U.S. Government
POL 110
Congress
Topics
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How Congress is organized
How bills are passed
How Congress votes
Getting elected to Congress; and
Congressional ethics
How Congress is Organized
• It is divided into a bicameral legislature
• Most major struggles occur within
Congress and not between Congress and
the president
How Congress is Organized, Continued
• Gerrymandering of political boundaries
• Why incumbents win as often as they do
• Reasons for political gridlock
How Congress is Organized, Continued
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Roles of majority and minority leaders
Roles of whips and speakers
Reasons for prevalence of party votes
Role of caucuses
Role of staff agencies such as CRS, GAO
and CBO
PROPERTIES
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How Bills Are Passed and Become Law
• Bills become law by being:
– Introduced
– Referred to the appropriate committee
– Having revisions made
– Placed on the calendar
– Debated on the floor
– Voted on
– Referred to other house for similar review
– Sent to president for his signature
How Congress Votes
• Voice, division and roll-call votes
• Vetos and pocket vetos
• Explanations for how representatives vote:
– Representational
– Organizational
– Attitudinal
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Getting Elected to Congress
• Winning a primary
• Difficulty in beating an incumbent
• Self-appointed candidates
Congressional Ethics
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Standards are higher today than ever
Official malfeasance
Financial disclosure forms
Revolving door politics
The trading of favors between members
and between members and the president
Summary
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How Congress is organized
How bills are passed
How Congress votes
Getting elected to Congress; and
Congressional ethics
POL110 Week 7 Scenario Script: The Power of Congress
Slide #
Slide 1
Scene/Interaction
Introductory screen, containing
the environment (an outside view
of a government office building)
and a title showing the scenario
topic. There will be a “begin”
button on the screen allowing
students to begin the scenario.
Narration
Slide 2
Scene 1
Dr. Ryan: Hello, Amanda.
Amanda and Dr. Ryan standing
in Dr. Ryan’s office.
Last week we took a close look at the campaign
process and the elections they lead to. This week
we’re going to examine the role of Congress in the
political process.
Amanda, can you tell me what comes to mind when
you think of the United States Congress?
Amanda: Hmm, let me see…
The House of Representatives and the Senate are
the two chambers that compose Congress. They
have been part of our system as long as we have
been a country. Although they have always been
divided along party lines, they’ve found numerous
ways to work together so that public policy can be
made.
Dr. Ryan: Good point.
I’m not so sure that the Senate is the world’s
greatest debating body, as it likes to refer to itself.
But the Senate and the House do come together to
make the kind of policy you referred to, through
compromise. It’s important that we remember that.
Amanda: But you would never know it with the
amount of gridlock that goes on up on Capitol Hill.
Dr. Ryan: Right. This is especially true when the
president comes from one party and either the
Senate or the House is controlled by another.
In fact, it’s rare that one party controls all three
bodies, making a willingness to compromise that
much more important.
Amanda: Party polarization, or partisanship, was
fairly commonplace up to about 1910. But then
Congress pretty much settled down until the 1970s,
when party polarization picked up again. Why is
that?
Dr. Ryan: The war in Vietnam had a lot to do with
it. Our minor involvement there began in the late
1950s under Eisenhower, a Republican. But this
involvement was expanded enormously under
Kennedy and Johnson, both Democrats. The war
was finally ended in 1973 under Nixon, another
Republican.
The civil rights movement also split the parties and
even wings within the same parties. Since these rifts
have never quite healed, we now have a system that
sees partisanship more often than we would like.
Amanda: It’s interesting that there are so many
differences between our congressional system and
the parliamentary systems that predominate in
Europe, Australia and Japan.
Dr. Ryan: Yes. In Great Britain’s House of
Commons, which equates to our House of
Representatives, members are nominated by party
leaders after that party has won a general election.
But here in the U.S., members of Congress are
elected directly by the voters themselves.
This means that their allegiance is to the voters and
not necessarily to a party.
That’s why
representatives can get away with voting as their
constituents want and not as their party leaders
demand. As long as they do that, they’ll generally
be re-elected, despite whether their party hierarchy
likes them or not.
Slide 3
Scene 2
Amanda and Dr. Ryan do a
visual tour of a museum or
historical exhibit in Capitol Hill
that showcases the material that
is covered. This is sort of a
visual tour of Washington D.C.
as well as a visual component to
the conversation.
Dr. Ryan: Now let’s talk a bit about composition.
What do you know about who makes up Congress?
Amanda: Well, I remember that by law, there are
four hundred thirty-five members of the House.
They are elected on the basis of a state’s population
and serve two-year terms.
This means that California can have over forty
representatives, while a state like South Dakota may
have only one or two. And if a state gains or loses
population, then that’s reflected in the number of
seats allotted to them in the House.
Dr. Ryan: Okay, and what about the Senate?
Amanda: Again, by law, every state rates two. So
there are always one hundred members, but they are
elected for six-year terms.
Dr. Ryan: Very good! Now can you tell me
something about the demographics?
Amanda: Well, most members in either chamber
are white, middle-aged males.
