Basic Facts:

a) Congress is bicameral

     (two chambers)

(b) Senators and Representatives have

     different terms and districts

(c) House is therefore seen as closer to the people, and the Senate as more removed

b.  House every 2 years, Senate every 6 years—only 1/3 of the Senate is up for reelection every 2 years).  The Senate doesn’t change as much as the House.

c.  ·      Each House district represents fewer people than each Senator.  It may be difficult for Senators to develop personal relationships because they represent so many people

·      Because Senators are up for election every 6 years or so, they are not campaigning as much as House members, getting that recognition, etc.

(d) Representatives often know few of

     their colleagues; Senate a more

     familiar and friendly place (still true

     or always a myth?)

(e) Salaries the same ($174,000)

d.  Senate does not have as positive a view of the House.  In the Senate, individuals have more power.  They are not as focused on partisanship; they can vote more based on individual values than on party lines.

e.  Senate is seen as more elite even though Senators' salaries are the same as House members' salaries.

Amendment 27--Congress can raise salaries.  however, it doesn't take into effect until the next cycle.

(f) Overview of legislative process

(g) Overview of House and Senate

      Leadership

f.  A bill can start in the House or the Senate.  The president cannot introduce a bill.  However, the president can make suggestions about what to introduce.  Legislative Counsel helps write up a bill.  

·      Bills go to committees, which are policy subdivisions.  Each committee has a sub-committee, which further divides up the policy world.  Each member is assigned to 2 or 3 committees.

·      First a sub-committee votes.  Then, the full committee votes.  Then, it goes to the Rules Committee, which sets the limits on the debate (ex:  a time limit on debate, the number of allowed amendments, etc.).  Then, it goes to the House floor (if introduced in the House) and is voted on.

·      In the Senate, the Rules Committee is replaced by unanimous consent because the Senate can never set the terms of debate because of filibusters.  If there is unanimous consent, the bill is voted on.

·      The House and Senate need to agree on a single version of the bill, and if this new version passes in both houses, it goes to the president.

·      There are very many opportunities for a bill to die.  It can be defeated at every stage of the process.  These are called “veto points”.

g.  Speaker of the House leads the majority party, speaks to the media.  People vote for the Speaker strictly on party lines.  Party whips communicate between leadership and the rank-and-file.  Majority and minority leaders.

(h) Congressional time organized into

     “congresses” (two years, approximately

     corresponding to time in between

     elections). We are now in the 111th

     Congress, Second Session.

(i)  Almanac of American Politics.

     Information about members of Congress

     and congressional districts.

II. Congress is the most important branch of government.  Congress is Article I of the

     Constitution

(b) Congress makes all the laws that

     govern the United States

(c) Congress reviews how the

     executive branch implements these

     laws

a.  There is no one leader of Congress.  President of Senate is the VP.  It's hard for a dictator ever to rise because of the bicameralism; this is arranged to prevent future tyranny.

b.  National laws override state laws.  ·      Bully pulpit:  Teddy Roosevelt’s idea; idea that the president has a “megaphone” but he can’t write laws or do anything extremely hands-on when it comes to laws

·      The president can’t really do much with laws if he goes against what the Congress wants to do.

·      The two presidencies:  presidents have much more power when it comes to foreign affairs (because it becomes difficult for 535 people to control a war).  However, Congress handles money and can therefore have some sort of control/power over wars

·      For most of the 19^th century, presidents though that they could just let Congress make the laws.  They would make patriotic speeches that never really said anything and they really got out of the way.  They were not very assertive until the 20^th century.

·      Congress can rule without the president, and we saw this after the Civil War (where Congress ran government under Andrew Jackson’s presidency; they overrode vetoes, made laws, etc.).  The president cannot rule without Congress

c.  Reviews how executive branch implements laws--idea of Congressional oversight.  Article II--the presidential powers.

ESSAY QUESTION:  WHY CONGRESS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT.

Congress people run for Congress by running against Congress.  They highlight the problems of Congress in order to get/keep their job.  This is how members of Congress contribute to the negativity; they make the institution as a whole look bad so that they, as individuals, can look better.

Skepticism is maybe a good American value to have.  It is a healthy thing to have some sort of skepticism on power because America grew out of rebellion against the British and their intense grip on power.

The people should be skeptical but not cynical.

(d) President has few formal powers

     compared to Congress

No Constitutional right.

Example 3:  o   Bills are often not vetoed but the threats of vetoes or filibusters is always very large so that people can change certain facets of the bill in order to make it easier for it to pass with facets that they support.  Use of veto by president is very rare--there is usually a compromise instead.

·      The media covers the president more than Congress because the public is very fascinated by looking at the most powerful man in the world.

It is much easier to hold one man accountable than it is to hold 535 members of Congress accountable.  If you’re a reporter, it is much easier to cover one person than it is to cover 535 members of Congress.  The media like clean, tight stories.  The president is a party symbol; generally runs the party.  Glamorous, powerful image of the White House mystique.

III. Other introductory concepts

(a)    Separation of powers

(b) Constitution as an “Invitation to struggle” 

(c) Checks and balances – bicameral

(d) Importance of compromise; see

     House Mouse, Senate Mouse – children’s book

(e) Federalism – 

(f) “Pork- barrel” spending – 

(g) Rules are important: they provide stability and predictability

a) - limited government, federalism, checks and balances.

