Unit 4 Topic 2 - Congress

Question 1

Examine membership of the House

Answer 1

House membership
• There are 435 members in the House, each state has a number of members proportional to its population, apart from states with just one member, each represents a subdivision of the state known as a district
• In 2012, California had 53, Wyoming had just one, members are elected every 2 years and must:
o Be at least 25
o Been a US citizen for 7 years
o Be a resident of the state in which your district is situated
• The number of women and African Americans in the House has increased significantly over the past 25 years, particularly following the 1992 elections

Question 2

Examine membership of the Senate

Answer 2

• 100 Senators, 2 from each state, represent the entire state, elected for 6 year terms, one third of the Senate is up for re-election every 2 years
• Constitutionally to be a Senator:
o At least 30
o A US citizen for 9 years
o A resident of the state you represent
• As in the house, the number of women has increased, following the defeat of Democrat Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois in 1998, there were no black senators until Obama in 2004
• Following the 2010 midterms there were again no black senators, significant that at the beginning of the 113th Congress, 52 Senators were ex-house members indicating the perceived power and prestige of the Senate
• 2 independents, however 94% white compared to only 64% of the population

Question 3

Examine membership of the 114th Congress

Answer 3

o Record 19.4% women, 80.6% men, compared to 50.8% women nationally, and 49.2%
o Black: 8.5% Congress, 13.2% nationally
o Hispanic: 6.9% Congress, 17.1% nationally
o Asian: 2% Congress, 5.3% nationally
o Native American: 0.3% Congress, 1.2% nationally
o Congress Is 92% Christian, but the US population is only 73%
o Congress is 5.2% Jewish, but only 2% of the US population is Jewish
o Record 17% non-white

Question 4

Examine the exclusive powers of Congress

Answer 4

• The House of Representatives has three exclusive powers
o To begin consideration of all money bills (at the time the House was the only directly elected chamber)
o To impeach any member of the executive or judiciary e.g. judge Thomas Porteous in 2010
o Elect the President if the electoral college is deadlocked
• 1998 the House impeached Clinton on two counts – perjury and obstruction of justice, Clinton the 17th person to be impeached by the House
• Electing the President if the electoral college is deadlocked is redundant, not used since 1824
• Senate has four exclusive powers:
o Ratify all treaties negotiated by the President (2/3 majority needed)
o To confirm many appointments (to the executive and judiciary) made by the president – simple majority E.g. when Clinton resigned as Secretary of State, Obama had to gain the approval to appoint John Kerry to replace her. This vote is done on federal judges, ambassadors and members of the cabinet. E.g.2 Senate rejected Debo Adebgile to head the Justice Department’s Civil Right division
o Try cases of impeachment – 2/3 majority required to convict and remove from office
o Elect the VP if the EC is deadlocked
• The first two of these go some way to making the Senate the more powerful and prestigious house
• Senate has a hidden power, Presidents only submit treaties which they believe will be passed
o In 1999 the Senate rejected the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty 48-51, 18 votes short of the required majority
o Same year Senate rejected Clinton’s nomination of Ronnie White to be a judge of the federal trial court, 45-54, 5 votes short of the required simple majority
• Once the House has impeached someone, the Senate tries that case of impeachment, to find the person guilty 2/3 Senators must vote ‘guilty’, in the votes on the two charges levelled against Clinton, the Senate voted 45-55 and 50-50, 22 and 17 votes short of the required 2/3 majority
• Final exclusive power – electing the VP – remains unused since 1824

Question 5

Examine the joint powers of Congress

Answer 5

• Congress has 5 joint powers:
o Pass legislation, including the budget
o Conduct investigations into the actions of the executive
o Initiate constitutional amendments
o To declare war
o To confirm a newly appointed VP
• House and Senate share the most important power of legislating with equal power:
o All legislation must pass through both houses
o Both houses conduct detailed scrutiny of legislation in committee
o Both houses have full power of amendment over bills, usually resulting in there being two different versions of the same bill one it has passed through both
o Conference Committees – set up to reconcile the two different versions of the same bill – made up of members of both houses and their decisions must be agreed by both
o It takes a 2/3 majority in both houses to override a presidential veto
• Both houses have standing committees which can conduct investigations into the work of the executive, both can also establish select committees to the same effect
• In order to propose an amendment a 2/3 majority is required in both houses
• The joint power to declare war has been somewhat redundant not being used since 1941
• Final joint power was granted in 1967 by the 25th, should the office of VP become vacant between elections the president can fill the vacancy themselves
• The nomination must be confirmed by a simple majority vote in both houses, the power has been used twice: 1973 when Nixon appointed Ford after VP Agnew resigned; in 1974 following Nixon’s resignation, Ford became president and chose Nelson Rockefeller as his VP

