Chapter 12 - Congress
3 most important priorities of ALL members of Congress
#3 get reelected #2 get reelected #1 get reelected Home Style (Richard Fenno) - "I'm one of you" - "I'm not one of you, but I can rep you
The Powers of Congress: Authorization of Courts
- "constitute Tribunals inferior to Supreme Court." - Article 3 reiterates congresssional control by saying.. Congress may "ordain and establish" courts at levels lower than the Supreme Court - 1789, used power above to pass Judiciary Act - established fed. district courts and circuit courts of appeal. - Marbury v. Madison - established judicial review - fed. judiciary's power o declare laws passed by Congress as unconstitutional. give courts power to interpret the Constitution and determine how congressional laws conform to its explicit language and its intent - Senat tried to aeassert influenc over fed. courts through nomination process
The Powers of Congress: Lawmaking
- "to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers." - in combination with general welfare clause and commerce clause, necessary and proper calus allows Congress a great deal of leeway to carry out its responsibilities under assumption that additional pwowers are implied in these clauses, although not explicitly stated. - Congress made full use of flexibility to exapand its authority in areeas like regulating interstate railroads, establishing civil rights protections, funding school lunch programs, limiting greenhouse gases, providing student loans.
The Organization of Congress: The Committee System
- Almost all legislation that passes the House or Senate goes through a committee. - party that has the majority in the entire House or Senate also has the majority of seats on each committee, and the committee chair is chosen from the majority party, with the approval of the party caucus. - Typically, each House member or senator gives party leadership a list of desired commmittee assignments, and the leadership assigns committee seats according to seniority and availability of seats on specific committees Types of committees - standing committee - permanent committee with power to write legislation and report it to the full chamber - select committees , joint committees, and special committees - focused on a more narrow set of issues but none has the same legislative clout and authority as a standing committee. - committees hold hearings to consider members' bills, to conduct oversight of the executive brranch, or to draw attention to a pressing issue. - committee hearings functions: draw attention to a current problem or isse that needs public attention, inform committee members about the consequences of passing a specific bill, convey constituents' questions and concerns about an issue, exert oversight of the executive branch to determine whether congressional intent is being honored, and provide an arena in which individual members make speeches to attract media attention that is often used later in a campaign as evidence that the member is doing his/her job. - committee chairs decide which bills receive hearings and which go onto markup Committee chair: - chair typically majority-party member w/ most seniority on the committee. Speaker or Senate majority leader reserves right to sugggest less senior member as chair if better serves party's interests. - when bill is referred to a committee, it is assigned to a subcommittee, a smmaller group of committee members who focus on a specific subset of the committee's issues. - by creating more subcommittees, the House created asmaller centers of power in which individual members could exert influence over the content of legislation
Congressional seats
- Census: every 10 years - Apportionment:deciding how many congressional seats a state gets - Redistricting: redrawing of state district boundaries
The Lawmaking Process: The Budget Process and Reconciliation
- Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 - enacted to give Congress omore power over the federal budget. Passed at a time of relatively low deficits, but many new gov. programs weree being implemented and government financial obligations were steadily rising. created House and Senate Budget Committees and the Congressional Budget Office so that Congress could construct its onw budget blueprint as an alternative to the president's annual budget - concurrent budge resolutino supposed to be approved by both chambers by April 15. does not require pres. signature. serves as general instructions to congressional committees about how much money can be allocated for federal programs in fiscal year. - 1974 Budget Act - requires pres. signature. umbrella llegislation to bring all bills that contain changes in the tax code or entitlement programs in line with the congressional budget. When Congress want to make a change to one of these programs, it must pass a reconciliation bill which has procedural protections in the Senate (cannot be filibustered, can be debated for no more than 20 hours). Byrd Rule - required reconciliation be used only to reduce federal deficit (212.3 billion at the time); in recent years has been interpreted to mean that all provisions of reconciliation must be directly related to the budget.
The Member of Congress at Work: The Next Election
- Congressional campaigns typically divided into: those whwith an incumbent seeking reelection and those with open seats, where no incumbent is seeking reelection
The Powers of Congress: Taxation and Appropriation
- Congresss has power "To lay and Collect Taxes" - Constitution states all bills for raising revenue should originate in the House of Rep, but the Senate "may propose or concur with Amendments, as on other Bills." - Reason for 16th Amend. (1913) - Initially, Framers thought tax revenue would come primarily from levies placed on imported goods. But as the industrial economy grew, so did need for gov. service s and programs that cost money. "to lay and collect taxes on income. - Congress has power to spend "to pay the Debts and to provide for the common Defence and general Welfare." - major means of Congress power expansion. Congress appropriates federal monies on programs it authorizes through its lawmaking power - Constitution gives Congress authority to borrow money, to coin money, and to regulate its value, and it requires a regular accounting of revenue and expenditures of public money.
