Congress

"All politics is local"

"*The phrase "all politics is local" was coined by former Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill. O'Neill was Speaker from 1977-1987 *O'Neill was explaining how the behavior of congressmen/women on the local level was the determining factor of the way voters perceived their representation *Factors such as constituent service and the manner in which a representative reached out to the voters became the key to the reelection efforts of congressmen/women ""Tip" O'Neill said, "All politics is local." You need to decide what is good for your local constituents and get it added to the budget in the form of riders/earmarks/amendments/Christmas ornaments/pork. So, in addition to justifying your program or policy initiative (which is wholesale politics), you also need to look out for the people that have put you in office (which is retail politics).

Supply Side Economics

"A conservative economic theory that maintains that sharp tax cuts increase the incentive for people to work, save, and invest. The greater productivity of the economy stimulated by these increased investments would produce more revenue for the government despite the tax cut." Reaganomics: "The economic program advocated by economist Arthur Laffer and instituted by President Ronald Reagan in 1981 which combined the theories of monetarism, supply-side tax cuts, and domestic budget cutting. The goal was to reduce the size of the federal government, to stimulate economic growth, and to increase American military strength."

caucus (congressional)

"A group of members of Congress sharing some interest or characteristic. Many are composed of members from both parties and from both houses." The goal of all caucuses is to promote the interests around which they are formed. Within Congress they press for committees to hold hearing, they push legislation, and they pull together votes on bills they favor. They are somewhat like interest groups, but with a difference: Their members are members of Congress, not petitioners to Congress on the outside looking in. Thus they are nicely situated to pack more punch than interest groups outside Congress. Can be formed around race, ideological (Moderate Democrats), or economic interests (steel, travel and tourism). This explosion of informal groups in Congress has made the representation of interests in Congress a more direct process. The caucuses proceed on the assumption that no one is a more effective lobbyist than a senator or rep. It also has decentralized power in Congress.

iron triangles (subgovernments)

"A network of groups within the American political system that exercise a great deal of control over specific policy areas. Also known as iron triangles, they are composed of interest group leaders interested in a particular policy, the government agency in charge of administering that policy, and the members of congressional committees and subcommittees handling policy." Related to the "revolving door." Drives record spending on defense. Iron triangles are composed of key interest group leaders interested in policy X, the government agency in charge of administering policy X, and the members of congressional committees handling policy X. All of these elements have the same goal: protecting their self-interest.

bill

"A proposed law, drafted in legal language. Anyone can draft a bill, but only a member of the House of Representatives or the Senate can formally submit a bill for consideration." Anyone can draft a bill, bit only members of the House or Senate can formally submit a bill for consideration. Most bills are quietly killed off early in the process. Some are introduced mostly as a favor to a group or a constituent; others are private bills (to specific people). Still, other bills may alter the course of the nation. There is now unorthodox lawmaking as party leaders involve themselves in the legislative process on major legislation earlier and more deeply. Bills are often referred to several committees at the same time, bring more interests to bear on an issue but complicating the process of passing legislation. In the House, special rules from the Rules Committee have become powerful tools for controlling floor considerations of bills and sometimes shaping the outcomes of votes. Often party leaders negotiate among themselves rather than the conference committee. Party leaders also use omnibus legislation that addresses numerous and perhaps unrelated subjects, issues, and programs to create winning elections. These new procedures are generally under the control of party leaders in the House, but in the Senate, leaders have less leverage and individual senators have retained opportunities for influence (like filibuster).

budget defecit

"A situation in which the government spends more than it takes in, thus pumping more money into the economy."

budget surplus

"A situation in which the government takes in more money than it spends, thus draining money out of the economy."

filibuster

"A strategy unique to the Senate whereby opponents of a piece of legislation try to talk it to death, based on the tradition of unlimited debate. Today, 60 members present and voting can halt a filibuster." Like-minded Senators can practically debate forever, tying up the legislative agenda until the proponents of a bill finally give up their battle. The power of the filibuster is not absolute, because of cloture. The filibuster raises profound questions about American democracy. Sometimes a minority of one can defeat a majority. Historically, they prevented civil rights legislation. No one votes it way because they don't want to vote away their opportunity to do it in the future. Senators have decided that they are more concerned with allowing senators to block legislation they oppose than with expediting the passage of legislation a majority favors (leads to gridlock).

budget resolution

"A total budget ceiling and a ceiling for each of several spending areas submitted by the Budget Committees in the House and Senate to their respective chambers. These resolutions serve as targets to guide the work of each legislative committee as it decides what should be spent in its area." a bill setting limits on expenditures based on revenue projections, agreed to by both houses of Congress in April each year

public interest interest groups (common good)

