Congress: Tutorial 1
Congress is a bicameral legislature made up on the House of Representatives and the Senate. Both Houses are co-equal (unlike in the UK where the House of Commons is dominant and the House of Lords gives way).
The US Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government.
Its powers and roles are described in Article 1 of the constitution.
It was the intention of the framers of the constitution that Congress was to have a dominant role.
The constitution gives all legislative power to Congress to make laws for the USA, although today most Bills emanate from the White House.
Its powers are limited by the separation of powers from the other branches of government and checks and balances.
Its legislative powers are also limited by the Bill of Rights, with the 1st Amendment starting ‘Congress shall make no law’, as befits the framers’ desire for limited government’.
Why is the US Congress so powerful?
1. It is independent from the executive branch of government and cannot be controlled by it
2. It is not dominated by party, as many modern legislatures are
3. It is the representative assembly of the USA – the voice of the people
4. It has many constitutional powers, both enumerated and implied
How did Congress begin?
The structure and powers of Congress were established at the Philadelphia Convention and were enumerated in the Constitution. The larger (most populous) States wanted both Houses to be based on population size (those states, such as North Carolina, with the largest populations would have more representatives). However, the smaller states (such as Delaware) feared the power of the larger states if they had more representatives.
Two plans were put forward:
The Virginia Plan:
1) A bicameral legislature with representatives from each house apportioned to each state on the basis of population size.
2) A national executive and national courts.
3)The central (federal) government could declare acts of state governments invalid and use the federal army to quell problems within states.
The New Jersey Plan:
Eventually the State of Connecticut put forward a compromise plan, which was accepted by all the delegates:
The Connecticut Compromise (1787):
The larger states wanted chambers to have representatives in proportion to the state population.
The smaller states believed they should have proportionately more representation.
The solution: One chamber (the House of Representatives) in relation to the state’s population; the second (the Senate) two representatives from each state.
So there are now 435 members of the House of Representatives (each State has a number of delegates based on its population size; thus California has 53 representatives, whereas Delaware has just 1); but there are 100 Senators (each State returning two senators: so California has two, so does Delaware).
The constitution also sets out the term limits of Congressmen:
For the House of Representatives the term limits are:
The term of office is two years.
The whole House is re-elected every two years.
Candidates must be 25+, a citizen of the US for 7+ years and resident in the State for which they are standing.
For the Senate the term limits are:
The term of office is six years.
One-third of the Senate is elected every two years.
Candidates must be 30+, a citizen of the US for 9+ years and a resident in the State for which they are standing.
Test yourself on the origins of Congress
What was the Virginia Plan?
What was the New Jersey Plan?
What was the Connecticut Compromise?
What Article describes Congress?
Give three reasons why Congress is so powerful.
What are the term limits of Representatives?
What are the term limits of Senators?
The Structure and functions of Congress: Tutorial 2
The functions of Congress are:
The powers of Congress are:
Both Houses: legislate; have oversight, power of purse (though the House of Representatives considers money bills first – because originally it was the directly elected chamber, elected by the taxpayers), declare war, amend the constitution, impeach, vote in Electoral College deadlock.
House of Representatives: considers money bills first (the Way & Means and Appropriations committees are important finance committees); it choses President in deadlock; begins impeachment
Senate: has important ‘Advice & Consent’ powers (to advise the president on appointments and treaties and to ratify them, or otherwise); choses VP in deadlock; tries impeachment; can filibuster
Note: The House of Representatives (House of Representatives) considers money bills first because originally it was the only chamber directly elected by the people (the taxpayers). For this reason, too, it gets to choose the President in an Electoral College deadlock. The Senate was originally elected by the State legislatures – each State has its own assembly or legislature and all are bicameral apart from Nebraska’s. The Senate became directly elected as a result on the 17th Amendment in 1913.
Key figures in Congress:
The Speaker is the key figure in the House of Representatives. (Currently Paul Ryan, Republican)
There is also a Majority (Kevin McCarthy, Republican) and a Minority Leader (Nancy Pelosi, Democrat), elected by their respective party groups.
These:
1) Play a key role of co-ordinating the day to day activities of the House
2) Represent the views of the Chamber in meetings with the President
The Speaker of the House:
The role of the Speaker of the House is compared to the role of the British Prime Minister more often than to the role of the Speaker in the House of Commons. (Or a ‘Leader of the opposition’ if the House is not controlled by the President’s Party)
This is because the US Speaker is a partisan player rather than an umpire.
The Speaker is next in line to Presidency after the President & Vice-President (but the twenty fifth amendment required that the office of Vice-President be filled should a vacancy occur)
He/she is elected by entire House membership at start of each Congress (2 years)
He/she is usually a nominee of the majority Party in the House
His/her duties include:
1) Referring bills to committee
2) Appointing select committees carry out investigations or studies) and conference committee chairs (resolves differences in bills from both houses; membership from both houses)
3) Influences the appointment of standing committee chairs (consider bills & issues)
4) Appoints majority party contingent on the House Rules Committee (prioritises & timetables bills; establishes rules of debate, etc)
5) Presides over the House, enforcing the rules.
In the Senate:
The Vice-President is the President of the Senate and has the right to preside over the chamber and control the casting vote in the event of a tie.
Normally, however, the Senate elects a President pro tempore (the ‘Speaker’, currently Orrin Hatch, Republican) to chair the chamber in the Vice President’s absence.
Majority (Mitch McConnell, Republican) and Minority (Chuck Schumer, Democrat) and Leaders are also important.
They:
Filibustering in the Senate:
The right of Senators to speak freely allows the filibuster: ‘talking a bill’ out of time and. This right is derived from the 1st Amendment, the right to free speech, which Senators fiercely uphold. Unlike in the UK, the filibuster does not have to be relevant to the bill. Famously, Senator Ted Cruz read from the children’s book Dr Seuss’s ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ as part of his filibuster).
Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the 1957 Civil Rights Act
A group of Southern Democrats conducted an 83-day group filibuster against the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
2013: Senator Ted Cruz 21 hour filibuster against The Affordable Care Act, ‘Obamacare’ (note: it is worth watching the YouTube clip of him reading ‘Green Eggs and Ham’).
A filibuster can be ended by a cloture motion, requiring the support of three-fifths of the entire Senate (though this can be difficult to achieve). Note: it is worth watching the YouTube Clip of Senator George Mitchell describing a filibuster – very funny!
BACKGROUND OF REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS
There are 435 Representatives.
