Chapter 11

Question 1

Bicameralism

Answer 1

The system of having two chambers within one legislative body, like the House and the Senate in the U.S. Congress.

Two-year terms in the House
Six-year terms in the Senate

Question 2

Representation in Congress: descriptive vs. substantive

Answer 2

Descriptive:
“Does my member of Congress look like me?”
Descriptive representation is valuable, as it helps ensure greater trust in the political system, and there are benefits in being represented by someone who shares demographic characteristics with their constituency, particularly for historically disadvantaged minorities.

Substantive:
“Does my member of Congress vote the right way?
Substantive representation focuses on a member’s policy positions.
Trustees act as responsibly as possible, balancing their district’s needs with national ones, and vote in what they believe to be their constituent’s best interests, even when unpopular.
Delegates do not utilize any insight into what is “best.” Rather, they do what the majority of their constituents tell them to.
Politico acts as a delegate on issues salient to their constituents, and a trustee acts on issues on those that are less salient or more complex.

Question 3

Fenno’s Concentric Circles

Answer 3

4 circle layers. Starting at the center (the strongest influence):
Personal (advisors, friends, family)
Primary (strongest supporters)
Reelection (those who vote for the member)
Geographic (the entire district)

Question 4

Members of Congress Are Motivated by Reelection

Answer 4

The electoral connection explains members’ behavior

“Running scared”:
Members of Congress never know what issue will be used against them in next election

Promoting re-election:
Advertising
Credit claiming
Position taking

Three ways members boost their electoral chance are getting their name out in a positive manner:
taking credit for pork-barrel policies
through constituency casework, and
making a public statement about something that is important to constituents.

Question 5

Elections and Member Behavior

Answer 5

Campaign fund-raising
Can cost more than $1 million to run a credible challenge
Helps scare away potential challengers

Home style: a congressperson’s way of relating to their district
“Tuesday-to-Thursday club”

Question 6

Redistricting

Answer 6

Ensure that districts are equal in population
Carried out by the states
Begins after apportionment

Gerrymandering: using redistricting for political advantage

Partisan gerrymanders: redistricting that benefits candidates from one party and hurts candidates from other parties

Racial gerrymanders: redistricting to help or hurt the chances of minority legislative candidates. The Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 mandated that districting plans for many parts of the South be approved by the U.S. Department of Justice or a Washington, D.C., district court.

Candidate gerrymanders: redistricting to favor certain individual candidates, particularly state legislators planning to run for the U.S. House

Question 7

Responsiveness and Responsibility

Answer 7

Gridlock: an inability to enact legislation because of partisan conflict within Congress or between Congress and the president.

Two separate factors:
Little public consensus on how to handle important issues, leading to impasse
Politicians prioritize local needs over national ones because their voters are local

Question 8

Congressional Structure

Answer 8

Informal structure (norms):
Universalism (all members of Congress get some piece of the pie, when divvying up pentagon weapons deals or highway transportation bills)
Logrolling and earmarks (a Representative votes for a bill that they don’t particularly like, in exchange for winning a vote on their bill)
Specialization
Seniority

Formal structure:
Parties and party leaders
Committees
Staff

Question 9

The Committee System

Answer 9

Standing committee: a permanent part of the House or Senate structure with more authority than other committees

Select committee: created to address a specific issue

Joint committee: contains members of both houses but with limited authority

Conference committee: created to negotiate differences between the House and Senate versions of legislation

Distributive theory of committees: lawmakers seek committee assignments that will best serve their constituents, the party leaders accommodate their requests, and the other members on the floor will respect the committee’s recommendation via a large institutional logroll

Informational theory of committees: committees correct individualistic behavior of members by creating specialists on particular issues

Question 10

Passing Legislation

Answer 10

Passing legislation is difficult
For a piece of legislation to become law, must be passed in identical form by both chambers and signed by the president
Only 2–4 percent of the 10,000+ bills introduced each year become law

Simplified map of process:
Member of Congress introduces a bill
Subcommittee and committee draft the bill
Floor action on the bill takes place in the first chamber
Committee and floor action takes place in the second chamber
Conference committee works out the differences between House and Senate bills
Conference committee version is given final approval on the floor of each chamber
President either signs or vetoes the bill (ten day/pocket veto)
If bill is vetoed, both chambers can attempt to override the veto with two-thirds vote in both chambers

Question 11

Congressional Rules

Answer 11

Open rules: allows the addition of relevant amendments to a bill
Closed rules: prohibits the addition of amendments to a bill
Modified rules: allows certain amendments to a bill while barring others

Filibuster: a tactic used by senators to block a bill by continuing to hold the floor and speak—under the Senate rule of unlimited debate—until the bill’s supporters back down.

Cloture: a procedure through which the Senate can limit the amount of time spent debating.