress cannot be arrested for a misdemeanor (to/from Congress); • Members of Congress cannot be sued for what they say in the “Halls of Congress:.

34. Congressional Remuneration The current salary (2017) for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is $174,000 per year. House Leadership Speaker of the House - $223,500Majority Leader - $193,400 Minority Leader - $193,400 Senate Leadership Majority Leader - $193,400 Minority Leader - $193,400

35. Although the Constitution gives the House and the Senate essentially similar legislative tasks, certain tasks are assigned only to each of the chambers: • House – The House has the power to “impeach” – charge an official 2. Senate –The Senate conducts any trials of “impeachment”

36. *Though voters tend to disdain Congress as an institution, they are generally satisfied with their own Senators and Representatives (at least they seem to be satisfied, according to election results) However, incumbents are “protected” by: 1. Gerrymandering; 2. Name recognition; 3. Franking privilege; 4. Casework.

37. The members of Congress are not representative of the U.S. population in term of demographics Members of Congress tend to be much more highly educated, wealthier, and there are relatively few minorities and women There are 2 views on there being so few minorities and women represented in Congress:

38. One school of thought, called descriptive representation, argues that legislative bodies should resemble the demographics of the constituents (Those that advocate total descriptive representation tend to advocate a practice of “racial gerrymandering” in which district lines are drawn to promote the election of ethnic minority candidates – declared unconstitutional in Shaw v. Reno)

39. Another view says that voters should remain totally colorblind and elect the best representatives, regardless of ethnicity or gender Issues get on the congressional agenda: • Because of a visible trend or event that has brought the public’s attention to the problem 2. Because of presidential support, which can move an issue onto the agenda

40. How a Bill becomes a Law in the U.S. Congress • Authorship • Drafting a bill • Introducing a bill by placing the bill in the hopper on the clerk’s desk

41. Presiding officer • Possible hearings • After being introduced, bills go to committee and then usually to a subcommittee • After a bill has been passed through committee, it goes to the full membership for a vote

42. Hearings may be held on the bill to: • Learn more information about the bill; • Hear the “pro’s” and “con’s” of the bill. The actions of a committee: • Approve the bill; • Reject the bill; • Amend the bill;

43. Write a report; • Pigeonhole the bill – lose the bill on purpose – done only by a chairman of a committee. If the bill passes through the committee, it then goes to the entire “floor” of that chamber (House or Senate) where new actions can be taken

44. Actions that may be taken by the “floor” on the bill: • Approve; • Reject; • Amend: • Send back to the committee for further work. *A BILL MUST PASS BOTH HOUSES!

45. When both chambers pass bills, but in different versions, the bill is sent to a conference committee where the differences may be resolved (the new-compromise-bill is then sent back to both chambers of Congress for a vote-not for debate) The bill that has passed through the committee and the floors of Congress then goes to the President

46. The President has the following options upon receiving the bill: • Sign; • Veto; • Pocket veto; • Let the bill sit on the President’s desk, after 10 days, if Congress is still in session, the bill automatically becomes a law *The “item veto” was given to President Clinton and was declared “unconstitutional”

47. Actions of the Secretary of State: • Put the U.S. seal on the bill; • Put the new “law” into the U.S. Book of Statutes. *This is a very long process and the “average” time it takes for a bill to eventually become a law is 6 years!

48. Committees are the real “workhorses” of Congress Congress is divided into committees in order to develop and use expertise in specific areas Types of committees: • Joint committees • Standing committees • Select committees

49. 4. Conference committees Seniority *Since the 1970’s, committee chair positions are no longer determined only by seniority Committees and subcommittees are where the real work on legislation takes place Hearings can be used to attract attention to a particular problem

50. Magleby & Light Government by the People Chapter 11 The Presidency