Congress Vs. Parliament

1. Congress Vs. Parliament • The Congress that the U.S. has is different from the Parliament that most European nations have because in Europe, a person who wants to run for office must persuade his party to nominate him, while in America, politicians can run for themselves. • In a parliament , candidates feel more responsible to the party, in Congress candidates feel more responsible to the people that they represent. • In a parliament if a person does not vote with their party, then they are more than likely going to be replaced or not put back on the ballot for reelection. • In a Congress, representatives are not as worried about if they ruffle the feathers of parties, because parties do not place a candidate on the ballot.

2. Congress vs. Parliament • In a parliament, members debate laws and make suggestions to the executive and their cabinets • In a Congress, members can initiate, modify, approve or reject laws as well as share the executive supervision of governmental agencies • Congress members are paid well and have a large staff on the other hand members of the house of commons are not paid well and have no staff • Because people vote them into office, people are more concerned with the issues of the people they represent and less concerned about whether the programs of the president pass.

3. The Evolution of Congress • The framers of the Constitution chose a congress over other forms of representative gov’t because they didn’t want all power to be in the control of one group, even if it was in a group voted by the people, but they also knew that the states would want to be heavily represented and have power. • Framers created a Bicameral Legislature: 2 houses • House of Representative – would be based on population and voted by the people. • Senate – each state would receive two representatives no matter their size chosen by the state legislature.

4. The Evolution of Congress • Limited Government – powers of legislative would be shared with the president ( with his power of veto) and with the judicial branch ( power of judicial review). • Centralization – the acting of congress quickly when making decisions. • For this concept to work there would need to be: strong central leadership, restriction on debate, few stalling tactics and minimal committee interference.

5. The Evolution of Congress • Decentralization – The process of making decisions slowly in Congress • For this process to work: there would have to be weak leadership, rules for delaying and discussing ideas and many opportunities for committee activities. • 6 Phases of the House of Representatives • The house of reps has always struggled with who controls the house. • Phase 1. : The Powerful house – during the first 3 administrations the house overpowered the senate in decision making

6. The Evolution of Congress • Phase 2 – The Divided House – President Jackson started to insert his power by vetoing legislation he did not like • Civil War divided the house and therefore many seats remained empty which gave a lot of power to the president. • Thaddeus Steven of Penn. wanted to punish the southern representatives when they came back to congress. ( they didn’t)

7. The Evolution of Congress • Phase 3 – The Speaker Rules – Thomas B. Reed towards the end of the 19th century chaired the Rules Committee and decided what business would come up for vote, how much time would be spent on issues and who was allowed to speak. • Phase 4 – The House Revolts – 1910-11 the house revolted against the speaker and gave power to the committee chairs • Phase 5 – The Member Rule – Powers were being taken away from committee chairs – were not placed into power based on seniortiy. More committee were formed to divide power even more

8. The Evolution of Congress • Phase 6 – The Leadership Returns – 1995 the committees were reduced and more power was given back to the Speaker of the House ( Rep. Newt Gingrich) • Newt Gingrich – was forced to resign in 1998 because he used tax exempt funds for political use and republicans started to loose seats in the house of reps.

9. The Evolution of Congress • Senate • Senators until the 20th century were chosen by the state legislature. • Often times they would choose rich, influential business leaders with special interests – thus giving them the nick name the Millionaires’ Club • 17th amendment – finally in 1913 the Senate approved the voting of senators by popular vote. • Filibuster – a series of speeches made to delay the passing of legislation • Rule 22 – says that if 2/3 of Senate(60) voted to cut the debate – this is also known as the cloture Motion

10. Who is in Congress • From 1950 to recently there has been a shift in the sex and race of Congress, with the edition of more women and more people of color. • Around the same time we start to see that Congressmen are starting to make a career of being a public servant. • Reapportion – every 10 years the census is taken and the seats in the house of representatives are redistributed • When this happens we see that some representatives can’t carry the votes for the other districts

11. Who is in Congress • In 2000 only 6 members out of 339 that ran for re-election were not voted back into office. • Marginal Districts – when districts have close elections; when the winner wins by less than 55 % of the votes • Safe Districts – when a person wins the election by more then 55%. • Members that run for re-election normally win 85-90% in a safe district race.

12. Organization of Congress • Party Organization of the Senate • The Vice President of the United States oversees the Senate • President Pro Tempore – the majority party in senate chooses a person, normally the one with the most seniority, to serve if the Vice President is absent from the Senate • Majority Leader – is chosen by the senators in the majority party – this person is the one that really runs the day to day business of the Senate • Minority Leader – is chosen by the senators in the minority party – leader of the party not in control • Whip- is a party leader that makes sure that the other members of that party knows how the party is voting and makes sure they are present for votes

13. Senate Leadership PRESIDENT of the SENATE (VICE PRESIDENT) PRES. PRO TEMPORE MAJORITY LEADER (MOST POWERFUL) MINORITY LEADER MAJORITY WHIP MINORITY WHIP

14. Organization of the Congress • House of Representatives • Speaker of the House – oversees the daily business of the House of Reps, is chosen by the party that is in control of the House. • Majority Leader – same as in the Senate • Minority Leader – same as in the Senate • Whip – same as in the Senate

15. House Leadership SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE MINORITY LEADER MAJORITY LEADER MINORITY WHIP MAJORITY WHIP

16. Powers of the Speaker of the House • Decides who shall be recognized to speak on the floor of the House • Decides if a motion is relevant to the business at hand • Decides what committees to which new bills shall be assigned • Appoints members to special committees • Nominate majority-party members to the Rules Committees

17. Political Parties and Caucuses • Political Party – A group that seeks to elect candidates to public office by supplying them with a label. • Normally they share the same views on issues • Party Polarization – when the majority of the party is voting against the majority of the other party. • Ex. Clinton Budget in 1993/ Clinton impeachment • Voters have become more partisan, which means people are voting less on issue of political party and more on issues, however political parties tend to still vote together in Congress

18. Political Parties and Caucus Caucuses – an association of members of Congress created to advocate a political ideology or a regional or economic interest. 6 types of Caucuses • Intraparty caucuses – formed for members of the same party • Personal-interest – formed around a common interest • Constituency national – African-American, Women • Constituency Regional – Western and Eastern States • Constituency State/Distict – Florida • Constituency Industry- Steel Workers, Travel, Police

19. Organization of Committees • Standing committee – handle bills in different policy areas • (ex. Appropriations, Agriculture, Armed Services, Science, etc.) – most important and have been “standing” (existing) for a long time • Select committee – formed for specific purposes and usually temporary – run investigations (ex. Aging, Intelligence)

20. Organization of Committees • Joint committee – consist of both House and Senate members • similar in purpose to Select committee • Meant to draw attention to issues • Conference committee – consist of both House reps and Senators • formed to hammer out differences between House and Senate versions of similar bills • Each member of the house is allowed serve in two major committees and one minor, unless they are part of the rules committee, then they can only serve on one committee. • Committee chair is held by someone on the majority party and they get to decide who is in the committee and what is debated

21. How a Bill Becomes Law • Step 1 – Introduce Bill • Bills – law ideas that a Representative or Senator creates • Public bills – are bills pertaining to public affairs • Private bills – are bills pertaining to a particular person • Bills have a Congressional term to pass; if they do not then they must be reintroduced during the next Congressional term. • President may not introduce a bill, he must have someone in Congress do it for him.

22. How a Bill Becomes Law • Resolution – are rules in which the House or Senate will operate • Simple Resolution – Rules under which each house will operate • Concurrent Resolution – Rules on how both houses will operate • Joint Resolution – must have both houses approve and a presidential signature, carries the same

23. How a Bill Becomes Law Step 2 -Bills Introduced in the Committees • Bill is assigned to a particular committee in its category (Ex. Tax bill – Ways and Means Committee, Farm bill – Agriculture Committee) • Bill is then placed in sub-committee • Bills are debated and “marked up” • Most bills die in committee, committee can vote to “report out” a bill

24. How a Bill Becomes Law • Step 3–Rules Committee • Before bill can go to floor in House, it must first set time limits and amendment regulations. • Closed rule – sets time limits, restricts amendments • Open rule – permits amendments • Restrictive rule – permits some amendments

25. How a Bill Becomes Law • Step 4 – Floor Debate Senate Debate • Less formal, no speaking limit • Filibuster – practice of stalling a bill w/ debate • Cloture – 3/5 of the Senate vote to stop debate House Debate • More formal, no filibuster, strict rules • Quorum – means there must only be 100 members of the house must be present to conduct business

26. Criticisms of Congress • “Pork” – aka “pork-barrel legislation” – bills to benefit constituents in hope of gaining their votes • Logrolling – Congress members exchange votes, bills might pass for frivolous reasons • Christmas-tree bill –bill with many riders (pork) • in Senate, no limit exists on amendments, so Senators try to attach riders that will benefit their home state

27. How a Bill Becomes Law • Step 5 – Voting • Majority passes • If the bill passes, it must go through the same process in the opposite chamber with a sponsor • If the bill passes one house and fails the other, it must start over • If the Senate and House cannot come to agreement over two versions, it goes to Conference Committee to fix it and resubmit the bill

28. How a Bill Becomes Law • Presidential Action • Sign – bill becomes law • Veto – bill returns to origin • Override – 2/3 vote in both houses can override veto • Pocket Veto – President has 10 days to act on a piece of legislation. If he receives the bill within 10 days of the end of the Congressional session, and doesn’t sign, it dies