THE CONGRESS

Who’s up for election in NY for Congress? NJ?

Founding

Founding Fathers believed that CONGRESS, not the executive branch, should be the most powerful branch in the government. Is this true today?

BICAMERALISM

Resulted in 2 houses (due to Great Compromise) – balancing equal representation and population strengths

Remember – the House of Representatives was always directly elected by citizens. Senators were indirectly elected until 1913)

The idea behind this – balance property and wealth with the whole population

TENURE DIFFERENCES – HOR sit for 2 years, Senators sit for 6

WHAT DOES CONGRESS DO?

Lawmaking

Process of establishing the legal rules of a society

Ex: Brady Gun Law, health care reforms, welfare reform

How are laws decided on?

Compromise and Log-Rolling (an arrangement by which 2 or more Congressmen agree to support each other’s bills)

Representation

Representing the desires and demands of constituents in members’ home district or state

There often is a conflict between national interest and state interest – and it is up to the representatives to decide which interests they will fight for (usually it’s state)

Fulfilling the Representation Function

Trustee View – Legislator who acts according to her or his conscience and the broad interests of the entire society

The idea is – they elected individual based on their competence and intelligence – not to represent dairy farmers only or Christian conservatives only

Instructed Delegate View – delegate should mirror the views of the majority of the constituents that elected them

So, if you’re elected in a very pro-2nd amendment city (where most of the constituents are against bans on firearms), it is not your right as a delegate to assume you know better and vote against their wishes

However – this is not clear-cut either. Sometimes, the constituents’ views are not well-researched and would lead to more problems if implemented (for instance – say 80% of New Yorkers are adamant that all troops be removed from Iraq immediately. This would be a disaster if this were to occur). Or, sometimes a constituency will be divided on a particular issue (privatization of Social Security), and the delegate has no clear direction on how to vote.

Usually – delegates combine these two approaches when deciding policy.

Service to Constituents

Is a major part of any delegate’s job. Congressmen/women and Senators are often the only access citizens have to the federal government, and will descend up on them with a myriad of favors to ask

Also known as CASEWORK – personal work for constituents. If a constituent has a difficulty obtaining a passport, for clerical reasons, the delegate can fix that. Or the delegate can promise to rename a local park in the honor of someone. Etc, and so forth.

OMBUDSPERSON – person who hears and investigates complaints by private individuals against public officials or agencies.

In many Euro countries, this is an independent position that is not elected. In US politics, delegates are supposed to serve in this function.

Ex: A British ex-pat needed to set up an Adjustment of Status (AOS) interview (part of the immigration experience) and had his file lost in the system, his interview pushed back again and again…so he wrote NY Senator Chuck Schumer, who conducted an inquiry and forced the INS to move his interview up

Oversight Function

Oversight – process by which Congress ensures that the laws and programs it has passed are being enforced throughout the country
Usually done through holding committee hearings, interviewing agency heads, and changing agency budgets to fit their objectives

Public Education Function

Congressmen/women understand that the American public needs to know that Congress is accomplishing something, and so they seek to publicize their accomplishments, hearings, etc (love the publicity). Also where AGENDA-SETTING comes into play. (Discuss)

Resolving Conflict

Politics is conflict. If one program is implemented, there are going to be groups who benefit and those who don’t. Deciding which laws to pass/programs to implement is a way to resolve this conflict, or decide it definitively

Powers of Congress – Enumerated Powers

These are: right to levy taxes/impose tariffs
Borrow money
Regulate interstate commerce
Establish weights and measures
Naturalizing citizens
Regulate copyrights/patents
Declare war
Raise/regulate army/navy

Let’s split up the houses and see what each does.

Senate: Ratifies treaties
Accept/reject presidential nominations of ambassadors, Supreme Court justices, and other officers of the US. Senate is generally the more powerful of the two houses.

Differences between Houses:

Senate is much smaller, and members are more powerful, and less loyal to the party.

Senate has fewer rules/restrictions, because there are only 100 people in there – in the HOR, 435, and harder to keep order, so many more rules
Rules Committee – standing committee in HOR that provides special rules of order through which bills can be debated, amended and considered by House

Senate has national leadership – whereas HOR has only very local leadership, if that

Nature of Debate

Filibusters – are very important. Use of senate’s tradition of unlimited debate as a delaying tactic to block a bill.
Strom Thurmond – holds the record for the longest filibuster ever, speaking for 24 straight hours to block the passage of a 1957 civil rights bill
In the Senate,, debate can only be ended through CLOTURE – shuts off discussion of a bill, and initiates voting on it. Can be difficult to achieve – 16 Senators must first sign a resolution to end debate, then wait 2 days, and 3/5 of entire membership (not just those present, so that’s 60 Senators) vote for cloture. Even then, each Senator is allowed 1 hour each to discuss the bill.
Now – a final vote must be taken on the bill before 100 hours has passed after cloture.
Prestige – Because there are only 100 Senators in the nation, who usually pursue their own politics (as opposed to the party’s), they are more well-known among citizens. Most people can’t name their representatives, also because they are up for election every 2 years and may change frequently.

