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Unit 4: Section 2: Congress - Coggle Diagram
Unit 4: Section 2: Congress
What is Congress?
Definition: The United States Congress is the bicamerical legislature of the Federal government of the United Sates. The legislature consists of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives
118th Congress - Jan 3rd 2023 - Jan 3rd 2025
The structure of Congress:
Congress is based on a system of seperation of powers and checks and balances. The powers of the legilsative were divided between 2 chambers, with each monitoring how the other used its powers
How are people elected to Congress?
Seats in the HOR: 435 members, each state has a certain number of members proportional to its population
Seats in the Senate: with 50 states in the Union and each state having two senators, there are today 100 members in the senate
House of Representatives:
435 members, 6 non-voting members
Speaker:???
Majority: Republican
Members face re-election every 2 years
Primary responsibility of managing the economy eg all proposals involving taxes and how revenue is spent considered in the house first
People can frequently hold politicians to account for the use of their money
Requirements:
At least 25 years old
Be a US citizen for at least 9 years
Be a resident of the state they represent
Represent the entire state
Senate:
100 senators, 6 non-voting members
President: Kamala Harris (D)
Pres pro tem: Patty Murray (D)
Members face re-election every 6 years
Primary responsibility for long-term issues eg monitoring executive decisions that have lasting consequences
Requirements:
At least 30 years old
Be a US citizen for at least 9 years
Be a resident of the state they represent
Represent the entire state
How much power does Congress have?
Powers
Exclusive powers:
House of Representatives:
Initiate money bills
Impeachment
Elect President if Electoral College is tied
Senate:
Confirm appointments
Try cases of impeachment
Elect VP if electoral college is tied
Concurrent powers:
Pass legislation
Override the Presidential veto
Initiate constitutional amendments
Declare war
Confirm a newly appointed VP
Congress Committees
Standing committees:
Part of the legislative process, conduct investigations, Senate committees begin the process of confirming appointments
House Rules Committee:
Highly influential as it prioritises bills moving from committee to debate stage
Conference committees:
Ad-hoc - reconcile differences between House and Senate versions of a bill
Select Committees:
Mostly ad-hoc - investigate issues which don't fall under the remit of standing committees
"The Senate is more prestigious than the House of Representatives"
1) Senate is more prestigious than HOR - Logistical structure
Senators represent the entire state, Senators are only 1 of 100 eg California
BUT BOTH HAVE EQUAL POWER IN PASSAGE OF LEGISLATION
2) Senate is not more prestigious than HOR - Equal salary
value applied to work, Senators serve longer eg Obama
BUT Senate is recruiting pool for presidents and vice-presidents
3) Senate is more prestigious than HOR - role of Senator holds more significance
senators enjoy greater name recognition (state-wide/nation-wide), Senators are more likely to chair a committee/sub-committee/hold a position of leadership eg Dick Durbin judiciary
BUT BOTH MUST APPROVE INITIATION OF CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
Legislation by Congress
The legislative process in Congress:
1) Introduction 2)Committee stage
3) Timetabling 4)Floor debate and vote on passage
5) Conference committee (optional) 6) Presidential action
Types of bills and resolutions
Bill:
A proposed law or draft of a law; public bill applies to the entire nation; private bill applies only to certain people or places
Joint resolution:
A proposal for action that has the force of law when passed; usually deals with special circumstances or temporary matters
Concurrent resolution:
A statement of position on an issue used by the House and Senate acting jointly; does not have the force of law; does not require the President's signature
Resolution:
A measure relating to the business of either house or expressing an opinion on a matter; does not have the force of law; does not require the President's signature
How a Bill becomes law
Stage 1 - a member of the HOR or senate introduces a bill
Stage 2 - a bill is reviewed by committees
Stage 3 - the bill is voted on by the senate
Stage 4 - the bill is voted on by the HOR
Stage 5 - the bill goes to the president
Stage 6 - President vetoes or signs
Filibuster: one or more senators can delay action on a bill or other matter by debating it at length
Gridlock causes:
Factionalism within parties
Influence of special interests/lobbying
Different parties control House of Representatives and Senate
Congressional oversight:
It is the review of the actions of the Executive e.g.
Federal government’s response to COVID-19 pandemic
Letters to President Biden regarding requests for information that President Trump ignored
Congressional investigations are motivated by political calculations: as such they are more likely to take place during times of divided government.
