Chapter 12

Congress

Qualifications
HOUSE 25 years old; citizen for 7 years;
live in the state you represent

SENATE 30 years old; citizen for 9 years;

live in the state you represent

American Bicameralism
The House
435 members, 2-year
terms of office
Initiates all revenue
bills, more influential
on budget
House Rules
Committee
Limited debates

The Senate
100 members, 6-year
terms of office
Gives advice &
consent, more
influential on foreign
affairs
Unlimited debates
(filibuster)

Bicameral Legislature
Two house Congress
House of Reps. = 435
members
5 non-voting members =
Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands,
Guam, Washington D.C.,
American Samoa
Senate = 100 members
Connecticut Compromise @
the Constitutional
Convention

Congressmen from Arizona

Representative Jeff Flake
http://www.house.gov/flake/

Senator Jon Kyl

http://kyl.senate.gov/
Senator John McCain
http://mccain.senate.gov/

The Representatives and Senators

The Job

Salary of $168,500 with retirement benefits

Office space in D.C. and at home with staff
Travel allowances and franking privileges
Requires long hours, a lot of time away from
family, and pressure from others to support
their policies

Incumbency in Congress
Individuals who already
hold office usually win
90% of elections

Congressional Elections
The Advantages of Incumbents
Advertising:
The goal is to be visible to your constituents
Frequent trips home, use of newsletter, and
technology

Credit Claiming:
Service to constituents through:
Casework: specifically helping constituents get what they
think they have a right to
Pork Barrel: federal projects, grants, etc. made available in
a congressional district or state

Congressional Elections
The Advantages of Incumbents
Position Taking:
Portray themselves as hard working, dedicated individuals
Occasionally take a partisan stand on an issue

Weak Opponents:
Inexperienced in politics, unorganized, and underfunded

Campaign Spending:
Challengers need to raise large sums to defeat an incumbent
PACs give most of their money to incumbents
Does PAC money buy votes in Congress?

Servicing the Constituency

Constituents: citizens that
the Congressperson
represents
Casework: helping
constituency as individuals
(cutting through red tape to
give people what they think
they have a right to get
Pork Barrel: List of federal
projects, grants and contracts
available to cities, businesses,
colleges and institutions

Money in electing Congressmen

Most of the turnover in the
membership in Congress
results from vacated seats,
particularly in the House
It costs a great deal more
money to elect a
congressperson than to elect a
president
2000, all presidential
candidates spent a total of
$200 million
2000, general election Senate
races alone cost $350 million

Comparing the Senate and the

House of Representatives

House of Representatives
More centralized,
hierarchical, less anarchic
Party loyalty to leadership
and party-line voting more
prevalent
Leaders do more leading
Speaker appoints committee
members
Five calendars based on kind
of bill
House can impeach officials
(16 so far)

House Rules Committee

Most important committee in the House

Reviews most bills coming from a house committee before
they go to the full House (traffic cop)
Gives each bill a rule, which schedules the bill on the
calendar, allots time for debate, and can even specify what
kind of amendments to bill can be offered
Initiates all revenue bills in House

Senate
Less disciplined, less
centralized
Ratifies treaties
Confirms important
presidential nominations
Tries impeached officials
Party leaders schedule
bills
Pro Tempore seniority rule

Congressional Leadership

How Congress is Organized

to Make Policy
Congressional Leadership
The House
Led by Speaker of the
Houseelected by House
members
Presides over House
Major role in committee
assignments and legislation
Assisted by majority leader
and whips

The Senate
Formally lead by Vice
President
Really lead by Majority
Leaderchosen by party
members
Assisted by whips
Must work with Minority
leader

Speaker of the House

Most important person
in Congress
Presides over House
Makes committee
assignments
Appoints partys
legislative leaders
Exercises substantial
control over which bills
get assigned to which
committees

Other
Congressional
Leaders
Majority Leader in each
house
Minority Leaders in each
house
Whips: A member of a
legislative body, charged
by his or her party with
enforcing party discipline
and ensuring attendance

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D)

Daniel Inouye
(D)
Minority Leader: Mitch McConnell (R)

Whipsin the Senate

Richard Durbin (D) Majority whip
Jon Kyl (R) Minority whip

Whips...in the House

Kevin McCarthy (R) majority whip
Steny Hoyer (D) minority whip

Legislative Oversight
Congresss monitoring of the bureaucracy
and its administration of policy (hearings)

Committees in Congress

Committees in Congress
Standing committees: Permanent committee in a
legislative body to which bills in a specified subject matter
area are referred
Joint committees: Legislative committee composed of
members of both houses (usually permanent also)
Conference committees: Temporary joint committee
created to reconcile any differences between the two
houses versions of a bill
Select committees: Legislative committee created for a
limited time and for some specific purpose; also known as
a special committee

House STANDING Committees

There are 19 standing
committees in the House of
Representatives.
Representatives are normally
assigned to one or two
standing committees.
The most important
committees in the House are:
Rules, Ways and Means,
Appropriations, Armed
Services, Judiciary,
International Relations, and
Agriculture

Senate STANDING Committees

There are 17 standing
committees in the Senate.
Senators are normally
assigned to three or four
committees.
The most important
committees in the Senate
are: Foreign Relations,
Appropriations, Finance,
Judiciary, Armed Services,
and Banking, Housing and
Urban Affairs.

Important Facts about

Committees
Committees are where most bills
receive thorough consideration.
The fate of most bills is decided
in the various standing
committees.
Most bills DIE in the
committees (action) to which
they are referred!!!

Congressional Caucus
Informal organization
of Congresspersons
who share some
interest on
characteristics
Promote the interests
around which they are
formed
Interest group within
Congress

Congressional process

The Congressional Process