Democracy Under Pressure

1. Democracy Under Pressure Chapter 12 The Congress

2. The Congress • In October 2002, both houses of Congress authorized the president to use military force against Iraq. The authorized cited Saddam Hussein as a continuing threat who might use weapons of mass destruction against the United States. • The action in the House was a party line vote: a majority of Republicans opposed a majority of Democrats.

3. The Congress • Four members who sought the Democratic nomination-Kerry, Edwards, Lieberman, and Gephardt-supported the resolution. The other two-Graham and Kucinich-opposed the resolution. • The Democratic presidential aspirants were questioned about their votes. Kerry had some difficulty.

4. Democracy Under Pressure Congress: Conflict and Controversy

5. Congress: Conflict and Controversy • Most of the conflict and pressures of the political system are reflected in Congress. • Congress can enact far-reaching and vital legislation. • Lawmakers often succeed in pushing through pork-barrel legislation, benefiting their home districts.

6. Congress: Conflict and Controversy • Congress is often criticized for failing to act, obstructionist rules, low ethical standards, and a variety of other imperfections. • It failed to act on Medicare until 1965, 20 years after it was first proposed. • It waited until 1993 and 1994 to pass major gun control legislation, despite the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in the 1960s. • Too often Congress is caught in gridlock and unable to act. • Ralph K. Huitt notes that the obstructionist critique has often come from liberals like Kennedy and Truman who had trouble getting their programs passed.

7. Democracy Under Pressure The Varied Roles of Congress

8. The Varied Roles of Congress • Congress plays a crucial role by making laws that govern society. • Congress plays other important roles, including: • Proposing amendments, declaring war, and impeaching and trying the president, other civil officers and judges. • Handling the election of the president and vice president should the electoral college fail, and determining whether the president is disabled. • The Senate also consents to treaties and appointments.

9. The Varied Roles of Congress • Through senatorial courtesy, individual members of the Senate can exercise an informal veto power over presidential appointments in their state. • Regulating and punishing its own members' conduct. • Overseeing the executive branch and independent regulatory bodies. • Overseeing spending in government agencies by exercising oversight, as they did when Firestone tires became defective.

10. The Varied Roles of Congress • In February 2002, the House and Senate Select Committees on Intelligence investigated the intelligence agencies to discover why the agencies failed to adequately warn against the 9/11 terrorist attacks. • Legitimizing the final output of the policy process. • As a conflict manager, Congress helps to integrate various groups and interests within the community, acting as a referee. • In resolving conflict, it may make enemies in the process of trying to do good. • As noted in other chapters, gerrymandering of districts limits congressional access to African American and Hispanic citizens. Congress is still a point of access for citizens to their government.

11. Democracy Under Pressure The Legislators

12. Portrait of a Lawmaker • When the 108th Congress convened, the average age of House members was 54. The average of the Senate is almost 60. • The age average is due in part to the constitutional age restrictions. • Also, members have to pay their political dues in lower level jobs before running. • More than half of the nation's population is female, but only 13.6percent (59 members) of the House is female. Fourteen women served in the Senate. There are 37 African Americans, 23 Hispanics, and only one Native American in Congress.

14. Portrait of a Lawmaker • Attorneys make up 41 percent (221) of Congress, but lawyers make up only seven-tenths of one percent of the labor force. Other major occupational groups represented in Congress include business, banking, education, journalism, and agriculture. • Congress is mostly Protestant, 149 were Catholic, and 37 Jews. • Since Congress is not representative of a cross section of the public, it is not surprising that underrepresented groups feel left out.

15. The Life of a Legislator • There are so many demands on members of Congress that they soon discover that they cannot possibly do all that is expected of them. • Most of those elected to Congress spend a fair portion of their day trying to take care of constituent problems. This involves regular travel to and from their districts. • As of 2004, members of the House and Senate received salaries of $158,100 per year. • Other funds are available for staff, office supplies, phone calls, travel, and special mailing assistance.

16. The Life of a Legislator • As of 2004, members of the House and Senate received salaries of $158,100 per year. • Other funds are available for staff, office supplies, phone calls, travel, and special mailing assistance. • The "franking" privilege provide members with the right to send mail to their constituents without charge, providing it is used only for official business and does not solicit funds and votes. • Computers make sophisticated mailing lists and targeted mailings possible.

17. The Life of a Legislator • Since 1990, new rules limit the amount of mail that members can send to constituents. Members also must pay for those mailing costs out of their increased expense budgets. • Computers enable Congress to target specialized groups with their mailings. All members have e-mail addresses and a Web page.