Congressional investigations are carried out largely through its committee system
Both majority and minority parties in Congress can initiate an investigation.
Any member of a congressional committee can initiate an investigation
Key points:
3% of bills are vetoed by presidents
4% of vetoes overridden - often for political reasons-in divided government mostly (except Carter)
Very few bills put forward become law - 4-5% because...
Weak party discipline-votes not predictable, Committees can kill off /fundamentally change a bill, Cloture motion requirement in senate means minorities can kill bills (30 hours of debate)
Senate very powerful
Why do only a small percentage of bills introduced into Congress become laws?
1) The president has the power of veto which it is difficult for Congress to override
2) There are multiple blocking points in the legislative process in each house, as well as a conference committee at the end of the process
3) The relationship between them is likely to be particularly strained if they are under the control of different parties
How much influence does the President have over the legislative process?
1) The president attempts to set the legislative agenda for the year in the State of the Union address, and usually proposes the bulk of the most significant legislation each year.
2) The extent of the president’s influence over the legislative process depends on party control of Congress; if both houses of Congress are controlled by the opposing party to the president, Congress may well be resistant to his proposals, and the opposing party’s leadership may even try to take the legislative initiative itself, as happened after the election of a Republican Congress in 1994.
3) High poll ratings give the president increased authority and create a political cost for congressmen in opposing a popular president; conversely, poor ratings will weaken the president’s authority and impose no costs on congressional opposition.
Voting in Congress
Party unity vote: vote in the House or Senate in which the majority of one party votes against the majority of the other party
Parties in Congress are characterised by...
Hyper-partisanship - little cooperation between the parties
Greater unity within the parties
Party line votes e.g. President Trump’s tax cuts (Dec 2017) received no Democrat votes in either house
Congressional caucuses: collection of members of either major party. They advance a certain interest
Functions of Congressional Caucuses
Educational:
Info on proposed legislation; policy briefings etc
Agenda setting:
Boost the chances of an issue getting onto the agenda
Voting:
Encouraging support for their proposals in votes in each chamber
How important are parties in Congress?
Leadership of Congress is controlled by the parties
Committees in Congress are organised by the parties
With increased partisanship, party discipline is much stronger in Congress than it used to be
Views of constituents can often outweigh party considerations, especially for House members
Parties have no control over candidate selection
Both parties are made up of ideological factions that challenge party cohesion
What factors influence voting in Congress?
Political party - party unity has increased in the last 20 years
Administration - president, vice-president, cabinet members, White House staff all lobby members of Congress
Interest groups - direct contact at committee hearings, generating public support
Lobbyists - professionals with strong political ties who represent client’s interests
Constituents - especially important in the House as they only have a 2 year term
Accountaibility of Congress
Pork barrel politics:
Spending that is intended to benefit constituents of a politician in return for their political support, either in the form of campaign contributions or votes, peaked in 2006 with about 14,000 projects receiving about $30 billion in funding
Big Dig in Boston, Massachusetts where Tip O'Neill (Democrat-Mass) pushed to have the Big Dig funded by the federal government while he was the Speaker of the House of Representatives costing over US$4 billion per mile
The relationship between Congress and the Executive
Party control - congressional oversight is only really effective when Congress is not controlled by the president’s party.
Party polarisation - parties growing further apart ideologically can lead to strained relationships.
Policy area - Congress has greater influence over domestic policy than foreign policy
Election cycle - members prioritising their own re-election rather than the president
Presidential poll rating - Congress can do very little when the president is popular.
Congressional approval rating - low approval rating constrains its actions
National events - will sometimes defer to the president in times of national emergency [but not always - challenged President Trump over Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security [CARES] Act 2020]
Extent Congress can check on Executive branch:
1) Congress’ input on policy
Amending/delaying/rejecting legislative proposals e.g. American Health Care Act [2017] - Trump’s attempt to repeal and replace ‘Obamacare’ not passed by senate
Congressional oversight is only really effective when Congress is not controlled by the president’s party
2) Stop them during their term and also put it in question
Overriding presidential veto e.g. National Defense Authorization Act for 2021 [2020]
Impeachment and trial e.g. Donald Trump [2019-20, 2021]
3) Senate can refuse but this is sometimes limited
Senate refusing to approve appointments e.g. John Tower as secretary of defence [1989]
Senate refusing to ratify treaties e.g. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities [2012]
Congressional approval rating - low approval rating constrains its actions
