CONGRESS CONGRESSIONAL DEMOGRAPHICS Personal and Political

CONGRESS

CONGRESSIONAL DEMOGRAPHICS

Personal and Political Background Not representative of American people n Average member of Congress (both houses) is white male in mid-50 s n Most are married with children n Most are members of Christian church n Most are lawyers n Others have business, education, agriculture, journalism, professional politics background n

Gender and Race n Ø Ø Ø Ø House of Representatives (2015): 84 Women 44 African-Americans 34 Hispanics Senate (2015): 20 Women 2 African-American 3 Hispanics 1 Asian

Does Race/Gender Matter? n Ø Ø Ø Ø Descriptive representation: similar demographic characteristics between representatives and constituency Substantive representation: Similar opinions between representatives and constituency “Liberal white members represented black interests as strongly as did black representatives. ” African-American members are more active than White members in serving African-American constituents African-Americans and women are increasingly achieving important positions on committees

Why is Incumbency an Advantage? Advertising (trips to home district/state, literature, franking) v Credit-claiming • Casework: help constituents get what they have a right to get • Pork Barrel: list of federal projects, grants and contracts v Position-taking v Weak opponents v Easier to raise money n People not aware of how politicians vote v

House Incumbency 90% of incumbents in HOR win (and most win with 60% of vote) n First timers in House: 58 % in 1863 and 8% in 1969) n Term Limits died in Senate; when imposed by states deemed unconstitutional n New Freshmen (1992 and 1994 elections) 1. Redistricting 2. Throw the rascals out 3. South (Democrats to Republicans) n

How to Lose a Congressional Seat Corruption/scandal n Reapportionment n Major political upheaval n Do not run n

Senate Incumbency Incumbents win by narrower margin than in the House (better than 50% chance) n Why? n State is more diverse than districts n Less personal contact with constituents n Extensive media coverage makes them more accountable n Senate races attract more visible, well known candidates who have financial backers n

Parliament vs. Congress n Party support n Primary n Party loyalty n Individual n Choose prime n Separate minister n Little independent power Presidential election n Powerful n Staggered Elections

Representation Problems n Malapportionment: Different size districts in terms of population n Gerrymandering: Unusual shaped districts designed to assure the victory of a candidate n Majority-Minority Districts n Shaw v. Reno (1993) n Allocating seats among states n Size of House (435): 1911 last change

Qualifications for Representatives n Lower house n 25 when seated n Citizen for 7 years n Inhabitant of state n Does not have to be a resident of district represented n Fixed at 435 in 1929 n reapportioned every 10 years

Qualifications for Senators n Upper house n 30 years when seated n Staggered 6 year terms n Citizen for 9 years n Inhabitant of state represented

EVOLUTION OF CONGRESS

1. Powerful House Washington, Adams, Jefferson n Stronger than Senate n Speaker appointed chair and members n Caucus appointed Presidential candidate for each party n

2. Divided House Starting in 1820 s n Andrew Jackson vetoed legislation n National conventions replaced caucus system n Slavery issue n Speaker lost power n

3. Powerful Speaker Thomas B. Reed (Maine): 1889 n Joseph G. Cannon (Illinois) n

4. Revolt against the Speaker 1910 -1911 Cannon lost most of his power n Caucus power increased somewhat n Powerful Rules Committee n Standing Chairs’ power increased (to 1970 s) n Seniority n

5. Individual Members 1960 s and 1970 s n Civil Rights issue n Chairs elected by majority party not seniority (1970 s) n Chairs lost power n House members could introduce legislation n Public meetings n

6. Return of Leadership n n n Individualism led to gridlock In 1970 s and 1980 s Speaker: Chose majority of Rules Committee and other committees Assigned bills to several committees After 1994: Committees and subcommittees reduced Speaker power increased Seniority ignored

EVOLUTION OF THE SENATE Slavery issue was balanced n Senators chosen by state legislators n Seventeenth Amendment (1913): popular election Debate time not limited n Filibuster: Non-stop talking unless 60 senators vote for cloture (Rule 22) n

THEORIES ON CONGRESSIONAL BEHAVIOR What do Congressmen do? They are…

Party n n n Democrats controlled both houses 25/33 congresses (1933 – 1998) Popular vote for Republicans higher than seats won (1968 – 1998) Democrats lost dominance in 1994 because: “mess in Washington” Conservative coalition Most members represent constituencies in which their party is in the majority

Delegates: Representational View n Voting what the constituents want: Civil rights Social Welfare Gun control, abortion (if message from voters is clear) NOT foreign policy