- 3 independent branches of government

- Section 8 – Elastic clause

b) no one person has complete dominance – Congress has more power than the other branches do

c) veto and Supreme Court

d) n/a

e)intrudes on power of the states. Tend to give more power to the US government.

f)narrow piece of leg to fund certain items. EX: bridge to nowhere in Alaska – “wasteful spending”

g) - Some formal and informal (folkways – traditions and change overtime) Ex: Senators use to just sit and learn from the 60’s and on they began to speak up; sometimes a bit vague on how they can be changed.

(h) Key Senate rule: filibuster

(i) Importance of informal coalitions

(j) Congress as a permeable institution

(k) Role of precedents and folkways

h) n/a

i)o   A lot of issued split the party not always D & R *cross-cutting issues

o   All kinds of caucuses: they’ve care about certain issues

j) o   A lot of people have access to it

o   Congress is a very impressive institution; however, in reality it is very permeable
o   All kinds of ways you can influence Congress

k) There are a lot of unwritten traditions….

o   “social norms” these have changed over time

History of Congress
 I. Articles of Confederation (1781) – there was no constitution yet  - there was only a single chamber of congress.

A) A Firm League of Friendship

b) Limited the power of the central government and “Congress”…

(c) Organization of this early “Congress”

· Members of Congress elected by state legislatures

                · Each state had same number of delegates

(d) Problems began immediately

                · Shay’s Rebellion

                · Threats from England and Spain

A. is this a way to create a government? Who were the friends here? The states were the friends! This means that the states couldn’t be taxed; if the government needed/wanted money from the states, it had to be essentially donated

  designed  by people that were afraid of government; therefore very little central government. No president or judiciary; only congress
   the states were not cohering into one national government

B. Congress could declare war, but had to ask states for soldiers

· No power to tax; had to ask states for voluntary donations

· States could print own money – fiscal chaos

· States could set own tariff rates – commercial chaos (tax on imported goods)

· No president, no judicial system only a single chamber congress

·         States voted as a state – didn’t have senators only got 1 vote and had to have a super majority

D) Shay's Rebellion - Uprising in western Massachusetts; farmers that wouldn’t pay their taxes. Made a lot of people wonder what will happen if they are posed with another war

o   Threats from England and Spain
  Threatening to take half of Maine; harass American ships

(e) Obstacle to change: agreement of all states required by Articles

·         All states required by Articles

·         Articles failed b/c - On BACK

·         Harassed American ships and would take them to sail with the British.

Failed b/c - o   No national leader

o   Could not tax

o   Could not regulate interstate or commerce

o   Articles needed the agreement to from all states to change the Articles

II. Miracle at Philadelphia

A. Began with Annapolis Convention of 1786

B. Constitutional Convention 

A)· George Washington, James Madison, and others saw the need for change

                · Decided to send delegates to Philadelphia to consider changes (Rhode Island did not)

B) · Lasted four months (had closed door meetings and met in secrete and it was very hot and humid and miserable)

                · Went beyond mandate and powers (decided only nine states necessary to approve changes to Articles)

                · Powerful federal government but separation of powers. Different plans by different state.

                · Connecticut Compromise: House (for large states) and Senate (for small states) – (James Madison’s idea)

Congressional vs. Presidential Power: Changes over the Decades

(a) Congress on the whole more powerful

(b) Congressional Government

a) ·   But not in every single year

·   Depends on who is in the White House, public expectations of how the president should act, and national/ world events

·   Congress is the more powerful branch usually but it depends on who the President is

b) ·   For most of 18th and 19th centuries, presidents thought Congress should be in charge

·   Congress would pass laws, the president would execute them (“executive branch”)

·   Some presidents felt that even giving speeches on policy matters or lobbying Congress was wrong

·   Presidents didn’t really speak much.

·   One of the impeachment charges against Andrew Johnson was essentially that he used heated rhetoric

·   No longer the case today; every president since Calvin Coolidge has sought more power

(c) Depends on the president: some in 18th and 19th centuries unusually strong

·   At first, George Washington held sway over Congress –didn’t really do much and Alexander Hamilton basically did all but appear on the house or senate floor.

·   After Washington, Congress determined to retake power using its constitutional power

·   Thomas Jefferson (Democratic Republican party).  With development of political parties, Jefferson tried to use this to influence Congress.

o   Parties proved so useful that they developed quickly and helped to bring the branches together.            

o   Congress didn’t really like this (Jackson an exception)

·   Andrew Jackson. Vigorous and opinionated. Split nation. – from the far “west” at the time (founding of the Democratic party (AJ party) and the Whigs(limited government power))

·   Abraham Lincoln. Civil War required a strong leader. Assumed some extra-constitutional powers.  Use to be a whig and was member of the house. Believed in limited power but during war he thought it was absolutely necessary.