"According to Jeffery Berry, organizations that seek "a collective good, the achievement of which will not selectively and materially benefit the membership of activities of the organization."" When they achieve something, everyone should be better off, regardless of whether they joined in the lobbying.

lobbying

"According to Lester Milbrath, a "communication, by someone other than a citizen acting on his or her own behalf, directed to a governmental decision maker with the hope of influencing his or her decision."" Political persuaders who represent organized groups. There are two basic types of lobbyists. Members of the first group are regular, paid employees of a corporation, union, or association. Members of the second type are available for hire on a temporary basis. Four important ways in which lobbyists can help a member of Congress: 1. They are an important source of information: lobbyists can provide special expertise. 2. They can help political strategies for getting legislation through: tell congress how to present proposals to get them passed 3. They can help formulate campaign strategy and get the group's members behind a politician's reelection campaign 4. They are a source of ideas and innovations: they are eager to attach their name to an idea that will bring them political credit

casework

"Activities of members of Congress that help constituents as individuals; cutting through bureaucratic red tape to get people what they think they have a right to get"

House Rules Committee

"An institution unique to the House of Representatives that reviews all bills (except revenue, budget, and appropriations bills) coming from a House committee before they go to the full House." The Rules Committee gives each bill a "rule," which schedules the bill on the calendar, allots times for debate, and sometimes even specifies what kind of amendments may be offered. Today, the committee often brings controversial legislation to the floor under a closed rule that prohibits amendments and thus the opportunities for the minority to propose changes. The Rules Committee is generally responsive to the House leadership, in part because the Speaker of the House now appoints the committees members.

Speaker of the House

"An office mandated by the Constitution. The Speaker is chosen in practice by the majority party, has both formal and informal powers, and is second in line to succeed to the presidency should that office become vacant." *Presides over the House; chosen by the majority party; # 2 in line- Prez. -Makes Committee Assignments - very coveted; helps ensure incumbent advantage. -Recognition Power -Helps appoint the party's legislative leaders. -Exercises control over which bills get assigned to which committees. -High Profile - National Spokes(wo)man for the party if that party does not also control the Presidency.* Today the Speaker: -Presides over the House when it is in session -Plays a major role in making committee assignments, which are coveted by all members to ensure their electoral advantage -Appoints or plays a key role in appointing the party's legislative leaders and the party leadership staff -Exercises substantial control over which bills get assigned to which committees. In addition to these formal powers, the Speaker has a great deal of informal clout. If party differs from president, they often become nationwide spokesperson for their party.

Omnibus Bills (Christmas Tree Bills)

"An omnibus bill is a proposed law that covers a number of diverse or unrelated topics. Omnibus is derived from Latin and means "for everything". An omnibus bill is a single document that is accepted in a single vote by a legislature but packages together several measures into one or combines diverse subjects" Because of their large size and scope, omnibus bills limit opportunities for debate and scrutiny. Historically, omnibus bills have sometimes been used to pass controversial amendments. For this reason,some consider omnibus bills to be anti-democratic. Omnibus legislation is routinely used by the United States Congress to group together the budgets of all departments in one year in an omnibus spending bill. "Christmas Tree Bills: Informal nomenclature for a bill on the Senate floor that attracts many, often unrelated, floor amendments. The amendments which adorn the bill may provide special benefits to various groups or interests."

interest group

"An organization of people with shared policy goals entering the policy process at several points to try to achieve those goals." Every branch of government is fair game; every level of government a possible target. This multiplicity of policy arenas helps distinguish interest groups from political parties. Parties fight their battles through the electoral process, they run candidates for public office. Interest groups may support candidates for office, but American interest groups do not run their own slate for office. Another key difference is that interest groups are often policy specialists, whereas parties are policy generalists. Most interest groups have only a handful of policies that they push. Unlike political parties, these groups do not face the constraints imposed by trying to appeal to everyone. Four tactics of interest groups: 1. Lobbying 2. Electioneering (direct involvement of electoral process in which they fund campaigns, provide testimony, and get members to work for candidates) 3. Litigation (taking legal action to SC) 4. Appealing to the Public (carefully cultivate their public image and use public opinion to their advantage)

legislative (congressional) oversight

"Congress's monitoring of the bureaucracy and its administration of policy, performed mainly through hearings." *Reviews the activities of the Executive Branch; makes sure the bureaucracy is properly executing the laws. Investigates the efficiency and effectiveness of government agencies; check on waste and corruption.* The committees do not leave the scene after legislation is passed. They stay busy in legislative oversight. Agency heads testify, bringing graphs, charts, and data on the progress they have made and the problems they face. Oversight, one of the checks Congress can exercise on the executive branch, gives Congress the power to pressure agencies and, in extreme cases, cut their budgets in order to secure compliance with congressional whims. Congress keeps tabs on more routine activities of the executive branch through its committee staff members. These members have specialized expertise in the fields and agencies that their committees oversee and maintain an extensive network of formal and informal contacts with the bureaucracy. They read long reports about everything to keep track of implementation of public policy. Congress did substantially increase its oversight after the 1960's after complaints of increase in executive power. The tight budgets of recent years also called for more oversight as members have sought to protect programs they favor and to get more value for tax dollars on them.

