Chapter 11: Congress Flashcards
What are Congress members’ behavior driven by and constrained by?
-driven by: their desire to respond to constituent interests (and the closely related goal of reelection)
-constrained by: the institutional structures in which they operate (the committee system, parties, leadership, etc.)
-members try to be responsible for broader national interests, which are often at odds with their constituents’ interests and, consequently, the goal of reelection
Constituent
a person or group of people who are represented by an elected official
Bicameralism
the system of having two chambers within one legislative body, like the House and Senate in the U.S. Congress. Founders intended for legislature to take the lead while president takes a backseat role
Why is the House term only two years?
The Founders intended here to tie legislators to their local constituencies, even though they also hoped Congress would pass legislation that emphasized the national good over local interests
How did the Founders view the Senate?
-as the more likely institution to enlarge the debate and speak for national interests
-intended to check the more responsive and passionate House
-more insulated from the people
What does “refine and enlarge the debate” mean?
Congress members should encompass the common good AND represent their local constituents
Permanent campaign
-the continual quest for reelection that is rooted in high-cost professional campaigns that are increasingly reliant on consultants and expensive media campaigns
-means that senators are now less insulated from electoral forces than they were in the past
Pork barrel
Government funding (federal, state, or local) for local projects aimed at helping local representatives win reelection by benefiting their constituents
How did the relationship between the president and Congress evolve?
-Congress dominated much of the day-to-day politics in the 19th century, and was better suited for the daily task of governing than the president was
-President assumed a more central policy-making role around the turn of the 20th century when the scope of national policy expanded
Do Americans have a love-hate relationship with Congress?
YES. We generally love our own member of Congress, but we hate Congress as a whole
Two types of relationships between constituents and their member of Congress
Descriptive representation
Substantive representation
Descriptive representation
-Representation in which a member of Congress shares the characteristics (such as gender, race, religion, class, or ethnicity) of their constituents
-Members “look like” their constituents in demographic or socioeconomic terms
-Are more likely to represent the interests of those with the same characteristics
Substantive representation
-Representation in which a member of Congress serves constituents’ interests and shares their policy concerns
-How the member serves constituents’ interests
Two models of substantive representation
- Trustee
-a member of Congress who represents constituents’ interests while also taking into account national, collective, and moral concerns that sometimes cause the member to vote against the preference of a majority of constituents - Delegate
-a member of Congress who loyally represents constituents’ direct interests
Trustees are more concerned with being responsible and delegates are more interested in being responsive
Two models of substantive representation
- Trustee
-a member of Congress who represents constituents’ interests while also taking into account national, collective, and moral concerns that sometimes cause the member to vote against the preference of a majority of constituents - Delegate
-a member of Congress who loyally represents constituents’ direct interests
Trustees are more concerned with being responsible and delegates are more interested in being responsive
Third model of substantive representation
Politico
-a member of Congress who acts as a delegate on issues that constituents care about (such as immigration reform or farm subsidies) and as a trustee on more complex or less salient issues (such as some foreign policies). most members act like this
Do members of Congress behave as if voters were paying attention, even when constituents are inattentive? Why or why not?
YES; incumbents know that at election time challengers may raise issues that become salient after the public thinks about them, so they try to deter challengers by anticipating what the constituents would want if they were fully informed
How do representatives see their constituents?
Personal constituents: advisers, friends, family
Primary: strongest supporters. more politically engaged
Reelection: those who vote for the member
Geographic: the entire district. sometimes only aware of an issue only when it is raised by a challenger
How do districts vary?
- Size
- Who lives there and what they want from government
Why is it hard to elect a legislature that “thinks like America”?
It makes finding compromise difficult. We elect legislators to get things done, but they may be unable to agree on anything because their disagreements are too fundamental to bridge (ex. abortion rights)
Just as citizens disagree, so do their elected representatives
Electoral connection
The idea that congressional behavior is centrally motivated by members’ desire for reelection
Proposed by political scientist David R. Mayhew
What does “Congressman Smith is unbeatable” actually mean according to Mayhew?