Question 6

Compare the House and Senate

Answer 6

• Reasons the Senate is often thought of as being more prestigious and powerful:
o Senators represent the entire state
o Senators serve 6 years, 3 times as long as House members
o Senators are 1/100, House members are 1/435
o Senators are therefore more likely to chair a committee sooner in their career
o Senators enjoy greater name recognition nationally
o House members seek election to the Senate, the reverse is almost unknown
o Senators thought of as more likely presidential candidates, Obama, Hillary, McCain since 2008
o Senators are more frequently nominated as VP running mates, e.g. Joe Lieberman 2000, John Edwards 2004, Joe Biden 2008 – all democrats
o Senators have exclusive powers, including the ratification of treaties and the confirmation of appointments which are generally agreed to be more significant than the exclusive powers of the House
• However, there is some parity, particularly in the legislative process:
o All bills must go through all stages in both houses, neither can overturn the decisions of the other
o Both houses have powerful standing committees that conduct separate hearings at the committee stage
o At the conference committee stage, members of both houses are represented
o Both houses must agree to the compromise reached at the conference committee
o To override a presidential veto, a 2/3 majority in both houses is required

Question 7

Are the two chambers equal?

Answer 7

Though the concurrent powers suggest a degree of equality, the Senate is considered more prestigious than the House. Reasons for this include:
• Structure of the Senate. Senators are one from 100, whereas there are 435 Representatives. Senators also enjoy 6 year term lengths and therefore have more influence. Finally, Senators represent whole states, not districts, giving them a higher profile
• Exclusive powers. These powers are more significant, particularly the ratification of treaties and confirmation of presidential nominees
• Launch pad. Many presidents were former Senators eg. Obama and the Senate is seen as an ideal recruitment pool for vice-presidents e.g. Joe Biden. Also, it is not uncommon for representatives to seek to become Senators but not the other way round e.g. in 2013 there were 52 ex-House members in the Senate but none the other way round.
• Filibuster. This means a supermajority is needed to pass legislation as Senators need ⅗ to invoke a cloture motion to end a filibuster. E.g. loss of Democratic supermajority in 2010 meant Democratic Senators were able to exert more influence over the final shape of health care reform than colleagues in the House.

Question 8

Examine the role of the Speaker of the House

Answer 8

• Currently Republican Paul Ryan, unlike the speaker in the Commons, the Speaker of the House is a party political player, the Speaker is the leader of the majority party in the House, and if of a different party to the president may act as the party’s spokesperson, a sort of ‘leader of the opposition’
• The Speaker has the following powers and functions:
o Act as the presiding officer of the House (chairs debates)
o Interprets and enforces the rules of the House, decided points of order
o Refers bills to committees
o Appoints select and conference committee chairs
o Appoints majority party members of the House Rule Committee
o Considerable influence I the flow of legislation through the House, as well as in committee assignments for majority party members and even the selection of House standing committee chairs
• Real power comes from controlling chairs and having the authority to set order of business. The Speaker presents the official position of the party on issues and tries to keep members loyal to that position though that is not always easy

Question 9

Why was Boehner a controversial speaker?

Answer 9

• Government shutdown. The GOP controlled Congress refused to approve a funding bill for the Affordable Care Act. Boehner said the action was a way for Republicans to ‘take a stand’ against Obamacare
• Killing of immigration reform. After the Senate passed bipartisan immigration reform, Boehner refused to bring the measure to vote in the house, with Congressional observers predicting the measure would pass if brought to a vote.
• Least productive Congress in history. The combined productivity of the 112th and 113th Congress was the lowest of any back-to-back Congress. Boehner argued they should be judged on how many laws they have repealed e.g. Congress voted to repeal Obamacare more than 50 times
• Lobbyists. Boehner is ‘tightly bound to lobbyists’ and ‘maintains ties with a circle of lobbyists’ representing some of the biggest businesses e.g. Google and Goldman Sachs

Question 10

Examine the majority and minority leaders

Answer 10

• In both the House and the Senate there is a Majority and Minority Leader, they were elected by their respective party groups in each house every 2 years at the start of each Congress
• In both houses the leaders:
o Act as day by day directors of operations on the floor of their respective houses
o Hold press briefings to talk about their party’s policy agenda
o Act as liaison between the House/Senate and the White House

Question 11

How much influence does leadership have?