83 Women (19%)
(In the Commons there are 32% women MPs)
92 ethnic minority Representatives (21%)
(In the Commons there are about 8% MPs from ethnic minorities)
Average age: 58 (in Commons 51)
Mostly from the professions
There are 100 members in the Senate.
(830 members of the House of Lords in March 2016)
Each state has two senators.
Currently 21 women in Senate = 21%; House of Lords = 26%);
13% of Senate non-white (Hispanic & Asian); 6% of Lords;
The average age of Senators is 62; in Lords 69
Why is Congress socially unrepresentative?
However, questions arise as to whether a legislature has to be socially representative as well as politically representative. For example, Senator Ted Kennedy, one of the wealthiest politicians in the USA, was a highly effective champion for the poor.
Test yourself on the structure of Congress
What are the functions of Congress?
What are the powers of the House of Representatives?
What are the powers of the Senate?
What are Advice & Consent powers
What are the concurrent powers?
Who are the key figures in Congress?
What is filibustering and what is its significance?
How representative is Congress and does this matter?
The legislative process: Tutorial 3
Congress and legislation
Only a fraction of bills introduced in Congress actually pass, usually less than 10%. Their failure is often unrelated to their merits, as in the case of healthcare reform in the 1990’s or civil rights in the 1950’s. Bills are especially vulnerable to defeat if they are controversial or opposed by powerful special interests. Furthermore, bills can be so significantly amended during the process that they become unrecognisable.
However, there are circumstances where bills have passed easily without being mired in the legislative labyrinth. An example is the USA PATRIOT Act, passed on a wave of patriotism after 9/11.
How is legislation initiated in the USA?
Legislation can only be initiated by a member of Congress (all members have legislative initiative), although most legislation today originates from the president. The legislative agenda is set out in the president’s State of the Union Address in January (Which is the equivalent to the Queen’s Speech).
This is followed by the presidential budget, which must be passed by both houses. However, although ‘The President proposes, Congress disposes’, all legislative proposals have to be introduced by a member of each house (known as a ‘sponsor’) and must pass through both houses concurrently.
There is no guarantee that legislation or the budget will pass in the way the president wishes it to, especially if there is divided government and presidential – congressional relations are poor, or if the houses have different party majorities, as seen after 2006 and 2010 mid-term elections.
Why is the legislative process so difficult?
The main reason for the legislative failure is the number of veto points in both the House and the Senate where a bill may fail:
1. House standing committee. Most bills die here as they are pigeon-holed by the chair, thus taken off the committee’s agenda for the session.
2. House subcommittee stage. Here the bill is examined in detail in hearings, with evidence taken from interested parties such as lobbyists or executive branch officials. The bill can be significantly amended at this stage, or pork barrelling occurs, with numerous amendments or riders added to the bill to benefit constituents or special interest. The bill can fail at this stage.
3. House Rules committee. This powerful committee decides whether to give time to the bill on the floor of the House for debate. If this is not given, the bill dies.
4. Floor debate. The amended bill is debated by the whole chamber. Log rolling, the exchange of votes and trading of favours by Representatives, may occur. Although there are whips and some ideological voting, there is relatively little party discipline and most members are more mindful of the folks back home or special interests in the roll-call voting at the end of the debate. The bill may fail on this floor vote.
5. The bill follows similar stages in the Senate. It may fail in debate here due to a filibuster, the classic legislative delaying tactic whereby Senators can individually or collectively ‘talk out’ a bill to defeat it. The filibuster is used because of the unlimited debate that is allowed and is a jealously guarded tactic employed by both parties when they are in a minority position in the Senate. Since 1975 it has been possible to end a filibuster through ‘cloture’, but this needs 60 votes, which are hard to gain, so defeat can come here. The bill can also fail in a vote at the end of Senate debate.
6. Because the bill passes through both houses concurrently, it is likely that a different bill with emerge from both. The two different bills will need to be reconciled so an agreed bill can be sent to the White House. This is done through a Conference Committee, where Senators and Representatives try to reach a consensus through bargaining and compromise. If this cannot be done, then the bill dies.
7. If reconciled, the bill needs to go back to both chambers for a final simple majority vote. It can still die here in either chamber.
Because of the separation of powers and checks and balances, the bill has to be signed by the president to become federal law. The president may veto the whole bill (he has no ‘line-item veto’ to turn down just the parts he doesn’t like. This was tried by Clinton, but was declared unconstitutional in 1998).
If the veto is not overridden by a two-thirds vote in both houses and the veto is sustained, then the bill fails. Clinton vetoed 32 bills in his two terms, only two of which were subject to a congressional override.
A president may ‘pocket veto’ a bill, which means he ignores it; if near the end of a congressional session, the bill will die.
Even if the bill becomes law it can still be challenged in the courts, and the Supreme Court, using its powers of judicial review, can declare it (or its parts) to be unconstitutional and therefore void.
Key points regarding the legislative process in Congress
1. The separation of powers and numerous checks and balances make the process of law making difficult
2. The built-in tensions between the two houses and between congress and president, as they are elected separately, often leads to gridlock (the separation of legislative and executive branches and associated checks and balances leads to difficulties in reaching agreed policy decisions). Gridlock is especially common when there is both divided government and excessive partisanship, making compromise, bargaining and consensus difficult or even impossible; hence the inaction seen in reaching an agreement on the Federal budget in 2014,
3. The absence of strong party loyalty or effective party discipline of the sort of the sort seen in the UK parliament, may lead to a lack of party unity on votes. Clinton’s healthcare bill was defeated in 1994 even with a Democratic Congress. Obama struggled to gain support from conservative members of his own party for healthcare reform in 2009.
4. Coalitions have to be built on each separate bill to construct a majority of votes. The president has only the power to persuade, through his congressional Liaison Office.
5. Congress blocks legislation on the president’s agenda more effectively than it provides an alternative agenda on its own.
6. Members of Congress pork barrel in order to provide projects in their districts or states to help their re-election. They are less effective in providing a long-term or national perspective on policy or agreed solutions, unless there is a major event such as 9/11 or the 2008 banking crisis.
All these factors lead to criticisms of the legislative process in the US Congress.
However, in its defence, it does avoid the criticisms of executive dominance and elective dictatorship found in the UK.
The process means there is a constant need to compromise and bargain to try and reach a consensus before the successful passage of federal law, so bipartisanship (cooperation between the parties) is important to get things done in Congress.
