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The First Branch of Government

The First Branch of Government. The United States Congress. 3 types of behavior. Advertising Nobody’s senator but yours Credit claiming Has to be credible Pork barreling; casework Position taking Inherently costly http://www.house.gov. A Map of Congress. Congress is bicameral.

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The First Branch of Government

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  1. The First Branch of Government The United States Congress

  2. 3 types of behavior • Advertising • Nobody’s senator but yours • Credit claiming • Has to be credible • Pork barreling; casework • Position taking • Inherently costly • http://www.house.gov

  3. A Map of Congress

  4. Congress is bicameral • Bicameral (House and Senate) • different time perspectives • different rules and norms

  5. Senate 6 year terms 100, prestige More moderate generalists Individuals senators are powerful House 2 year terms 435 More partisan specialists Most individual Reps are not important Senate and House

  6. Bicameralism: Two Equal Chambers • House • 435 members • Citizen representation • 2 year terms • Hierarchical • Partisan • Committees and leaders dominate • Speaker and Rules Committee • Senate • 100 members • State representation • 6 year terms • Collegial • Less partisan • Members matter • more • Filibuster

  7. Effect of Bicameralism • Fragmentation • Geography • 435 and 100 people sharing power • What would policy be like if Congress was unicameral and elected in at large elections?

  8. Congressional Staff • Authorized Budget per Legislator • House = $570,000 • Senate = $2.3 million • free mailings to districts. • 54$ million in 1946; $2.2 billion in 1994. 659% increase controlled for inflation. • House Staff 870 in 1930, 7,400 in 1993

  9. How aBillDoesn’tBecomea Law—Congress as a law-defeating, not lawmaking institution

  10. What does Congress do?

  11. What does Congress do? • http://thomas.loc.gov/bss/d106/hot-subj.html • 21 bills on defense economics • 27 bills on taxation • only 46 Major Bills Enacted Into Law This Congress

  12. Congressional Committees • W. Wilson, Congress in Committees is Congress at work • What do Committees do • Hold hearings • Write legislation • Exercise oversight

  13. Committees • International Relations Committee • Agriculture Committee

  14. Features of Committees • 19 committees, 84 subcommittees • Division of labor • Fixed membership • Fixed jurisdiction, like a monopoly • Legislative Specialization • Manage flow of legislative business • Importance of seniority • http://clerk.house.gov/committee_info/index.html

  15. Committee Membership • Determined by Political Parties • Guided by members’ seniority and preference • Preferences based on constituency needs to better chances of reelection

  16. Policy Consequences of Committees • PROs • more opportunities for credit claiming • Facilitate specialization serve institutional policy needs • Cons • reinforces fragmentation • Encourages log-rolling

  17. Congressional Committees • W. Wilson, Congress in Committees is Congress at work • What do Committees do • Hold hearings • Write legislation • Exercise oversight • http://commerce.senate.gov/public/ • http://energy.senate.gov/public/

  18. Congressional Leadership • House • Speaker: Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) • http://speaker.house.gov/ • http://www.dems.gov/ • Minority Leader: John Boehner- http://republicanleader.house.gov/ • House GOP Conference • http://www.gop.gov/web/guest/home

  19. Senate Leadership • Majority Leader: Harry Reid (R-NV) • Minority Leader: Mitch McConnell (R-KY)

  20. Leadership and Parties Party caucuses • Elect leaders and committee chairs • structure the workings of Congress • Develop common policy positions • Weaker in senate than House

  21. Leadership powers • Control committee appointments • Refer bills to committees • Control Rules Committee

  22. According to Sinclair, why is the House more likely to pass major legislation than the Senate?

  23. Party Discipline and Voting • US Congress • rose to near 70% in 1996 • UK Parliament --90% • German Bundestag -- 98%

  24. Evaluating Leadership • More useful for what they are not than what they are • 1994 Freedom to Farm Act • No Sanctions • Do not do anything to undermine the electoral needs of members

  25. Criticisms of Congress • Process • Lengthy and inefficient • Favor policy minorities • Results • Members focus on getting constituency benefits, NAFTA • Process of bad legislation- ESEA, EDA

  26. Why do we hate congress, but love our senator/representative • Evaluate Congress by collective standards • Evaluate Senator/Representative in representative term • Standards are mutually exclusive

  27. Representation vs. Lawmaking • Congress plays two important roles • Lawmaking or getting things done • Representation or Legitimacy- airing points of view

  28. Impact on Institutions • Congress is a reelection machine. • Mayhew-- "If a group of planner sat down and tried to design a pair of American national assemblies with the goal of serving members' electoral needs year in and year out, they would be hard pressed to improve on what exists."

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