(d)  Golden Age of Congressional Government

·   From Andrew Johnson (Tenn.) –didn’t want to punish the south like the northerners wanted to; Congress governed without him and member of congress decided to become an executive and pres became irrelevant and shows how weak the actual presidency is. -  to Theodore Roosevelt

·   Whig philosophy of limited government

·   Congress as identifier and solver of problems

·   High point of power under “Joint Committee of 15 on Reconstruction” - members of Congress that were going to run the government; ignore the president – Congress could govern without the president. Under Johnson – Congress eventually impeached him because he didn’t agree with Congress.

·   Example of U.S. Grant: vetoed only 1 bill in 8 years - He had no interest in standing up against Congress. He let Congress choose his cabinet.

·   One feature held back the power of Congress: divided institution -  There is vagueness in the constitution – who gets what power? Two houses, two committees, not a single leadership. However, that was the intention of the founders; to have a divided Congress. Some people are more powerful in Congress than others. For example, chairmen of committees. (Woodrow Wilson said this)

- Assasination, congress ended up with Andrew Johnson

- Few presidents came and went with increased presidential powers

(e) Growth of presidential power

·   Teddy Roosevelt (TR) began with modest requests, ended up inventing executive orders and using the “bully pulpit”

**Key moment  - When Congress & the President changed**

o   Became pres on accident and was gov of NY; VP for McKinley and became pres after McKinley was assonated.

o   Made modest and quite decisions – congress didn’t really like it and began to use his “Bully Pulpit” and inventor of executive order (called Jackson Lincoln theory of Presidency) (for pres. To write law) – created national parks and settled strikes using his power that he created.

·   TR called this the “Jackson-Lincoln theory of the presidency” – Executive Order

o   “If it doesn’t say I can’t I can”

o   Taft was after Roosevlet. Taft limited view of the presidency and Roosevelt ran for the bull- moose (1912) party against Taft and split the Republican vote. And D Wilson was elected.

·   Woodrow Wilson used model of Thomas Jefferson to restart “party government”

o   Had idea similar to Roosevelt and wanted to dominate congress

·   Depression led to vigorous leadership of Franklin D. Roosevelt **2nd Key event to change US presidency**

- Hoover president during the Great Depression

·   No president since FDR has reverted to Whig model (Pres. Doesn’t do much at all)

o   Very active presidency and thought his position was supposed to do any and everything to fight the depression

·   Powers of presidents and the metaphor of a brick wall – although Congress can take back most “bricks” at any time. And over time has been getting stronger and is voluntarily given up by congress.

- Presidents add powers; they never get subtracted. Congress can take them back… ‘powers on loan from Congress.’ Congress likes for the president to take power because it takes the blame off of them!

Institutionalization of Congress  **** PROB THE ESSAY QUESTION on the institutionalization of congress!!

I. Nelson Polsdy article – look @ congress as institutionalized

(a) Well-bounded – must be distinct from its own environment (hard to get in)

(b) Complex – must have a division of labor; people have to want to stay there, you develop your leaders from within

                (c) Relies on rules and precedents – cannot just be arbitrary and have rules of the laws within your organization

® Successful organizations need institutionalization (the three criteria above) – needs to rely on rules and precedents

III. Is Congress well-bounded?

(a) Membership increasingly stable- returning veterans – 1820’s 45% new and as the years go up more returning currently members of congress get reelected at a 90% rate. Increased stability – House avg. 12 years of serving

                (b) More terms for members

                (c) Leadership: serve more terms, specific career path

c) - Congress choices its speaker - they don’t have to be a member of the house, but they all have been.

                - Lots of Speaker’s have died in office – and have become increasing more powerful along with the institution.

  (a) Development of committee

        system

  (b) Development of party leadership

  (c) Increase in financial resources

a.  Key part of legislative process and legislative outcomes in the 20th century.

·      They used to have committees to discuss every individual bill.

·      Over time, they got rid of some committees because it was inefficient to have a committee for every bill.

More clear and established hierarchy these days.

Became more powerful in some regard and less in regard to others.

b.  ·      There was party leadership, such as the Speaker, but it used to be very difficult to really determine who was a formal leader

·      Nowadays, there is a clear sense of who is in charge/who has influence in Congress

c.  ·      Congress spends a couple million dollars to run itself.  They spend it on buildings, staff, computer system, mail, security system, etc.

In the 1800s, there was no physical security, even for Congress.

V. Does Congress rely on rules and

    precedents?

  (a) Evidence from contested

        elections

  (b) Use of seniority for committee

        leadership

  (c) Politeness and decorum norms

a.  The House decides for the House and the Senate decides for the Senate.  ·      In the 1800s, the election was decided by party line votes.  1996 in California was the most recent example of the decision by party line votes.

b.  Some instances where the chair is not the most senior member, but it is often the case.  Informal rule--most senior member is generally the chair of the committee

c.  when an institution has respect of its members, the members are more likely to follow the rules;

 In 1851--there was a beating with cane.  Now, it is very formal and people try to follow the rules.

d.  Congressional Record

e.  Unorthodox lawmaking

d.  There is a Congressional record into which members are allowed to put documents and speeches.  It is also possible for people to not include something they’ve said in the record.

e.  The standard legislative process isn’t necessarily followed these days.  Sometimes, a bill can skip committee and just be brought to the floor right away.  This is more common these days than it was in the past.  Sometimes, rules are broken to allow greater expediency.