Answer 11

• The leadership may exert its influence through the following ways:
o Ignoring seniority in assigning committee chairmanships
o Monitoring of favoured legislation through its various stages, and the imposition of timetables on committees for its completion. Or vice versa e.g. Boehner and immigration reform
o Working with majority members of the House Rules Committee to design rules likely to produce a bill which most closely meets majority party views
o Falling in line could be beneficial through committee selection, pork, log-rolling
o When you choose to ignore the party it may cost e.g. when next committee’s are being drawn up
o Newt Gingrich reforms in 1995 led to shift in power from committees:
 One third reduction in staff
 Control of all staff by chair
 Three term limit of committee and subcommittee chairs
 Limiting members to serving two committees and four subcommittees
 Committee votes to be published and no proxy votes
 Almost all committee meetings to be open and allowing coverage on TV and radio
• However, this is not completely the case:
o Over 30 Democratic representatives voted against Obamacare in 2010
o Weak party control in the Senate:
 Senators represent the whole state and tend to be more moderate
 No equivalent House Speaker
 Smaller numbers means there is less need for rules of procedure, and members are more amenable to informal negotiation e.g. Gang of Six Senators on healthcare reform

Question 12

Explain standing committees

Answer 12

Standing Committees
• Membership
o They are permanent policy specialist committees
o There are 16 in the Senate and 17 in the House
o In the House there is the House Rules Committee
o Most of them have sub committees
o Typical size is around 18 members in the Senate Committees and 45-50 in House committees
o Chairmen are always drawn from the chamber’s majority party
o Most chairmen, especially in the Senate are chosen through the seniority rule
• Functions
o House standing committees have two functions Senate committees have these plus two more:
 To conduct the committee stage of the legislative process
 To conduct investigations within the committee’s policy area, fulfilling Congress’ role of oversight
o This function is not directly constitutionally granted but is an implied power, Congressmen have to know what is going on in order to make the laws, as well as to see how the laws they have passed are working
o With Congress’s oversight function:
o The executive is physically separated from the legislature
o Members of Congress elected to the executive must resign from Congress (Obama and Bide 2008)
o Questioning of executive branch members occurs in the committee rooms, not on the floor of the chambers
o The effectiveness of this oversight is questionable, especially when the presidency and Congress are controlled by the same party
o Some think
o that oversight is more effective when party control is divided
 in the Senate, to begin the confirmation process of numerous presidential appointments to both the executive and judicial branches of the federal government
o to fulfil these functions, standing committees hold hearings attended by witnesses, at the conclusion of hearings – which can last from a few hours to even months – votes will be taken to recommend action to the full chamber

Question 13

Explain the House Rules Committee

Answer 13

• Officially one of the standing committees, but performs a distinctive function
• Nearly all bills pass through this committee, it has the following functions:
o Timetables bills for consideration on the floor of the house
o It deals with getting bills from the committee stage to the second reading
o Prioritises the most important bills, giving them quick passage to the house floor
o Gives a ‘rule’ to each bill passing on the floor for its second reading. The ‘rule’ sets out the rules of debate by stating e.g. what amendments can be made to the bill at this stage
• A standing committee in the House. It is responsible for prioritizing bills coming from the committee stage, giving certain bills quick passage to the House floor. Sometimes referred to as the ‘traffic cop’ of Congress.
• The committee also sets out the rules of debate to a bill, setting out he basis on which bills can be amended on the floor. Open rule = any Congressmen can propose amendments (so bill less likely to pass in original form); closed rule = no amendments, and the House has to either pass or reject the bill

Question 14

Explain special/select committees

Answer 14

• Set up to conduct investigations. Often set up when an investigation doesn’t fit into the policy area of one standing committee or is likely to be too time consuming. A joint select committee involves members from both chambers.
• Case study: House select committee on Benghazi
o Boehner proposed its creations after the Benghazi attacks to investigate it. It has come under fire e.g. Schiff called it a ‘colossal waste of time’ and is disliked by Democrats. There have been calls for dissolution

Question 15

Explain conference committees

Answer 15

• Conference committees are required because:
o Both houses have equal power
o Bills can pass through both houses at the same time
• Consequentially there are two different versions of the bill, by the time the bill has passed through each house the two are likely to be very different. If after the third reading in each house the two versions are still different and these cannot be sorted out informally the a conference committee is set up, these:
o Are ad hoc – consider a particular bill then disband
o Contain members of both houses
o Have one function – reconcile the differences between the bill’s two different versions
• When an agreed version is reached, this must be agreed to by a vote on the floor of each house, a significant decline in the use of these committees since 1995
• Both parties when in the majority have often resorted to a more ad hoc, leadership driven approach, where one chamber is simply asked to endorse the legislation passed by the other chamber in a system not dissimilar to what occurs in the UK parliament, this happened with the healthcare reform bill in 2010