But the numbers of blacks, Hispanics and women in
their ranks have been increasing steadily over the
years because Americans see how minorities have
benefited by more representation.
And once you’re in, you usually stay in, with a
better than eighty percent chance of being reelected.
Slide 4
Scene 3
Dr. Ryan: Why do you think that is?
Amanda and Dr. Ryan do a
visual tour of a museum or
historical exhibit in Capitol Hill
that showcases the material that
is covered. This is sort of a
visual tour of Washington D.C.
as well as a visual component to
the conversation.
Amanda: Because representatives are usually
elected on the basis of their personalities. As long as
they don’t start acting unusual, then voters tend to
keep them in. Did you hear about the member who
started coming to work a few years ago dressed up
in bunny suits?
Dr. Ryan: You’re kidding!
Amanda: Nope. True story.
Dr. Ryan: Well, that’s a descriptive way of putting
it, but you’re right. As long as voters like them,
representatives tend to be re-elected. However,
there can be a down side to this re-election business,
can’t there?
Amanda: Yes. Sometimes voters get so angry about
the endless quarreling between members or about a
series of scandals that they rebel against what they
see as professional politicians. Then they elect
complete novices in the hope that they will clean
things up.
It happens at least once every election to some longterm member who thought their seat was safe. Little
did they know their constituents had other ideas.
Dr. Ryan: So, let’s look at the organization of these
chambers, because they’re similar in many ways.
Amanda: I can see some ways that the Senate and
the House of Representatives are similar.
Both have majority and minority leaders based on
their party’s numbers. And both have whips that are
responsible for keeping members in line and
marshaling votes for the passage of bills. Both have
minimum age and citizenship restrictions and must
live in the state from which he or she comes from.
And finally, in terms of the line of succession, after
the vice-president comes the speaker of the House,
and then the president pro tempore of the Senate.
Dr. Ryan: Great job. We spoke earlier about
members voting on behalf of their constituents’
wishes. However, there are times when they will
support their party in the event that they have no
strong opinion on a bill, or not enough information.
In cases like this, it also helps to support one’s party
more often than not. It often helps a member to
advance his or her career.
Amanda: Gaining political traction within one’s
party by toeing the line can also benefit constituents.
That is, if the member is assigned to a committee of
his choice between the twenty or so major
committees and one hundred sub-committees in
each chamber. Junior members of Congress don’t
always have their choice of committee assignments,
but their leadership tries to accommodate them as
much as possible, at least at the sub-committee
level. This way, if you’re a representative from
Oregon, you would want the sub-committee on
natural resources. But if you’re a Senator from
Wyoming, you would want agriculture.
If they want influence and seniority, generally the
only way to build this up is by going along with the
party. But if they’re not careful and cross paths with
the wrong person, especially among new members,
they may find themselves banished to the political
wilderness of something like the sub-committee on
trade or space.
Slide 5
Scene 4
Amanda and Dr. Ryan do a
visual tour of a museum or
historical exhibit in Capitol Hill
that showcases the material that
is covered. This is sort of a
visual tour of Washington D.C.
as well as a visual component to
the conversation.
Dr. Ryan: Now we turn to how bills become law,
and it can be a very involved process. This is why
members have large staffs whose job it is to filter all
of the information coming to them and presenting
the member with material he or she can make sense
of.
Amanda: But the protocol for each chamber is
pretty much the same, isn’t it?
Dr. Ryan Pretty much. After the bill is first
introduced in the House, the Senate can take it up.
This is when they move to committee action. At this
point they are referred to their respective Senate or
House subcommittee, full committee and rules
committee before making it to the respective floor
for debating and voting.
Once both chambers have passed related bills, a
conference committee composed of members of
each side negotiates a compromise version. This
compromise is sent back to each chamber for final
approval. If they pass it, then it goes to the
president for his signature and becomes law.
Amanda: But there is also the veto lurking
somewhere.
Dr. Ryan: Indeed there is. Presidents have vetoed
bills that they didn’t like. In that case, the legislation
is returned to Congress, where the president can be
bypassed anyway if both chambers override the veto
by a two-thirds vote.
Needless to say, this doesn’t happen very often
because it invariably calls for members of the
president’s own party to vote against him. That’s not
exactly the way to ensure a long political career,
because you will certainly have burned some
political bridges. People have long memories up on
the Hill.
Amanda: But isn’t it a fact that most bills never
even make it out of committee?
Dr. Ryan: That’s correct. Most never have a
chance. This is because they really weren’t wellconceived in the first place. They were vanity bills
introduced by someone who wanted to be able to tell
his constituents that he was doing something up in
Washington.
Conversely, some bills are sponsored by a member
at the behest of the president, because he wants there
to be a public debate on an issue. Public hearings are
a good way to get this done and get as much
information out to the people as possible.
In this way, the president hopes to build up
momentum in Congress by way of enlisting public
support. He hopes this support will ultimately be
conveyed to representatives.
Amanda: So let’s assume the bill makes it out of
committees, and it now has to go to the floor for
debate.
This can be difficult, because members who don’t
like it could filibuster by speaking for hours, or even
days. This is a way to keep a vote from taking place.
