Ch. 14 - Congress

Roles of Policy Makers

Delegate, trustee, and politico

Congressional Norms

Norms are unwritten expectations of how members are supposed to act and contribute to the smooth functioning of the Congress. Members are expected to be respectful toward their colleagues, to reciprocate help from other members, and to specialize in one or more policy areas to assist the overall level of information and expertise in Congress. Ex: -deference to leaders -institutional patriotism -courtesy to members -apprenticeship -specialization -limited use of filibuster

constituency

a body of voters in a given area who elect a representative or senator

hold

a delay placed on legislation by a senator who objects to a bill

majority-minority districts

a district in which voters of a minority ethnicity constitute an electoral majority within that electoral district

Bicameral legislature

a lawmaking body made up of 2 chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate

whip

a member of Congress, chosen by his/her party members, whose job is to ensure party unity and discipline.

discharge petition

a motion filed by a member of Congress to move a bill out of committee and onto the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote

House Rules Committee

a powerful committee that determines when a bill will be subject to debate and vote on the House floor, how long the debate will last, and whether amendments will be allowed on the floor.

President Pro Tempore of the Senate

(Constitutionally, the official leader of the Senate is the vice president of the United States) P.P.T. presides over the chamber's proceedings when the vice president is not present (which is almost all of the time) but wields no real power.

unanimous consent agreement

an agreement in the Senate that sets the terms for consideration of a bill

political action committee (PAC)

an organization that raises money for candidates and campaigns

Gill v. Whitford (2017)

case seeking to define the constitutional limits on partisan gerrymandering

Committee of the Whole

consists of all members of the House and meets in the House of chamber but is governed by different rules, making it easier to consider complex and controversial legislation.

divided government

control of the oresidency and one or both chambers of Congress split between the 2 major parties

partisan gerrymandering

drawing of district boundaries into strange shapes to benefit a political party. Aims to increase the representation of one political party at the expense of another.

oversight

efforts by Congress to ensure that executive branch agencies, bureaus, and cabinet departments, as well as their officials, are acting legally and in accordance with congressional goals

incumbency advantage

institutional advantages held by those already in office who are trying to fend off challengers in an election. Greater in the House of Representatives than in the Senate. Congressional incumbents possess so many advantages, such as media coverage, a record of providing benefits and legislation to a state or district, an established donor network, and name recognition, that qualified challengers often rationally wait until they can run in an open seat election after an incumbent has retired or moved on to another office.

committee chair

leader of a congressional committee who has authority over the committee's agenda

lame duck period

period at the end of a presidential term when Congress may block presidential initiatives and nominees

budget surplus

the amount of money remaining when the government takes in more than it spends

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

the executive branch office that assists the president in setting national spending priorities

minority leader

the head of the party with the second-highest number of seats in Congress, chosen by the party's members

trustee role

the idea that members of Congress should act as trustee, making decisions based on their knowledge and judgement

delegate role

the idea that the main duty of a member of Congress is to carry out constituents' wishes

gerrymandering

the intentional use of redistricting to benefit a specific interest or group of voters

logrolling

trading of votes on legislation by members of Congress to get their earmarks passed into legislation

national debt

the total amount of money owed by the federal government

bipartisanship

agreement between the parties to work together in Congress to pass legislation

How a bill becomes a law

1. Written: Bill is introduced in either house 2. discussed in committee + voted: sent to committee to be approved, rewritten, or killed; sent to the floor for debate and vote; 3. discussed in House & Senate + voted on in both: sent to the other chamber for the same process; both houses pass the revised bill; 4. President signs it or vetoes it (which brings it back to Congress, needs 2/3 vote to override veto): sent to president for approval; president signs, (or, if vetoed, must have 2/3 vote of both houses to override); 5. Bill becomes a law

Constitutional (enumerated) powers of Congress

3 broad areas: (1) lawmaking, (2) budgeting, and (3) exercising oversight of the federal bureaucracy and other public officials. 1.) Enumerated Powers: Congress is authorized to legislate in economic policy, national security, foreign policy, and other policy areas. 2.) Congress sets a federal budget and appropriates funds for agencies/programs. Budgetary powers can affect the president's proposals and bureaucracy. 3.) Congress uses its oversight authority to ensure that laws are implemented in the way that Congress intended or to investigate the president or members of the executive branch for wrongdoing. Has responsibilities over the federal bureaucracy, other branches of gov't, and appointed officials

cloture

A procedure through which senators can end debate on a bill and proceed to action, provided 60 senators agree to it.

Conference committee

A special joint committee appointed by the presiding officers of each chamber (House and Senate) to adjust differences on a particular bill passed by each in different form.

Article 1 (powers of Congress)

Article of the Constitution that defines the Legislative Branch, it's powers, members, and workings. The powers of Congress are described in more detail than the other branches.

Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974

Modified the process of setting the federal budget, requiring that the president's proposed budget be reviewed by congressional committees.

16th Amendment

Amendment to the United States Constitution (1913) gave Congress the power to tax income.

Impeachment

An action by the House of Representatives to accuse the president, vice president, or other civil officers of the United States of committing "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." (Article II, Section 4)

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)

An agency of Congress that analyzes presidential budget recommendations and estimates the cost of proposed legislation. Provides info and estimates of the likely budgetary consequences of funding the agencies/programs created by Congress.

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Background: A registered Republican challenged Tennessee's congressional district boundaries, which had not been changed since 1901. Some districts contained ten times the population of other districts. Result: Tennessee argued that drawing congressional boundaries was a political question that should be left to the states. The Supreme Court disagreed, requiring Tennessee to redraw congressional district boundaries so that each district would have roughly the same number of constituents. Established the principle of "one person, one vote" and made such patterns of representation illegal. The Court asserted that the federal courts had the right to tell states to reapportion their districts for more equal representation.