“Congressman Smith is unbeatable as long as he continues to do the things that he is doing”
Mayhew’s 3 ways that members promote their chances for reelection
- Advertising
-appeals/appearances that get the member’s name in front of the public in a favorable way - Credit claiming
-member takes credit for something of value to voters (commonly pork-barrel policies) - Position taking
-any public statement about a topic of interest to constituents or interest groups
Casework
Assistance provided by members of Congress to their constituents in solving problems with the federal bureaucracy or addressing other specific concerns. Is another main source of credit claiming
Incumbency advantage
Very few Congress members are defeated in their attempts for reelection
Why does the incumbency advantage exist?
- In the District: Home Style
- Members develop an appropriate home style (a way of presenting themselves to their district) to respond to district diversity
- Ex. local roots in rural districts, less direct contact in urban districts - Campaign Fund-Raising
- Incumbents able to raise much more money than challengers - Constituency Service
-incumbents “work their districts” by meeting with constituents, listening to their concerns, and performing casework
Tuesday to Thursday Club
Most House members are in Washington only during the middle of the week and spend the rest of their time at home in their districts (to do constituency service)
Many House and Senate candidates distance themselves from the president and national parties. What is a consequence of this?
It is more difficult to hold Congress members accountable
The President and Congress have become adept at blaming each other when things go wrong, so voters don’t always know whom to vote out of office when they’re unhappy with the status quo
Redistricting
Re-drawing the geographic boundaries of legislative districts. This happens every 10 years (after each national census) to ensure that districts remain roughly equal on population, which in turn ensures that every vote counts equally in determining the composition of the legislature
What happens if districts have unequal populations?
Disproportionate representation; a smaller portion of the population can have the same number of House representatives as a much larger portion
Apportionment
The process of dividing the fixed number of House seats (435) among the states based on increases and decreases in state populations. States can gain or lose legislative seats after each census
What is the one legislature in America that is not redistricted?
The Senate; has two legislators per state, so voters in small states have proportionally more influence than those in large states
Criteria for redistricting
- districts should be roughly equal in population based on the principles of “one-person, one-vote” established by Supreme Court with Baker v. Carr
- should reflect “communities of interest”, grouping like-minded voters into same district
Technical criteria:
- compactness (districts should not have extremely bizarre shapes)
- contiguity (one part of a district cannot be completely separated from the rest of the district)
- respecting natural boundaries, preserving existing districts, and avoid splitting municipalities or diluting voting power of historically marginalized communities
What can happen after a reduction in the number of seats allocated to a state after redistricting?
Districting plans put two incumbents in the same district, forcing them to run against each other
Why is reflecting communities of interest important in redistricting?
Voters who are “shifted” to a new district by a change in boundaries may be unable to vote for the incumbent they have supported for years and may instead get a representative who doesn’t share their views
Gerrymandering
Attempting to use the redistricting process for political advantage
- re-drawing boundaries to benefit a political party, protect incumbents, or change proportional of minority voters in a district
Supreme Court opinion on partisan gerrymandering
Until recently, the courts allowed the practice as a normal part of politics
Previously ruled that partisan gerrymandering may be unconstitutional, but struggled to find a standard for evaluating the extent of partisan bias
Is now up to the states to solve this problem
Two key types of gerrymandering
- Partisan gerrymanders
- Racial gerrymanders
Partisan gerrymanders
Drawing district lines that benefit candidates from one party. Usually happens when one party has majorities in both houses of the state legislature and occupies the governorship and can therefore enact redistricting legislation without input from the minority party
Racial gerrymanders
Redistricting is used to help or hurt the chances of minority legislative candidates
Majority-minority district
a racial minority group or groups comprise a majority of the district’s total population
Shaw v. Reno
North Carolina 1992 redistricting declared unconstitutional. Opened the door for dozens of lawsuits about racial redistricting
Current legal standard for racial redistricting
race cannot be the predominant factor in drawing congressional district lines, but it can be one of the factors
Gridlock
An inability to enact legislation because of partisan conflict within Congress or between Congress and the president
If Congress is the ‘broken branch,’ how come we love our congressman so much?
Congress tend to respond more to their constituents’ demands than to take on the responsibility of solving national problems
When Congress becomes embroiled in debates about constituencies’ conflicting demands, the institution may appear ineffectual. But as long as members keep the “folks back home” happy, their individual popularity will remain high
Universalism
the norm that when benefits are divided up, they should be awarded to as many districts and states as possible
Some say the courts should stay out of redistricting. What arguments support this?