Question 16

Explain the role of committee chairmen

Answer 16

• Drawn from the majority party, they have the following powers:
o Control committee agenda (e.g. what legislation will be considered). E.g. Boehner pigeon holed immigration reform. E.g. 2 energy bills bottled up in the Senate for months in 2012.
o Influence the membership and hearings of sub committees. E.g. Paul Ryan criticised on a $1.1tn sequestration bill as some argued he was only giving one side of the debate a fair hearing
o Introduce or substantially rewrite bills. E.g. ‘Every Child Achieves’ bill by Senator Lamar Alexander, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
• Chairmen decided by seniority rule, rule stating the chair will be the member of the majority party with the longest continuous service on that committee. In the 90s, the Republicans placed a 6 year term limit on committee and subcommittee chairs. However, Democrats in the House still go by seniority.
• In the Senate, the tradition of unrestricted debate, the ability of a minority to block the passage of legislation and a more collegial atmosphere mean that chairmen have traditionally been less dominant than House counterparts

• Criticisms of committee chairmen
o Seniority rule. Even though secret ballots introduced in the 1970s, usually member with most experience chosen. Means chairmen can run committees as almost independent organisations, for the benefit of themselves or constituents e.g. Debbie Schultz, chair of Democratic National Committee, blocked the Iran Nuclear Deal even though US opinion falls marginally in favour of it.
o Moreover, seniority rule removes accountability, E.g. Jamie Whitten chaired the Appropriations sub-committee for 43 years, even though he was criticised for voting against numerous Civil Rights Acts.
o Suspension of seniority rule. Argued power ceded to inexperienced chairs who have to rely on unelected committee staff. E.g. January 2013, 7 new chairs had to be chosen.
o Power. Huge amounts of power which allows them to block legislation for political reasons and not for genuine reasons e.g. Boehner pigeon holing immigration reform. They can become one corner of an iron triangle.
o Senate. Even though above, chairmen still exercise significant influence e.g. role of Max Baucus during the passage of health care legislation in 09/10

Question 17

Give an overview of the legislative process

Answer 17

• Importantly:
o Both houses have equal power
o Bills pass through the houses concurrently
o A ‘Congress’ lasts 2 years
o Any bills not completed in one Congress must start the process against at the beginning of the next Congress
o Huge number of bills are introduced during a Congress - around 10,000 -14,000
o Only a small proportion of these – 400-500 or 3-4% will be made law
o The process is difficult and complicated
o Supporters of a bill must win at every stage, opponents need only defeat it at a single stage
o Little in the way of party discipline in Congress, increasing difficulties
o President is unlikely to have his party in control of both houses
o Houses can be controlled by different parties, 113th Democrats held the Senate, Republicans the House from January 2011

Question 18

Outline the legislative process

Answer 18

1. First Reading
   a. All money bills must be introduced into the House first
   b. No debate and no vote, introduction is a formality
   c. Bills are the immediately sent on to the committee stage
2. Committee Stage
   a. Bills are referred to one of the permanent, policy-specialist standing committees
   b. Committees have full power of amendment
   c. Due to huge number of bills referred to each committee, many bills are pigeon-holed – put aside and never considered
   d. For a bill to be considered, a hearing is held with witnesses before the committee
   e. Hearings may be conducted in the full committee or in subcommittee
   f. Hearings can last from hours to months, depending on the bill’s length and controversiality
   g. Once the hearings are complete, the committee holds a mark-up sessions – making the desired changes – before reporting out the bill, sending it to the next stage
   h. Important because:
   i. The committee members are policy specialists, thus are seen as a lead
   ii. It’s as far as most bills get
   iii. Committees have full power of amendment
   iv. Committees have life or death power over bills
3. Timetabling
   a. By the time Congress has been in session for a few months a huge number of bills will be waiting to the Floor of the House and the Senate for their second reading
   b. While there are dozens of committee and subcommittee rooms in each house there is only one floor in each chamber
   c. There develops legislative gridlock with bills queuing to reach the House and Senate floors, each house has a procedure for dealing with this problem
   d. The Representatives deals with this through the House Rules Committee
   e. The Senate through unanimous consent agreements, these are agreements between the Senate Majority and Minority Leaders on the order in which bills will be debated on the floor
4. Second and Third Readings
   a. Second Reading is the first opportunity for most members to debate the bill
   b. At the Second Reading in the House, most bills are debated in the Committee of the Whole House, allowing for different rules of debate
   c. In the Senate, bills can be subject to a filibuster, this can be ended by a ‘closure motion’’ which must be approved by 60% of the Senate
   d. In both houses, further amendments can usually be made
   e. Votes are taken on amendments – simple majorities are required to pass
   f. At the end of each debate, a vote is taken on the bill
   g. The votes will be either a voice vote (for non-controversial bills) or a recorded vote in which a record of each member’s vote is made
   h. A simple majority is required to pass the bill
5. Conference Committee
   a. This is an optional stage
   b. If the House and Senate versions of the bill are the same, there is no need for this
   c. If differences can be sorted amicably there is also no need for this committee
   d. If substantial differences exist which cannot be sorted amicably, then a conference committee may be used
   e. Members of the conference committee are drawn from both houses
   f. Members are known as conferees
6. Presidential Action
   a. Once a single version is agreed by Congress, a bill can be passed to the President who always has three options:
   i. Sign the bill into law: this he will do to bills he fully supports, and wants association and credit for; he must sign the bill within 10 congressional working days of receiving it
   ii. Leave the bill on his desk: this he will do to bills he only partly supports, those he takes no position on at all, or those he would wish to veto but has decided not to. These bills will become law without his signature within 10 working days.
   iii. Veto the Bill: this he will do to bills he clearly opposes. A presidential veto must be used within 10 Congressional working days of receiving the bill by sending it back to its house of origin explaining his objections. To override the veto, the bill must be passed by a two thirds majority in both houses. This is difficult to achieve. Congress managed to override only two of Clinton’s 36 regular vetoes in 8 years. However, they overrode 4 of George W Bush’s 11 regular vetoes in 8 years. Obama used two vetoes in his first term, neither of which were overturned.
   b. At the end of a congressional session the President has a fourth option:
   i. Pocket veto; while the bill is awaiting the president’s action, the Congressional session ends and the bill is lost. This is called a pocket veto and cannot be overridden.

