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The Functions of Congress - Coggle Diagram
The Functions of Congress
Representation
Congressional elections
FPTP
Subject to primaries (mini elections within the party to run for candidate)
Frequency of elections (every 2 years)
The importance of mid-term elections
Effectively a referendum on the first 2 years of a presidential power as a loss would make it harder to pass legislation
Each party runs a national campaign based around a common party platform, usually under leadership of the House speaker and the House minority leader
Today there are lots of nation based agendas
Voters can use this to curb the presidents power
The significance of incumbency
Reasons why incumbent presidents typically win their seats again
Financial advantage
Incumbents can attract more money than challengers, allowing them to run better campaigns
Pork-barrel legislation
When a member of Congress proposes an amendment to legislation that will bring benefits to a particular group
Can be seen as evidence of the highly representative nature o Congress; others see it as a form of over-representation
Safe seats and gerrymandering
FPTP creates safe seats and gerrymandering worsens it.
Definition of gerrymandering = drawing electoral boundaries to favour a certain social group or party
Use of office
Congress people and Senators can use their place in office to establish popularity and attract major donors
Earmark
An amendment added by a politician to add expenditure to a bill that benefits thair constituency
criticised for promoting unecessary spending and contributing to the budget deficit
Can be seen as a problem because suggests an ineffective level of representation
Factors affecting voting behaviour within congress
Party/ party leaders
Pressured to vote according to the majority party view
Sense of belonging to a party
Party leaders can also use patronage power (offer promises of committee chairmanship) to get politicians to vote a certain way
Caucuses
Factions within congress are called congressional caucuses. They are based on ideology/ social characteristics// economic interests. Members generally vote together on legislative issues.
Public opinion/ constituency
Must take public opinion into account or could be voted out
Frequent elections provide accountability due to threat of removal (more effective in house than senate as elections are more frequent)
People are more likely to vote for congress candidates based on their individual policies than the party
Interest groups and professional lobbyists
Can influence voting through donations/ large active memberships/ influence politicians
The legislative function
Four key features of the legislative process
Compromise
Separation of powers, checks and balances and co-equal legislative power mean compromise is necessary. Passing legislation is not straightforward and easy. Compromises can be reached through conference committee, in which members of both chambers try to come to an achievement.
Weak parties and party leaders
Separation of powers, federalism, factions within parties, party leaders' ineffective patronage and whipping, prioritising state concern all result in parties not acting as a single unit in passing legislation, making it difficult to pass laws. Rise in partisanship may help but this isn't very effective if the presidency is controlled by a different part or congress has split control. Partisanship can infact lead to gridlock.
Initiation
Presidents can dominate the political agenda but congress initiates policy. Congress may be more active in setting an agenda if the president's party has recently lost control or if bipartisanship control exists
Impediments to passing laws
Senate and congress have co-equal legislative power, each chamber may have different priorities and party majority
Legislation has to pass through several congressional committees, each of which can obstruct and amend bills
Overriding a presidential veto requires a supermajority of 2/3 in both chambers
Some differences in legislation between House and Senate
In the house, bills go to a Rules committee to decide how long and under what conditions the bill should be debated whereas the Senate gives unlimited time to debate bills
The Rules committee can determine a closed rule, where a bill can be discussed but no amendments offered, whereas in the Senate all bills are fully debated
Senate has a process called unanimous consent
Filibusters exist in the senate
Strengths and weakness of the legislative process
Strengths
Quality policy comes from the detailed consideration of bills
Individual states' rights are protected, as Senators can insert amendments or filibuster on the basis of their equal state power and interests
Checks and balances; prevent tyranny, force compromise between different interests
Weaknesses
Inefficiency/low output results from the excessive need to compromise & slows down process
High levels of partisanship means parties are unwilling to compromise, leading to more gridlock
Poor quality legislation can come from too much compromise . A bill may lack coherence due to many amendments and interests
The policy significance of Congress
Congress has passed major legislation that has brought about major social change
Congress determines the spending priorities of the federal government
Congress determines the nature and extent of individual liberty
See Cornell notes and Seneca <3