The Powers of Congress: War Powers
- Const. gives Congress authority to "provide for the common Defence." but actually shared with pres. - Congress. has power to declare war, but used only after pres. has requrested declaration of war. Authority to fund or refuse to fund military operations. power "to raise and support Armies", "to provide and maintain a Navy", "to provide for calling forht the Militia," and to make rules and regulations regarding the armed forces and their organizations
Influences on Decision to Pass Legislation
- Constituents - Colleagues - Political parties - Interest Groups - Staff
The Lawmaking Process: Committee Action
- First step in getting bill enacted into law - secure a hearing on a bill in subcommittee or full committee - committee tends to act first on bills that are sponsored by the chair of the committee, then on those sponsored by the subcommittee chairs, and last on bills sponsored by regular members of the committee. If sponsor is not on the committee to which the bill is assigned, it is much harder to get action on the bill. - After hearings, the committee maymove to the markup. In this era of increased partisanship and party leadership control, committees have less freedom to craft legislation that differs from the leadership's goals. - After the full committee approves a bill, it and an accompanying committee report are sent to the full House or Senate for consideration by all members
Congressional Oversight of the Executive Branch
- Foreign affairs - Confirmation of Presidential Appointments - Impeachment process
Impeachment Process
- House: power to impeach (bring charges) - a majority vote - Senate: power to try a 2/3 vote to convict - Judiciary: Supreme Court Chief Justice presides - Two presidents impeached: Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson.. neither convicted
Incumbency
- Incumbency Advantage - the electoral edge afforded to those already in office... gained via.. - Edge in visibility - Experience - Organization - Fundraising ability - Franking privileges
The Constitution and the Congress
- Mostly white, male, highly educated, generally well off $ Article 1: - House: 25 yrs. old live in state - Senate: 30 yr old, live in state
The Powers of Congress: Oversight
- Over time, Congress has asserted its oversight authority to monitor ways in which exec. branch implements law. (stemming from responsibility to appropriate money to provide for the general welfare of the nation. - Under unified government, members of COngress assume that because they share the same partisan affiliation as the president, his administration is morel ikely to implement laws according to congressional intent. Oversight activites Congress engages in: - hold hearings with cabinet offcials and bureaucrats to analyze how well programs are working - frequently invite members of the public to desribe how federal programs operate in their communities. - regularly write letters to exec. branch agency heads to inquire about specific programs, keep careful track of responses they receiv - In cases of oversight hearings, special investigations, or suspected wrongdoing by members of exec branch, Congress can legally require members of admin to testify - Congress provides a gateway for the people to constantly monitor and hold the fed. gov. accountable for how it implements policy or reacts to foreign affairs
The Member of Congress at Work: Offices and Staff
- Senate office bdget determined by population of senator's state - House rep receives same amount of money for office operations - Member of Congress' Washington office has a chief of staff overseeing entire office, a scheduler who makes the member's appointments, a press secretary who handles all interactions with the media, and a legislative director who supervises the member's legislative work. Legislative assistants handle specific issues, legislative corresponsents are responsible for answering constituent letters, phone calls and e-mails. - Constituent services: local offices serve as direct and important links between voters and members of Congress and affect both accountability and responsiveness
The Lawmaking Process: Floor Action and the Vote
- When bill is sent to the full Hosue or Senate "going to the floor" all the members of the chamber gather to debate and vote on it. If Senate is operating under a unanimous consent agreement or cloture, time is limited. otherwise, senators can make speeches and even engage in active debate on an isue for much longer than their House counterparts. Real debate rarely occurs on the floor, instead senators and reps use their opportunity to pseak to make partisan speeches or to direct their remarks to their constituents back home, knowing that the proceedings are televised by C-SPAN and C-SPAN2 - during roll call vote (most fundamental way to tha a member of Congress represents his/her constituents), the clerks of the House or Senate call the name of each member who registers his/er vote electronically. Members can vote to passs or reject or to approve a mtion to recommit (send it back to committee with instructions to rewrite it)
The Organization of Congress: Advocacy Caucuses
- groups whose members have a common interest and work together to promote it. - members join an advocacy caucus because it gives them an opportunity to work closely with colleagues to represent specific interests and to draw attention to issues of concern to them and to their constituents. - important to the interactions of Congress b/c they bring together members from diff. parties and regions that might not otherwise work closely with each other. - no formal legislative power, but cn be influential on a bill, espcially House, b/c they represent a bloc of members who could vote together in support/opposition - Alternative to joining a caucus, senators can join together in a tempoary coalition and call a apress conference to draw attention to the group, industry, or issue that unites them. Senators can also join a congressional caucus even though it is lodged in the House
The Lawmaking Process: Conference Committee
- last stage in congressional legislatvive process takes place when the House and Senate meet in conference committee to resolve any differences in the versions that passed each chamber. - If conferees reach agreement, the conference committee issues a conference report that must be voted on by the entire House and Senate. at this stage cannot offer amendments to change it. fi amjority of members displeased with final result of the conference, they can defeat the report outright or vote to instruct the conference committee to revise the agreement. - decreased use of conference committees in past 20 years.concentrate power in hands of fewer members of Congress. provides more streamlined way of legislating, also acts a s a gate against input from committee members who wish to represent their constituents' views on the final version of the bill.