Question 19

Why do so few bills become law?

Answer 19

• Only around 2 - 4% of bills are enacted into law. The 112th and 113th Congress were the most unproductive back-to-back Congress in history.
• Reasons:
o Bicameral system. Both Houses have equal passage in legislation, meaning both houses have to agree, and this is even harder when different parties control different chambers e.g. nearly government shutdown in 2011 when House proposal for Budget was incompatible with the Senate. Worsened after 2014 when Republicans controlled both houses and Obama publically complained about an inability to pass legislation over gun control. Process a ‘bastion of negation’
o Parties are weak. Congressmen and senators resistant to centralised leadership, with support for legislation depending on constituents wishes. Particularly in House where elections are every 2 years and representatives focus on political expediency. Rebellions far more common e.g. 39 Blue Dog Democrats voted against the Affordable Care Act. Senate majority leader Bob Dole once described himself as ‘majority pleader’
o Presidential veto. Constitution gives Obama power to veto bills e.g. Keystone Pipeline XL and 7 others done by Obama. Difficult for Congress to override vetoes due to need for supermajorities e.g. Obama has not had any overridden. There is also the pocket veto which can not be overridden.

Question 20

Give an overview of Congressional voting

Answer 20

• House and Senate members must cast a large number of votes each year – in 2010, 644 recorded votes in the House and 299 in the Senate. Unlike in the UK parties play less of a role in voting behaviour, in the US voting determinants include:
o Political party
o Constituents
o The administration
o Pressure groups
• The relative importance of these factors will vary between politicians and votes

Question 21

Assess the role of political parties in Congressional voting

Answer 21

• Most important factor when voting, especially when ‘party votes’ take place e.g. Obamacare where Republicans voted against Obamacare. E.g. in 2011 the House recorded highest ever percentage od party votes at 75.8%. Arguably, importance of parties have become more important as they have become more polarised.
• However, the average in both chambers is around 55%. Moreover, conservative Democrats often vote with Republicans. E.g. John Barrow often votes with Republicans. They are weak e.g. Bob Dole described himself as ‘majority pleader’.
• Political parties in the US are less centralised and ideologically cohesive than UK counterparts
• US parties do not have the sticks and carrots of UK parties as incentives to unity – sticks such as threats of de-selection or carrots such as executive branch jobs
• Constituents control the selection of candidates – through Congressional primaries – so House and Senate members have to be far more mindful of constituents’ views than of the party line
• House members are subject to elections every 2 years, increasing their reliance of the views of constituents
• The executive does not depend for its existence on getting its policies through the legislature as it does in the UK
In the US a party vote is where the majority of one party votes yes whilst the majority of the other party votes no
• E.g. a vote in the house on 14 April 2011 to pass the 2011 budget compromise
o It passed by 260-167
o Republicans voted 179 yes to 59 no
o Democrats voted 81 yes to 108 no
o The Republican party vote was yes, the Democrat no
• In recent years 50-60% of votes in each chamber have been party votes
• More typically, is where the majority of members of both parties vote the same way, e.g. 16 December 2010 on the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance and Job Creation Act
o Passed 277-148
o Democrats 139-112
o Republicans 138 – 36