select committees

"Congressional committees appointed for a specific purpose, such as the Watergate investigation." *appointed to handle a specific issue, such as 9/11 or impeachment.*

conference committees

"Congressional committees formed when the Senate and the House pass a particular bill in different forms. Party leadership appoints members from each house to iron out the differences and bring back a single bill." *iron out the differences between House and Senate versions of a bill; both Congressman and Senators.*

joint committees

"Congressional committees on a few subject-matter areas with membership drawn from both houses." *responsible for legislation that overlaps policy areas; both Congressman and Senators.* Exist in a few policy areas, such as the economy and taxation.

monetary policy

"Directed by The Federal Reserve (The Fed); control the supply of money; set interest rates; apolitical"

military-industrial complex

"Eisenhower first coined this phrase when he warned American against it in his last State of the Union Address. He feared that the combined lobbying efforts of the armed services and industries that contracted with the military would lead to excessive Congressional spending."

single-issue group

"Groups that have a narrow interest, tend to dislike compromise, and often draw membership from people new to politics. These features distinguish them from traditional interest groups." Positions are clear, not subject to compromise, and influence their vote.

earmarks

"Hidden" congressional provisions that direct the federal government to fund specific projects or that exempt specific persons or groups from paying specific federal taxes or fees

Monetarism

"Monetarists such as Milton Friedman hold that inflation is the result of too much money chasing too few goods. This occurs when government prints too much money. When government tries to stop inflation by decreasing the money supply, unemployment increases. Rather than adopting these start-and-stop policies, it would be better if government allowed the money supply to increase steadily and consistently at a rate about equal to the growth in the productivity of the economy." *Monetarism is a belief that the government should provide money supply as the economy grows, and do nothing else.* AGAINST FISCAL POLICY

lobbyists

"Representatives of interest groups who contact lawmakers or other government officials directly to influence their policy making." Lobbyists, some of them former members of Congress, can provide legislatures with crucial information and often with assurances of financial aid in the next campaign. They often coordinate their efforts at influencing members with party leaders who share their views. Congress cal also regulate lobbyists. In 1995, it passed a law requiring anyone hired to lobby members of Congress, congressional staff members, white house officials, and federal agencies to report what issues they were seeking to influence, how much they were spending on the effort, and the identities of their clients. Congress also placed severe restrictions on the gifts, meals, and expense-paid travels that public officials may accept from lobbyists.

Standing Committees

"Separate subject-matter committees in each house of Congress that handle bills in different policy areas." *handle a specific policy area, such as commerce, agriculture, or energy; each committee often is divided into subcommittees.* Each house of Congress has its own standing committees; members do not belong to the committee in the other hose. Subcommittees are smaller units of a committee created out of the committee membership.

fiscal policy

"Taxing, spending, and borrowing policies of the federal government (Congress); more Keynesian"

pork barrel (/earmarks/appropriation)

"The mighty list of federal projects, grants, and contracts available to cities, businesses, colleges, and institutions available in a congressional district." Appropriation: "The passage, by Congress, of a spending bill, specifying the amount of authorized funds that actually will be allocated for an agency's use." Earmarks: "Funding appropriations that are specifically designated for a named project in a member's state or district." Ex: 2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act - omnibus law that funded 11,000 projects: -Civil War Theme Park -Swimming Pools -Several Halls of Fame -Parking Garages -$335,000 to protect North Dakota sunflowers from blackbirds -$2.3 million for an animal waste management research lab in Bowling Green, Kentucky -$50,000 to control wild hogs in Missouri -$443,000 to develop salmon-fortified baby food.

committee chairs

"The most important influencers of the congressional agenda. They play dominant roles in scheduling hearings, hiring staff, appointing subcommittees, and managing committee bills when they are brought before the full house." Until the 1970s, committee chairs were picked by the seniority system (whoever served on committee longest and their party controlled the chamber got the chair). In the 1970s, younger members of Congress revolted, and both parties allowed members to vote on committee chairs. Today seniority remains the general rule for selecting chairs, but there are plenty of exceptions. Committee chairs are allowed to pick sub-committee chairs, giving them more power. Although they do have a lot of power, committee chairs are not as powerful as they were before the reform era, and the party leadership in the House has much more control over legislation.