- the practice is inherently partisan. courts are also not well-suited to draw legislative maps so state legislatures should do it instead
- standard for redistricting should be partisan neutrality rather than partisan fairness. rather than trying to make sure that the votes for candidates of one party have the same collective impact on the outcome of elections as the votes for the other party (fairness), the redistricting process should simply ignore partisanship (neutrality)
- (Supreme Court’s stance): no objective standards to identify partisan fairness so the problem cannot be solved by the courts
“Redistricting is always partisan.” What are some arguments for this?
Gerrymandering often involves splitting up communities of interest or grouping them in ways that distort fair representation
Respecting communities of interest aims to create districts that fairly represent the people living in them without undue partisan advantage. It makes sure the representative elected for that district is more likely to understand and address issues important to those people
How does representation in the House work district-wise?
Representatives are elected from different districts within a state, and typically, there is one representative per district
“Partisan redistricting undermines democracy.” What are some arguments for this?
- just because we’ve always had partisan gerrymandering doesn’t make it right
- partisan fairness over neutrality. while neutrality might still give one party an advantage, it’s possible to create district maps that both follow traditional principles (like keeping communities together) and ensure fairness for all parties
Logrolling
a norm in which members of Congress support bills that they otherwise might not vote for in exchange for other members’ votes on bills that are very important to them
“if you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”
Issue with logrolling
it can produce wasteful pork-barrel spending
Earmarks/”Pork”
federally funded local projects attached to bills passed through Congress. typically inserted by a lawmaker to benefit their constituents
House calls them “community project funding” and the Senate “congressionally directed spending”
earmarks, but with new labels (banned in 2011 but brought back in 2021)
new restrictions: total spending on earmarks must be less than 1% of budget, members must publicly swear that they had no personal financial connection to the requests, projects must have support in the local communities, and each House member is limited to 10 earmark requests (there is no limit in the Senate)
Specialization
a norm in which legislators specialize and become experts on a given issue. stronger in House than Senate
Seniority
informal congressional norm that the member with the longest service on a given committee will chair that committee
Are parties important to solving collective action problems in Congress?
YES; the legislative process would be way more fractured without them because members would be autonomous agents in battle with one another
Why are political parties important besides for collective action problems?
they provide a team framework that allows members to work together for broadly beneficial goals
they provide a solid base for coalition building
they provide brand name recognition for members
Speaker of the House
elected leader of the House of Representatives. influences the legislative agenda, committee assignments, scheduling, and overall party strategy
Majority Leader
elected head of the party holding the majority of seats in the House or Senate (one in each chamber). is one of the national spokespersons for the party and also helps with day-to-day operation of legislative process
Majority Whip
oversees the whip system. two Majority Whips in Congress—one for House and one for Senate
Whip system
a communications network in each chamber of Congress; whips take polls of the membership in order to learn their intentions on specific legislative issues and to assist the majority and minority leaders in various tasks
work to disseminate information and promote party unity in voting on legislation
Three functions of whip system
information gathering, information dissemination, coalition building
Structure of minority party in the House
leader is the Minority leader, second in command is the Minority Whip
Why does Senate leadership not have as much power as House leadership?
individual Senate members have more power than individual House members due to the Senate’s rule of unlimited debate
Structure of Senate
Majority and Minority Leader are leaders of their respective parties, and second in command to them are the Assistant Majority and Minority Leaders. also has a whip system but is not as developed as the one in the House
The vice president is also…
president of the Senate, but appears in the chamber only when needed to cast a tie-breaking vote
President pro tempore
preside over Senate when VP is not there. typically the member of the majority party with the greatest seniority, and has no real power
Roll call vote
a recorded vote on legislation. members may vote “yes,” “no,” or “present,” or they may abstain
Party vote
a roll call vote in the House or Senate in which at least 50% of the members of one party take a particular position and are opposed by at least 50% of the members of the other party
ex. if 60% of Democrats vote “yes” on a bill and 70% of Republicans vote “no”, that is a party vote because a majority of each party is on opposing sides
Party unity
the percentage of party members voting together on party votes. has increased dramatically in recent years
Four types of committees in House and Senate
standing, select, joint, conference
Standing committees
committees that are a permanent part of the House or Senate structure
Select committees
created to address a specific issue for one or two terms. generally no legislative authority
Joint committees
contain members of both the House and Senate. can be temporary and rarely have legislative authority
Conference committees
temporary committees created to negotiate differences between the House and Senate versions of a piece of legislation that has passed through both chambers
Distributive theory
members of Congress will join committees that best serve the interests of their district and that committee members will support one another’s legislation
Informational theory
having committees in Congress made up of experts on specific policy areas helps ensure well-informed policy decisions
Why are committees important?