18. The Life of a Legislator • On a typical day, a member can spend an hour reading mail, making calls, and dictating memos, followed by a 10 A.M. committee meeting, and lunch (if time permits). They then dash to a floor vote, later returning for a committee meeting and to meet with constituents in the office. Next come receptions sponsored by powerful interest groups. After that, it's back to the Hill or a flight back to the district.

19. The Life of a Legislator • Members were surveyed about how they spent their time. • More than two-thirds said they spend a great deal of time meeting constituents. • Just under one-half said attending committee meetings took a great deal of time, as did meeting with lobbyists and government officials on legislative issues, and attending a floor debate or watching it on TV.

20. The Life of a Legislator • Seventy-seven percent listed legislative work as their most time-consuming job. • Among the things that drive their work priorities: working for district interests, aspiring to party leadership, running for higher office, becoming an issue specialist, or taking on an issue that brings national exposure.

21. The Image of the Legislator • Congress and its individual members enjoy a rather mixed public image. • The public's ranking of Congress has dropped from 64 percent in 1965 (ranking its performance from excellent to pretty good) to 29 percent in 2004 (saying they had "a great deal" to "quite a lot" of confidence in Congress).

23. The Image of the Legislator • This low confidence likely drives the call for term limits. • Paradoxically, the voters love and reelect their own district representatives. • Through 2002, 93 percent of the House members and 80 percent of senators were returned to office.

24. Representation: the Legislators and Their Constituents • Should members of Congress lead or follow the opinions of their constituents? • British political philosopher Edmund Burke felt that the voter's wishes should create weight, but concluded that "Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment."

25. Representation: the Legislators and Their Constituents • The Burkean concept of the trustee holds that legislators should act according to their conscience. This clashes with the concept of the instructed delegate-that is, that legislators should mirror the will of the constituents. • Members who attempt to follow opinion find it difficult to accurately measure opinion. • Their constituencies are also made up of different issues and positions, so they please one group and anger the others. • Roger Davidson and representatives find that blending the two works.

26. Representation: the Legislators and Their Constituents • Davidson and colleague Walter Oleszek say there are two Congresses: one that legislates and one that must relate to the districts and constituents in order to be reelected. • In studying how legislators make up their minds, David Mayhew concluded that their relationship with their constituencies is key.

27. Representation: the Legislators and Their Constituents • Members generally vote according to their known policy positions. When they cast a vote on an issue that is complex, members look for clues from trusted colleagues. • There is often a gap between constituents' actual views and the legislator's perceptions of those views. Half the voters surveyed had heard nothing about either the incumbent or the opposing candidate.

28. Democracy Under Pressure The House

30. The House • Although we speak of Congress, the House and Senate are distinct institutions, each with its own rules and traditions. • The Constitution establishes one major difference: A House term is two years, a Senate term, six years. • The sheer size of the House (435 members) means that it needs stricter rules and procedures than the Senate, which only has 100 members. • Senate rules call for unlimited debate. • House rules can limit debate to five minutes or less.

31. The House • Since the Senate has only 100 members, the positions are seen as more prestigious. Senators more likely to be seen as presidential prospects. • House members aren't well-known by their own constituents. Although many voters cannot remember the name of their representative, they could recognize it from a list. • Despite its size, the House has achieved a stability of tenure and a role never envisioned by the Founding Fathers. • They feared the vacillation of the House on issues because it was too close to the masses. • They saw the Senate as more of an aristocracy, with all the stability that would entail.

32. The House • Ironically, on some issues, the House and Senate have exchanged places in terms of the expectations of the framers. • House seats are safer than the Senate (thus more stable). Safe seats mean one candidate gets 55 percent of the vote or more. Fewer House seats are marginal. • Marginals may be making a comeback, though. • In 1994, the House, with 73 freshman GOP members, was more conservative than the Senate. • Still, there has been a major turnover in House seats. A majority of the 104th Congress had been elected in the 1990s. • Some members just got tired of running every two years.

33. Power in the House: the Leadership • The speaker is the presiding officer and the most powerful person in the House. • The speaker must preside over the House, recognize or ignore members, appoint chairs, refer bills to committees, and exercise procedural controls.

34. Power in the House: the Leadership • The speaker is elected by the House, usually by a caucus, and exercises more formal powers than any other member. • Thomas "Tip" O'Neill played a key role in the decision to hold impeachment hearings that became a factor in Richard Nixon's resignation in 1974. • O'Neill's successor, Jim Wright, found himself under fire over book royalties. His book had been published by a Texas supporter who received money from campaign committee. Wright was forced to resign. • Wright was followed by mild-mannered Tom Foley, a Democrat from Washington.

