Magleby chapter10 ppt

Editor's Notes

• #3 This chapter examines the design of the legislative branch and explores the powers given to Congress. We’ll learn how representatives and senators make policy once they are in office. We’ll follow the path of a bill from introduction to passage. We also discuss how a bill becomes a law and explore the ethics issue in more detail.
• #5 The term Congress can also refer to a particular meeting of the legislature. A Congress covers two years; the current one, the 114th Congress, began on January 3, 2015, and will end on January 3, 2017.  Legislation cannot be enacted without the consent of both chambers.
• #8 What most surprised you about this chart?  In what way is Congress least representative?  Why does Congress not more accurately mirror the US?  Who does Congress represent?  This data is from the 113th congress. How do you think this information was different in the 1st Congress and how will it be different in the 120th Congress?
• #9 How did congress change over the two decades from 1991-2011? How did congress not change over the two decades from 1991-2011? Why did it change? What is your opinion about that change? Write in a third column with your predictions for the 122nd Congress (2031-2032):
• #10 Let’s look a little closer at the religious breakdown of Congress members. House: 251 are Protestant Christians. 58%. More Republicans than Democrats 138 are Catholic. 32% Slightly more Democrats than Republicans 19 Jewish, 9 Morman, 2 Muslim, 1 Buddhist Does it bother anyone that we have 2 Muslim representatives? Senate: 55% Protestant 26% Catholic 9 Jewish, 7 Mormon, 1 Buddhist Does this breakdown fit any patterns you’ve learned about demographics? Should you only vote for a Christian for Congress?
• #11 How does the US compare to the rest of the world in female legislative participation rates? Do you see any geographical patterns in female governmental participation?
• #12 House members have two-year terms. They tend to maintain closer relationships with the voters because of their short terms and smaller constituencies. Senators serve for six years and represent larger, more diverse populations. The Senate was intended to be more deliberative than the House and to reflect upon issues with national implications. In this section, we will learn more about the differences between the two houses of Congress, and the advantages of incumbency.
• #13 Members of the House of Representatives serve districts within their states. A state’s population determines the number of districts. The exact number of districts assigned to each state is determined by a national census of the population taken every 10 years. As the population changes, so does the potential number of districts in each state. This process of changing the number of seats allotted to each state is called reapportionment.
• #14 Who gained the most in this map?   Who lost the most in this map?   Why do some states gain and others lose?   What geographical trends do you see in Congressional reapportionment changes?   Can any state ever lose all their representatives?   Could a state have more Senators than members of the House of Representatives?
• #15 All states are guaranteed two senators and at least one representative. The Constitution gives the states the power to draw House district lines for the number of seats within their borders, a process known as redistricting. District lines can be drawn to favor one party; in extreme cases, this process is known as gerrymandering. The Supreme Court in the 1960s interpreted the Constitution to require that each US House district have equal numbers of people, any state with more than one district must adjust its district lines. State legislators and governors re-draw the boundaries of the US House districts, although Congress has the right to regulate and modify state plans.
• #16 a gerrymandered district created by Democrats to ensure themselves a seat in western Illinois -- but which in 2010 was snatched from their grasp by Tea Party candidate and former congressman Bobby Schilling. Ooops!
• #17 Reapportionment is the process of deciding how many seats a state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives when its population changes. Redistricting is the process of deciding how areas will be divided into sections or districts based on the number of seats a state has.
• #18 In a district where one party has a clear majority of voters, the election of the candidate from the dominant party is virtually ensured. Most incumbents, or current office-holders, win their bids for reelection. Senators are more vulnerable to defeat than incumbent representatives. Incumbents have a number of advantages that make them very hard to defeat, including providing constituent services and maintaining a visible presence at home. Incumbents also use their positions to influence legislation and federal spending to help their districts. Finally, incumbents have greater “free media” access through newspapers and television than their opponents, and tend to be skilled and experienced campaigners.
• #19 How did the party balance of Congress change after the 2010 elections, and what effect, if any, will that have on how Congress functions?
• #20 In the 2010 midterm elections, Republicans won more than 60 seats in the House and recaptured the majority they lost in 2006. They also gained at least 11 governorships, who are heavily involved in redistricting House seats in their states. The 2010 election involved record amounts of campaign spending, and the rise of anti-government candidates from the Tea Party, a highly conservative wing of the Republican Party. The election was interpreted as a rejection of the Obama administration’s health bill. It was also seen as a reaction to continued economic woes, unemployment, and political stalemate. The economy was the number one issue listed by voters in explaining their vote. The president’s party almost always loses seats during midterm elections, but rarely loses its majority as it did in the 2010 midterms. With government under divided control, both parties began preparing for a tough election battle in 2012.
• #21 Who is the most overpaid of the governmental salary list? Who is the most underpaid of the governmental salary list? Who decides on these governmental salaries? Article 1 Section 6 says that Congress sets its own salary. Amendment XXVII prohibits members from raising their salaries in the current session, so congressional votes on pay increases do not take effect until the next session of Congress. Are the private sector jobs more valuable that the governmental jobs? Why are private sector salaries so much higher than governmental salaries?
• #22 Let’s see what you have learned about the advantages of incumbency.
• #23 Incumbents have an enormous advantage over opponents in terms of visibility to voters, a record of constituent service to build voter loyalty, and free access to the media and postal services.
• #24 As we will see in this section, it was expected by the Framers that Congress would be the most important branch of government. In an effort to keep Congress from dominating the other branches, the legislative branch was divided into two separate chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate. House members and senators have different terms of office and represent different groups of voters, districts versus states. Further, Congress was originally elected through very different means. House representatives were elected by popular election and senators were elected by state legislatures.
• #25 Congress is bicameral, which means that is is divided into two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Each chamber has its own committee structure, rules for considering legislation, record of proceedings, and rules governing its own members. The Senate and the House meet in their own wing of the Capitol Building.
• #26 The Constitution lists, or enumerates, certain powers to Congress. The first power delegated to Congress was the power to tax. Most of the others fall into five categories: to raise, make, and borrow money to regulate commerce to unify and expand the country to prepare and declare war, and to create the federal judiciary. Many of these powers are limited in some way. Congress also has implied powers through the “necessary and proper” clause in the Constitution, and Congress has the power to remove the president and judges from office through the impeachment process.
• #27 Alcee Hastings was one of only seven federal judges ever impeached and removed from office by Congress. He was impeached for corruption by the House in 1988 and removed by the Senate in 1989. Despite his past, Hastings was elected to the House in Florida’s 23rd district in 1992, and was reelected in 2012.
• #28 How are the rules for debate in the House and Senate related to their relative sizes and traditions?
• #29 What have you learned about the powers of Congress? Please answer this multiple-choice question.
• #30 The president is the commander in chief of the armed forces.
• #31 The House and Senate have different kinds of leadership and rules, as we will discover in this section. While the House holds tight control over its large number of members, the Senate has much looser controls. This makes legislation easier to pass in the House than in the Senate.
• #32 Due to its size, the House gives its leaders more power than the Senate gives theirs. The most powerful leader on Capitol Hill is the Speaker of the House. The post is always filled by the majority party. The Speaker recognizes members who rise to speak and rules on questions of procedure. The Speaker is elected by the majority party caucus. Led by the Speaker, the caucus determines the legislative agenda for the House. A majority leader helps plan party strategy and maintain party unity. The minority party elects the minority leader. Assisting each leader are the party whips. The House Rules Committee is the most powerful committee in either chamber. The Rules Committee decides the rules governing the length of the floor debate and sets limits on the number and kinds of amendments that will be allowed.
• #33 The Senate has the same basic committee structure and elected party leadership as the House. As the Senate is a smaller body, its procedures are more informal. It is a more open, decentralized body now than it was a generation ago. The Senate is led by the Senate majority leader, elected by the majority party. When the Senate majority leader and the president are from different parties, the Senate majority leader is considered the party’s national spokesperson. Senate floor debate is led by a president pro tempore, usually the most senior member of the majority party; the vice-president fills this role in crucial votes.
• #34 Individual senators have the power to engage in unlimited debate, known as the filibuster. A filibuster allows any individual senator to issue a legislative hold, preventing all action. Cloture is the only formal method for ending a filibuster and requires that the final vote on the measure be taken after no more than 30 hours of debate.
• #35 Old-fashioned filibusters went through the night. Here, a senator sits on his cot awaiting action to break a filibuster on the Civil Rights Act. Today, the threat alone of a filibuster can require that legislation has a supermajority in order to pass.
• #36 Committees do much of the work in Congress. Standing committees are the most durable and are the sources of most bills. They fall into six types: (1) rules and administration, (2) budget, (3) authorizing, (4) appropriations, (5) revenue, and (6) oversight.
• #37 This table contains a list of the standing committees in both the House and the Senate. Each political party controls the selection of standing committee members. Most committee chairs are selected on the basis of seniority rule.
• #38 Special or select committees come together to address both short-term and long-term issues. Joint committees have members from both the House and the Senate and exist either to study an issue or to oversee congressional agencies. A conference committee is a special committee of members from each chamber that settles the differences between Senate and House versions of a bill. Caucuses are best defined as informal committees that allow individual members to promote shared legislative interests.
• #39 Members of the Black Caucus often meet to decide what its members should do on particular issues.
• #40 Show what you have learned about congressional committees by answering this brief question.
• #41 Standing committees remain stable and usually do not change from Congress to Congress.
• #42 Congress operates under a system of multiple vetoes. Through the legislative process, there are dozens of ways a bill can be killed, as you will see in this section. Only approximately one out of ten bills even receives minimal attention. As congressional conflict has risen, passage rates have been declining.
• #43 Members of Congress clearly want to make a difference for their party and country. Many come to Washington with their own policy ideas about national issues such as education, the economy, and foreign affairs. Others carefully craft their ideas from the informed public or experienced policy makers. Still others rely on party ideology to shape their ideas on the important issues facing the government and the country.
• #44 Former Republican Senator Alan Simpson joined a small group of former members of Congress who continue to influence major decisions long after they leave office. Called “elder statesmen” by some, they often work together across party lines to build compromises that office-holders cannot.
• #45 After a bill has been introduced in either chamber, it is given a number and referred to a specific committee. Most bills go to committee and are never heard from again; a few are referred to subcommittees for hearings and review. If passed, the bill returns to the full committee, where it is subject to another round of hearings. Should a subcommittee decide to pass a bill, it is “marked up,” or amended, voted on, and sent forward to a full committee, House Rules Committee, or the Senate. A bill can be forced to the floor of the House through a discharge petition signed by a majority of the membership; these are rarely successful. Once reported to the full chamber, a bill is scheduled for floor action or dropped entirely. After a bill has passed both chambers in identical form, it is delivered to the president, who may sign it into law or veto it. When a bill is vetoed, it is returned to the chamber of its origin by the president with a message explaining the reasons for the veto. Congress can override the veto by a two-thirds vote in each chamber.
• #46 Analyzing this legislative process, why is it so much easier for a bill to be killed than passed?
• #47 Let’s see what you have learned about the lawmaking process.
• #48 Committee members mark up a bill to modify or amend it. This mark up was once done on the bill with pencil marks.
• #49 Membership in Congress was once a part-time job. Pay was low. Legislators came to Washington for a few terms, averaged less than five years of continuous service, and returned to private life. After the Civil War, Congress started to meet more frequently; pay increased and being a member became increasingly attractive. In the 1850s, roughly half of all House members retired or were defeated at each election; by 1994, 90 percent of House incumbents who ran for reelection won. In this section, we will look at what legislators do and how they make legislative choices.
• #50 Members of Congress perceive their roles differently. Some believe they should serve as “delegates” from their districts, representing the wishes of their constituency. Other members see themselves as “trustees” to act and vote based on what they think is best for their district, even if their constituents oppose that position. Most legislators shift between roles, depending on their perception of the public interest, elections, and the pressures of the moment. Members of Congress are often very different from their constituents. They are more educated and are much more likely to be white males. They have also been more likely to be former bankers and lawyers, and almost half came to Congress with previous political experience at the state or local level.
• #51 Legislators often depend on the advice of colleagues in Congress to determine how they should vote. When they don’t have a direct interest in a bill, they may support a colleague who does, with the expectation that they will receive similar support for bills they do care about. This practice is called logrolling. Legislators rarely vote against the wishes of most of their constituents. However, they mostly hear from the attentive public, citizens who follow public affairs closely, rather than the general public. Members of Congress mainly vote according to their party affiliation, although ideology and personal experiences and attitudes play a role too. The divide between liberals and conservatives has resulted in polarization in Congress. Interest groups also influence the legislative process in many ways. They contribute to congressional campaigns, testify before committees, and build public pressure for or against their cause. Congressional lobbying has existed since the early 1800s and is perfectly legal.
• #52 Constituents and interest groups often put pressure on Congress in person. Every January, opponents of abortion march on Washington.
• #53 Partisan voting increased in the House after the early 1970s and has intensified even more since the 1994 elections. Since 2000, nearly 90 percent of Democrats and Republicans vote with their party on key votes. Presidents influence Congress by distributing government resources to members’ constituents. Presidents also help set the legislative agenda through the State of the Union and the budget. They also lobby Congress on particularly important issues.
• #54 The House and Senate set their own rules for ethical conduct and investigate all complaints of misbehavior. Recently, members have been accused and convicted of trading their votes for cash and other gifts. Under new rules enacted in 2007, members of Congress may not accept any gifts, meals, or travel from any lobbyist. Under the Stock Act of 2012, legislators may not make any stock trades after learning about economic changes or new federal action before the public knows. The House and Senate enforce the rules through separate ethics committees which are equally divided between Democrats and Republicans. Because they are filled through the normal committee selection process, members are under tremendous pressure not to hurt their own party.
• #55 The FBI found $90,000 in cash in Louisiana Rep. William Jefferson’s freezer in an investigation that led to his conviction for bribery. He was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison in 2011 in what the lead federal prosecutor called “the most extensive and pervasive pattern of corruption in the history of Congress.”
• #56 What have you learned about how legislators make decisions?
• #57 Legislators try to vote the way their constituents want; when they vote according to what they think is in the best interests of their constituents, they are voting as trustees. Activity: Ask your students to imagine themselves as a member of the House. They have been asked to vote on an issue touching on abortion (they can imagine their vote is either pro or con). First, ask them to explain how this issue would lead to pressure from constituents, special interests, party leaders, and the even the president. Then ask them to explain how their vote might be different depending on the model of representation they prescribed to (trustee, delegate, politico, or conscience).
• #58 Although most incumbents are reelected, most campaign constantly to stay in office. This has created what some observers have called the “permanent campaign,” which affects the legislative process. When most members act as individual candidates, the task of providing leadership is increasingly difficult. Without leadership, majorities aren’t likely to be formed. The congressional system acts only when majorities can be achieved. The lack of action is one reason why public approval of Congress is low. Another reason involves the intense conflict surrounding major legislation. The public is also angry that Congress has been unable to fix the economy. Americans become frustrated when their political leaders cannot reach agreement during national crises. The polarizing effect of partisanship has exacerbated that frustration. Activity: Surveys consistently show a high level of dissatisfaction with Congress. Yet voters continue to reelect members. Ask your class to consider possible reasons for what seems to be a contradiction. Is it simply the advantage of incumbency? Is the American public more satisfied with its own representatives than with Congress as an institution?
• #59 When were some of the highest and lowest points in Congressional approval? What reasons can you think of to explain these levels?
• #60 Let’s review some key terms we learned in this chapter. By process of elimination, you should be able to make the correct choice.
• #61 By always trying to raise money for election campaigns, legislators pay less attention to action in Congress.