Congress

The National Legislature

 Congressional Power
 Derives From Article I, U.S.
Constitution
 Article I, Section 8, “Enumerated
Powers”
 Elastic, or Necessary and Proper
Clause
 Congress is at the center of Federal
Policy making process
 Congressional Restraints
 Article I, Section 9: Prohibits Bills of
Attainder, Ex Post Facto laws,
Suspension of Habeus Corpus.
 Bicameral: Senate and House
 States elected Senators, Popular
elections for House
 Two Senators from every state,
Congressmen tied to population
 Teacup and the Saucer: House the
teacup, Senate the Saucer
 Congressional Restraints
 Bill of Rights
 Checks and balances between states
and federal government, branches of
federal government
 Congress
 435 Congressional Seats
 Apportioned to states by population.
Each state has at least 1.
 States draw House boundaries in
accordance with federal laws
 Entire membership elected every two
years
 Unique Powers: Brings actions of
impeachment, Spending/Appropriations
Bills Originate in House
 Senate
 1/3rd of all Senators elected every
two years for 6 year terms
 Formerly elected by states but since
constitutional amendment in the
1910’s elected by popular vote
 2 Senators per state
 Unique Powers: Advice and Consent
for upper level Presidential appmts.
and treaties. Tries impeachment
cases
 Federalism
 Remember: Power in America is
sharply divided along two kinds of
lines
 Seperation of Powers between the
branches… Supreme Court, Congress
and President theoretically coequal
branches
 Federalism is the division between
states and federal government
 Remember U.S. v. Lopez: Guns around
schools isn’t a federal issue. Feds
argued, unsuccessfully, commerce
 Three Ways of Looking at Role of
Congressmen and Senators
 Edmund Burke
 Delegate: An elected rep. who acts in
perfect accord with the wishes of his/her
own constituents
 Trustee: Believes his/her own judgment
should be used to make decisions.
 Middle Road: The way most, if not all,
Senators, Reps behave
 Minority Representation
 Ethnic minorities, women
underrepresented statistically
speaking in Congress
 African Americans approach
statistical parity in House of Reps.
 Only 1 Af American, 3 Hispanics in
Senate despite 25% of population.
However, high profile minorities on
the political “bench.”
 Those Who Are Represented
 Constituents: Those who live in a
Congressman’s District/Senator’s
State
 Constituence: Generic term used to
describe entire district’s/state’s
electorate or some sub-group therein
 Electoral Districts
 Reapportionment after every Census
(10 years)
 In reapportionment, some states lose
seats, some gain seats
 KY lost 1 seat after 1990 census
 Redistricting
 State’s internal redrawing of Congressional
boundaries
 Must be consistent with federal law,
particularly where minorities are
concerned
 Gerrymandering: State Legislatures
Attempts to Draw Boundaries According to
Partisan, Political Logic
 The curious case of TX
 Kentucky’s 1st Congressional District
 Majority Minority Districts
 Districts whose boundaries are drawn
in such a way that ensures a racial
minority constitutes a majority of the
district
 24 currently (15 Af Americans, 9
Hispanics)
 May dilute Democratic
representation
 Money and Politics
 $5 Million to run for U.S. Senate
 >$1 Million to run for U.S. House
 Committee Seats Afford Reps. and
Senators a chance to haul in $$$
 Power of incumbency
 Open Seats: Retirements vs. Sudden
vaccancies
 All politics are local….??
 Congressional Duties
 Vote on legislation
 Oversight of President
 Investigations
 Franking Privilege: Power to send
mail to constituents on Congress's
dime
 Constituent Services: Helping
Constituents navigate the federal
bureaucracy
 How Congress “Works”
 100 days in this past Congress
 Leadership: “Herding Cats”
 Senate much more deliberative
 House much more majoritarian
 Political Caucuses Very Powerful
 Determine Committee Memberships
 Can Support, Oppose its own Members
 Party Voting Trending Upwards (11.6, Pg
331)
 Reasons for Rise in Partisanship
 Multi-regional party blocs
disappearing
 Moderates Losing, Retiring (see
above)
 Political Pressure from below to “hold
the (partisan) line”
 The Cat Herders
 In the House
 Speaker of the House vs. the Minority
Leader
 House Majority Leader
 Majority Whip
 In the Senate
 Senate Majority Leader (KY’s Senator
McConnell 08?)
 Senate President
 Senate Majority Whip (Senator
McConnell 06)
 Speakers’ Power
 3rd Most Powerful Person in D.C.?
 House is Majoritarian
 Ebbs and Flows According to Caucus
 Whip
 The Vote Counter, Getter,
Disciplinarian(?)
 Senate Leadership
 Much less majoritarian
 One Senator can derail legislative
process
 President of the Senate is the Vice
President of the United States
 Only votes to break ties
 Senate Majority Leader does have
powers of visibility, persuasion. More
personal than institutional.