35. Power in the House: the Leadership • In 1994, Speaker Newt Gingrich, the one who brought ethics charges against Jim Wright, became the speaker. • Ironically Gingrich would later be criticized for a book deal and actions as head of the GOPAC political action committee. • Gingrich hurt himself by being so aggressive in attacking opponents. • He came across to the public as arrogant for complaining about having to go out the back door of Air Force One on a flight with the president. • In 1998, Gingrich resigned as speaker and left Congress. He was succeeded by Dennis Hastert.

36. Power in the House: the Leadership • In 1999, Dennis Hastert of Illinois became the 51st speaker of the House. He was promoted only after the sudden resignations of his predecessors, Newt Gingrich and Bob Livingston. • The speaker has two key assistants: the majority leader, who schedules debates and negotiates with party members and committee chairs, and the majority whip, who rounds up party members (noses) for votes.

37. Power in the House: the Leadership • In January 2003, Nancy Pelosi, a democrat from San Francisco, became the first woman to become minority leader-the first woman to lead a major party on Capital Hill.

38. The Rules Committee • Exercises considerable control over what bills are brought to the floor. • Major legislation usually requires a "special rule" to limit floor debate and bill amendment. • The whole House must adopt each special rule before it goes into effect. • Since 1970, Democratic party rule permitted the speaker to appoint all of the members of his party on the rules committee.

39. The Legislative Labyrinth: the House in Action • The basic power structure includes: a speaker, floor leaders and whips of the two major parties, the Rules Committee, and chairpersons of 19 other standing committees. • About 5 percent of all bills and joint resolutions that are introduced become law. • In the 107th Congress, 7,439 bills were introduced. Yet, only 377 became public laws.

41. The Legislative Labyrinth: the House in Action • Steps in the process: • After a bill is introduced in the House by a member, it is referred to a standing committee by the speaker. • Only about 16 percent of bills get out of committee to one of the five calendars or on to the floor of the House. • Two days a week, any bill may be debated under "suspension of the rules."

42. The Legislative Labyrinth: the House in Action • Floor debate requires a quorum (218 members). • When dealing with tax and spending legislation, the House uses the Committee of the Whole. This allows it to conduct debate with fewer members and restrictions. • Prior to 1971, teller votes were used in the Committee of the Whole. When members filed forward, no one could see how they voted. • A recorded vote is more common today. The position of each member is published in the Congressional Record.

43. The Legislative Labyrinth: the House in Action • In 1973, a system of electronic voting was installed in the House. A green light appears for a "yes" vote, a red light appears for "no," and an amber for "present." This reduces the need for recorded votes. • Recorded votes are requested by members as a delaying tactic to round up their forces. It can be used against them by opponents. • When debate is completed in the Committee of the Whole, the House may vote on final passage, send a bill back to its committee of origin, or send a bill back to the committee with instructions that further changes be made.

44. Televising Congress • Despite major opposition, live radio and TV broadcast of floor debate began in March 1979. • The nonprofit network C-SPAN provided gavel-to-gavel coverage of floor action to nearly 7,900 cable television systems and 86 million homes in 2004. • Cameras (which are operated by House employees) are not permitted to pan the floor and expose sleeping or strolling members. • Television coverage of the Senate began in 1986. Its opponents later conceded that TV had little or no impact on the way Senate business was conducted.

45. Democracy Under Pressure The Senate

46. The Senate • The Senate is sometimes referred to as the rich man's club. • Membership is small, and the chamber is opulent. • There were 40 millionaires were senators in 2004. • Senate rules have changed markedly since the New York Times senate correspondent wrote that the Senate was an "Inner Club" run by Southerners. • Don Matthew has noted that the Senate has unwritten rules and norms of conduct. • Freshman senators are to be work horses and older senators "show horses."

47. The Senate • There are elaborate customs dictating how senators address one another. • Nelson Polsby says Senate norms are not as important today. • Newcomers want national attention today, not tomorrow. • Freshmen members no longer stay on the sidelines, according to Barbara Sinclair. • Peabody, Ornstein, and Rohde trace the decline in norms to John F. Kennedy, who wanted to speak out to better prepare himself to run for president.

48. The Senate • Senators no longer seek to be one-area specialists, but prefer to be generalists (to better prepare themselves for the presidency). • Five of the nine candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination were senators or a former senator in 2004.

49. Power in the Senate: the Leadership • According to the Constitution, the president pro tempore presides over the Senate when the vice president isn't there. It's largely a ceremonial position. (The Senate majority leader exercises greater influence.)

50. Power in the Senate: the Leadership • As in most political offices, great leadership depends on personality and political circumstances. A good example is Senate Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson (1953-1960). • His personality was powerful and he used "The Treatment" to get his way. • He knew how to help members get what they wanted. • He controlled committee assignments and built up the "Johnson Network" to anticipate the outcome of votes. • He used the network to get to know the strengths and weaknesses of every senator. People took for granted that he'd get the necessary votes.