Who are the Congress?
Are usually older, white, male, lawyers or legally trained
Annual Congressional salary: $157,000
Much wealthier – 1/3 of all Congresspeople are millionaires (helps with campaigns too)
Diversity – 66 women (out of 435) in HOR, 14 in Senate (out of 100)
Minority – 15% of the house

Congressional Elections
Elections – conducted by state governments, but must adhere to Constitution
All states must have at least 1 Rep (but usually have many more)
Guam, PR, DC do not have voting representatives – should they?

Candidates
Sometimes, a candidate will come out of the blue and decides he wants to run.
More frequently, in areas that have very strong party affiliations, parties will go through their ranks and choose someone to stand for office
When running for national office, most (BUT NOT ALL) will have run for office before.
Exception: John Corzine – was Chairman/CEO of Goldman Sachs, before he decided to run for US Senate, now Gov of NJ
Congressional Campaigns: like most campaigns, more expensive
Avg costs for Senate - $5 million, for HOR - $890,000
Most candidates must win a direct primary to get their party’s nomination

Effect of the President – Congressional elections are very dependent on what is currently going on in DC. After the Clinton scandal with Lewinsky, Democrats in mid-term elections suffered, as they lost many races for Congress across the country.
Republican political analysts are concerned that the fallout from the Foley scandal will have a negative effect on ongoing Republican campaigns – we’ll see on Nov 7
Also called the “coattail effect” – if the president is popular and doing well (esp. in his first term), it’s expected his party will pick up seats in midterm elections (elections when the president is not up for election).
Usually – in the president’s second term, mid term elections will swing towards the other party. No president has really enjoyed spectacular late term popularity.
POWER OF INCUMBENCY
What is an incumbent?
An incumbent is the individual already holding office who is running for re-election.
Incumbents win a majority of races. 95% of House incumbents have been reelected. Fewer than 10% of House seats (30/435) “competitive.” But it’s very hard to defeat an incumbent because an incumbent has:
a. experience in the job
b. name recognition
c. influence in the Senate/House
d. have an easier job in fundraising for their campaign – more contacts, more support, than their competitors

Also – the process of GERRYMANDERING helps a huge amount.
Gerrymandering – Drawing of a legislative district for the purpose of obtaining partisan or factional advantage. An area is GERRYMANDERED when its district is manipulated by the dominant party in state legislature to maximize electoral returns.
In 1986, the SC ruled that it was not unconstitutional to do this. And so it’s continued, after every census.
Texas State Legislature: (read excerpt from BBC news)
Redistricting after 2000 Census
Done in two ways – “packing” and “cracking”
“Pack” – try to put all of the opposition’s supporters into one small district if possible – this way, they won’t elect as many party members
“Crack” – spread your party’s supporters over as many congressional districts as possible

Should redistricting be allowed? Does it allow for constituents to have their voices clearly heard? Or is it just politics, status quo?
The SC has moved from its 1986 ruling a bit – In 2000, the SC began to strike down redistricting that was largely racial in character (Louisiana). In 2001, famous Interstate 85 – electoral district basically followed Interstate 85 and included nothing else. SC knocked it down, saying this too was racially discriminating.
Why become a Congressmember? Perks and Privileges
Franking – enables members to send material through mail for free by substituting their signature for postage
Now – Congressmembers send out an equivalent of $60 mill each year
Permanent Professional Staffs
In order to stay on top of all activity on ‘The Hill,’ they need legislative staffers and assistants. Also, they answer constituent enquiries, manage media publicity, write bills and amendments, do necessary research on the impact of bills, and maintain local offices in home constituencies.
Some criticism – some critics wonder if all these staffers are necessary to support the senator, and if they’re just trying to win more votes for the election by doing extra favors
Legal Privileges
Cannot be arrested during their tenure in office
Cannot be tried for slander or arson – so they can call people whatever they want
Congressional Caucuses
Everybody joins one
Democrat/Republican caucuses – provide information to voters, guidelines on how to vote
Also, there are others – Congressional Black Caucus, Hispanic Caucus
Used to be supported by public funds, but in 1995 restrictions were placed on this
More than 200 caucuses exist now- paid for by businesses/special interests
COMMITTEE STRUCTURE
Both houses work completely through committee. Allows for people to specialize in a given area, and not have the responsibility of being knowledgeable on every single bill (there are thousands) that come onto the discussion floor
Power of Committees – have the final say on legislation. They can kill a bill by holding it up in committee indefinitely, or usher it through to a vote by putting it on the floor immediately
Discharge petition – a way a Senator/rep can force a bill out of committee and onto the floor for discussion and voting. Usually, not successful – only 24 successful ones from 1909 to 2005.
Chairpersons – very powerful. Decide committee matters, decide who/what gets a hearing, when those hearings take place, etc. You do not want to annoy your chairperson if you hope to accomplish anything in Congress.
Types of Committees
Standing Committee
Permanent committee in House or Senate, usually deals with a certain policy area (foreign affairs, veteran affairs, ways & means, etc)
Most standing committees have sub-committees, get the bulk of the work done, enable standing committees to work efficiently
Certain committees are VERY prestigious, and you have to pay your dues to get on them (usually given to high-ranking members of Senate who have been there a long time)
Appropriations Committee/Ways & Means Committee – control spending
If you control the $, you control everything – tremendous amount of influence
But, congresspeople also want to represent their constituents, so if they come from an agricultural district, they’ll want to sit on the Agri Committee
Select Committee- temporary legislative committee established for a specific purpose and limited time
Select Committee on Intelligence – an exception, continues indefinitely
US Select Committee on Ethics, US Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
Joint Committee – created by both Senate and House, and has members from each. Have handled economic and tax issues
Conference Committee – also created by Senate and House together. This is done to ease the passage of a law and write it together, to ensure greater success.
House Rules Committee – sets laws of debate/how long delegates may speak, determines how/if bill is amended. Can initiate legislation on its own.

Selecting Committee Members
Steering Committee – is the committee in Dem/Repub parties that decides who sits where
To choose a Chair – usually, long-serving Senators/House members are up for these positions
Seniority system – applies when designating who sits on what committee

THE FORMAL LEADERSHIP
IN THE HOUSE
Speaker of the House – now Dennis Hastert
Supposed to be non-partisan – but it’s always the leader of the majority party
3rd in the line of succession
Formal powers:
Presides over meetings, appoints member of joint and conference cmtes
Schedules legislation for the floor
Referring bills/resolutions to appropriate committees

Majority Leader of the House – exactly what it sounds like. Chosen to foster cohesion and unity among party members, and asks as spokesperson
Miniority Leader of the House – leads the minority, serves as spokesperson – who is it now?
Whips – member of Congress who aids the majority or minority leader
Passes info from party leadership to party members
Used to: keep all party members in line, impose strict party discipline – everyone from one party votes in one way
Who was it until recently?
In the Senate
President Pro-Tempore: Technically, the VP is the President of the Senate. When he’s not there, someone takes that position – presides over Senate.
Senate Majority Leader – Leader of the Majority party in Senate – who is it?
Senate Minority Leader – serves as spokesperson for minority party, who is it?
Voting
Party leadership tries to build consensus, make sure the bills they want to pass will pass
Sometimes, form coalitions – doesn’t always have to be a D/R thing
Ex: Christian Coalition – alliance of Republicans and southern Dems who are socially conservative
“Crossing Over” – voting with the other party because you like the bill. Doesn’t happen too often, though
Government spending
Congress controls government spending, has to approve all budgets, also referred to as the “Executive Budget” – prepared by President, submitted to Congress for approval
Control Act of 1974 – requires president to spend the funds that Congress appropriates (Presidents used to kill programs by refusing to fund them)
One of last arenas in governance where Congress still reigns supreme
Preparing the Budget
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)- very important agency on the Hill
Manages the budget in the following way:
Spring Review – all agencies are asked to carefully comb through their budgets and programs, and see how well the budget has served them. On the basis of these reports, agencies will submit requests for the next year’s budget
Fall Review – OMB evaluates all budget requests, usually trims them down
Congress and the Budget
Authorization – formally declaring that x amount of dollars is available to a specific agency
Appropriation - when the money is actually given to an agency
Determining the Size of the Budget
Every year, the budget process is different – sometimes, politicians are looking to cut the budget, other times they’re looking for funding for specific programs and aren’t worried about financial constraints.
First Budget Resolution – passed by Congress in May that sets overall revenue/spending goals for the year
So – they guess how much money they’ll be receiving in taxes
And then decide how much of it they want to spend next year

Second Budget Resolution - Passed by Congress in September that sets limits on taxes and spending for the next year – so it formalizes the first budget resolution

Continuing Resolution – temporary funding guideline that Congress passes, only if appropriations have not been decided by October 1