- helps reduce uncertainty about policy outcomes
- facilitates credit claiming (good for reelection)
- serve policy needs of the majority party, largely because the party in power controls a majority of seats on every committee
How does increasing size of personal staff help Congress members?
gives opportunity to open multiple district offices and expand opportunities for helping constituents
What is the most important thing to understand about the legislative process?
before a piece of legislation can become a law it must be passed in identical form by both the House and the Senate and signed by the president. If the president vetoes the bill, it can still be passed with a two-thirds vote in each chamber
Basic steps of the process to pass a bill
- A member of Congress introduces the bill.
- A subcommittee and committee craft the bill.
- Floor action on the bill takes place in the first chamber (House or Senate).
- Committee and floor action takes place in the second chamber.
- The conference committee works out any differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. (If the two chambers pass the same version, steps 5 and 6 are not necessary.)
- The conference committee version is given final approval on the floor of each chamber.
- The president either signs or vetoes the final version.
- If the bill is vetoed, both chambers can attempt to override the veto with a two-thirds vote in both chambers.
Bill
a legislative proposal that becomes law if passed both both the House and Senate in identical form and approved by the president
How are bills prefixed?
prefixed with “H.R.” when introduced in the House and “S.R.” when introduced in the Senate, and they are followed by a bill number based on the order in which they are introduced
Public bills vs private bills
Public bills affect the general public if enacted into law, while private bills affect just certain individuals and organizations (often address immigration or naturalization issues)
Simple resolution
address matters that affect only the Senate or the House, such as changing rules or expressing an opinion. passed by only one chamber, are not signed by president, cannot become public law. often used for symbolic legislation
ex. congratulating a sports team
How are simple resolutions designated?
“H.Res.” or “S.Res.”
Concurrent resolution
express the position of both chambers on a nonlegislative matter to set the annual budget or to fix adjournment dates, designated by “H.Con.Res.” or “S.Con.Res.”. not signed by president so don’t carry weight of law
Joint resolution
legislative proposal that needs approval from both houses of Congress in identical form, and the President’s signature to become law
Difference between joint resolution and bill
bills are the primary way laws are made. joint resolutions are used for special purposes, like amendments or urgent matters
How are constitutional amendments proposed?
only joint resolutions may be used to propose amendments to the Constitution, and in this instance do not require the approval of the president—instead, it must be ratified by three-fourths of the states after getting a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate
Who can introduce a bill and how do they do it?
ONLY members of Congress, either by dropping the bill into the “hopper,” a wooden box at the front of the chamber in the House, or by presenting it to one of the clerks at the presiding officer’s desk in the Senate (aka the VP). even the president needs to have a House member or Senator introduce a bill
What are proposed bills often related to?
a specific constituency interest. Congress members are always attentive to issues their constituents care about
Bills are matched with committees based on what?
their subject matter
Multiple referral
process in which major legislation in the House may be sent to more than 1 committee. however, one of the committees is designated the primary committee and the bill is reviewed by the other committees sequentially or in parts
Why is multiple referral less common in the Senate?
partly because Senators have more opportunities to amend legislation on the floor
80-90% of bills die at what stage? Why?
the subcommittee/committee stage
the committee gets the bill first, but often sends it to a subcommittee for VERY in-depth review (hearings, witnesses, etc.) before coming back to the full committee. full committee approval will send the bill to the floor
Markup
collaborative process that determines the final wording of a bill
if a bill goes through a subcommittee, the subcommittee may do an initial markup, but the full committee always has the final say and conducts the final markup before a bill moves to the floor
A committee can do what with a bill?
amending the bill, passing it as is to the floor, or tabling it (which kills the bill)
What happens when a bill reaches the floor?
the majority and minority party each assign a bill manager who is responsible for guiding the floor debate
Debate in House vs Senate
tight time limits and rules in House debate, while Senate debate is usually much more open and unlimited
Voice vote
happens separately in both chambers after debate is completed and all amendments have been considered. House or Senate members call out “Aye” or “No” and the presiding officer determines which side has the most voice votes
Who is presiding officer in the House? In the Senate?