Partisan: Organizational View n Party line n Peers n Republican Study Committee n Democratic Study Group

Trustees: Attitudinal View n Holders of the public trust n Ideology of elected official n House more in tune with public n Senators more extreme

Watchdogs: Oversight Function n Check to see if agencies in executive branch are working efficiently and according to the law n They do not run these departments n Authorize agency’s programs n Appropriate budgets n Investigate agency operations n Confirmation of cabinet members

Other roles n Help companies get government contracts n Make appointments to military academies

Compensation $174, 000 per year (more for leaders) n Free parking, low-cost medical care, pensions, free printing/distribution of speeches, newsletters n Congress sets its own pay and benefits n Tempered by Presidential veto and voter backlash n Others… n

Privileges May not be arrested for misdemeanors while Congress is in session n Cannot be sued for statements made on floor of Congress n

Public Perception n “Americans hold Congress in low esteem, while holding our own members in high esteem”

House of Representatives Leadership Speaker of the House Majority Leader Majority Whip Go to Senate

John Boehner (OH) Speaker of the House Second in line of succession n Presides over house when in session n Major role in making committee assignments n Extensive control over which bills are assigned to which committees n Appoints or plays key role in appointing legislative leaders n Back

House Majority/Minority Leader Rounds up votes n Influences committee assignments n Schedules bills n Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA) Majority Leader Kevin Mc. Carthy (CA) Back

Whips n. Work with majority (minority) leader to round up votes n. Report views and complaints of party members back to Minority Whip leaders Eric Cantor (VA) n House Majority Whip- Steve Scalise (LA) Democratic Whip Jamesn House Minority Whip- Steny Hoyer (MD) E. Clyburn(SC) Back

Senate Leadership President of the Senate President Pro Tempore Majority Leader Majority Whip End

President of the Senate n. Vice President n. Votes if there is a tie Joe Biden (DE) Back

President Pro Tempore Orrin Hatch (UT) Presides in the absence of the Vice President Honorary, without any real power Given to most senior member of majority party

Senate Leaders • “Corralling” Votes • Schedule Floor action • Influence committee Assignments Minority Leader Harry Reid (NV) Majority Leader Mitch Mc. Connell (Kentucky) Back

Senate Whips Majority Whip John Cornyn (TX) Minority Whip Dick Durbin (IL) Similar role to counterparts in the House Back

Committees and Subcommittees n Ø Ø Ø n Ø Ø Standing Committees: Permanent Each deals with separate policy areas or subject matter Joint: Members from both Houses Often related to economy and taxation Conference Committees: resolve disputes in legislation between houses and reports back a compromise bill Select: Temporary Specific purpose (e. g. , Watergate)

Purpose of Committees Life or death (for a bill) n Hold hearings n Conduct other research n Write and rewrite (marked up bill) n Floor managers: help gather votes n Cue givers: “experts” on the bill n Legislative oversight/watchdog: monitor bureaucracy’s administration of policy via hearings n Approve budgets n Investigate wrongdoing n

Chairs and Seniority System Most important influencers of committee agenda: Ø Schedule hearings Ø Hire staff Ø Appoint subcommittees Ø Manage committee bills brought before the full House Ø “Bottle up” legislation in committee n Until the 1970 s, chairs always selected through seniority system. n

Chairs and Seniority System In the 1970 s, Congress faced a revolt of its younger members: Ø Both parties in both houses permitted members to vote on committee chairs. Ø Seniority still remains general rule, but many exceptions Ø These and other reforms have somewhat reduced the clout of chairs n

House Reforms (1995) No proxy voting n Tenure for chair and subcommittee chairs 6 consecutive years n Speaker tenure: 8 years n More floor debate n Reduce number of committees and subcommittees n Chairs hire subcommittee staffs n

Senate Reforms (1995) Chair elected by secret ballot n Tenure for chair and subcommittee chairs 6 consecutive years (No limit on terms for majority leaders) n

Congressional Caucuses Informal groups of members of Congress sharing some interest or characteristic n Intraparty n Ideological n Economics/Industry Concerns n Personal Interest n National Concerns n Regional Concerns n State Concerns n

Intraparty State Concerns National Concerns Personal Characteristics Personal Interest Regional Concerns Ideological

Intraparty 1. 2. Democratic Study groups Tuesday Lunch Bunch

National Concerns n 9/11 Commission

Personal Characteristics Black Caucus n Congresswomen’s Caucus n Hispanic Caucus n

Ideological Moderate/conservative n Blue Dog Democrats n

Regional Concerns Sunbelt n Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition n