Question 22

Assess the role of constituents in Congressional voting

Answer 22

• Congressmen place great weight on the views of constituents in their voting priorities:
o The Constitution states that House and Senate members must be residents of the state they represent, gives them a good understanding of the local voice
o Some states go further insisting that House members reside in the actual district they represent
o Many congressmen will have been born, educated, lived and worked in the state/district they represent
o House members are especially careful about constituents’’ view because they have to face election very 2 years
• Methods of how Congressmen find out what their constituents want whilst working in DC:
o Visits from constituents
o Phone calls, letters, faxes and emails from constituents
o Reading local newspapers
• But they will also learn what their constituents want by making frequent visits to their districts/states, where they will:
o Hold party and town hall meetings
o Conduct surgeries with individual constituents
o Make visits around the state/district
o Appear on local radio phone-in programmes
o Be interviewed by local media
o Address various groups, such as chambers of commerce, professional groups and round table lunches
o Visit local schools, hospital and businesses
• All these will keep them connected with constituents and fulfil their role of representation
• However when voting, three further factors must be considered:
o Except on some exceptional issues, local opinion is likely to be divided, with some in favour and some against
o Through constituency mail and visits, Congressmen are more likely to hear from the discontented than from the contented
o A congressman is meant to be more than just a delegate of a constituents and may need to balance other factors, as well as the national good, against what is perceived as merely being poplar locally.
• Failing to look after one’s constituents can be fatal e.g. Senator Elizabeth Dole failed in her re election of 2008 as she failed to be attentive to the wishes of her state and paid too few visits to her state.
• Most representatives see their constituents as the most important source of reasoning. E.g. 2 former Congressmen Allen Boyd said ‘The voting card we hold in our pocket belongs to our people back home, not to the party leaders’. This is especially true in the House where Congressmen always have the threat of reelection every 2 years. Virtually every Member of Congress goes home several times a month to meet with constituents, seeking them out at public events, holding open office hours and town meetings to get an idea of what they want. Mayhew argues that Congressmen’s main motivation is reelection.

Question 23

Assess the influence of Pressure Groups on Congressional voting

Answer 23

• They influence members through direct contact with members of Congress e.g.John Lewis’ (D- Georgia) constituency largest employer is Coca-Cola and their requests are always received favourably
• They also will generate public support for favourable policies e.g. the NRA Political Victory Fund take an active role in mobilising the electorate and encouraging them to vote for certain candidates at election time. Pressure groups will also take part in lobbying E.g. following the 2010 healthcare Act, 20% of campaign funds for Max Baucus, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, was contributed by lobbyists linked to PhArma, representing the pharmaceutical industry
Methods:
• Making contact with members of Congress: phone calls, visits etc.
• Making contact with senior members of the congressional staff
• Generating public support favourable to their position
• Providing evidence to relevant committee hearings to support their position
• Organising rallies and demonstrations
• Organising petition drives, email campaigns etc.
• Money-raising to fund politicians
• who support their cause and seek to defeat those who do not

Question 24

Explain the ‘administration’

Answer 24

• ‘Administration’ refers to members of the executive branch including the president and members of his cabinet, often involving the white house
• This will be done by either the Congressional Liaison Office or by the President trying to persuade Congressmen to support his legislation, nominations and treaties
• This needs to regular and two-way – offering help, favours and cooperation in return

Question 25

Explain pork barrel politics

Answer 25

• The obtaining by members of Congress of as many federal benefits as possible for their district or state, principally to aid their own re-election. This has been linked to:
o High incumbency rate (e.g. 95% in Senate in 2014)
o The shaping of congressional careers, as congressmen will look for assignments on committees which offer the most pork-generating opportunities e.g. subcommittees of the House Appropriations Committee are responsible for their own spending bill
o Leads to incoherent legislation or corruption e.g. McCain suggested that $167m of pork added to legislation funding NASA which may have impacted NASA’s safety programmes
o Neglect of national interest at expense of local e.g. national debt yet Bridge to Nowhere

Question 26

Explain the two means of Congressional representation

Answer 26

Two Meanings of ‘representation’
• Representation in terms of representing the view of constituents
o Yes – Congressmen go to great lengths to discover and the often try to follow the majority view of their constituents’ primaries give added incentive for constituent representation’ members of Congress are often locals themselves
o No – members are not delegates but representatives, who consider other factors when voting in Congress
• Microcosmic representation
o Clearly no – Congress is unrepresentative of American society in terms of gender, race, age, socio-economic background and education
o Congress is far more male, white, old, wealthy and educated than average Americans