Minority Leader

"The principal leader of the minority party in the House of Representatives or in the Senate." Similar responsibilities as majority leader.

Senate Majority Leader

"The principal partisan ally of the Speaker of the House or the party's manager in the Senate. The majority leader is responsible for scheduling bills in the House, influencing committee assignments, and rounding up votes in behalf of the party's legislative positions." *-Counterpart of the Speaker- works with the President Pro Tempore -Helps select committee assignments. -Scheduling the floor action. -With the help of the Whips, the majority corrals votes.* The Constitution makes the vp, the president of the Senate. Vice presidents usually slight their senatorial chores, leaving power in the Senate to party leaders. Thus the Senate Majority Leader is a party's workhorse, corralling votes, scheduling the floor action, and influencing committee assignments.

free-rider problem

"The problem faced by unions and other groups when people do not join because they can benefit from the group's activities without officially joining. The bigger the group, the more serious the problem." Members of a potential group share in benefits that members of the actual group work to secure. Problem results: Why should potential members for something if they can get it for free? A perfectly rational response is to sit back and let other people do the work.

incumbents

"Those already holding office. In congressional elections, incumbents usually win." *Congressman and Senators running for re-election win 90% of the time. Senate more competitive than the House.* Advantages of Incumbency 1. Visibility- Name Recognition. 2. Franking Privilege - Getting the word out. 3. Casework - What have you done for me lately? 4. Pork Barrel - What have you done for me lately? 5. PAC's contribute most heavily after an election. The best thing a candidate can have going for him or her is simply to be the incumbent. 90% of incumbents seeking reelection win. The Senate is a little different. Even thought senators still have a good chance of beating back a challenge, the odds of reelection are not as good for house incumbents. Senators usually win by narrow margins. An entire state is more diverse than a district and they have less personal contact with their constituencies. They also get more visual challengers.

logrolling

"you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours." A practice common in the U.S. Congress and in many other legislative assemblies in which two (or more) legislators agree for each to trade his vote on one bill he cares little about in exchange for the others vote on a bill that is personally much more important to him. Logrolling is especially common when the legislators are relatively free of controlby their national party leaders and are trying to secure votes for bills that will concentrate sizable benefits on their own home districts while spreading most of the costs out over taxpayers in the rest of the country. Local projects such asFederally funded dams, bridges, highways, housing projects, VA hospitals, job training centers, military bases and the like are often pushed through by this

The House

*Members tend to vote along party lines. More partisan than the Senate. Power is usually hierarchical. Revenue Bills and Draft must originate in the House. Pass articles of Impeachment*. More than four times larger than the Senate, the House is also more institutionalized-- that is, more centralized, more hierarchical, and less anarchic. Party loyalty to leadership and party-line voting are more common in the House than in the Senate. Partly because there are more members, leaders in the House do more leading than to leaders in the Senate. Both the House and the Senate set their own agendas. Both use committees to winnow down thousands of bills introduced. The House Rules Committee plays a special role though.

Senate

*Power is more evenly distributed. Senators serve on more committees. Act more independently of their Parties. Approve presidential nominees, ratify treaties, try impeached federal officials. Filibuster - Cloture.* The Constitution's framers thought the Senate would protect elite interests to counteract the tendencies of the House to protect the masses. They gave the House power to initiate all revenue bills and to impeach officials; they gave the Senate the responsibility to ratify all treaties, to confirm important presidential nominations (including SC), and to try impeached officials. The real differences in each body lies in the Senate's organization and power. Party leaders do for the Senate what the Rules Committee does in the House.

Government Accountability Office

*The Government Accountability Office (GAO) helps Congress fulfill its oversight responsibilities* Helps Congress perform its oversight function by reviewing the activities of the executive branch to see if it is following the congressional intent of laws and by investigating the efficiency and effectiveness of policy implementation. The GAO also sets government standards for accounting, provides legal opinions, and settles claims against the government.

House Majority Leader

-Stepping stone to the Speaker. -Schedules bills in the House. -With the Whip's help, the majority leader rounds up votes for the party.

The Whips

-The Majority and Minority Whips are responsible for mobilizing votes within their parties on major issues. In the absence of a party floor leader, the whip often serves as acting floor leader -They count votes beforehand and lean on waverers whose votes are crucial to a bill favored by the party.

Most powerful congressional committees

1. House Rules Committee: They can speed, delay, or even prevent House actions on a measure. They control appearance of bills on the floor 2. House Ways & Means: the chief tax-writing committee in the House of Representatives. Legislation originating in the Committee on Ways and Means is privileged business, meaning that it may receive floor consideration ahead of other bills. 3. Senate Finance: The Committee concerns itself with matters relating to taxation and other revenue measures (same as above but for Senate) 4. House and Senate Appropriations: responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Committee regulate expenditures of money by the government of the United States. As such, it is one of the most powerful of the committees, and its members are seen as influential. They make the key decisions about the work of their committees—when their committees meet, which bills they will consider, and for how long. 5. Senate Energy & Commerce: served as the principal guide for the House in matters relating to the promotion of commerce and to the public's health and marketplace interests, with the relatively recent addition of energy considerations among them. It oversees multiple cabinet-level Departments and independent agencies, including the Departments of Energy, Health and Human Services, Commerce, and Transportation, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Trade Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Federal Communications Commission.(telecommunications, consumer protection, food and drug safety, public health research, environmental quality, energy policy, and interstate and foreign commerce)

continuing resolution

A emergency budget extension measure that Congress passes when a full budget law has not been completed by the beginning of the new fiscal year (October 1). Avoids government shutdown.

instructed delegate

A representative that mirrors the preferences of their constituents.

Trustee

A representative that uses their best judgement to make policy in the interest of the people.

Advantages of Incumbency

Advantages of Incumbency: What people think but not really true: -Voters know how their elected representatives vote on important policy issues and agrees with their stands. (usually not the case - most do not know how they actually vote) -Voter assessments of presidential candidates influence their voting for Congress. (but "coattails" is usually not so true) 3 things that actually help: ----> 1. ADVERTISING: Takes place between elections in the form of contact with constituents. The goal is visibility. Similarly, they use their franking privilege. 2. CREDIT CLAIMING: Enhancing their standing with constituents through service to individuals and the district. Link between service and success. They can do this through: -Casework: helping constituents as individuals -Pork Barrel: list of federal projects Getting things done for the folks back home often gets an incumbent the chance to serve them again. 3. POSITION TAKING: Positions they take affect outcome of elections. 4. WEAK OPPONENTS: Confronted with the advantage of incumbency, potentially effective opponents are often unlikely to risk challenging members of the House. 5. CAMPAIGN SPENDING: Incumbents already have high levels of recognition among their constituents and benefit less from campaign spending, what matters most is how their opponents spend. In the end, opponents are substantially outspent by incumbents. Most money for incumbents comes form PAC's. Typically make contributions AFTER elections.

riders (non-germane amendments)

An additional provision added to a bill or other measure under the consideration by a legislature, having little connection with the subject matter of the bill.They are usually created as a tactic to pass a controversial provision that would not pass as its own bill. Occasionally, a controversial provision is attached to a bill not to be passed itself but toprevent the bill from being passed (in which case it is called a wrecking amendment or poison pill).

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

An agency of Congress that analyzes presidential budget recommendations and estimates the cost of proposed legislation. *(1)Provides non-partisan economic data to Congress. (2) Helps Congress make budgetary decisions (3) President looks to the OMB- non partisan; answers to the Executive.* Its principal focus is on analyzing the president's budget and making economic projections about the performance of the economy, the costs of proposed policies, and the economic effects of taxing and spending alternatives.

politico

An elected representative who acts as a trustee or as a delegate, depending on the issue. Adopts the role of both a trustee and instructed delegate as they strive to be both representatives and policymakers. Most representatives are this.

veto

Chief executive's power to reject a bill passed by a legislature

Congressional Leadership in Perspective

Despite their stature and power, congressional leaders are not in strong positions to move their troops. Both houses are highly decentralized and rarely show an inclination for major changes in they way they operate. Leaders are elected by their party members and must remain responsive to them. They usually vote with their constituent's interests. However, leadership is effective as it leads to party unity in voting. This allows the parties to advance an agenda that reflects party preferences.

"Revolving Door"

Employment cycle in which individuals who work for governmental agencies that regulate interests eventually end up working for interest groups or businesses with the same policy concern (become lobbyists for wealthy interest groups from connections they made).

