Congress representation Flashcards
118th Congress social representativeness
Female 28.5% in Congress. 51% total population
Protestant 56.7% congress. 50%
Catholic 27.7% congress. 25%
African Americans 11.65% congress. 13%
Latino 11.5% congress. 18%
who does congress represent - or should they be presenting
The people. Their decisions and actions (e.g. voting on bills, speeches and statements, relations with the executive, etc.) members of Congress represent the views of the people in their districts.
examples of Members of Congress representing the people
Democrat Senator Joe Manchin, representing the coal-producing state of West Virginia voted against Biden’s 2021 Build Back Better Act, which included a shift to investment in renewable energy
Republican Susan Collins was one of the initiators of the Respect for Marriage Act 2022. The state she represents, Maine, is largely supportive of same-sex marriage and already legalised it in 2012
other influences on members of congress
Political parties
The President
Interest groups
Caucuses
Personal beliefs
how does the president influence members of congress
The President needs Congressional approval for many laws and actions (budget) – and will try to persuade members of Congress to support him. This is called the power of persuasion.
Examples - Phone calls, speeches, meetings
trump invited members of the tea party to a pizza party to gain their support on the American Health Care Act
The State of the Union speech is a key moment for the president to persuade Congress. During Biden’s state of the union address he appealed for an assault weapons ban, and asked congress to “restore the right the supreme court took away last year and codify Roe v Wade to protect every woman’s constitutional right to choose,”
why is the power of persuasion effective
because he is elected by the people, and can
therefore claim that his demands are based on support from the people.
Also, as head of state and head of government, the prestige of the President makes him persuasive.
how can the power of persuasion be ineffective
Congress is also directly elected, and can in the end just ignore his demands, especially if the president is unpopular
How do interest groups influence Congress?
Lobbying
Campaign funding and endorsements - $50 million in 2016 in campaign spending
Iron triangle
How can in particular ideological caucuses influence how members of Congress vote?
caucuses tend to vote as one block
personal beliefs
sometimes members of Congress ignore all those other influences and prioritise their own personal beliefs.
Eg Harry Reid (D – Senate majority leader) is a Mormon. In 1996 he voted for the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) (banning gay
marriage – declared unconstitutional by Supreme Court). In 2008 he voted against
the Federal Marriage Amendment
argument against personal beliefs
Constituents often vote for members of Congress because of their personal
beliefs, so this cannot be seen as completely
separate. There is no party manifesto or party leader on which members of congress base their electoral campaign on, most of it is based on personal views