Question 27

Explain the increased level of partisanship in Congress

Answer 27

• Because the two main parties have become more ideologically distinctive, partisanship in Congress has increased
• In the 70s and 80s there were huge differences within the two parties but very little difference between them, now there are fewer differences within but significant differences between them
o ‘On almost every major issue, the distance between the two parties has widened, even as dissent within the parties has diminished’ (Brownstein)
• In both houses there used to be Lib Dems and conservative Demos, conservative Republicans and moderate/liberal Republicans on one side, conservative Democrats and Conservative Republicans on the other
o Ideologically there was a huge overlap between parties, Congress was often characterised by bipartisanship, cooperation and compromise
• Today bipartisanship is a rarity, the parties look more like those of European systems, voting as unified voting blocs with high levels of party discipline and unanimity
• To stray from the party orthodoxy especially Republican, is to endanger one’s political career, as a result Congress is often characterised by partisanship, gridlock and ineffectiveness

Question 28

Explain Congressional gridlock

Answer 28

• Widespread belief that Congress is ineffective, in a Gallup poll in January 2011 20% approved of the job Congress was doing, 73% disapproved feeling that Congress is often beset by gridlock and little substance being achieved, factors attributing to this:
o Complicated and lengthy process in which those who want to pass bills must win at every stage
o Divided government – one party controlling Congress, the other the executive
o Divided Congress – one part controlling the House, the other the Senate
o Senate filibusters
o Need for super-majorities in certain instances
o Increased partisanship
o 2 year office terms, give little time for legislating and more for campaigning

Question 29

How does Congress exercise oversight of the executive?

Answer 29

• Congress exercises oversight of the executive of through standing committees
o These powerful, permanent, policy specialist committees can hold hearings about government conduct, policies and call senior executive branch officials to appear before them to answer questions under oath
• Though its power to subpoena documents and testimony, and to bring the searchlight of publicity to actions of the executive, Congress has considerable oversight power
• Further, the Senate conducts oversight through its power to confirm most executive branch appointments

Question 30

Is this oversight effective?

Answer 30

• Through its oversight powers Congress is meant to act as a watchdog, but at times it can be seen to act as a lapdog
• Congress has much machinery for oversight, its committees are prestigious, powerful and well resourced:
o They have the power to ‘keep the administration on its toes’ through an impressive ‘constitutional arsenal’ (Norman Ornstein)
• But there is evidence to the contrary
o When Congress and the Executive is dominated by the same party (e.g. 2003-2006, 2009-2010) Congress tends to fail to subject the executive to effective and thorough scrutiny
o Nominations are confirmed with little more than a cursory glance; investigations are less than thorough and fail to ask the more searching questions
o But under divided governments (1995-2000, 2007-08) oversight often degernates into partisan point scoring, with frequent attempts by the Congressional majority to embarrass the President and his officials

Question 31

Explain Congressional oversight of the executive

Answer 31

Appointment confirmation
• Failed:
o Appointments are rarely rejected e.g. Obama only had 6 appellate nominees fail to be appointed. Congress accused to favour appointees not because they will serve public interest, but because they will support constituent interests. Also, Congress failed to reject more obvious examples of incompetent presidential nominees e.g. Ashcroft’s civil liberties record questionable
o Rejections of nominees are far rarer when the President’s party controls Congress
• Success:
o Have had high profile rejections e.g. Debo Adegbile to top civil rights post
o President Clinton’s efforts to make the US District and Appeal courts more representative thwarted by Senate Judiciary Committee as they feared this would lead to a more activist judicial branch, and so the Committee held up nominations for months and years.
o Notoriously rigorous process
Investigative role
• Failed:
o Limited access to information regarding the executive. Even though Congress can subpoena witnesses and documents, presidents have refused to pass over information, claiming ‘executive privilege’ e.g. in the Iran-Contra affair.
o When the Republicans controlled Congress and presidency (Bush), congressional oversight was almost non-existent e.g. there were just 37 investigative hearings in 2003 and 2004.
o Accused of just being ‘political posturing’ and trying to make Presidents look incompetent e.g. Bush

• Success
o Congress successfully investigated the Benghazi attacks and set up a select committee to do this.
o When different parties control Congress and the presidency, more oversight e.g. when Republicans lost control of both Houses in 2006, there were four high profile executive officials forced out in the first 3 weeks

Question 32

Explain why Congress is an effective legislature

Answer 32

Legislation:
-All bills must pass through both houses and be given opportunity for effective scrutiny
-Detailed scrutiny by committees
-Timetabling devices give priority to important bills
-Only few bills actually pass
-Major legislation is passed (healthcare reform)
Representation:
-Members attentive to constituents’ views (especially in the House)
-Primaries add incentive to representation
-Members are often local people
Oversight:
-Prestigious, powerful, well-resourced policy-specialist committees
-Hearings are frequent, lengthy and well publicised
-Power to subpoena people and documents