The Lawmaking Process: Presidential Signature or Veto, and the Veto Override
- last step: bill sent to the president for his approval or rejection - If Congress out of session within ten days,, president can wait for session to end and simply not sign bill (practice called "pocket veto"). If Congress remains in session and pres. neither vetoes nor signs it, the bill becomes law. - If pres. vetoes bill, Congress can override with 2/3 vote by each chamber. - President can veto either to prevent a bill from becoming law or to pressure Congress into making changes that are closer to his policies
Congress as the Legislative Branch: Representation and Bicameralism
- legislative branch is closest to the people (members represent specific population groups, by region, and can be removed by election) - House large body reflected population size within states and directly elected every 2 years. - Senate is an elite chamber, two senators for every state elected by state legislatures (every 6 years)
The Powers of Congress: The House of Representatives
- members of House meet in a party caucus of the members of their political party. mMajority party's top leader is Speaker of the House, minority party's top leader is minority leader Speaker of the House: - "House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers," - speaker elected by House members every 2 years - Typically under unified government, members of the majority party in the House use the president's agenda as a starting point. Speaker can lose independecne in setting the policy direction for the House. - hastert Rule (by Speaker Dennis Hastert) - when the Republicans are in majority control of the House, they will not bring a bill to the House floor without a majority of Republicans agreeing to do so. - most important responsibility is to maintain power in House for the majority party, this means getting the members of the majority aprty reelected. To do so, the Speaker supports a set of policies that he or she believes are popular with voters, and he or she triest to get those policies enacted into law. House Party Leaders: - House majority leader works with speaker to decide which issues the party will consider - coordinates with committee leaers on holding hearings and reporting bills to the House floor for a vote. - house majority leader must strike compromise among competing forces (committee chairs and external interest groups). - expected to raise sig. amoutn of campaign contributions for party members, role produces more pressure to appease as many interest groups as possible - majority leader has nine majority whips to help "whip up" support for the party's preferred policies and keep lines of communication open between the party leadership and rank-and-file membership. - majority leaders and whips work hard to track members' intended votes (process called whip count) - House minority leader in House is party that has lagest number of House members who are not in the majority party - House minority leader responsibility is crafting the minority party's position on an issue and serving as the public spokesperson for the party. Expected to garner support for president's policies among minority-party members. works with minority whips - minority party in House has little institutional power; majority party uses its numerical advantage to control committee and floor actions. Cannot stop majority party proposals from passing. - minority party power lies in making speeches, issuing press releases, and stirring up grassroots opposition to majority party proposals
The Organization of Congress: The Role of Political Parties
- not until after Civil War, to give majority party ability to get its preferred policies passed over the objectiosn of the minority party, party affiliation and party loyalty ahve become defining featueres of how policy is made in the House. - If majority party could pass policies that it favored and prevent those who disagreed with them from gaining any power, majority party members could return to their districts and calim credit for being effective legislators - possible to conduct legislatvive business in a personal manner, and each senator exerts individual influence over policy outcomes. Chance to make individual impressions on voters over a longer time and froma more visible vantage point, as the yrepresent entire states rather than just one district. - members of minority arty in Senate have far more power in policy-making process than counterparts in House.
