Institutions of Government

1. Institutions of Government Unit 4, Part I: Legislative Branch 35-45%

2. Congress Role of Legislature • to make the law Intent of the Framers • expected Congress to dominate other two branches • balanced power between large and small states • law making, impeachment, the budget

3. Congress

4. Congress House Requirements • 25 years old • Residence in state • 7 years citizenship • two-year term • House is less male and less white

5. Congress Senate Requirements • 30 years old • residence in state • 9 year citizenship • six-year term • Senate still predominately white male • senate elections are staggered so that 1/3 is elected every two years

6. Congress

7. Congress

8. Congress Size of Congress • each state has two senators (100 total) • the House is based on population • the size of the House was set at 435 in 1929 and has not changed since • CA has the most seats in the House (53) • several states have only one • DC has no representation

9. Congress Party Dominance

10. Congress Congressional Benefits • can’t be arrested for misdemeanors • can’t be sued (i.e., Joseph McCarthy) • congressional pay: 27th Amendment • wages: $133,000 ($200,000) • Franking: free postage/free printing • travel allowance (junket) • tax deduction • health insurance • generous pension

11. Congress Staff members • provide services for constituents • about 1/3 work in an office back in the district of the home state • legislative functions: proposals for legislation, hearings, meet with lobbyists • Congress interacts through staff rather than face to face Hemet 1600 E. Florida Ave. Suite 301 Hemet, CA 92544 Phone: (951) 658-2312 Fax: (951) 652-2562

12. Congress Congressional Session • Congress meets in early January to organize committees and elect leaders • the President gives the State of the Union address in late January • Congress adjourns in December and takes breaks throughout the year • the President may call a special session to summon Congress to DC • a House term is two-years or two sessions

13. Philosophies of Representation Representational View (delegate) • votes the way constituents would vote • social policy and civil rights votes correlate to constituents views the most • foreign policy votes do not correlate Organizational View (partisan) • votes the way the party organization dictates • more partisan = less compromise and less dialogue Attitudinal View (trustee) • Votes according to personal beliefs • House ideologially closer to constituents than Senate • more emphasis on ideology in past few years

14. Philosophies of Representation Party Unity • measured when majority of Democrats and Republicans oppose each other • partisan voting more evident in 1990s (Gingrich)

15. Incumbency Definition • people in office stay in office • no term limits has made Congress a career • sophomore surge (90% of House incumbents win)

16. Incumbency Explanations for Incumbency • name recognition, franking, media coverage • patronage: members try to help constituents • House tied to local people and concerns – little party control • committees secure ‘pork projects’ for the district

17. Incumbency Figure 11.1: Changing Percentage of First-Term Members in Congress

18. Incumbency

19. Incumbency Redistricting • most districts are “safe” (not competitive) • CA has “impartial panel” draw the districts instead of the state legislature • majority-minority districts drawn to give minority populations advantage • Shaw v. Reno: Supreme Court ruled that race can be a factor in congressional redistricting only if there is a “compelling state interest”

20. Structure of the Senate President pro tempore • Daniel K. Inouye, D-HI • acts as head when VP is absent (which is most of the time) • senior member of majority party • presides, keeps order, breaks tie vote Daniel K. Inouye, D-HI

21. Structure of the Senate Majority Leader/Minority Leader • Harry Reid, D-NV / Mitch McConnell, R-TN elected by their parties to follow policies of national committee • majority leader schedules Senate business • in theory this is the most powerful position in the Senate Majority Whip/Minority Whip • Dick Durbin, D-IL / John Kyl, R-AZ • selected by floor leaders • keeps track of attendance and voting Mitch McConnell, R-KY Harry Reid, D-NV John Kyl, R-AZ Dick Durbin, D-IL

22. Structure of the House Speaker of the House • John Boehner, R-OH • presides over House and leader of the majority • decides who may speak on the floor • assigns bills to committees • influences which bills make it to vote • appoints members for select committees • may cause or break a tie John Boehner, R-OH

23. Structure of the House Majority Leader/Minority Leader • Eric Cantor, VA / Nancy Pelosi, CA • elected by their parties to follow policies of national committee Majority Whip/Minority Whip • Kevin McCarthy, CA / Steny Hoyer, MD • selected by floor leaders • keeps track of attendance and voting Eric Cantor, R-VA, 7th Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, 8th Kevin McCarthy, R-CA, 22nd Steny Hoyer, D-MD, 5th

24. Structure of House Congressional Caucuses • meet outside of official structure of congress to pledge support • chare interest in both houses (black caucus) • intra-party—share ideology across party lines

25. Committees Purpose of Committees • consider bills or propose legislation—often suggested by executive agency • maintain oversight over executive agencies • conduct investigation into government officials Agriculture Appropriations Armed Services Banking and Financial Services Budget Commerce Education and the Workforce Government Reform House Administration International Relations Judiciary Resources Rules Science Small Business Standards Transportation and Infrastructure Veterans’ Affairs Ways and Means

26. Committees Committee Assignments • # of committees changes • there are fewer committees and subcommittees since 1995 (20 in House, 18 in Senate) • reflect regional and ideological interests • all chairs of committees are senior members of the majority party • a majority of every committee is from majority party • assignments are really important to freshmen congressmen • Democrats assigned by Steering and Policy Committee • Republicans assigned by Committee on Committees

27. Committees Subcommittee Bill of Rights, 1970s • no one may chair more than one committee • House committee chairs elected by secret ballot • made more subcommittees • meetings open to public • made committees more open to public but less efficient so the Bill of Rights was modified in 1995

28. Committees Standing Committees • permanent, subject-based bodies • oversee function/funding of government • ex. Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Select Committees • appointed for limited time for limited purpose • ex. Select Committee on Intelligence Joint Committees • both House and Senate participate • ex. Joint Committee on Printing Conference Committee • Senate and House resolve differences in legislation