Personal Interest Children’s n Climate Change n

State Concerns Automotive n Shifts depending on issues within states at any given time n

Congressional Staff Personal Staff • Help Constituents • Work in DC Staff Committee Agencies Staff • Congressional • Organize Hearings Research Service • Research Legislative • General Options Accounting • Draft committee reports Office • Write legislation • Congressional Budget • Watchdog Office

Congressional Research Service Administered by Library of Congress n Research n Track progress of bills n Prepare summaries of bills n

General Accounting Office Reviews activities of executive branch n Investigates efficiency and effectiveness of policy n Financial Audits n

HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW

Introducing a Bill n n n Most bills do not originate with individual members of Congress, but all bills must be proposed by a Congress member. Most are suggested by the executive branch, after coordination with OMB. “The president's task is to persuade Congress that his agenda should also be Congress' agenda. ” They may try to influence members directly, but more often will leave White House lobbying to the congressional liaison office and work primarily through regular meetings with the party's leaders in the House and Senate. Special interest groups often suggest ideas for bills as do private citizens.

House of Representatives

1. First Reading: Introducing a Bill Hand it to a clerk or n Drop in the hopper n Assigned number, short title, long title n Speaker refers bill to appropriate standing committee n (Revenue bills have to originate in House) n

Types of Bills Ø Ø Ø Public bill: apply to the nation as a whole Private bill: apply to particular individual or place Simple resolution: rules for operation; do not require president’s signature Concurrent operation/resolution: procedural matters affecting both houses; do not require President’s signature Joint Resolution: deal with temporary or unusual matters, must be approved by both houses, and signed by President (propose an amendment- not signed by President) A rider is a provision not likely to pass on its own merit that is attached to an important measure

2. Committees and Subcommittees Speaker decides which committee n Important part of legislative process goes on at this stage n Witnesses inform, and interest groups given forum n “Mark up” (revise, rewrite) bills n Members help get votes for bill once it leaves committee *Multiple referral: several committees at the same time (abolished in 1995) n Sequential referral- Referred to House or killed n Discharge petition: 218 members n

2. Legislative Oversight n n n Process of holding executive branch agencies accountable for its actions. Check on the executive branch Handled primarily through hearings. Members of committees constantly monitor how a bill is implemented. Process enables Congress to exert pressure on executive agencies, or even to cut their budgets in order to secure compliance with congressional wishes. Sometimes captures public attention: Watergate scandal, the 1987 Iran-Contra affair, Whitewater

2. Legislative Oversight n Oversee more routine activities of the executive branch through its committee staff members, who have specialized expertise in the fields and agencies that their committees oversee (and who maintain an extensive network of formal and informal contacts with the bureaucracy).

Getting on a Committee n n n After election, new members write to the party's congressional leaders and members of their state delegation, indicating their committee preferences. Leaders almost always play a key role in making these decisions Committee work is essential to maximize his or her power in the House. Constituent work may assure reelection or performing other functions with that same goal, but will not ensure power in the House Every committee includes members from both parties Majority party makes up majority on each committee's and chair

Types of Committees

a. House Standing Committees Permanent with specific legislative responsibilities n Report a bill to full House n Exclusive: No other (except Budget) n Major: no more than one n Nonmajor: one major and one nonmajor or two nonmajor n Typical rep serves on two committees and four subcommittees n

Senate Standing Committees Permanent with specific legislative responsibilities n Report a bill to full Senate n Major: no more than two n Minor: no more than one n Select n

b. Joint Committees Study committees n Members from both houses n

c. Select Committees Limited purpose n Lasting only few congresses n Watergate n

d. Conference Committees Both houses n Reconcile disagreements between both houses n

Committee and Subcommittees Subcommittee reports to full committee: ü Report bill favorably to full house with a “do pass” recommendation ü Refuse to report bill (pigeonhole) v Discharge petition forces bill out of pigeonhole ü Report bill unfavorably ü Report bill in amended form ü Report entirely new bill n

2 a. Calendar Before reaching floor, bill must be placed on a calendar n Five calendars n Union: revenue raising or spending n House: Important non-money bills n Private: Individual concerns n Consent: non-controversial bills n Discharge: discharge petitions n

2 a. Senate Calendars Executive: presidential nominations, treaties n Calendar of Business: all legislation n

2 b. Rules n n n 3. Approval for debate Conditions under which bill is debated Rules Committee decides (unless bill is privileged or rules are suspended): Closed rule: 1. Time limit 2. No amendments introduced Open rule: Amendments from the floor Restrictive Rule: Some amendments allowed Kill bill

2 b. Rules n Ø Privileged: First, various House rules make certain kinds of measures privileged, including most appropriations bills, budget measures, conference reports, and measures reported from the Rules Committee either to amend the standing rules or to affect the order of business. Such a privileged measure can be called up for floor consideration whenever there is no other measure pending. The standing rules grant these measures privileged access to the floor because of their special importance for the House's ability to meet its constitutional responsibilities.