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

Background: The Court rejected a North Carolina reapportionment plan designed to produce majority-minority districts because it resulted in a bizarrely shaped district and used race to such a degree in drawing these boundaries that it could "only be understood as an effort to segregate voters into separate districts on the basis of race." The dissenting opinion emphasized that the racial redistricting plan was meant to provide representation for African Americans, the group the Fourteenth Amendment was originally written to protect. The dissent argued that the Equal Protection Clause should not have been used to block an effort to create a district that was mostly African American. NO racial gerrymandering; race cannot be the sole or predominant factor in redrawing legislative boundaries; majority-minority districts.

Franking privilege

Benefit allowing members of Congress to mail letters and other materials postage-free. The ability of members to mail letters to their constituents free of charge by substituting their facsimile signature for postage

House & Senate structure & qualifications

Both House and Senate make laws. Framers envisioned different roles for them. The founders designed the differences between H. & S. to add checks and balances within Congress and not just between Congress and the other branches. House = Qualifications: 25 y.o., 7 years of citizenship, resident of state. Structure: More governed by rules, more formally structured, more power to individual leadership positions. Senate: Qualifications: 30 y.o., 9 years of citizenship, resident of state. Structure: Less governed by rules, more power to individual members, more informal.

Appropriation Committee

Congressional committee that deals with federal spending. Sets the budgets for departments, agencies, and bureaus. These committees then submit budget resolutions that are passed from Congress to the president for approval. One of the most powerful committees.

Intent of founders when structuring the Senate

Delegates to the Constitutional Convention feared the possibility of the poor majority taking away the property of the wealthy. Farmers worried that voters would be manipulated/influenced by factions. The framers constructed the Senate to set up roadblocks to prevent an American electorate from too quickly voting its wishes into policy.

The Committee System

Division of the workload, both the House and the Senate have established a system of committees and subcommittees that do most of the work of Congress. Members of Congress are assigned to committees to investigate the merits and problems with suggested bills, sometimes holding public hearings to learn more before sending it to the full House or Senate for debate and a vote.

Power to check & balance the other branches

Each branch shares authority with the other branches over some aspects of governance. Congress = declare war, and the Senate to ratify treaties, thus forcing the legislative and executive branches to work together in important aspects of foreign and national security policy. Congress also has a role in the nation's judicial system as it has the power "to constitute Tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court" and sets the number of justices on the Court. The Senate (using its power of advice and consent) confirms presidential nominees to the federal court (by a simple majority) and to the federal bureaucracy, like cabinet secretaries. Congress has the power to remove federal officials through the process of impeachment.

pork barrel spending

Legislation that directs specific funds to projects within districts or states.

17th Amendment (1913)

Replaced the indirect election of senators by state legislatures with direct popular election by a state's eligible voters. Established that senators were to be elected directly by voters (instead of by state legislatures as under the Constitution originally).

incumbency

Running for reelection as opposed to running for the first time. Strongly affects the outcomes of congressional elections. Incumbents usually win.

House set at 435 members

Same # of members in House since 1929. Size of a state's representation in the House depends upon its population. Each state is divided into one or more congressional districts, with one seat in the House representing each district and each state guaranteed one representative, no matter how small its population.

Social Security

Social Security is the largest social program of the U.S. government and is an entitlement program that most Americans participate in. Social Security was designed to be self-funding so as not to force the government to raise taxes and further depress the economy. The term Social Security is generally used to refer to old-age insurance, which protects against the loss of income in an individual's later years.

Earmarks (pros/cons)

The allocation of money to specific projects in states or congressional districts. Popular with constituents. Criticized for putting narrow interests ahead of those of the nation's voters. Members of Congress may vote for earmarks in another state to get their own earmarks passed. (logrolling process) In 2011, the House of Representatives, led by Republicans, banned earmarks. Defendants = 2 former Congress members: Martin Frost and Tom Davis. 1st: earmarks reclaim a portion of power for Congress. 2nd: eliminating earmarks takes away the incentive for the parties to cooperate to pass appropriations bills on time.

racial gerrymandering

The drawing of legislative boundaries to give electoral advantages to a particular racial group. "Majority-minority" districts include large numbers of racial minorities in order to ensure minority representation in legislatures.

Reapportionment

The process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census.

malapportionment

The uneven distribution of the population among legislative districts. Unconstitutional because it violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

entitlement program

a program that provides benefits for those who qualify under the law, regardless of income

gridlock

a slowdown or halt in Congress's ability to legislate and overcome divisions, especially those based on on partisanship

filibuster

a tactic through which an individual senator may use the right of unlimited debate to delay a motion or postpone action on a piece of legislation.

Appropriations/ "power of the purse"

process of the Congress allocating money for different things

politico role

representation where members of Congress balance their choices with the interests of their constituents and parties in making decisions

discretionary spending

spending for programs and policies at the discretion of Congress and the president

mandatory spending

spending required by existing laws that is "locked in" the budget.

redistricting

state's redrawing of boundaries of electoral districts following each census

Speaker of the House

the leader of the House of Representatives, chosen by an election of its members

Senate majority leader

the person who has the most power in the Senate and is the head of the party with the most seats

House majority leader

the person who is the second in command of the House of Representatives

veto

the power of a president to reject a bill passed by Congress, sending it back to the originating branch with objections

apportionment

the process of determining the number of representatives for each state using census data. Through this process the number of representatives is allocated based on the results of the census that is conducted every 10 years.

budget deficit

the shortfall when government takes in less money that it spends