29. Committees Congressional Budget Office (CBO) • provides objective, nonpartisan analysis on budget and deficit General Accounting Office (GAO) • evaluates federal programs to more effectively use government funds

30. How a Bill Becomes Law

31. How a Bill Becomes Law • Introduction • House submits bills to the Hopper • Senate submits bills from the floor • bill/resolution assigned a name and number (i.e., SB 317) • Types of Bills • public bill • pertains to public affairs • private bill • pertains to private individual • pending legislation • does not carry over from one Congress to the next • revenue bill • must originate in the House

32. How a Bill Becomes Law simple and concurrent resolutions • affects one or both houses, lacks force of law, not signed by President joint resolution • passed by both houses with President’s signature, with force of law • used for proposal of a constitutional amendment

33. How a Bill Becomes Law 2. Bill in Committee • the Speaker of the House refers the bill to a committee • most bills ‘die’ in committee • process dominated by the majority party • if bill is “pigeon-holed” a discharge petition can be used • this almost never works – requires majority vote

34. How a Bill Becomes Law 3. The Calendar • a bill must be placed on calendar before it is debated • not all bills go through Congress at same speeds • Speaker and floor leaders may influence this • business regulations and taxes move slowly • clear bills appealing to public move faster

35. How a Bill Becomes Law House Rules Committee • sets rules for consideration on floor • rules can be suspended during debate closed rule • sets limits on length of debate and restricts changes open rule • gives more leeway for changes

36. How a Bill Becomes Law 4. Floor Debate—The House • committee sponsoring bill leads consideration on the floor • usually bills that reach the floor are passed (formality) Committee of the Whole • device to suspend rules and move debate along

37. How a Bill Becomes Law quorum • minimum to do business (a majority) log-rolling • members pledge to support each others bills rider • addition to a bill, added during floor debate • can be anything that the majority is willing to add pork-barrel (earmarks) • riders that benefit a member’s home district • notorious for being wasteful

38. How a Bill Becomes Law 4. Floor Debate – The Senate • no Rules Committee, debate continues without limit until the Senate unanimously concludes to end it Filibuster • senators can filibuster a bill to death or add riders to kill it • hundreds of bills have been killed by a filibuster or the threat of one • President Bush tried to get rid of the filibuster Strom Thurmond’s record is 23 hours and 18 minutes in 1957

39. How a Bill Becomes Law Rule of Cloture • 3/5 vote of Senate can set limits before debate begins

40. How a Bill Becomes Law 5. Voting • voting is public so constituents can check on members of Congress • Senate only uses voice or standing vote because of tradition and smaller size • Voice Vote: exactly what it sounds like • Standing Vote or Division: ditto • Roll-Call Vote: electronic ATM-style terminals

41. How a Bill Becomes Law • The Bill Switches Houses • Constitution requires both houses to approve the same bill • bills can go back and forth like a ping pong ball • minor changes – the bill is sent back to the other house and voted on • major changes may require a conference committee • conference reports may only be accepted or rejected (no amendments)

42. How a Bill Becomes Law 7. The President’s Options • the President has ten days to respond to the bill • a veto sends the bill to the house of origin • a pocket veto is when there’s less than ten days left in the year • 2/3 vote of both houses needed to override the veto • only 106 of 2,551 presidential vetoes have been overridden • line-item veto declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court

43. How a Bill Becomes Law Signed by President Sent to other house Debated and Approved Approved by Committee Sent to Committee Introduced 102nd Congress (1991-1992)

44. Reforming Congress Guardians of Public Interest • Framers said Congress should transcend local interest • compromise among competing views for entire polity (slowly but wisely) Term Limits • Framers considered annual elections to bind Congress to popular will • 22 states passed term limits by 1994, Supreme Court ruled them illegal • many states have term limits for state legislators

45. Reforming Congress Other Reforms • place Congress under the law • regulate use of congressional privileges (franking) • trim back pork by attaching names to riders

46. Reforming Congress Separation of Powers and Corruption • attempts to fragment power increases number of people who can sell influence (money and favors) Scandals Abound • 1941 – 1989 – nearly 50 members faces criminal charges (most convicted) • 1978 – 1992 – 63 members charged with misconduct • 31 sanctioned and 16 resigned or retired • recent examples – Newt Gingrich, Tom DeLay Problems with Ethics Rules • focus on money as only source of corruption • impossible to regulate alliances and friendships in bargaining

47. Powers of Congress Strict v. Loose Construction • Jefferson – Democratic-Republicans demanded strict reading of Constitution • expressed powers – written explicitly in Constitution • Article I contains 18 explicit powers (ex. interstate commerce) • Hamilton – Federalists supported liberal interpretation • implied powers – reasonably implied from Constitution • elastic clause – “necessary and proper” • McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819 – John Marshall supported the Bank of the United States and therefore implied powers

48. FBI Income Tax U.S. Navy Dept. of Home Security Food Stamps G.I. Bill Citizenship Test Counterfeit Laws Print Currency Draft Social Security Farm Subsidies Monopoly Breakups Patent Laws Minimum Wage Postage Stamps Federal District Courts Powers of Congress

49. Non-Legislative Powers Constitutional Amendments • only Congress can change the Constitution Presidential Appointments • cabinet, ambassadors, justices (60% vote) Congressional Investigations • Congress has authority to investigate the actions of all three branches (ex. Watergate, Starr Report)

50. Non-Legislative Powers Impeachment • only Congress can remove President or Supreme Court justice for “high crimes and misdemeanors” • done in two steps • majority of House for charges of impeachment • Johnson in 1860s, Clinton in 1990s • 2/3 of Senate for conviction