The Powers of Congress: Regulation of Commerce
- power to "regulate Comerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes." Congress established national set of laws regulating commerce that are applicable to all states equally. - authority to regulate interstate commerce allow Congress to expand its power to the point that almost no economic activity is beyond its reach. - passed laws that permit fed. gov. to break up monopolies, protect labor unions, set a minimum wage, and outlaw racial discrimination by businesses and commercial enterprises in the name of regulatin interestate commerce.`
The Powers of Congress: Impeachment and Removal from Office
- power to remove officials and judges from office by impeachment - President, vice president, and high level officials subject to impeachment for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." (rarely used) - Process of Impeachment: (1) majority of the House of Reps votes to bring formal charges against the president or other federal official (impeachment). (2) Senate conducts trial, with the chief justice of the United States presiding in the caes of the president's impeachment, and votes to convict or acquit. If 2/3 senators present vote to convict, the president or the federal official will be removed from office.
The Member of Congress at Work: Communication with Constituents
- previously used ranking privilege, which is free mail service, to respond to contituent letters and to send quarterly newsletters as updates on their activites. - Today, vast majority of members of Congress use social media to transmit information about their activities to constituents, in addition to hard-copy mailings - To help members stay in touch with their constituents, the fed. gov. pays for Houseand Senate members to return home to their districts or states ~33 times.
The Lawmaking Process: Legislative Proposals
- start with an idea. coming from constituents, interest groups, local/national newspaper stories, state/local governments, staff members, members' own personal interests. - When idea is agreed on, House or Senate member's staff consults with the Office of Legislative Counsel, which turns the general outlines of a bill into the technical language that iwll alter the US Code, the set of federal laws that governs the United States. - After approving the final legal language of a bill, the member introduces the bill into the respective chamber (House/Senate), an action known as bill sponsorship After a bill is introduced, other members can sign on to be cosponsors. - In reality, many freestanding bills that are introduced separately are later incorporated into larger omnibus bills that are passed by Congress. Very useful, especially in periods of divided government. Big bills allow Congress to pass numerous provisions that might not pass if each were presented separately.
Congressional committees and legislative process
- the committee system allows for deliberation, debate, and oversight with a reduced number of members rather than the entire body. - Trying to get 435 people (in the House) or even 100 people (in the Senate) to make a decision is difficult. - The committee system also allows representatives to specialise in a specific policy area, reflecting the need for members to spend time on issues important to their constituents. Committees are subgroups within Congress that hold hearings, conduct research, and write policy. - Proposals may or may not be forwarded for a vote, as committees recommend bills for full House or Senate consideration.
Congress at Work - The Committee System
-Standing Committees -Joint Committees -Conference Committees -Ad Hoc, Special, Select Committees - put together to take up one particular issue, then dissolved. - Sub Committees - subdivisions, detail
Reasons why incumbents lose
-redistricting - scandals - coattails - you can ride popularity of previous political figure. - Midterm elections - fewer people show up, usually core associate. (Democrats usually more vulnerable b/c Republicans do better job with voter turnout)
reconciliation
A measure used to bring all bills that contain changes int the tax code or entitlement programs in line with the congressional budget.
Pork Politics
Actually, cutting the most extreme forms of pork, wouldn't eliminate the federal deficit. - Credit Claiming - associating oneself with a special cause, issue and/or policy - the value of pork spending - FDR used pork very creatively to get the A-bomb built
unanimous consent agreement
Agreement among all 100 senators on how a bill or presidential nomination will be debated, chagned, and voted on in the Senate.
The Member of Congress at Work: Legislative Responsibilities
Committee Work: - All members of the House and Senate try to put themselves in teh best possible institutional position to address issues that matter to their constituents. - Committee work consists of attending hearings and participating in markups as well as initiating ideas for legislation for consideration by the committee. Committee members also meet with interest groups, businesses, and citizens' groups that are specifically concerned about bills to be considered in the committee The extent to which members participate actively in committee business varies according to the local concerns of their constituents, their personal interest, and whether the committee might provide an opportunity for political advancement Bill Sponsorship: - Members can sponsor a bill by themselves, or they can ask colelgaues to cosponsor bills with them, the more, the greater support for bill. - important reasons: (1) bill sponsorship is an effective tool for giving voters in a district or state a voice in the federal policy-makin system. (2) it is a means of staking out specific territory that member can claim as their area of expertise and can be a means of fulfilling campaign promises. (3) it attracts the attention of the media, relevant interest groups, and the press and thereby can help House and Snate members build their reputations as legislators Roll Call Votes: - Each rep and senator is expected to cast a roll call vote on the bills and amendments that reach the floor of the House and Senate. Federal Funds: - One could argue that obtaining federal dollars for the district is a form of responsiveness to the local needs of voters. Voters are taxpayers, and members of Congress are simply seeking to brings ome of that tax money back home in a directed fashion. On the other hand, many of the projects are not necessary, and they create waste and inefficiency that can make the fed. gov. less effective.