Congressional Leadership

I. “Inside” vs. “outside” roles

(a) Inside: influence votes, communicate with members, know parliamentary procedures, organize activities

What Congress members are allowed to vote on really makes a difference.  influence votes (not in the form of threats but in the form of persuasion; members must understand how to persuade members without ruining chances of the person sticking around), communicate with members, know parliamentary procedures, organize activities—party leaders guide the institutional activities that are going on.

If you don't vote the way the Speaker wants you to, you could be kicked out of the party.

b) Outside: publicize issue agendas, serve as party’s link to public and press, raise money, recruit candidates for next election

(c) All actions on behalf of party; all

     leadership posts are party posts

b.  individuals do not necessarily vote for a party, they vote for individuals; once again, threats or bribes do not work—leaders must convince people/persuade them to vote for a certain candidate over a different candidate)

c.  All leaders are partisan, even those who are meant to be neutral (these people are hired by the majority party or minority party, so even though they may consider a broader point of view, they are likely to go along with the view closest to that aligning with their partisan views.  Even the Speaker is not neutral, even though he/she is supposed to be.

Much of the getting in touch and raising money is done through campaigns.

II. House of Representatives

(a) Leadership more important in House

     than Senate

(b) Speaker of the House

  · Power depends on the person and the

     wishes of other members

  · Procedural authority

  · Political roles

  · In charge of House administrative

     matters (can be controversial)  

a.  ·      Individual House members don’t have the right to be recognized

·      Senators are more their own leaders, but the House is more hierarchical in form.  Representatives can't really do much to slow things down in the House.  Senators also have a lot more power because of the filibuster.

b.  Usually a household name; power is what the person makes of it and also on the wishes of other members.

Procedural:  selects members for conference committees

Political:  Sets the agenda, which usually goes along with desires of the majority party

Speaker of the House

From 1789 to 1910, Speaker gained much power

· Famous speakers: Sam Rayburn (D-TX), Tip O’Neill (D-MA), Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Sam Rayburn is famous for changing the role of the Speaker to one that was no longer dictatorial.

·      1970s—revolt against the committee chairs; this sent shock waves through Washington; they also changed the rules so that the election of chairs was done by secret ballot

Tip O'Neill

Jim Wright

Tom Foley

Newt Gingrich

POSSIBLE ESSAY QUESTION:  HOW DID THE BALANCE OF POWER SHIFT DEPENDING ON WHO WAS SPEAKER?  WHO WAS INVOLVED IN THIS?

O'Neill:  Spent a lot of time on the floor, talked to a lot of different members, didn't like to dictate.  He said that all politics is local.  Longest-occupying non-interrupted Speaker.

Wright:  Very involved in foreign policy.  Wanted to have more power in the Speaker's office.  He was very influential in bringing more power to the individual Speaker.  Congress usually leaves foreign policy power to the president, but Wright got involved.

Foley:  Wasn't in office for very long.

Gingrich:  Trying to get majority status back for the GOP.  He had a lot of power in the 1980s and 1990s.  He had a lot of battles with President Clinton on budget.  

1. Budget

1. Congress didn't pass a budget for a little while
2. Turned against Gingrich, and his popularity felloff.
1. As majority Leader, Gingrich was 2nd in command

(c) Majority Leader

  · Elected by secret ballot of the party

  · Experienced legislator

  · Not to be confused with “floor 

     manager”

  · Does not chair committees

· Job: floor defender, negotiator, spokesperson

  · Job: can overlap with that of Speaker

·      Deputy to the Speaker, more tactical than the Speaker, knows what is happening on the floor right now, thinking about the details of the bill (while the Speaker looks more at the overall, general picture)

·      Not to be confused with “floor manager” (floor managers manage in a more detailed way for specific bills)—they are actually the “floor leader”—they shepherd the bill through and report any problems

·      Does not chair committees (ranking members lead committees)

Sometimes you can’t tell where the Speaker’s job ends and where the majority leader’s job begins.

(d) Minority Leader

Reach out to voters:  basically a public relations campaign.  Even if the candidate does not believe he/she can win, this is a way to create erosion

Minority leaders do not have control of the agenda--that is the main job of the majority party

(e) Whips

· Dozens of whips

Key things that whips do:  they need to know how they are going to vote.  If people say they do not know how they are going to vote, the whip has to predict what is going to happen to the bill.

Conveying to rank-and-file what the leadership is wanting

Dozens of whips: all kinds of whips. You have all kinds of (ex) D and different whips are assigned to those different levels of Democrats (southern D, western D)
Senate

III. Senate

  (a) More personalized institution

  (b) “Leaders” must rely less on

        formal rules, more on personal

        skills and negotiating

  (c) Formal leaders have little power:

        VP and President Pro Tempore

  (d) Majority leader and minority leader

a.  Constant negotiation--you have to get a vote of 60 to do pretty much everything so individuals really have a sway.

c. Constitution indicates that the VP doesn't do much in the Senate.  o   If there’s a tie vote, the VP can break that tie.  This doesn’t happen very often, however

o   The VP has a very fancy office as “president of the Senate”; he is barely ever in his office.

o   In the absence of the VP, the President Pro Tempore takes over (Robert Byrd—he has the most seniority of the majority party)

o   The President Pro Tempore really doesn’t have that much power.

o   The people in the Senate who are supposed to be in power really don’t have much power at all.

Senate Majority and Minority Leaders

· Neither job mentioned in Constitution

· Not present in early Senate; leadership then derived from personal talents, committee chair, or factional leadership

· Institutionalized by 1913

Some periods of strong leadership, such as Lyndon Johnson (D-TX – creator of “The Treatment”)

· Subsequent leaders more focused on persuasion, negotiation, and compromise

· Job: herding cats, creating unity, outreach to public, win or maintain control of Senate

· ML’s may serve on committees

Whips less important in Senate

· Leaders chosen through party elections; senators campaign to win

(e) Party Caucus (Democrats) and

     Party Conference (Republicans)

o   Many Senators just saw themselves as ambassadors from their states rather than as a collective group of leaders for America; they didn’t really think they should have main Senate leaders or anything.

Elected by secret ballot

The Treatment:  o  LBJ had a kind of personality that really reflected him as a leader; he would get inches away from someone’s face and convince someone to vote a certain way

Whips:  o   There are a lot fewer of them in the Senate than in the House.  Since the Senate is smaller, there aren’t as many whips.

o   Democratic and Republican whips will often work together in Senate to prevent chaos

Leaders:   There are little campaigns that go on within the Senate.  There is a personal kind of dynamic that works better in the Senate than in the House.  Often, there are favorites; sometimes, people are well known; sometimes, the eventual choice surprises you.

e.  ·      Sometimes, Senators get together without their staff

f.  Robert Byrd is not in favor of people doing their own thing.  You can serve on committees if the senate majority/minority leader gives you a little more influence; just know there are groups that have certain functions like conducting research or helping to elect people.

Committees

I. Committees exist because members of Congress want them to exist

  (a) Committees help members play

        “inside” and “outside” roles

  · Help gain constituent support

  · Opportunity for policymaking

(b) Allow Congress to consider many bills simultaneously

II. Three theories of committees

  (a) Distribution

  (b) Information

  (c) Party 

II.  a.  ·      Members are on committees that do work that could potentially benefit that member’s constituents

Preference outliers:  people tend to join committees that specialize in areas they approve of.

·      Members are more likely to join committees that do what they want to do rather than to stop something that a committee is doing that they don’t agree with.

·      There is a check on committees—members can’t just do anything they like

Distribution is focused on reelection.

b.  Committees are meant to create expertise; needs to know about policy areas.  Have policy priorities and over time become experts.  Committees hire staff – personal staffer or a committee staffers

c.  created to enable parties to more thoroughly control legislative process; bills have to get through committees; controlled by the party because the majority party has the most amount of seats on the committee

III. History of committees

  (a) Early Congress created temporary

         panels for each bill

  (b) Backwards process: floor first, then

         committee

  (c) By 1816 in House (later in Senate),

         standing (permanent) committees

  created

  (d) Committees and chairs gained power

  after Cannon Revolt; lost power in

         1970s revolt and in 1990s

c.  ·      There used to be temporary committees as a way to make sure Congress was debating bills fairly and that its members knew all the details of every bill; committees grew out of the fact that Congress started growing bigger

IV. Types of committees

  (a) Standing-- permanent

  (b) Select-- temporary

  (c) Joint-- boring

  (d) Conference-- stage of legislative

        process after floor votes

V. Committee assignment process

(a) After every election – must

      accommodate new members

(b) Levels of committees: most

      people want “A” and especially

      “Super A” committees

(c) Average member sits on three

      committees

(d) Choices determined by goals:

      reelection, influence within the

      chamber, or policymaking

a.  ·      Members leave and come every year (especially every 2 years)

b.  Super A committees—powerful, amazing committees.  More desirable committee to be on.

 ·      A committees—good

·      B committees—okay, average

·      C committees—usually avoid; but they have to have someone serve on them.  They still do work.

·      These assignments shift over time based on what is happening in the world.  Choice of committee determined by goals:  reelection, influence within the chamber, or policymaking.  Right now, foreign affairs committees are considered Super A committees.  These would have been B committees in, say, the 1980s.  

(e) Johnson Rule in Senate

(f) Must lobby leadership for

     assignments

(g) Three steps

  · party assignment panel

  · party caucus or conference vote

  · pro forma vote by chamber

e.  ·      Everyone is assigned to at least one committee that they like before all the rest of the spots are given out

·      House members do not have this because there are too many Representatives

f.  ·      The member may not be known and they must prove that they are worthy of getting on the committee

g.  Party assignment:  o   Steering committee reviews the requests and determines who will sit on what committee.

VI. Committee process

  (a) Problem: overlapping jurisdictions

  (b) Simple referral, multiple referral,

        primary referral, joint referral

  (c) Subcommittees first

  (d) Hearing

  (e) Markup

(f)  Report

a.  Sometimes, committees will willingly divide up the work.  Other times, there are turf wars.

Forum shopping:  members of Congress lobby for their bills so that it will get assigned to a certain committee

b.  ·      Simple referral:  the bill goes to one committee

·      Multiple referral:  the rules were changed to allow bills to be referred to more than one committee

Primary referral:  the bill can be referred to multiple committees but one of the committees is the primary one

Joint referral:  the bill can be sent to two committees; the two committees have equal responsibility to work with the bill

c.  If a committee is serious about passing a bill, it may send it to a subcommittee.  If it passes through the subcommittee, then it goes to the committee.

d.  ·      There are witnesses who come to testify on the bill

·      Sometimes, they are filled with the entire committee

Sometimes, committee hearings are pretty boring affairs

e.  ·      Contains amendments

This all has to be done in the open

f.  ·      Describes details and purposes of the bill

This is kind of a lobbying document where the committee is trying to convince other people of the bill’s value 

IV. Rules Committee

  (a) Controlled by Speaker

  (b) Bill first passed by standing committee

  (c) Rules Committee has hearing, crafts a

        “rule”

  (d) Full House must vote on “rule” – defeats

        are rare and an embarrassment to the

        Speaker

  (e) Rules Committee occasionally, but

        rarely, passes substantive legislation

a. ·      You have to be a solid party member to get appointed to this committee.

·      The majority party has a 2:1 advantage over the minority party

c.  They can determine how many amendments can be made, how long every amendment can be debated

d.  ·      There is some accountability; the Rules Committee cannot rule on anything until the whole House votes on it

V. Rules

  (a) A “rule” decides order of consideration

        of bills, decides length of debate,

        decides number of amendments

  (b) Open

  (c) Closed

  (d) Modified

  (e) Waiver

  (f)  Rules can be complex and creative

b.  ·      Any germane amendment can be offered on the floor

c.  ·      No amendments can be made

·      The more power a party has, the more likely it is to use closed rules

·      Sometimes, legislation is very complex and you don’t want to ruin the bill

d.  - modified open – has certain sections that cannot be changed

- modified closed- who can make amendments

e.  ·      Waives a rule/point of order

f.  King-of-the-hill rule:  it offers a whole bunch of amendments, but only the last one counts.  Queen-of-the-hill rule:  Instituted by the GOP:  all amendments are considered and the one with the most votes wins.

VI. If standing committee is intransigent...

  (a) Discharge petition

  (b) Rules Committee can extract a

        bill from committee

a.  Majority of the House (218 members) must adopt this discharge petition to give members more power over the leadership

b.  ·      If the leadership wants a rule to get passed, they can get the Rules Committee to extract bills from committee to put it in the Rules Committee and then to the floor

House Procedures:
Final Stages...

I. Committee of the Whole

  (a) Entire House under a different name

  (b) Speaker gives up gavel; mace to

        presiding officer

  (c) Where bill is considered after it

        receives a “rule”

a.  It does so because it is easier to consider a bill this way.

Not mandatory.

b.  Mace is a symbol of power

Idea for Committee of the Whole comes from British Parliament.  

c.  Smaller quorum requirement as opposed to 218 makes it easier to get things done and speeds it up.

b.  

(d) Different procedures in CW than in

        House – faster

  (e) Begins with debate; governed by floor

        managers

  (f) Delaying tactics by the minority

  (g) Amendments considered; five minute

        limit for each side

d.  5-minute rule:  amendments have a 5 minute limit (5 minutes pro, 5 minutes against)

e.  ·      One hour to have a general debate on the bill; supposed to be divided equally between the majority and the minority; this is not a debate, per se, but it is a discussion of statements.  A lot of the time, people bring up scripts, they don’t respond to other peoples’ points.  This allows people to take a stand on public issues.  Serves a symbolic purpose.  One floor manager from each party (usually a chair or senior member)

f.  ·      Try to rally opposition to the bill

·      The more delay you have, the more behind-the-scenes lobbying can happen within the House

·      Sometimes, minority members will stall things just because they are tired of losing/they want to express annoyance

·      Point of orders have to be recognize unless this right is waived by the majority

·      They can call a vote:  they stop everything, they ring bells throughout the House, then the Congressmen have to make their way to the floor, and then they have to go back—this is a process that can delay the overall process

·      They can try to prevent the quorum by leaving the floor if there aren’t that many people there in the first place.  People can pretend like there is a quorum, but if someone points out that there may not be quorum, a count must be taken

·      Questions of privilege:  something that involves the integrity of the House as a whole.

g.  ·      Members of Congress tend to like amending because it gives them an opportunity to legislate.  ·      Members may reconsider voting in favor of a bill if they are offered a “bribe” amendment; they may be offered something that directly benefits their constituents

II. More on amending

  (a) Committee amendments must be

        adopted by entire House (are

        technically only recommendations

        to the House from the committee)

  (b) Riders: amendments that are not

        “germane” (relevant to bill)

  (c) Substitute vs. perfecting amendments

  (d) Second-degree amendments

Some amendments are called "sweeteners"--these are used to get support from more people.

a.  these are priority and typically supported

b.  if a bill is not germane, you can raise a point of order.  sometimes, it will strike and sometimes it will not.  if no one objects, it is automatically germane.

c.  ·      Perfecting:  changing the language/wording

Substitute:  changing the deep, underlying point of the bill; complete alternative to the already existing text.

·      A Substitute Amendment entirely replaces part of the bill with entirely new language (which may have nothing to do with the original bill).  An Amendment in the Nature of the Substitute entirely blanks the entire original bill and puts in a new bill under the guise of an amendment.

d.  ·      Amendment to an amendment

III. Raising (ending) of the CW

  (a) Speaker resumes control

  (b) Mace returned

  (c) No new amendments

  (d) Amendments approved in CW

       must be approved by House

  (e) Engrossment

  (f) Third reading

  (g) Recommittal motion: simple or

        “with instructions”

  (h) Final vote

Goes back to the whole House.

d.  ·      This is usually approved pro forma by voice vote; if it’s really close, however, you can request for a counted vote

e.  ·      Preparing the final document; the bill with all the amendments written into it

f.  Only the title is read; this takes a few seconds

g.  ·      This is a final opportunity to kill the bill; sends it back to the committees (it will have to start over again)

·      “With instructions”:  the person making the recommittal motion sends it back to the committee with a specific sort of “amendment”

h.  the question is on the passage of the bill – magic words to say that they will have a final vote; final vote only conclusive if there is an opportunity to reconsider and doesn’t really happen

IV. Voting

  (a) Electronic voting began in 1973

  (b) Large screen above Speaker’s

        desk displays the name and vote

        of each member

  (c) Prior to 1973: roll call method

  (d) Voice votes, teller votes

b.  ·      Each member can see the way other members are voting

c.  ·      Voting time is now 15 minutes instead of 30 minutes.  Reps use this time to confer with each other.  Speaker can keep voting time open for as long as he/she wants

d.  ·      Voting time is now 15 minutes instead of 30 minutes.  No holding individuals accountable for voting a certain way because it's basically anonymous voting.  Not recorded votes are used for noncontroversial issues

Senate Procedures

I. Importance of the schedule

  (a) Heavier workload in the Senate 

  (b) Members and leadership can use time

         pressure to their advantage

  (c) All members participate in the making

  of the schedule

II. Calendars

  (a) Calendar of General Orders

  (b) Executive Calendar

  (c) one-day rule and two-day rule

  (d) “holds”

I.  a.  ·      Members represent more people, more interests

·      Congressional workload is heaviest on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  Mondays and Fridays are used to travel back and forth from the state; the weekend is used for travel in the state

·      Senators sometimes vote at nighttime to save time.  Senators don’t like this very much because there are a bunch of people sitting around ready to vote.

o   Stacked voting: a list of bills is debated during the day and then all of them are voted on at night at once

·      Senate is a lot of work, and this is why Senators retire quite often.  Senators are always working; they have no time for themselves or for their famlies.  The average Senator spends 2 terms in office

b.  Senators will work on weekends because that’s the only way they can get through an agenda.  ·      If you want a bill to get passed but you don’t think it will do well if it’s scrutinized by other members, you may hold off until the very last minute to introduce it so that there’s no time to review it

·      You may wait until an incredibly busy time in the Senate and threaten to filibuster or threaten to oppose a UCA unless the other members pass his/her own bill

II.

a.  All legislation is placed on this calendar

b.  ·      Reserved for things involving the executive branch:  treaties and nominations

c.  Legislation must stay on a calendar for one legislative day

before it can be voted on.
Two-day rule: A committee report must be available to all members for two
days before a vote can take place.  A UCA can waive this.nother delay

Any member of the senate can call the leadership and can
place a hold on a nomination
Can also do this to a bill.
1. Administration gets mad over this hold power

III. Unanimous Consent (UC)

  (a) Crucial Senate procedure

  (b) Involved in 98% of Senate actions

  (c) Long-standing tradition

  (d) It voluntarily limits debate and

        amendments

  (e) Senators waive rights for the sake of

        efficiency and predictability

  (f) Simple and Complex

  (g) A voluntary equivalent to a House

        “Rule”

a.  So simple things don't have to be voted on, such as if a senator

wants his intern to be on the house floor.

b.  Sets Time Limits.  Without UC, you don't know what's going to happen.  Senators waive rights for the sake of efficiency and

predictability

f.  Simple things don't have to be voted on, such as if a

senator wants his intern to be on the house floor.  Complex:  get the leadership and those who care the most about a bill together to pass it

g.  Senators do not defer to anyone and don’t want to delegate agenda control to any individual in Senate.  This is why UCAs are necessary to get things done

IV. UC Implications

  (a) Promotes compromise

  (b) Makes Senate more friendly than

        House

V. Filibuster

  (a) UC means no filibuster

  (b) Without a UC, filibuster possible

  (c) Track system

  (d) Without a UC, bills may be stalled for

        months or forever

IV.  b.  ·      Senators deal with other members in a very personal way, trying to come up with compromises to help the bill move forward

·      Everyone has a lot more power, which makes people treat them in a more positive/personal matter.  They hang out together to discuss stuff and to be more cordial with each other

V.

·      A filibuster does not shut down the work of the Senate anymore because you can always just go to another track.

·      There is no time limit for how long a bill can be held on a track; they may never be reviewed again

·      Some people argue that this makes it easier to filibuster with fewer consequences; some argue that it even encourages filibusters

d.·      Filibusters cannot be overused

·      Raw power is not the key; credibility, expertise, and persuasion quality are all important to passing bills through Congress.

·      Making temporary noise, using powers all the time, take away from a Senator’s quality and credibility

VI. Information

  (a) Majority leader plan of the day

  (b) Whip notices

  (c) Cloakroom

  (d) Newsletters; National Journal and

        Congressional Quarterly

  (e) Leadership hotline

a.  will consider these bills.  this is what we're doing today, this is what we're doing tomorrow, etc.

b.  ·      Tell Senators what they should expect to come up in the week

c.  ·      Democrats and Republicans have their own

·      This used to be the place where people placed their cloaks, but now it’s a place for Democrats and Republicans to just hang out

·      Staff people may be present to explain what is going on if a Senator does not understand/is not aware of what’s happening

d.  alerts members of Congress of upcoming votes

e.  ·      You can call this and figure out what’s happening, but you don’t want to use it too much because that will take away from your credibility.

VII. Time

  (a) Legislative days

  (b) Calendar days

  (c) Daily events

Calendar day is what we think of as an average day. 

Legislative days can last more or less than one calendar day.  Sometimes, you start the next calendar day as the same legislative day as before.  At the beginning of the next calendar day when you’re still in the same legislative day, you pretend like you never even left for the day and continue along your business.

The legislative day begins with a prayer.  Then, the Senate has to approve the Journal (record of the previous day’s activities).  Then, they have the Morning Hour.  This is actually a block of 2 hours to take care of business (reports and messages from the President, from the House, etc.).  This doesn’t necessarily have to happen in the morning.  Then, you can go on to unfinished business, the legislation pending from the day before.

VIII. Speaking

(a) Few protracted debates, as in the

     days of Daniel Webster, John

     Calhoun, and Henry Cabot Lodge

(b) Opinions matter, but key

     discussions behind closed doors

(c) Senators must be “recognized” and

     allowed to speak

(d) CSPAN (Cable Satellite Public

     Affairs Network) in 1986

a.·      In a sense, there was a great era of debate in the 19th century.  Before there was TV, speakers would go around spreading the word. Politics was a form of entertainment.

·      Nowadays, Senators don’t do this kind of thing.  Senators are not considered to be as good speakers as they were before because they don’t have to keep a crowd’s attention for hours on end.  Campaigns are fought by commercials, not by speeches.  Senators have a lot of other things to do so they can’t speak for a very long time.

b.  ·      Senators talk to each other, but it’s just a part of the political process

·      There are currently not many people who just sit on the floor and engage in public discussion.  In the past, there used to be hours of debate.  Now, people give their speeches and leave.  There aren’t just people sitting around listening.  ·      Now, when partisan lines are SOCIAL in addition to being POLITICAL, people will vote against each other and then go their separate ways.

c.  ·      If you’re a Senator and there isn’t a UCA, you’re essentially going to be recognized to speak if you want to

·      Senators are called in the order they request to speak

·      Leaders have priority over regular members

d.  ·      There was a scare that having cameras in the Senate would attract Senators to the TV and that they’d be dealing with glamour rather than the tasks at hand

·      Others support this, saying that it keeps the public more informed

·      Senatorial presentations have become more interesting

·      Senators behave themselves better now because the cameras are up.  Sometimes, Senators look directly into the camera when discussing policy to be more personal.  Anything they do can be broadcasted so they have to make sure they're ready.

IX. Voting

  (a) Stacked votes

  (b) No electronic voting: only voice

        votes and roll call votes

  (c) Increase in number of roll call

        votes over the decades

  (d) “tabling” motion

a.  ·      This is how most things are voted on in the Senate

·      You have a debate on a bill, a debate on another bill, etc…and then vote on EVERYTHING at the end of the day.  This makes it so that the Senators only have to come in to vote once.  The first vote is 15 minutes (to give Senators time to walk over) and then the time decreases to 10 minutes after that.

·      Sometimes, voting takes longer because they want to make sure that all Senators have the opportunity to vote (not voting could have negative political consequences)

b.  People have to actually say how they're going to vote.  This is not anonymous and members are held accountable.

c.  ·      The Senate has more business to do; it has become a much busier place

·      Some roll call votes are attempts to get parties on the record.  One party may insist on having a vote on issues (to get on the record) which they think they can use against the other party during election time

·      Senators sometimes go to cue-givers.  These are members of the party who are rock solid party members to help them decide on how to vote.  They’ll talk to staff and have their own ideas of what to vote for, but they also take advice from these cue-givers

d.  ·      This means that there is no vote yes or no on a bill

·      Tabling an amendment is pretty much a way to kill a bill with fewer fingerprints on it

·      Not voting “no” on it but voting to not consider it

·      This drives the minority crazy because this motion is like saying the bill was never there

. More filibuster

  (a) Threat of a filibuster affects all

         Senate decision making

  (b) Less concern in the 19th century

  (c) Debate: minority rights or

         minority rule?

  (d) Filibusters and threats of filibusters

         are more common

  (e) Cloture adopted in 1917 with Senate

         Rule XXII