Or they could have other members attach irrelevant
amendments to it, called riders, which make the bill
more unattractive to its initial supporters.
Needless to say, it’s a wonder that any bills survive
this complicated process at all to make it to the
president for signature.
Dr. Ryan: That’s why you often see bills cosponsored by members of opposite parties. This is
one way to gather bipartisan support in both
chambers and help move them along.
Slide 6
Scene 5
Amanda and Dr. Ryan do a
visual tour of a museum or
historical exhibit in Capitol Hill
that showcases the material that
is covered. This is sort of a
visual tour of Washington D.C.
as well as a visual component to
the conversation.
Dr. Ryan: There has been a great deal of talk about
the state of Congressional ethics since Nixon was
forced to resign from the presidency in August of
1974. This was because he tried to cover up
Watergate. But how far have we really come since
then?
Amanda: Depending on the offense, members can
be censured. This would include fines and a loss of
seniority, or expulsion by a two-thirds vote from
their chamber.
No Senator has been expelled since the Civil War.
But three House members have suffered that fate
since 1967, mostly for diverting campaign funds for
personal use. Some members resigned in the middle
of investigations, but it’s rare that we see this
spectacle any more these days.
Dr. Ryan: Why do you think voters are paying
more attention to ethics?
Amanda: I know it wasn’t always this way.
Kennedy had numerous affairs while he was
president ― and he had them in the White House!
The press knew all about them but chose not to
report anything because of the respect journalists
had for the office.
But those days are long gone. People don’t like the
idea of someone with that kind of character flaw
representing their interests now. We had a spate of
scandals from 1941 to 1981 when no less than fifty
members of congress faced criminal charges. And
although that frequency has tapered off considerably
since then, I think that voters are going to remain
jaded until ethical behavior becomes more of an
issue in the minds of our representatives.
Dr. Ryan: You actually bring us to a very
interesting point about the connection between
power and one’s actions.
It has long been argued that it is the power itself that
has given some political figures the feeling that the
laws governing the rest of us somehow don’t really
apply to them. This leaves them with the feeling that
they can engage in inappropriate behavior regarding
sexual matters and the misuse of campaign funds.
Amanda: People do have a low tolerance for this
sort of thing. Extremely powerful men like Wilbur
Mills, Harrison Williams, Jim Wright, Dan
Rostenkowski and Jessie Jackson, Jr. were all
indicted or resigned from office because of
malfeasance issues similar to these.
Dr. Ryan: Speaking of power, Congress lost a great
deal of it to the president between the New Deal in
the 1930s and early 1970s. This was when the war
in Vietnam and Watergate visibly weakened the
Johnson and Nixon administrations.
Congress really began reasserting itself when it
passed the War Powers Act over Nixon’s veto in
1973 and the Congressional Budget Act the
following year. These acts gave that body a major
role to play in the budget process, which it didn’t
have before.
Amanda: And yet the president and Congress can
agree on many major issues because both sense that
Americans want them to cooperate. Another reason
they do this is that in most major endeavors, like
preparing the budget and conducting foreign policy,
the president must take the lead if anything is to get
accomplished. Congress tacitly understands that it
must step aside during such periods.
Dr. Ryan: Right. Congress can still propose new
legislation on issues like the environment,
immigration, consumer protection and welfare
reform. But it always has to keep it in the back of its
mind that the president is the one who ultimately
signs these bills into law, and that his veto is very
difficult to override.
I guess what we need to remember is that
Congress doesn’t simply respond to presidential
whim. It is a serious player in Washington that
advances and influences the kinds of proposals
that the president will ultimately offer
Americans.
Slide 7
Check Your Understanding
What would best describe our
Congress today?
It is:
A. dominated by minorities
B. concerned with overriding
presidential vetos
C. responsible for initiating
all laws in the US
D. very weak compared to
the president
E. X politically fragmented
Answer: The two-party process
guarantees that there will be
political disputes that can become
so divisive that the entire
legislative process comes to a
halt. At times like this, even the
intervention of the president can
be ineffective because the
ideologies of the antagonists are
so incompatible.
Of the following, which is the
least likely to occur in Congress?
A. X total bipartisan support
for presidential initiatives
B. the killing of most bills in
committee
C. members being elected on
the basis of their policy
proposals and not their
personalities
D. a willingness to surrender
power to the president for
the good of the country
E. a reduction in the number
of House and Senate
representatives
Answer: Unless a crisis of
national proportions has
occurred, like the attacks of nineeleven, party fracturing is
common in both congressional
chambers. This makes it
extremely rare for total bipartisan
support to be shown for any
presidential initiative.
Slide 8
Scene 6
Amanda and Dr. Ryan standing
in Dr. Ryan’s office.
Dr. Ryan: Alright, then. This takes us to the end of
our survey of Congress and its powers and
limitations. Next week we can look forward to
assessing the power of its counterpart, the Office of
the Presidency.
Well done, as usual. In the interim, keep up with
your reading and make sure to participate in this
week’s discussion questions.
I’ll see you again next week.
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