Question 33

Explain why Congress is an ineffective legislature

Answer 33

Legislation:
-Process is overly long and complicated
-Need for supermajorities at stages
-Too many bills fail, even important ones
-Divided party control between the houses and president adds to possible ineffectiveness
-Frequent gridlock
Representation:
-Members consider other factors when voting, not just constituents’’ views
-Micro cosmically unrepresentative
Oversight:
-President’s party tends to operate as lapdogs not watchdogs
-Opposition party often acts in a highly partisan fashion

Question 34

The broken branch?

Answer 34

• Congress approval rating fell to record low in 2015, at 11%. Mayhew argues ‘is not all that bad’ however. This refers to Congress having an ability to carry out its functions e.g. representation, legislation, oversight etc

Question 35

Examine the passage of legislation in Congress

Answer 35

• Failure:
o Growth of hyper partisanship prevents legislation from passing e.g. govt. Shutdown in 2014 due to Republican opposition to Obamacare, despite Obama winning two elections on the issue and the Supreme court upholding it.
o Occurred due to polarisation, and means ideologically moderate members are marginalised,, reducing compromise and the chance of legislation being passed e.g. Olympia Snowe of Maine
• Success:
o Mayhew argues the ‘gridlock case is flawed’ as substantial, even bipartisan laws, are enacted. E.g. 2014 Congress passed Agriculture Act suggesting Congress can find consensus and healthcare reform eventually passed.
o Commentators claimed the 111th Congress ‘made more laws affecting Americans since the ‘Great Society’ legislation of the 1960s’.

Question 36

Examine the Congressional filibuster

Answer 36

• Failure:
o Initially introduced to prevent a ‘tyranny of the majority’ but is now routinely used to prevent legislation based on ideology not on merit e.g. currently around 70% of bills are filibustered.
o Filibuster means that supermajority is required for routine bills to be passed leading to a Senator describing the Senate as ‘non-functional’. This is because it gives the minority too much power e.g. means 41 Senators representing as little as 11% of the U.S. population could theoretically obstruct passage of a bill supported by 59 senators representing as much as 89% of the population.
• Success:
o Filibusters can’t be used on reconciliation bills.
o Filibusters can be ended through ‘cloture motions’ and Harry Reid’s ‘nuclear option’ lowered the cloture motion threshold for judicial and executive nominees e.g. prevention of a Republican filibuster on the Iranian nuclear deal.
o Filibuster prevents the minority from being ‘steamrolled’, Constitutional importance.
o Enhances legislation as it means there is greater debate and provides greater opportunity for public to be educated on future legislation e.g. Obamacare filibuster by Cruz.

Question 37

Examine Congressional representation

Answer 37

• Failures
o Congress is not a social microcosm of the US population. Problem worse in Senate e.g. average age 61 and just 20% are women. Congress is not arithmetically representative either e.g. Wyoming has 2 representatives with 500,000 voters appx but California with 34 million also has the same. Also fails in territorial representation as there are only two senators per state, but states can vary ideologically internally e.g. research found cities more Democratic whereas rural areas more Republican.

Question 38

Assess the powers of committee chairmen

Answer 38

• Pigeon-holing. Enables committee chairmen to completely disregard proposed legislation, leading it to slowly die away till it gets dropped.
o However, House has begun using the discharge process more often. Between 2013-2014 there was a total of 14 uses of the discharge processes and 114 since 1997. Discharge process forces Committee chairman to end their consideration of a bill and bring it to the House floor.
• Committee chairman control the committees agenda. If bills don’t go through pigeon holing, committee chairman may substantially rewrite them and they are able to run their committees very independently from the wishes of Congress, disregarding national interest and working for their own.
o This is no longer the case because committee hearings are now open to the press and public via cable TV in the form of C-SPAN, which broadcasts committee hearings. This increases the transparency of committee chairmen’s dealings and gets rid of any corruption.
• Control the committee budget. They control what the committees funds are spent on, this enables chairmen to become powerful corners of iron triangles.
o There’s now a three term limit so there will be diversity in the committee’s budget and this constant change in leadership ensures that iron triangles nor committee chairmen remain static.
• They influence membership, meetings and hearings of sub committees. These sub-committees act as extensions of the main committees and their existence demonstrates the wide sphere of influence that committee chairmen have.
o Committee chairman have lost influence over their sub-committees, they have been awarded a considerable amount of authority and power of their own and significantly out number standing committees, in total there are 162 sub committees compared to 36 standing committees.