2 b. Rules n Ø Privileged: Second, the standing rules also make certain procedures in order on designated days of each week or month; measures brought up under these procedures thereby become privileged for floor consideration on those days. The most common of these special procedures is suspension of the rules. On every Monday and Tuesday, motions are in order to suspend the rules and pass individual bills (or take other legislative actions).

2 b. Rules n Ø Privileged: Other days each month are set aside for floor action on motions to discharge committees from further consideration of bills, on bills listed on the Corrections and Private calendars, and on certain bills concerning the District of Columbia. Another little-used procedure called Calendar Wednesday sets aside each Wednesday for committees to call up bills they have reported and that are not otherwise privileged for floor consideration.

2 b. Rules n Ø Privileged: These procedures are useful but they do not enable the House to take up most of the important legislation on which its Members wish to act, including tax bills, all the major authorization bills, and other bills that cannot pass by two-thirds votes under suspension motions.

2 b. Rules n Ø Privileged: So each of these measures becomes privileged in a third way--by the House voting for a resolution, recommended by the Rules Committee, to make that bill in order for floor consideration. In other words, the Rules Committee reports a privileged resolution on the order of business which proposes that another particular measure should be considered on the floor. If the House adopts that resolution by simple majority vote, the measure to which it relates then becomes privileged

Bypassing Rules Committee 1. 2. 3. n n v Member moves that rules be suspended (2/3 vote) Discharge petition Calendar Wednesday Committees called alphabetically Bill has to be completed that day None of these is used very often

3. Floor Debate A. n n n Committee of the Whole: 100 for a quorum (Quorum call: delay by calling roll to see if quorum is present) Debates or Amends germane bills Five minute limit

4. Voting B. Methods of Voting 1. 2. 3. 4. v Voice: Yea or nay (most common) Division (Standing): Stand be counted Teller: names recorded at request of 20% present Roll-Call: names recorded at request of 20% present Approved bill, read third time, voted on again, and signed by speaker

5. (Joint) Conference Committee Vote to have conference n 3 -15 members per house n Achieve a compromise bill acceptable to both houses n No new amendments can be added n Revised bill accepted or rejected n Senate version usually favored n

SENATE

1. Introducing a bill n Senator recognized by presiding officer

2. Committee Presiding officer assigns bill n Discharge Petition rarely used n

3. Floor Debate Germane or not n Filibuster: unlimited debate n Double Tracking: Temporarily shelve bill in question n Cloture Rule: 16 senators sign petition 60 needed to approve One hour/senator (100 hour max) n

4. Voting Voice n Roll call n Division n

Reform Term Limits n Pork-Barrel: bills that give tangible benefits to constituents in the hopes of winning their votes n Franking n Ethics n

Senate Ethics (1978, 1989, 1995) n n n Gifts no more than $100 except from spouse or personal friend Lobbyists may not pay for gifts, official travel, legal defense funds, or charitable contributions to groups controlled by senators No Fees for outside lecturing or writing Outside earned income no more than 15% of senator’s salary Ex-senators may not try to influence members of Congress for one year after leaving the Senate Mass Mailings: $50, 000 maximum

House Ethics (1978, 1989, 1995) No Gifts in money, meals or things totaling more than $100 except from spouse or personal friend n Lobbyists may not pay for gifts, official travel, legal defense funds, or charitable contributions to groups controlled by senators n Travel: may travel at the expense of others if officially connected to business n No Fees for outside lecturing or writing n Ex-House members may not try to influence members of Congress for one year after leaving the Senate n

House Structure n n n Democrats Majority/Minority Leader Majority/Minority Whip Chairman of the Caucus Steering and Policy Committee Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee n n n n Republicans Majority/Minority Leader Majority/Minority Whip Chairman of the Conference Committee on Committees Policy Committee National Republican Congressional Committee Research Committee

Senate Structure n n n n Democrats Majority/Minority Leader Majority/Minority Whip Chairman of the Conference Policy Committee Steering Committee Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee n n n n Republicans President Pro Tempore Majority/Minority Leader Assistant Majority/Minority Leader Chairman of the Conference Policy Committee on Committees Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee