Organization of the U.S. Congress

1. Organization of the U.S. Congress

2. Organization of Congress • Party Organization of the Senate • President of the Senate • VP of the United States • President Pro Tempore • Has most seniority in majority party • Serves as presiding officer when VP not there • Majority Leader and Minority Leader • Elected by respective party members • Majority Leader schedules Senate business (usually in consultation with Minority leader) • Party Whips • Keep leaders informed • Round up votes, make sure party members are voting “correctly” • Counts noses (see how many votes there are)

3. Organization of Congress • Party Organization of the Senate (cont.) • Committees • Each party has a policy committee to schedule Senate business and prioritize bills • Committee assignments handled by a group of Senators, each for their own party • Democratic Steering Committee • Republican Committee on Committees • Assignments are especially important for freshmen • Assignments emphasize ideological and regional balance • Other factors: popularity, effectiveness on TV, favors owed

4. Senate Leadership President Pro Tempore Daniel Inouye (D- Hawaii) President of the Senate Joseph Biden Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Arizona)

5. Organization of Congress • Party Structure in the House • Speaker of the House: leader of majority party, presides over House • Recognizes people to speak on the floor • Rules on relevance of motions • Assigns bills to committees (subject to some rules) • Influences which bills are brought to a vote • Appoints members to special and select committees • Has some informal powers • Majority Leader and Minority Leader • Leaders on the Floor • Party Whips

6. Organization of Congress • Committees • Assignments and legislative schedule set by each party • Democrats have the Steering and Policy Committee, • Republicans divide the task: the Committee on Committees (assignments) and the Policy Committee (schedule legislation) • Democratic and Republican congressional campaign committees

7. House Leadership Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Virginia) Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D- California) Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Nevada) Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R- California) Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D- Maryland)

8. Strength of Party Structures • Loose measure is the ability of leaders to get members to vote together to determine party rules and organization • Tested in 104th Congress- Gingrich with party support for reforms and controversial committee assignments • Senate contrasts the House • Senate has changed norms rather than rules • Senate now less party-oriented; more hospitable to freshmen, more heavily staffed, more subcommittee oriented

9. Party Unity • Measure party polarization in voting by votes in which a majority of Dems and Republicans oppose one another • Party voting and cohesion more evident in 1990’s than in 1960’s-80’s • Today splits often reflect deep ideological difference between parties or party leaders • In the past, splits were result of party discipline • Focus was on winning elections, dispensing patronage, keeping power

10. Party Unity • Why is there party voting given party has little electoral influence? • Ideological orientation is important to members (increasingly so to voters as well) • Cues given by and taken from fellow party members • Rewards from party leaders go to those who follow the party line

11. Organization of Congress • Caucuses • Association of members created to advocate a political ideology or a regional or economic interest • Republicans passed legislation making caucus operations more difficult in 1995 • Types of Caucuses • Intra-party caucus- members share similar ideology • Personal interest caucus- members share an interest in an issue • Constituency caucus – established to represent groups, regions, or both

12. Organization of Congress • Committees: • Legislative committees the most important organizational feature of Congress, and where all of the real work is done • Consider bills and legislative proposals • Maintain oversight of executive agenda • Conduct investigations • Types of Committees • Standing committees- permanent, with specific legislative responsibilities • Select committees- appointed for limited purpose and duration • Joint committees- both reps and senators serve on committee • Conference committees – joint committee appointed to resolve differences in Senate and House versions of the same legislation before final passage

13. Organization of Congress: Committees • Committee Practices: number of committees has varied • Cuts in 1995 • Majority party has majority of seats on committees and names chair • Assignments • House members usually serve on two standing committees or one exclusive committee • Senators usually serve on two “major” committees and one “minor” committee • Chairs are elected • Usually the most senior member of the committee • Seniority has been under attack by both parties in recent decades

14. Organization of Congress • Subcommittee Bill of Rights of 1970’s changed several traditions • House committee chairs are elected by secret ballot in party caucuses • No one may chair more than one committee • All House committees with more than 20 members are to have at least 4 subcommittees • House and Senate committees gained larger staffs • All meetings open to the public unless members voted to close them

15. Organization of Congress: Subcommittees • Decentralized reforms made House more inefficient and chairs utilized controversial practices to gain control • House Republican rule changes of 1995 therefore modified Subcommittee Bill of Rights (similar changes made in Senate) • Certain committees tend to attract particular types of legislators • Policy-oriented = finance or foreign policy • Constituency-oriented = small business or veterans’ affairs

16. Organization of Congress: Staffs • Tasks of staff members • Constituency service- 1/3 of staff works in the district • Legislative functions- devising proposals, negotiating agreements, organizing hearings, meeting with lobbyists and administrators • Advocates for employers- entrepreneurial function • Members of Congress can no longer keep up with increased legislative work and must rely on staff • Larger staff means: • More legislative work done in the chamber • More individualistic Congress – less collegial, less deliberative b/c members interact through staff who become their negotiators

17. Organization of Congress • Staff Agencies • Work for Congress as a whole; provide specialized knowledge (equivalent to what Pres has) • Major agencies • Congressional Research Service (CRS) • General Accounting Office (GAO) • Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) • abolished in 1995 • Congressional Budget Office (CBO)