In 2014 both Houses of Congress became Republican, causing a significant problem for a potentially ‘lame duck’ Obama to pass legislation. It forced Obama to use executive orders, eg over fast-tracking applications for citizenship from illegal immigrants, or, in 2016, gun control.
Equally Donald Trump has used executive orders to push through a controversial travel ban on people travelling from six Muslim countries.
Features of Congress:
Traditionally Congress has been bipartisan (it requires bipartisanship in order to work and pass legislation), but it has become increasingly partisan since the Republican’s 10 point plan Contract with America 1995 and the Democrat’s Six406 in 2006.
It has a weak Whips system.
Pork barrelling (a derogatory term derived historically from the barrel of bacon held in mid-west communities). Pork barrel politics involves making sure that your voters are happy. This is particularly important if, like Representatives, you are elected every two years. Representatives try to bring inward investment into their communities so that they will be voted back in. Tip O'Neil secured funding for civil engineering projects in Boston and in dealing with the fiscal cliff in 2012 Congressmen secured tax relief for Hollywood to ensure TV programmes could be made in economically deprived areas. Another example is from Montana State University in 2011 which was awarded $740,000 to research the use of sheep grazing as a means of weed control. Until 2010 Congress used to 'earmark' funds for particular projects as a form of pork-barrelling. Pork barrel politics can lead Congress to emphasise localism over national issues.
Log-rolling (this involves Congressmen trading votes: a Congressman will support legislation proposed by another Congressman – even from another party, if they in turn will support legislation sponsored by the first Congressman)
Gridlock: this caused the federal budget shutdown in 2012.
The Senate often seen as more prestigious:
A common question in exams is whether it is better to be a Senator or a member of the House of Representatives. The received wisdom is that most politicians would rather be in the Senate, even though both Houses are co-equal (unlike the Commons and the Lords). So why is this?
This is because Senators have longer, 6 year term limits;
They are State representatives (not just smaller Districts), so enjoy more media exposure;
There are only 100 of them (as opposed to 435), therefore they enjoy more influence and sit on more committees (often as many as 11 or more, as opposed to an average of 6 in the House of Representatives);
More Senators have become President than members of the House of Representatives (Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Obama were all Senators; Ford was a member of the House of Representatives);
They have prestigious advice & consent powers on presidential nominations and treaties;
And they have the right to filibuster.
BUT:
They have the same salary as Representatives;
The House of Representatives sees money bills first;
And the House of Representatives elects President in deadlock an Electoral College deadlock.
Test yourself on the legislative process
Why is congress often characterised by gridlock?
What proportion of bills tends to be passed on average?
What is often seen as the most important stage in the legislative process?
Who initiates most bills?
What is a filibuster?
What is a ‘cloture’ or ‘cloture motion’?
What is log-rolling?
What is pork barrel politics?
Why might being a Senator be seen to be more prestigious than being a Representative?
Congressional Committees: tutorial 4
Woodrow Wilson said in 1884, ‘Congressional government is committee government: Congress in its committee rooms is Congress at work.’
They play a key role in legislative process
They are permanent and therefore develop expertise (unlike in the UK)
They have oversight (or scrutiny) powers over the executive
They are often linked to Federal Departments
‘Blue Ribbon’ Committees are especially important (eg, Ways & Means; Appropriations, Foreign Relations)
The seniority (senility) Rule has been replaced and chairs of committees are now chosen by secret ballot, rather than because they are the longest serving member. However, the longest serving members still tend to chair
The Sunshine Rules (1970s): the media was allowed in to cover committee meetings (prior to that they were held in secret). The rules were created at the end of the Nixon era when voters became highly cynical of Washington politics.
But:
Congressional committees can be part of Iron Triangles (impenetrable relationships with Cabinet Members and business interests which can undermine the President’s agenda)
What makes congressional committees powerful?
1. They have a vital role in the legislative process, scrutinising and amending bills. They can pigeon-hole, amend or block.
2. They permanent and specialist, overseeing the executive. They are supported by a large staff.
3. They conduct public hearings and have extensive oversight powers over cabinet secretaries or agency heads, with power to subpoena witnesses.
4. They have close links with the federal departments and agencies that they oversee and finance, and also with pressure groups. These links are called ‘iron triangles’ and can dominant areas of policy making. An example would be the relationships between the ‘military-industrial complex’ of the Pentagon, the armed services committees and defence contractors.
5. The ‘blue-ribbon’ committees are especially important. Examples include those dealings with taxation (Ways and Means) and spending (Appropriations or Senate Finance) and the Senate Foreign Relations. The Judiciary Committee conducts confirmation hearings for Supreme Court justices. The House Rules Committee can effectively block legislation by stalling its arrival onto the floor of the House.
Membership of congressional committees
Members of committees are chosen by the party committees, and membership is according to party strength in each House.
The chairs of the committees are very powerful and always come from the majority party. Most members of Congress want to join committees whose work relates to their constituents (so that they can demonstrate pork barrel politics). For example, Congressmen from farming districts and states will want to be on the Agricultural committee, while those representing urban districts will want to be a member of a committee dealing with urban affairs. David Mayhew, in his book on Congress, calls this ‘home style activities’. Members ‘claim credit’ for their committee activities in their re-election campaign (which their challengers cannot do).
In the UK we arguably have party government. In Congress the advice would be to ‘damn your party and stick to your district’. Congress has a relatively weak whips system, and members of Congress are historically independent of strong party ties (although partisanship has increased since the 1990s).
The lack of party influence arises largely from the fact that representatives have to fund their own campaigns, even though they stand for a particular party. There is no national party system: parties are organised at State level.
Their election campaign is also based on their individual views and the views of their constituents. Thus, they have been described as ‘independent political entrepreneurs’. Consequently they do not feel they owe their party anything. Recently, though, party cohesion has grown, particularly in the Republican Party.
Many Congressmen have their own views on issues and belong to factions such as Blue Dog Democrats or the Rockefeller Republicans. This influences how they vote.
There have been no national manifestos in the USA (except for the Republican’s 10 point ‘Contract with America’ in 1994, proposing a balanced budget among other policies, and the Democrats 6 point plan ‘Six406’ in 2006).
Today there is greater unanimity in voting in Congress, with most Republicans voting against most Democrats on most issues.
Test yourself on Congressional Committees
What are standing committees?
What are select committees?
Why are committees so important in congress?
Why are committee chairs so powerful?
Who chooses the Chairs of Committees?
What are the Sunshine Rules?
What does the House Rules Committee do?
What are ‘blue ribbon’ committees?
What are iron triangles?
Elections and the importance of Party: tutorial 5
Congress was bipartisan until 1990s: in 1994 the Republicans issued a ‘Contract with America’ (10 point plan).
There has been Growing partisanship; eg Clinton’s impeachment (1998), Chief Justice Roberts nomination (2005) and Defense Secretary Hagel’s nomination (2013).
But
Interest/Lobby groups (K Street corridor) can be more influential on Congressmen (eg the National Rifle Association, NRA)
Pork barrelling means that Congressmen pay more attention to their constituents than the party
The WHO (White House Office) liaise with Congressmen to try to influence their votes.
Colleagues in Congress can also have a bearing on how Congressmen vote
Representation
Incumbents are mostly re-elected partly because of pork-barrelling
Bi-partisanship used to be more evident: the conservative southern Blue Dog Democrats would share views with the liberal northern Rockefeller Republicans
There are two independents in Senate who vote with Democrats. One of them, Bernie Sanders, was a Democrat presidential candidate in 2016.
There are 17% women both houses
Representation by race is proportionally better (around 16% Black & Hispanic), but currently no black senators): Melvin Watt’s 12 Congressional District, North Carolina, is majority-minority district. This was a District deliberately established to ensure African-American representation under an affirmative action (equal opportunities) programme.
In the House of Representatives the average age is 57; in the Senate 62.
Congress and Representation
Congressmen seek to represent their districts and states. They take their role as ‘representatives of the people’ more seriously than most other democratically elected representatives.
Congressional elections occur every two years, when all the Representatives and one-third of the Senate are elected, so there is pressure on them to ensure that they do represent the majority of their constituents.
The elections tend to be fought around local issues rather than national ones.
All Congressmen must live in the State which they represent (if they are Senators) or in which their District lies (if they are Representatives). In some States Representatives are also subject to a locality rule, which means they must live in the District they represent.
In elections, Congressmen emphasise their commitment to their constituents rather than their party, leading to a very high re-election (‘incumbency’) rate (over 90%). The incumbency advantage is now so great that congressional elections are no longer competitive in very ‘safe’ districts and states. However, in some States Republicans now face Tea Party challengers to their right. In 2014 both Houses of Congress became Republican.
What explains the high incumbency rate?
Representatives have huge resources, such as staffs in the state or district as well as Washington.
They have constant local media coverage.
There are significant opportunities to serve their constituents’ interests, such as ‘bringing home the bacon’ to their districts or states and then ‘credit-claiming’ for all they have done for their constituents while in Washington.
They enjoy huge campaign war chests from Political Action Committees who wish to gain access to them.
There is some gerrymandering of districts by State legislatures redrawing boundaries to make them even more ‘safe’.
The difficulties faced by any challengers of showing that they could provide a better service to constituents, however, it is still possible for challengers to beat incumbents with, for example
- an anti-Washington mood, as in 1994, 2008 and 2010 when the Tea Party influence was evident in many districts and States
- an unpopular member of Congress targeted for defeat, usually because of some ethics scandal
- a huge campaign war chest to outspend the incumbent
But these circumstances have been rare. It is odd that Congress is highly unpopular in the USA but most Americans vote for their incumbent Representative or Senator.
The importance of constituencies
The majority of Congressmen spend time on constituency rather than national issues. This pleases their constituents but does little to tackle national issues
Congressmen are the link between their constituents and Washington. They help their constituents with problems such as Medicare, veterans’ programmes and tax or employment issues. This helps secure their re-election.
Criticisms are sometimes made of Congressmen who appear too concerned with their State or district, whilst ignoring the national interest. However, when they win pork-barrel federally funded projects for their districts, they are representing their constituents, just as they are when they oppose progressive income taxes if they represent a wealthy district or when they support them if they represent a poorer one. No one expects a black congresswomen representing a poor New York district to support agricultural subsidies for Montana, but she would be expected to support extended welfare services for her district.
Congressmen are put under pressure from their party, their constituents, interest groups, the executive branch, their own conscience and the ‘national interest’. The constitution’s ‘invitation to struggle’ to the branches of government is very real. The result, however, is often a lack of an agreed coherent national policy from Congressmen pursuing local interests.
This is the problem faced by the president, leading the executive branch of government, who has a national perspective and a national constituency to represent, but who also has to persuade Congress to support him.
Test yourself on Elections and the Importance of Party
How often are Representatives elected?
How often are Senators elected?
What are majority-minority districts?
Why has the importance of the party grown?
What are PACs
What is the locality rule?
Why is the incumbency rate so high?
EXTENSION QUESTIONS:
Explain the importance of bicameralism in Congress
Examine the role of standing committees in Congress
Examine the role of select committees in Congress
Explain the use of filibuster in the Congress
Explain bipartisanship
Explain partisanship
Explain the significance of the advice and consent powers of the US Senate
Explain the practice of impeachment
‘Congress in its committee rooms is Congress at work.’ Discuss.
‘Members of the US Congress are too concerned with local matters and not concerned enough with issues affecting the whole country.’ Discuss.
‘I would rather be a senator than a member of the House of Representatives.’ Discuss this statement, comparing the roles of senators and members of the House of Representatives.
Assess the view that political parties have grown in importance in the US Congress.
To what extent does the social and political composition of Congress undermine representative government in the United States?
Congress is a bicameral legislature made up on the House of Representatives and the Senate. Both Houses are co-equal (unlike in the UK where the House of Commons is dominant and the House of Lords gives way).
The US Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government.
Its powers and roles are described in Article 1 of the constitution.
It was the intention of the framers of the constitution that Congress was to have a dominant role.
The constitution gives all legislative power to Congress to make laws for the USA, although today most Bills emanate from the White House.
Its powers are limited by the separation of powers from the other branches of government and checks and balances.
Its legislative powers are also limited by the Bill of Rights, with the 1st Amendment starting ‘Congress shall make no law’, as befits the framers’ desire for limited government’.
Why is the US Congress so powerful?
1. It is independent from the executive branch of government and cannot be controlled by it
2. It is not dominated by party, as many modern legislatures are
3. It is the representative assembly of the USA – the voice of the people
4. It has many constitutional powers, both enumerated and implied
How did Congress begin?
The structure and powers of Congress were established at the Philadelphia Convention and were enumerated in the Constitution. The larger (most populous) States wanted both Houses to be based on population size (those states, such as North Carolina, with the largest populations would have more representatives). However, the smaller states (such as Delaware) feared the power of the larger states if they had more representatives.
Two plans were put forward:
The Virginia Plan:
1) A bicameral legislature with representatives from each house apportioned to each state on the basis of population size.
2) A national executive and national courts.
3)The central (federal) government could declare acts of state governments invalid and use the federal army to quell problems within states.
The New Jersey Plan:
- Placed greater emphasis on the needs of the smaller states who feared their voices might be lost amongst the larger states.
- The legislature would appoint a President
Eventually the State of Connecticut put forward a compromise plan, which was accepted by all the delegates:
The Connecticut Compromise (1787):
The larger states wanted chambers to have representatives in proportion to the state population.
The smaller states believed they should have proportionately more representation.
The solution: One chamber (the House of Representatives) in relation to the state’s population; the second (the Senate) two representatives from each state.
So there are now 435 members of the House of Representatives (each State has a number of delegates based on its population size; thus California has 53 representatives, whereas Delaware has just 1); but there are 100 Senators (each State returning two senators: so California has two, so does Delaware).
The constitution also sets out the term limits of Congressmen:
For the House of Representatives the term limits are:
The term of office is two years.
The whole House is re-elected every two years.
Candidates must be 25+, a citizen of the US for 7+ years and resident in the State for which they are standing.
For the Senate the term limits are:
The term of office is six years.
One-third of the Senate is elected every two years.
Candidates must be 30+, a citizen of the US for 9+ years and a resident in the State for which they are standing.
Test yourself on the origins of Congress
What was the Virginia Plan?
What was the New Jersey Plan?
What was the Connecticut Compromise?
What Article describes Congress?
Give three reasons why Congress is so powerful.
What are the term limits of Representatives?
What are the term limits of Senators?
The Structure and functions of Congress: Tutorial 2
The functions of Congress are:
- Representation (evident in pork-barrel politics)
- Financial Control (part of the ‘checks and balances’)
- Political Recruitment (eg of future Presidents)
- Legislation (any Congressman can introduce a Bill)
- Oversight (or scrutiny of the executive: a check and balance)
Note: It does not legitimate government in the same way as Parliament
The powers of Congress are:
Both Houses: legislate; have oversight, power of purse (though the House of Representatives considers money bills first – because originally it was the directly elected chamber, elected by the taxpayers), declare war, amend the constitution, impeach, vote in Electoral College deadlock.
House of Representatives: considers money bills first (the Way & Means and Appropriations committees are important finance committees); it choses President in deadlock; begins impeachment
Senate: has important ‘Advice & Consent’ powers (to advise the president on appointments and treaties and to ratify them, or otherwise); choses VP in deadlock; tries impeachment; can filibuster
Note: The House of Representatives (House of Representatives) considers money bills first because originally it was the only chamber directly elected by the people (the taxpayers). For this reason, too, it gets to choose the President in an Electoral College deadlock. The Senate was originally elected by the State legislatures – each State has its own assembly or legislature and all are bicameral apart from Nebraska’s. The Senate became directly elected as a result on the 17th Amendment in 1913.
Key figures in Congress:
The Speaker is the key figure in the House of Representatives. (Currently Paul Ryan, Republican)
There is also a Majority (Kevin McCarthy, Republican) and a Minority Leader (Nancy Pelosi, Democrat), elected by their respective party groups.
These:
1) Play a key role of co-ordinating the day to day activities of the House
2) Represent the views of the Chamber in meetings with the President
The Speaker of the House:
The role of the Speaker of the House is compared to the role of the British Prime Minister more often than to the role of the Speaker in the House of Commons. (Or a ‘Leader of the opposition’ if the House is not controlled by the President’s Party)
This is because the US Speaker is a partisan player rather than an umpire.
The Speaker is next in line to Presidency after the President & Vice-President (but the twenty fifth amendment required that the office of Vice-President be filled should a vacancy occur)
He/she is elected by entire House membership at start of each Congress (2 years)
He/she is usually a nominee of the majority Party in the House
His/her duties include:
1) Referring bills to committee
2) Appointing select committees carry out investigations or studies) and conference committee chairs (resolves differences in bills from both houses; membership from both houses)
3) Influences the appointment of standing committee chairs (consider bills & issues)
4) Appoints majority party contingent on the House Rules Committee (prioritises & timetables bills; establishes rules of debate, etc)
5) Presides over the House, enforcing the rules.
In the Senate:
The Vice-President is the President of the Senate and has the right to preside over the chamber and control the casting vote in the event of a tie.
Normally, however, the Senate elects a President pro tempore (the ‘Speaker’, currently Orrin Hatch, Republican) to chair the chamber in the Vice President’s absence.
Majority (Mitch McConnell, Republican) and Minority (Chuck Schumer, Democrat) and Leaders are also important.
They:
- Help to manage the business of the House;
- Hold press briefings;
- Liaise with the Senate and the White House.
Filibustering in the Senate:
The right of Senators to speak freely allows the filibuster: ‘talking a bill’ out of time and. This right is derived from the 1st Amendment, the right to free speech, which Senators fiercely uphold. Unlike in the UK, the filibuster does not have to be relevant to the bill. Famously, Senator Ted Cruz read from the children’s book Dr Seuss’s ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ as part of his filibuster).
Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the 1957 Civil Rights Act
A group of Southern Democrats conducted an 83-day group filibuster against the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
2013: Senator Ted Cruz 21 hour filibuster against The Affordable Care Act, ‘Obamacare’ (note: it is worth watching the YouTube clip of him reading ‘Green Eggs and Ham’).
A filibuster can be ended by a cloture motion, requiring the support of three-fifths of the entire Senate (though this can be difficult to achieve). Note: it is worth watching the YouTube Clip of Senator George Mitchell describing a filibuster – very funny!
BACKGROUND OF REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS
There are 435 Representatives.
83 Women (19%)
(In the Commons there are 32% women MPs)
92 ethnic minority Representatives (21%)
(In the Commons there are about 8% MPs from ethnic minorities)
Average age: 58 (in Commons 51)
Mostly from the professions
There are 100 members in the Senate.
(830 members of the House of Lords in March 2016)
Each state has two senators.
Currently 21 women in Senate = 21%; House of Lords = 26%);
13% of Senate non-white (Hispanic & Asian); 6% of Lords;
The average age of Senators is 62; in Lords 69
Why is Congress socially unrepresentative?
- Many ordinary people are reluctant to stand for Congress.
- They believe you need to be well-educated and that they lack the skills and qualities necessary for a career in the cut and thrust of politics and for coping with the attendant media attention.
- To run for Congress you need to have a lot of money (a so-called) ‘war chest’ for campaigning). Unlike UK politicians, Congressmen fund their own campaigns, attracting sponsorship from Political Action Committees (PACs) which in turn secure funds from lobby groups and business interests
- There is a belief that politics is for rich, white males or for political dynasties such as Kennedys, Bushes and Clintons
However, questions arise as to whether a legislature has to be socially representative as well as politically representative. For example, Senator Ted Kennedy, one of the wealthiest politicians in the USA, was a highly effective champion for the poor.
Test yourself on the structure of Congress
What are the functions of Congress?
What are the powers of the House of Representatives?
What are the powers of the Senate?
What are Advice & Consent powers
What are the concurrent powers?
Who are the key figures in Congress?
What is filibustering and what is its significance?
How representative is Congress and does this matter?
The legislative process: Tutorial 3
- First Reading (involves dropping the bill into the ‘Hopper’ in the House and handing it to the bill clerk in the Senate)
- Committee stage (note, this comes before the second reading)
- Timetabling: by the House Rules Committee in the House and the President pro-temporare in the Senate.
- Second Reading
- Third Reading
- Conference Committee: reconciles the two different bills from each house.
- Presidential Action
Congress and legislation
Only a fraction of bills introduced in Congress actually pass, usually less than 10%. Their failure is often unrelated to their merits, as in the case of healthcare reform in the 1990’s or civil rights in the 1950’s. Bills are especially vulnerable to defeat if they are controversial or opposed by powerful special interests. Furthermore, bills can be so significantly amended during the process that they become unrecognisable.
However, there are circumstances where bills have passed easily without being mired in the legislative labyrinth. An example is the USA PATRIOT Act, passed on a wave of patriotism after 9/11.
How is legislation initiated in the USA?
Legislation can only be initiated by a member of Congress (all members have legislative initiative), although most legislation today originates from the president. The legislative agenda is set out in the president’s State of the Union Address in January (Which is the equivalent to the Queen’s Speech).
This is followed by the presidential budget, which must be passed by both houses. However, although ‘The President proposes, Congress disposes’, all legislative proposals have to be introduced by a member of each house (known as a ‘sponsor’) and must pass through both houses concurrently.
There is no guarantee that legislation or the budget will pass in the way the president wishes it to, especially if there is divided government and presidential – congressional relations are poor, or if the houses have different party majorities, as seen after 2006 and 2010 mid-term elections.
Why is the legislative process so difficult?
The main reason for the legislative failure is the number of veto points in both the House and the Senate where a bill may fail:
1. House standing committee. Most bills die here as they are pigeon-holed by the chair, thus taken off the committee’s agenda for the session.
2. House subcommittee stage. Here the bill is examined in detail in hearings, with evidence taken from interested parties such as lobbyists or executive branch officials. The bill can be significantly amended at this stage, or pork barrelling occurs, with numerous amendments or riders added to the bill to benefit constituents or special interest. The bill can fail at this stage.
3. House Rules committee. This powerful committee decides whether to give time to the bill on the floor of the House for debate. If this is not given, the bill dies.
4. Floor debate. The amended bill is debated by the whole chamber. Log rolling, the exchange of votes and trading of favours by Representatives, may occur. Although there are whips and some ideological voting, there is relatively little party discipline and most members are more mindful of the folks back home or special interests in the roll-call voting at the end of the debate. The bill may fail on this floor vote.
5. The bill follows similar stages in the Senate. It may fail in debate here due to a filibuster, the classic legislative delaying tactic whereby Senators can individually or collectively ‘talk out’ a bill to defeat it. The filibuster is used because of the unlimited debate that is allowed and is a jealously guarded tactic employed by both parties when they are in a minority position in the Senate. Since 1975 it has been possible to end a filibuster through ‘cloture’, but this needs 60 votes, which are hard to gain, so defeat can come here. The bill can also fail in a vote at the end of Senate debate.
6. Because the bill passes through both houses concurrently, it is likely that a different bill with emerge from both. The two different bills will need to be reconciled so an agreed bill can be sent to the White House. This is done through a Conference Committee, where Senators and Representatives try to reach a consensus through bargaining and compromise. If this cannot be done, then the bill dies.
7. If reconciled, the bill needs to go back to both chambers for a final simple majority vote. It can still die here in either chamber.
Because of the separation of powers and checks and balances, the bill has to be signed by the president to become federal law. The president may veto the whole bill (he has no ‘line-item veto’ to turn down just the parts he doesn’t like. This was tried by Clinton, but was declared unconstitutional in 1998).
If the veto is not overridden by a two-thirds vote in both houses and the veto is sustained, then the bill fails. Clinton vetoed 32 bills in his two terms, only two of which were subject to a congressional override.
A president may ‘pocket veto’ a bill, which means he ignores it; if near the end of a congressional session, the bill will die.
Even if the bill becomes law it can still be challenged in the courts, and the Supreme Court, using its powers of judicial review, can declare it (or its parts) to be unconstitutional and therefore void.
Key points regarding the legislative process in Congress
1. The separation of powers and numerous checks and balances make the process of law making difficult
2. The built-in tensions between the two houses and between congress and president, as they are elected separately, often leads to gridlock (the separation of legislative and executive branches and associated checks and balances leads to difficulties in reaching agreed policy decisions). Gridlock is especially common when there is both divided government and excessive partisanship, making compromise, bargaining and consensus difficult or even impossible; hence the inaction seen in reaching an agreement on the Federal budget in 2014,
3. The absence of strong party loyalty or effective party discipline of the sort of the sort seen in the UK parliament, may lead to a lack of party unity on votes. Clinton’s healthcare bill was defeated in 1994 even with a Democratic Congress. Obama struggled to gain support from conservative members of his own party for healthcare reform in 2009.
4. Coalitions have to be built on each separate bill to construct a majority of votes. The president has only the power to persuade, through his congressional Liaison Office.
5. Congress blocks legislation on the president’s agenda more effectively than it provides an alternative agenda on its own.
6. Members of Congress pork barrel in order to provide projects in their districts or states to help their re-election. They are less effective in providing a long-term or national perspective on policy or agreed solutions, unless there is a major event such as 9/11 or the 2008 banking crisis.
All these factors lead to criticisms of the legislative process in the US Congress.
However, in its defence, it does avoid the criticisms of executive dominance and elective dictatorship found in the UK.
The process means there is a constant need to compromise and bargain to try and reach a consensus before the successful passage of federal law, so bipartisanship (cooperation between the parties) is important to get things done in Congress.
In 2014 both Houses of Congress became Republican, causing a significant problem for a potentially ‘lame duck’ Obama to pass legislation. It forced Obama to use executive orders, eg over fast-tracking applications for citizenship from illegal immigrants, or, in 2016, gun control.
Equally Donald Trump has used executive orders to push through a controversial travel ban on people travelling from six Muslim countries.
Features of Congress:
Traditionally Congress has been bipartisan (it requires bipartisanship in order to work and pass legislation), but it has become increasingly partisan since the Republican’s 10 point plan Contract with America 1995 and the Democrat’s Six406 in 2006.
It has a weak Whips system.
Pork barrelling (a derogatory term derived historically from the barrel of bacon held in mid-west communities). Pork barrel politics involves making sure that your voters are happy. This is particularly important if, like Representatives, you are elected every two years. Representatives try to bring inward investment into their communities so that they will be voted back in. Tip O'Neil secured funding for civil engineering projects in Boston and in dealing with the fiscal cliff in 2012 Congressmen secured tax relief for Hollywood to ensure TV programmes could be made in economically deprived areas. Another example is from Montana State University in 2011 which was awarded $740,000 to research the use of sheep grazing as a means of weed control. Until 2010 Congress used to 'earmark' funds for particular projects as a form of pork-barrelling. Pork barrel politics can lead Congress to emphasise localism over national issues.
Log-rolling (this involves Congressmen trading votes: a Congressman will support legislation proposed by another Congressman – even from another party, if they in turn will support legislation sponsored by the first Congressman)
Gridlock: this caused the federal budget shutdown in 2012.
The Senate often seen as more prestigious:
A common question in exams is whether it is better to be a Senator or a member of the House of Representatives. The received wisdom is that most politicians would rather be in the Senate, even though both Houses are co-equal (unlike the Commons and the Lords). So why is this?
This is because Senators have longer, 6 year term limits;
They are State representatives (not just smaller Districts), so enjoy more media exposure;
There are only 100 of them (as opposed to 435), therefore they enjoy more influence and sit on more committees (often as many as 11 or more, as opposed to an average of 6 in the House of Representatives);
More Senators have become President than members of the House of Representatives (Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Obama were all Senators; Ford was a member of the House of Representatives);
They have prestigious advice & consent powers on presidential nominations and treaties;
And they have the right to filibuster.
BUT:
They have the same salary as Representatives;
The House of Representatives sees money bills first;
And the House of Representatives elects President in deadlock an Electoral College deadlock.
Test yourself on the legislative process
Why is congress often characterised by gridlock?
What proportion of bills tends to be passed on average?
What is often seen as the most important stage in the legislative process?
Who initiates most bills?
What is a filibuster?
What is a ‘cloture’ or ‘cloture motion’?
What is log-rolling?
What is pork barrel politics?
Why might being a Senator be seen to be more prestigious than being a Representative?
Congressional Committees: tutorial 4
Woodrow Wilson said in 1884, ‘Congressional government is committee government: Congress in its committee rooms is Congress at work.’
They play a key role in legislative process
They are permanent and therefore develop expertise (unlike in the UK)
They have oversight (or scrutiny) powers over the executive
They are often linked to Federal Departments
‘Blue Ribbon’ Committees are especially important (eg, Ways & Means; Appropriations, Foreign Relations)
The seniority (senility) Rule has been replaced and chairs of committees are now chosen by secret ballot, rather than because they are the longest serving member. However, the longest serving members still tend to chair
The Sunshine Rules (1970s): the media was allowed in to cover committee meetings (prior to that they were held in secret). The rules were created at the end of the Nixon era when voters became highly cynical of Washington politics.
But:
Congressional committees can be part of Iron Triangles (impenetrable relationships with Cabinet Members and business interests which can undermine the President’s agenda)
What makes congressional committees powerful?
1. They have a vital role in the legislative process, scrutinising and amending bills. They can pigeon-hole, amend or block.
2. They permanent and specialist, overseeing the executive. They are supported by a large staff.
3. They conduct public hearings and have extensive oversight powers over cabinet secretaries or agency heads, with power to subpoena witnesses.
4. They have close links with the federal departments and agencies that they oversee and finance, and also with pressure groups. These links are called ‘iron triangles’ and can dominant areas of policy making. An example would be the relationships between the ‘military-industrial complex’ of the Pentagon, the armed services committees and defence contractors.
5. The ‘blue-ribbon’ committees are especially important. Examples include those dealings with taxation (Ways and Means) and spending (Appropriations or Senate Finance) and the Senate Foreign Relations. The Judiciary Committee conducts confirmation hearings for Supreme Court justices. The House Rules Committee can effectively block legislation by stalling its arrival onto the floor of the House.
Membership of congressional committees
Members of committees are chosen by the party committees, and membership is according to party strength in each House.
The chairs of the committees are very powerful and always come from the majority party. Most members of Congress want to join committees whose work relates to their constituents (so that they can demonstrate pork barrel politics). For example, Congressmen from farming districts and states will want to be on the Agricultural committee, while those representing urban districts will want to be a member of a committee dealing with urban affairs. David Mayhew, in his book on Congress, calls this ‘home style activities’. Members ‘claim credit’ for their committee activities in their re-election campaign (which their challengers cannot do).
In the UK we arguably have party government. In Congress the advice would be to ‘damn your party and stick to your district’. Congress has a relatively weak whips system, and members of Congress are historically independent of strong party ties (although partisanship has increased since the 1990s).
The lack of party influence arises largely from the fact that representatives have to fund their own campaigns, even though they stand for a particular party. There is no national party system: parties are organised at State level.
Their election campaign is also based on their individual views and the views of their constituents. Thus, they have been described as ‘independent political entrepreneurs’. Consequently they do not feel they owe their party anything. Recently, though, party cohesion has grown, particularly in the Republican Party.
Many Congressmen have their own views on issues and belong to factions such as Blue Dog Democrats or the Rockefeller Republicans. This influences how they vote.
There have been no national manifestos in the USA (except for the Republican’s 10 point ‘Contract with America’ in 1994, proposing a balanced budget among other policies, and the Democrats 6 point plan ‘Six406’ in 2006).