House: Speaker of the House
Senate: officially VP, but is usually delegated to president pro tempore, who in turn typically gives the duty to a more junior member
What majority is needed for most voice votes?
a simple majority (more Ayes than Noes) is typically enough to pass most legislation or motions
When is a 2/3 majority required?
significant actions such as overriding a veto, amending the Constitution, expelling members, convicting in impeachment, ratifying treaties, and ending filibusters in the Senate
generally done through a roll call vote or other formal method
Division vote
if it is unclear which side has won voice vote, any member can call for a division vote, which requires members on each side to stand and be counted. at that point, any member can call for a recorded vote
Are voice votes and division votes recorded?
NO
What can the president do with a bill that is sent to them?
approving and signing the measure within 10 days (not including Sundays) makes it a law
may veto it within 10 days with a statement of objections, but can be overridden with two-thirds majority vote in both House and Senate
if president doesn’t act within 10 days and Congress is in session, bill becomes law without president’s approval. if Congress is not in session, bill dies in pocket veto, which cannot be overridden
Any bill that appropriates money must pass through what?
two-step process of authorization and appropriation
authorization: members debate to outline scope and potential funding
appropriation: determines actual amount of money to be spent on authorized program. involves Budget Committees and Appropriations Committees
In some Congresses up to 20% of major bills bypass the committee system. How does this happen?
discharge petition: a majority of members force a bill out of its assigned committee
OR
by a special rule in the House
About one-third of major bills are adjusted post-committee and before the legislation reaches the floor by supporters of the bills to increase their chances of passage. Does the bill always go back to the committee after these changes?
Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t
Ex. ACA bypassed conference committee bc party leadership worked out differences between House and Senate versions directly
Summit meetings between president and congressional leaders may jump-start the normal legislative process. What is an example of this?
rather than going thru Budget Committees, the president may meet with top leaders from both parties and come to a compromise that is presented to Congress as a done deal
Omnibus legislation
massive bills that run hundreds of pages long and cover many different subjects/programs. may contain extraneous, or pork-barrel, projects
Three central differences in legislative processes of House and Senate
- continuity of the membership and the impact this has on the rules
-House adopts its rules anew at beginning of each new Congress (every two years). Senate never fully re-adopted its rules from scratch since its founding - way in which bills get to the floor
-House process: structured, fast-moving, controlled by majority party
-Senate process: slower. individual senators have more power to shape/block legislation - structure of the floor process, including debate and amendments
-House floor process is more complicated but is easier to navigate
Reed’s Rules (1890)
strengthen majority party control in the House. makes House a very majoritarian body, while Senate is more individualistic
Filibuster
allows a minority of senators to delay/block legislation (due to Senate’s practice of unlimited debate), requiring 60 votes to end it through cloture
Why is it rare today for filibuster to tie up Senate business?
threat to filibuster is usually enough to take bill off legislative agenda
an actually filibustered bill goes on a separate legislative track
Hold
an objection to considering a measure on the Senate floor. can be invoked by a single senator
Reconciliation legislation
if legislation is related to budget matters, it can be passed with a simple majority vote in House and Senate. immune to filibuster. may only be used once every fiscal year
Rules Committee
decides when and how a bill is worked on in the House. controlled by majority party. Senate doesn’t have this committee
What are the 3 types of rules for debate on a bill set by the Rules Committee?
open, closed, modified
Closed rules
do not allow any amendments to the bill
Open rules
allow relevant amendments to the bill
Modified rules
allow specific amendments but not others
Once a bill becomes a law, Congress uses oversight to ensure that law is implemented properly. How does Congress accomplish this?
-power of the purse (rarely used)
-hearings and investigations
Fire alarm oversight
Congress members wait until there is a crisis before they spring to action
Police patrol oversight
constant vigilance in overseeing bureaucracy. less common bc Congress doesn’t have resources to constantly monitor the entire bureaucracy
Importance of congressional oversight
serves as check on executive branch (impeachment)
Why is impeachment shared power between the House and Senate?
House issues articles of impeachment (outlines charges), while Senate conducts trial of the impeached official