How a Bill Becomes a Law

House: 1. BILL INTRODUCTION: Bill introduced and assigned to committee then subcommittee. 2. COMMITTEE ACTION: Subcommittee performs studies, hearings, and revisions. If approved, goes to full committee. Full committee may amend or rewrite bill before deciding to send to House floor or kill it. If approved, bill is reported to the full House and placed on calendar. The Rule Committee issues a rule governing debate on the House floor and sends bill to the House. 3. FLOOR ACTION: Bill is debated by full house, amendments are offered, and vote is taken. (If different bill is passed in Senate, goes to conference committee.) 4. CONFERENCE ACTION: Irons out differences between bills and compromise made. Full House votes on conference committee version. If passed, goes to president. 5. PRESIDENTIAL ACTION: President signs or vetoes the bill. Congress may override a veto by a 2/3 vote in both House and Senate. Senate: 1. BILL INTRODUCTION: Bill introduced and assigned to committee then subcommittee. 2. COMMITTEE ACTION: Subcommittee performs studies, hearings, and revisions. If approved, goes to full committee. Full committee may amend or rewrite bill before deciding to send to House floor or kill it. If approved, bill is reported to the full House and placed on calendar. Senate leaders of both parties schedule Senate debate on the floor. 3. FLOOR ACTION: Bill is debated by full Senate, amendments are offered, and vote is taken. (If different bill is passed in Senate, goes to conference committee.) 4. CONFERENCE ACTION: Irons out differences between bills and compromise made. Full Senate votes on conference committee version. If passed, goes to president. 5. PRESIDENTIAL ACTION: President signs or vetoes the bill. Congress may override a veto by a 2/3 vote in both House and Senate. VERY SIMILAR, JUST NAMES SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT

The House v The Senate

House: bills are not drastically changed in the House once they reach the floor, because of the strict rules set up by the House Rules Committee; only germane amendments. -435 members serving two-year terms -Speaker's referral of bills to committee is hard to challenge. -Committees almost always consider legislation first. -Non-germane amendments may not be introduced from floor. -Rules Committee powerful; controls time of debate, admissibility of amendments. -Debate usually limited to one hour. Senate: debates on bills are much less formal; no rules on amendments, so non-germane amendments, or riders, can be added more easily; Christmas-tree bills. -100 members serving rotating six-year terms -Referral decisions easy to challenge. -Committee consideration easily bypassed. -Non-germane amendments may be introduced (riders). -Rules Committee weak; few limits on debate or amendments. -Unlimited debate unless shortened by unanimous consent or by invoking cloture.

Congress and Democracy

In a large nation, success of democratic gov depends on the quality of representation. If Congress is a successful democratic institution, it must be a successful representative institution. Some aspects of Congress make it very unrepresentative. Its members are US elite; leadership chosen by members, not people; voters have little direct influence over key committee chairs or lead congressional parties; Senate apportioned to represent states, not population (distribution of power that gives citizens in less populated states a greater say in key decisions); malapportionment is high in Senate Nevertheless, Congress does try to listen to US people. Whom voters elect makes a difference in how congressional votes turn out. Which party is in power affects policies. Perhaps, Congress could represent US better but there are obstacles to improved legislation (legislators find it hard to known what constituents want, groups may keep important issues off legislative agenda, members could spend too much time serving constituencies and have little time left to represent those constituencies in the policymaking process). Members of Congress are responsive to the people, if the people make it clear what they want. The central legislative dilemma for Congress is combining faithful representation of constituents with making effective public policy. Supporters see Congress as a forum in which many interests compete for a spot on the policy agenda and over the form of a to be. Critics charge that Congress is too responsive to so many interests that policy is uncoordinated, fragments, and decentralized. Especially, with interest groups having so much power. In addition, some say Congress is too representative. So they are incapable of taking decisive action to deal with difficult problems. One reason why gov spends too much is that Congress is protecting the interests of too many people. As long as each interests tries to preserve the status quo, Congress cannot enact bold reforms. Defenders point out that thanks to it being decentralized, there is no oligarchy in control to prevent the legislature from taking comprehensive action. Congress has enacted historic legislation (tax cuts, tax reform bills that balance budget). Also passed health care reform, trade bills, drug addition to Medicare and elementary and secondary education program. There is no simple solution to Congress's dilemma. It tries to be both a representative and an objective policy making institution, so it will never please all critics

Fed - Interest Rates

Independent Executive Agency with the power to: -Set discount rates for the money that banks can borrow from the Federal Reserve. -Set reserve requirements that determine the amount of money that banks must keep in reserve at all times. -Buy and sell government securities in the market, thereby either expanding or contracting the money supply.

Interest Groups and Democracy

James Madison's solution to the problems posed by interest groups was to create a wide-open system in which many groups would be able to participate, so groups with opposing interests would be able to counterbalance each other. Pluralist theorists say that the increase in interest groups recently has led to this (every group has an opposite). Elite theorists disagree and point to business PAC's as evidence of more interest group corruption in American politics. PAC's distort the democratic process. Hyper pluralists maintain that whenever a major interest group objects strongly to legislation, policymakers will bend backwards to try to accommodate it. Additionally, with so many interest groups in recent years it has been increasingly difficult to accomplish major policy change in Washington. (powerful explanation for gridlock.)

Constituency v. Ideology in Congress

Members of Congress are representatives; their constituents expect them to represent their interests in Washington. Sometimes representation requires a balancing act. (i.e. trustees, instructed delegates, and politicos) The best way constituents can influence congressional voting is to elect a representative who agrees with their views. But most people don't pay attention to their views or even know who their representatives/senators are. On complex, obscure issues, not salient to votes, legislators can safely ignore constituent's opinion. On a typical issues, the prime determinant of a congressional member's vote is personal ideology (defense and foreign policy). As ideological divisions weaken and constituency preferences strengthen, members are more likely to deviate from their own position and adopt those of their constituents.

specialization

Members of Congress develop policy expertise

Getting on a Committee

Members seek committee that will help them achieve three goals: reelection, influence in Congress, and the opportunity to make policy in areas they think are important. Party leaders play a key role in deciding where Congressmen/Senators will go. Those who have supported the leadership are favored in the committee selection process, but generally the parties try to grant members request for committee assignments whenever possible. They want members to please they constituents and gain expertise in an area of policy.

Essay: The American People

Must Include: "all politics is local," retail politics, thinks about local base, appeases people from all over country -Many Voices → In thinking about the phrase "all politics is local," many Congressman think about their local constituents when writing a budget. They engage in retail politics to please the people that put them in office. This allows for many voices of the American people to be included in federal budgets because each Senator and Representative thinks about their local base when deciding what to include. -Well Reasoned → Since each politician wants to please their local constituencies, the budget is well reasoned as it appeases people from all over the country. Things are included that is necessary for different people and resources must be shared, the best budgets that help the most people across the country are used. - The budget is made deliberately because each politician must go out of their way to implement things for their local level.

Essay: The Media

Must Include: Fourth Estate, public awareness-linkage institution, not get re-elected, different media organizations that will have different opinions -Well Reasoned → since they act as the fourth estate and report on budgets, Congress must make sure that it makes sense and is in line with what the American people need. The media increases public awareness of issues since they act as a linkage institution. Since Congress knows the media does this, they must reason the budget effectively. If they report that they are engaging in spending that is needed, they will not get re-elected. -Many Voices → There are many different media organizations that will have different opinions in how the budget is reported. This allows many different voices in the media sphere to contribute their opinion on if it was effectively written. -The media helps Congress be a deliberate body because they will only finalize a budget when they know it is ready for the media to report on it. They will not pass something that will be scrutinized and risk their re-election.

Essay: Interest Groups and Lobbyists

Must Include: provide information, supply-side economics, monetary policy, or fiscal policy, *pluralist theory* -Well Reasoned → Lobbyists from interest groups provide information to Congress about specific areas that they are experts in and work on specifically. This makes bills well reasoned because Congress can use information from experts in economics and other areas that contribute to the budget to help them write it. -Many Voices → In an ideal world, lobbyists from different backgrounds can contribute to the process by testifying to Congress. Interest groups that advocate for supply-side economics, monetary policy, or fiscal policy, to achieve their goals can go in front of Congress.. This pluralist theory allows for many voices to contribute. -deliberate because they only can listen to so many lobbyists, so they must choose the best people to listen to and choose what to focus on

Essay: Congressional Leadership and/or Committees

Must Include: specialization, ideal world, variety of committees that work on appropriations -The Senate and House have different committees and subcommittees and that work on the budget, each contributing their own opinion and voice on particular elements that compose the budget. -Well Reasoned → By serving on committees, Congressman develops specialization in certain areas of public policy. They become experts in those areas. In an ideal world, budgets are well-reasoned because knowledge in a particular area such as agriculture or energy, allows Congressman to deliberately choose the best amount of money to be allocated for each thing. . -Many Voices → Since there is a variety of committees that work on appropriations such as agriculture, transportation, energy, commerce, and more, many voices contribute to the process adding a different perspective about different topics. Each choice a congressman makes is deliberate because they must decide what to specialize in and how to include it in the government, since they can only specialize in few things.

Essay: Checks and Balances and a Desire to thwart the tyranny of the majority

Must say: Fed 51 (checks and balances), so bicameral and exec. separate, different constituency, well-reasoned because each branch can check each other -In Fed 51, Madison argues for checks and balances between the branches of government so that individual factions cannot take control of government for their own fain. To prevent tyranny of the majority, Congress is split into a bicameral legislature and it is separated from the Executive. -Many voices → Each branch of government has a different constituency. President is entire country, House is district, and Senate is entire state. Many voices contribute to the process due to this variety in the constituency, and it is hard for one person to take complete control since each branch must approve of the budget before it is passed. -Well Reasoned → This leads to well-reasoned budgets because each branch can check the other if they pass an unfair budget that favors a majority group. The president must submit a budget request and he must sign it before it becomes law. Additionally, both the House and the Senate must vote on the budget before it sent to Congress. Each choice is deliberate because it is not easy to get things passed, so they must purposefully fight for the things each senator/rep wantsbicamer

Party Influence in Congress

On some issues, members of the parties stick together. They are most cohesive when Congress is electing official leaders. On other issues, however, the party coalition may come unglued. For example, civil rights legislation. Differences between the parties are sharpest on questions of social welfare and economic policy. Party leaders in Congress help "whip" their members into line. Their power to do so is limited of course. But leaders have plenty of influence including making committee assignments, boosting a member's pet projects, and the subtle but significant influence of providing critical information to a member.

PAC's

Political Action Committees, raise money for candidates &/or parties

Presidents and Congress

Presidential leadership of Congress is at the margins. In general, successful presidential leadership of Congress has not been the result of the dominant chief executive of political folklore who reshapes the contours of the political landscape to pave the way for change. The effective leader is the facilitator who works at the margins of coalition building to recognize and exploit opportunities presented by a favorable configuration of political forces. Members of Congress truly compose an independent branch.

Macro-Economic Policy

Republicans: private enterprise stimulates the economy Democrats: government can stimulate the economy

cloture

Sixty members present and voting can halt a filibuster by voting for cloture on debate. But many senators are reluctant to vote for cloture for fear of setting a precedent to be used against them when they want to filibuster.

The Surprising Ineffectiveness of Large Interest Groups

Small groups have organizational advantages over large groups. The bigger the group, the more serious the free-rider problem. In a small group, members' shares of the collective good may be great enough that they will try to secure it. In the largest groups, however, members can expect to get only a tiny share of the policy gains. Weighing the costs of participation against the relatively small benefits, the temptation is always to let someone else do it. This is why business interest groups do better than consumer interest groups. The lobbying costs and benefits for businesses are concentrated. (if a business were to win a case, each member would get A LOT of money, but for a consumer group, each person would get relatively nothing.)

Substantive v Descriptive Representation

Substantive representation - refers to the correspondence between representatives' opinions and those of their constituents. Descriptive representation - refers to the correspondence of the demographic characteristics of representatives with those of their constituents.

Financial Resources of Interest Groups

The American interest group system is biased towards the wealthy. A big campaign contribution may ensure a phone call, a meeting, or even a favorable vote or action on a particular policy. But on the most important issues, money does not always win.

national debt

The amount of money a national government owes to other governments or its people. The sum of government deficits over time.

power of the purse

The constitutional power of Congress to raise and spend money. Congress can use this as a negative or checking power over the other branches by freezing or cutting their funding.

Congress and the Scope of Government

The more policies there are, the more potential way members can help their constituencies. Big gov helps members of Congress get reelected and gives them good reason to support making gov even bigger. Members of Congress vigorously protect interests of constituents. The Conservative argument is that big gov = problem. So they fight against gov programs, but still support programs aiding their constituents. Americans have contradictory preferences regarding public policy. Congress does not impose programs on a reluctant public; instead it responds to the public's demands for them

Interest Groups and the Scope of Government

The multiplicity of the American interest groups allow individuals many channels for political participation and thus facilitate representation of individual interests. Individual interest groups fight to sustain government programs that are important to them, thereby making it hard for politicians ever to reduce the scope of government. However, others argue that the growth in government has lead to the growth of interest groups (other way around). Since they influence more areas, more interests groups are needed. *ESSAY*

constituents

The residents of a congressional district or state.

mandatory v discretionary spending

These are both factors that drive federal spending. Discretionary Spending: expenditures that can be cut from the budget without changing the underlying law -interest groups keep this spending from getting cut. -Ex: Defense, Education, Homeland Security, Agriculture, etc; Mandatory spending: expenditures that are required by law, such as the funding for social security -also hard to cut. -Ex: Interest on the debt, Pensions, Social Security, Medicare; entitlements and other promises

Committees

They control the congressional agenda and guide legislation from its introduction to its send-off to the president for his signature. 1. Standing Committees 2. Joint Committees 3. Conference Committees 4. Select Committees Every bill goes to a committee that essentially has the power of life or death over it. Committee staff conducts research, lines up witnesses for hearings, and writes and rewrites bills. They then make a report on legislation.

special interest

a group of people or an organization seeking or receiving special advantages, typically through political lobbying.

veto over-ride

house can pass with a 2/3 override

line-item veto

the power of a president, governor, or other elected executive to reject individual provisions of a bill without vetoing the entire package; declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court for the president.

Keynesian Economics

theory emphasizing that government spending and deficits can help the economy weather its normal ups and downs. Proponents of this theory advocate using the power of the government to stimulate the economy when it is lagging.