Today there is greater unanimity in voting in Congress, with most Republicans voting against most Democrats on most issues.
Test yourself on Congressional Committees
What are standing committees?
What are select committees?
Why are committees so important in congress?
Why are committee chairs so powerful?
Who chooses the Chairs of Committees?
What are the Sunshine Rules?
What does the House Rules Committee do?
What are ‘blue ribbon’ committees?
What are iron triangles?
Elections and the importance of Party: tutorial 5
Congress was bipartisan until 1990s: in 1994 the Republicans issued a ‘Contract with America’ (10 point plan).
There has been Growing partisanship; eg Clinton’s impeachment (1998), Chief Justice Roberts nomination (2005) and Defense Secretary Hagel’s nomination (2013).
But
Interest/Lobby groups (K Street corridor) can be more influential on Congressmen (eg the National Rifle Association, NRA)
Pork barrelling means that Congressmen pay more attention to their constituents than the party
The WHO (White House Office) liaise with Congressmen to try to influence their votes.
Colleagues in Congress can also have a bearing on how Congressmen vote
Representation
Incumbents are mostly re-elected partly because of pork-barrelling
Bi-partisanship used to be more evident: the conservative southern Blue Dog Democrats would share views with the liberal northern Rockefeller Republicans
There are two independents in Senate who vote with Democrats. One of them, Bernie Sanders, was a Democrat presidential candidate in 2016.
There are 17% women both houses
Representation by race is proportionally better (around 16% Black & Hispanic), but currently no black senators): Melvin Watt’s 12 Congressional District, North Carolina, is majority-minority district. This was a District deliberately established to ensure African-American representation under an affirmative action (equal opportunities) programme.
In the House of Representatives the average age is 57; in the Senate 62.
- Elections
Elections are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. This was established in the Constitution. The timing was to do with farming in 1787. This is a fallow period in the year when farmers could afford the time to travel to vote!
‘Bringing home the bacon’ is important as Congressmen need to win seats
The ‘War chest’ important (money) is important in national elections. Candidates fund themselves through sponsorship.
Support from lobby groups (Political Action Committees, PACs) often provides funds for campaigning and TV ads.
The coat-tails effect can occur where a popular candidate inspires voters to vote for other candidates from the same party (G.W. Bush, Texas)
The reverse coat-tails effect can also occur where a candidate achieves fewer votes than colleagues from the same party (Clinton 1992)
Primaries & caucuses are open meetings in which candidates are chosen, sometimes involving members of the opposing party (because those members might then vote for the candidate they help select, particularly in a safe seat).
Congress and Representation
Congressmen seek to represent their districts and states. They take their role as ‘representatives of the people’ more seriously than most other democratically elected representatives.
Congressional elections occur every two years, when all the Representatives and one-third of the Senate are elected, so there is pressure on them to ensure that they do represent the majority of their constituents.
The elections tend to be fought around local issues rather than national ones.
All Congressmen must live in the State which they represent (if they are Senators) or in which their District lies (if they are Representatives). In some States Representatives are also subject to a locality rule, which means they must live in the District they represent.
In elections, Congressmen emphasise their commitment to their constituents rather than their party, leading to a very high re-election (‘incumbency’) rate (over 90%). The incumbency advantage is now so great that congressional elections are no longer competitive in very ‘safe’ districts and states. However, in some States Republicans now face Tea Party challengers to their right. In 2014 both Houses of Congress became Republican.
What explains the high incumbency rate?
Representatives have huge resources, such as staffs in the state or district as well as Washington.
They have constant local media coverage.
There are significant opportunities to serve their constituents’ interests, such as ‘bringing home the bacon’ to their districts or states and then ‘credit-claiming’ for all they have done for their constituents while in Washington.
They enjoy huge campaign war chests from Political Action Committees who wish to gain access to them.
There is some gerrymandering of districts by State legislatures redrawing boundaries to make them even more ‘safe’.
The difficulties faced by any challengers of showing that they could provide a better service to constituents, however, it is still possible for challengers to beat incumbents with, for example
- an anti-Washington mood, as in 1994, 2008 and 2010 when the Tea Party influence was evident in many districts and States
- an unpopular member of Congress targeted for defeat, usually because of some ethics scandal
- a huge campaign war chest to outspend the incumbent
But these circumstances have been rare. It is odd that Congress is highly unpopular in the USA but most Americans vote for their incumbent Representative or Senator.
The importance of constituencies
The majority of Congressmen spend time on constituency rather than national issues. This pleases their constituents but does little to tackle national issues
Congressmen are the link between their constituents and Washington. They help their constituents with problems such as Medicare, veterans’ programmes and tax or employment issues. This helps secure their re-election.
Criticisms are sometimes made of Congressmen who appear too concerned with their State or district, whilst ignoring the national interest. However, when they win pork-barrel federally funded projects for their districts, they are representing their constituents, just as they are when they oppose progressive income taxes if they represent a wealthy district or when they support them if they represent a poorer one. No one expects a black congresswomen representing a poor New York district to support agricultural subsidies for Montana, but she would be expected to support extended welfare services for her district.
Congressmen are put under pressure from their party, their constituents, interest groups, the executive branch, their own conscience and the ‘national interest’. The constitution’s ‘invitation to struggle’ to the branches of government is very real. The result, however, is often a lack of an agreed coherent national policy from Congressmen pursuing local interests.
This is the problem faced by the president, leading the executive branch of government, who has a national perspective and a national constituency to represent, but who also has to persuade Congress to support him.
Test yourself on Elections and the Importance of Party
How often are Representatives elected?
How often are Senators elected?
What are majority-minority districts?
Why has the importance of the party grown?
What are PACs
What is the locality rule?
Why is the incumbency rate so high?
EXTENSION QUESTIONS:
Explain the importance of bicameralism in Congress
Examine the role of standing committees in Congress
Examine the role of select committees in Congress
Explain the use of filibuster in the Congress
Explain bipartisanship
Explain partisanship
Explain the significance of the advice and consent powers of the US Senate
Explain the practice of impeachment
‘Congress in its committee rooms is Congress at work.’ Discuss.
‘Members of the US Congress are too concerned with local matters and not concerned enough with issues affecting the whole country.’ Discuss.
‘I would rather be a senator than a member of the House of Representatives.’ Discuss this statement, comparing the roles of senators and members of the House of Representatives.
Assess the view that political parties have grown in importance in the US Congress.
To what extent does the social and political composition of Congress undermine representative government in the United States?