How a Bill Becomes a Law - Final Actions
Conference Committee "final version" --> House --> President sign/veto (Pocket veto) Conference Committee "final version" --> Senate --> President sign/veto (Pocket veto)
appropriate
Congress' power to allocate a set amount of federal dollars for a specific program or agency
authorize
Congress's power to create a federal program or agency and set levels of federal funds to support that program or agency
Speaker of the House
Constitutional and political leader of the House.
federal budget deficit
Difference between the amount of money the federal government spends in outlays and the amount of money it receives from revenues.
The Powers of Congress: Appointments and Treaties
Give Senate power of advice and consent. - This allow Senate to evaluate qualifications of a presidential nominee and, by majority vote, to approve or reject the nominee. - Allow appointment of all fed. judges from district courts to the Supreme Court, subject to the approval of the Senate - Senate acts as check on president's power to make treaties with foreign nations. Treaties must be approved by 2/3 vote, or they fail to take effect.
rule
Guidelines issued by the House Rules Committee that determine how many amendments may be considered for each bill.
How a Bill Becomes a Law
House - Introduced -> Committee -> Subcomittee --> Committee -->Rules Committee --> Full House Committee of the Whole
Organization of Congress - party leadership
House: - Speaker of the House - Majority Leader - Minority Leader - Majority Whip - Minority Whip Senate: - President Pro Tempore - Majority Leader - Minority Leader - Majority Whip - Minority Whip
Senate Majority Leader
Leader of the majority party in the Senate.
House minority leader:
Leader of the minority party in the House
Senate minority leader
Leader of the minority party in the Senate
ranking member -
Leader of the minority party members of a committee
continuing resolution
Measure passed to fund federal programs when the appropriations process has not been completed by September 30, the end of the fiscal year.
hold
Power available to a senator to prevent the unanimous consent that allows a bill or presidential nomination to come to the Senate floor, which can be broken by invoking cloture (sixty votes).
House minority leader: The Senate
President Pro tempore: - Article 1, Section 3 of Constitution states that vice president shall be the president of the Senate, but that in his absence the Senate may appoint a president pro tempore (temporary president) to preside over the Senate. - functions: recognize individual senators who wished to speak and to rule on which procedural motions were in order on the Senate floor. Senate Party Leaders: - Senate majority leaders- make sure Senate functions well enough to pass legislation. Senate majority leader tries to craft legislation close to the preferred policies of his/her party as possible, needing great deal of compromise and the "power of persuasion." - Senate majority leaders- formal powers: official scheduler of Senate business, first to speak on the Senate floor (gives majority leader power to control the floor and prevent any other senator from speaking, but still need voluntary cooperation from other senators) - Senate minority leader - organize minority-party senators into a coherent group that can present viable alternatives to the majority party's proposals
markup
Process by which bills are literally marked up, or written, by the members of the committee.
Congress as the Legislative Branch: Constitutional Differences Between the House and Senate
Qualifications for Office: - House: >=25, resides in state that they represent, US citizen >=7 years - Senate: >=30, reside in state that they represent, 9 years US citizen - predominantly white and male. - avg age: 60 - avg. #House term: 4 (10 years) - avg # Senate term: 2 (10 years). - House members have more varied experience than their Senate colleagues. Majority of House members served in their state legislatures before coming to Congress. - Senators ues the House of Reps to launch their bids for the Senate. 53/114 sematprs previously served in the House of Reps, others had been mayors, governors, and attorneys general and even cabinet secretary Mode of Election: - House members directly elected by citizens - Senators directly elected by citizens (recently from 1914 onward after 17th Amend, giving people more direct gateway of influence for constituents over their US senators). Citizens voted for members fo their state legislatures, who then selected US senators to make them less directly responsive to people Terms of Office: - House: 2 years - Senators: 6 years - Senators take mroe time to deliberate over legislation - entire membership of House msut face voters, but only 1/3 senators stand for reelection. Constituencies: - set of people that officially elects the House or Senate member, defined geographically - Each member of House of Reps represents a congressional district with established geographic boundaries within the state - Each US senator represents an entire state - census every 10 years to track population growth, to change representation in House. Redistricting: - Only House of Reps subject to redistricting (redrawing of the boundaries of congressional districts in a state to make them approximately equal in population size. Limitation: boundaries of the district must be contiguous (uninterrupted) - during redistricting, majority party in state legislature tries to influence the process to construct each district in a way that a majority of voters favors its party, making it easier for its candidates to win, - limited number of stuates there are bipartisan redistricting commissions, seek to draw district lines in nonpartisan way, majority of redistricting done by state legislatures - initial response to voting rights act (1965) - redrawing congressional districts to group minority voters in a way that would deny them the voting strength to elect a minority member of Congress. Congress amended Voting Rights Act (1982) to prevent this kind of manipulation. Some state legislatures created "majority-minority" districts in which African Americans or Latinos would constitute a majority of the voters and would have enough votes to elect an African America or Latino candidate.
Role of Congress
Role of balance-of-power (zero-sum equation) Representational Roles: delegates, trustee
Key Differences b/w House and Senate
Senate: -advice and consent - 6-year term - 100 - foreign policy House: - Initiate revenue bills - 2-year term - 435 (1911)
divided government
Situation in which one party controls the executive branch and the other party controls one or both parts of the legislative branch.
filibuster
Tactic of extended speech designed to delay or block passage of a bill in the Senate.
Powers of Congress
Taxation Coin Money Issue Patents Postal matters set weights and measures Create courts declare war
The Lawmaking Process: The Procedural Rules of the House and Senate
The House Committee on Rules: - To proceed from committee to the House floor, all bills must pass through the House Rules Committee b/c House is so large, billc cannot proceed to the floor from committee unprotected - The Rules Committee maintains control before the bill goes to the floor by issuing a rule dictating how many amendments may be considered: Closed rule = no amendments offered, modified closed rule (most typical) = allows a few amendments, open rule = allows any# of amendments. Rule is voted on by all members of the House; if approved, debate on the bill begins. if rule defeated, bill returned to the House Rules Committee or the originating committee for further consideration. - majority party uses its numerical advantage on the Rules Committee to structure floor debate to limit the minority party's opportunity to amend or change a bill. - Speaker appoints all the majority-party members to the Rules Committee, and they are expected to use their powers to advance the party's preferred version of a bill. Agenda-Setting Tools in the Senate: - Use Rule XIX of the Standing Rules of the Senate, granting senators the right to speak on the Senate floor - Over time, senators have used this right to make speeches, ffer amendments to bills, object to consideration of a bill on the floor, or enga in a filibuster - cloture: The only way to stop a filibuster - after cloture has been invoked on a bill, no more than 30 additional hours of debate are permitted. All amendments must be germane to the bill's issues, and a time for a final vote is set. - all amendments must be germane to the bill's issues, and a time for a final vote is set - Senate rules no longer require those seeking to block a bill to speak continuously on the floor. - Senators also use the threat of a filibuster to block the pre' Supreme Court nominations. Filibusters of this type are an expression of partisanship/ideology and they can disrupt the operation of th fed. courts. - to counteract bill being filibustered in recent years, Senate resort to two-track system in whcih a bill that is being filibustered can be set aside to allow the Senate to proceed to other bills. - the Senate typically operates under unanimous consent agreement - senator can object to a unanimous concent request to bring a bill ot the Senate floor in a practice known as a hold (less drastic measure than a filibuster). Used by any senator to dealy a bill for minimum of 24 hours.
House Majority leader
The leader of the majority party in the House and second in command to the Speaker
home style
The way in which incumbents portray themselves to constituents
cloture
Vote that can stop a filibuster and bring debate on a bill to end
concurrent budget resolution
congressional blueprint outlining general amounts of funds that can be spent on federal programs
earmark
federal dollars devoted specifically to a local project in a congressional district or state
How a Bill Becomes a Law - Senate
introduced -> Committee -> Subcommittee -> Committee -> Full Senate "hold" "filibuster" Cloture vote (need 60 members of Senate) can stand up to prevent filibuster
national debt
sum of loans and interest that the federal government has accrued over time to pay for the federal deficit
