Chapter 6 - Congress: The First Branch

Question 1

What are the different models of representation? (4)

Answer 1

1. Trustee
2. Delegate
3. Descriptive
4. Agency

Question 2

What is the Trustee model of representation based on?

Answer 2

What the Member of Congress thinks is best for the constituency.

Question 3

What is the Delegate model of representation based on?

Answer 3

The preferences of the constituents.

Question 4

What is the Descriptive model of representation based on?

Answer 4

Based on group identities: race, gender, ethnicity, etc.

Majority minority districts drawn to facilitate the election of minority groups.

Question 5

What is the Agency model of representation based on?

Answer 5

• Representatives are held accountable to their constituents
• Mechanism of accountability is elections: constituents have the power to hire (elect) and fire (not reelect) their representatives.
• Electoral Connection

Question 6

What are the Fenno Home style circles? (4)

Answer 6

1. Geographic constituency
2. Reelction constituency
3. Primary constituency
4. Personal constituency

Question 7

What is the geographic constituency circle?

Answer 7

Area and all of the people/electorate in said constituency

Question 8

What is the reelection constituency?

Answer 8

Supporters of candidate in the last election

-people who may vote for MC again

Question 9

What is the primary constituency?

Answer 9

• within the party, who’s going to vote for you if there’s another republican/democratic candidate in the primary election
• strongest supporters from within the party

Question 10

What is the personal constituency?

Answer 10

Closest supporters – family, friends, door knockers, donors, political advisors etc

Question 11

Power of the House:

Answer 11

1. More centralized - Speaker of the House sets agenda
2. Stronger leaders - have control over different committees
3. Specialists on committees
4. Smaller, more homogenous districts (less diverse)

Question 12

Power of the Senate:

Answer 12

1. More deliberative - less rigid and organized (hierarchy is weaker)
2. Senators have more floors rights than reps
3. Members have individual power (can filibuster)
4. Generalists in place of specialists - fewer senators so must have wider policy knowledge
5. Districts are states therefore larger
6. “more elite set of people” - not elected by the people

Question 13

Why do incumbents have an edge?

Answer 13

1. Casework: MCs can help constituents navigate federal programs and bureaucracy
2. Patronage: MCs can help constituents get jobs of federal grants, do favors for constituents
3. Pork-Barrel legislation: Appropriations that provide extra (unneeded) funds to districts for special projects
4. Franking: MCs can send “free” mail to their constituents about their work in Congress
5. Getting elected once means you’re more likely to do it again – already been vetted, shown you can get voted in, etc.

Question 14

What’s the sophomore surge?

Answer 14

Difference in margin of victory between first and second election. (the amount you win by shows how incumbency helps)

Question 15

What’s the retirement slump?

Answer 15

Difference in margin of victory between incumbent’s last election and same-party’s candidate in the next election

Question 16

How many seats in the House of Representatives?

Answer 16

435 seats.

Question 17

How many senators?

Answer 17

100 (2 for each state)

Question 18

How often is there a nationwide census? Why?

Answer 18

Every 10 years

• Count the number of people in the USA (not just citizens)
• Apportion seats to each state based on population
• State legislatures redraw congressional district lines
• Districts in each state must have equal population (“one person one vote”)

Question 19

What is gerrymandering?

Answer 19

Apportionment of voters in districts to give an unfair advantage to one political party.

Question 20

What is the Senate leadership like?

Answer 20

• President of the Senate (the VP – Joe Biden atm, Democrat even though republican majority in the Senate)
• President Pro Tempore (officially president of the Senate, a very symbolic job. Fewer powers to the person residing over the chamber)
• Majority Party leader has power to call bills, set agenda, schedule votes and manage the Senate day to day.

Question 21

What is the House leadership like?

Answer 21

Elected leader of the majority party is proposed as Speaker of the House

Question 22

What is casework?

Answer 22

An effort by members of Congress to gain the trust and support of constituents by providing personal services. One important type of casework consists of helping constituents obtain favorable treatment from the federal bureaucracy.

Question 23

What is patronage?

Answer 23

The resources available to higher officials, usually opportunities to make partisan appointments to offices and confer grants, licenses, or special favors to supporters.

Question 24

What is pork-barrel legislation?

Answer 24

The appropriations made by legislative bodies for local projects that often are not needed but are created so that local representatives can carry their home district in the next election.

Question 25

What do party leaders do?

Answer 25

o Control Committee assignments o Public face of party o Fundraising: leadership PACs o Set agenda. Speaker assigns bills to committee

Question 26

What are standing committees?

Answer 26

- Permanent committees with specific jurisdictions. - Members (mostly) keep their seats on the same committees over time (property right) - Committee Chairs are powerful; preside over committees; determined (mostly) by seniority - Democrats have no term limits on chairing committees, however the Republicans say you can’t be chair for more than 3 terms (congresses)

Question 27

What are committee powers?

Answer 27

1. Gatekeeping authority 2. Proposal Power 3. After-the-fact Authority 4. Oversight

Question 28

What is gatekeeping authority?

Answer 28

The power to decide if a policy change will be considered

Question 29

What is proposal power?

Answer 29

The power to bring a proposal before the chamber

Question 30

What is After-the-fact authority?

Answer 30

The power to influence a proposal after it has been passed by the chamber.

Question 31

What is oversight (in regards to committee powers)?

Answer 31

Committees oversee executive implementation of policies.

Question 32

What are the jobs of congressional staff?

Answer 32

1. Formulate/draft proposals 2. Organize hearings 3. Work with administrative agencies 4. Negotiate with lobbyists 5. Approximately 11,000 personal staff, 2,000 committee staff 6. Staff Agencies

Question 33

What are the 11 steps of the legislative process?

Answer 33

1. Member introduces bill on the floor 2. Speaker refers the bill to the committee with jurisdiction 3. Leadership decides if/when the bill will be considered 4. Floor Debate 5. Vote 6. Send to other chamber 7. Other chamber repeats steps 1-5 8. If both chambers pass different versions of the same bill, go to conference 9. Both chambers must approve the conference committee bill 10. Bill sent to President 11. Veto override if President vetoes the bill.

Question 34

How do you end a debate?

Answer 34

A cloture - requires a 3/5 vote in Senate

Question 35

What is the purpose of the committee system? What are the positives and negatives of this?

Answer 35

Splits congressmen into smaller groups to allow them to specialize. +They then know more about a certain topic and can effectively help legislation (e.g. funds should be spent on specific projects) +better legislation as higher level of knowledge +easy for lobbyists to know who to target. -don't know more about other areas of policies.

Question 36

What advantages do incumbents have? Why do Representatives have a greater incumbency advantage than Senators?

Answer 36

Incumbents are more likely to get re-elected | -Name recognition, fundraising, have donors, etc.

Question 37

What does Mayhew argue motivates members of Congress? What behaviors do MCs take to achieve their goal?

Answer 37

1. Re-election 2. Advertising themselves, credit-claiming - being able to say "I did this for you.." (BUT, this can lead to big delays in legislation, want policies to pass quickly so they can claim credit)

Question 38

What is the median voter theorem? What does it predict about voting in Congress?

Answer 38

- Person in the middle of the spectrum will have the most sway. - more moderate bills are likely to get passed - predicts the way a vote will go

Question 39

Should legislators behave as trustees or delegates?

Answer 39

trustees: say what they think will be best for the constituency delegates: represent constituency to the best of their ability. 1. Trustees might be better for foreign policy and delegates might be better for domestic policy. Legislators have more knowledge than the average citizen about foreign policy, so would be better for them to make their own decisions.