Congressional Outline Ap Gov

Congress…

A. Learning Objectives
1 Trace the roots of the legislative branch outlined by the U.S. Constitution
2 Characterize the demographic attributes of members of Congress, and identify factors that affect their chances for reelection
3 Assess the role of the committee system, political parties, and congressional leadership in organizing Congress
4 Identify three of the most significant powers of Congress
5 Analyze the factors that influence how members of Congress make decisions
6 Evaluate the strategic interactions between Congress, the President, and the courts

Intro to Congress…

Members of Congress serve dual roles. On the one hand, they are law and policy makers, and on the other, they represent the needs and best interests of their particular constituents. These duties are often at odds. Public cynicism about the institution is also nudged along by negative media coverage and the fact that people are often uninformed about what Congress does how it does it, and the constraints under which it operates. Citizens also tend to hold Congress to very high standards and that further contributes to cynicism about the institution when they do not live up to those expectations.

A. Roots of the Legislative Branch of Government 1. Article One: The Congress shall have Power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States 2. House of Representatives: The House of Representatives is one of two houses in Congress, the legislative body of our nation. The 435 members of the House have important duties, including writing, debating, studying, and passing bills by standing committees which eventually become laws guiding our nation. These bills must be signed by the President within ten days of being passed by Congress to become law. If the president chooses to veto a law, then it can only become law if 2/3 of the majority in both houses of Congress approves its passage. 3. U.S. Senate The Senate has the sole power to confirm those of the President's appointments that require consent, and to ratify treaties. There are, however, two exceptions to this rule: the House must also approve appointments to the Vice Presidency and any treaty that involves foreign trade. The Senate also tries impeachment cases for federal officials referred to it by the House.

B. Powers of Congress 1. Article One Section 8 to borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes; To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States; To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States; to establish Post Offices and post Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries; 2. Elastic Clause Elastic clause is a clause in the U.S. Constitution that empowers the Congress to make laws that are necessary and proper for carrying out its powers. The clause is referred under USCS Const. Art. I, § 8, Cl 18. The provision reads:
“To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof”.This clause is officially known as the Necessary and Proper clause 3. Enumerated Powers / Implied Powers Powers of the federal government that are specifically addressed in the Constitution; for Congress, these powers are listed in Article I, Section 8, and include the power to coin money, regulate its value and impose taxes

C. Members of Congress 1. Representation The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the United States Constitution. The major power of the House is to pass federal legislation that affects the entire country although its bills must also be passed by the Senate and further agreed to by the U.S. President before becoming law (unless both the House and Senate re-pass the legislation with a two-thirds majority in each chamber). The House has several exclusive powers: the power to initiate revenue bills,[1] to impeach officials,[2] and to elect the U.S. President in case there is no majority in the Electoral College.[3]Each U.S. state is represented in the House in proportion to its population but is entitled to at least one representative. The most populous state, California, currently has 53 representatives. The total number of voting representatives is fixed by law at 435.[4] Each representative serves for a two-year term. The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, who presides over the chamber, is elected by the members of the House, and is therefore traditionally the leader of the House Democratic Caucus or the House Republican Conference, whichever party has more voting members 2. Demographics of Congress 3. Terms of Office / Re-election

D. How Congress is Organized 1. Leadership in the House of Representatives:
The House is led by the Speaker of the House. Underneath the Speaker are the House Majority and Minority leaders, and their assistants (known as "Whips").

The work flow of the House is directed by the Speaker and Majority leaders. They funnel bills to the committees where all of the work gets done.

There are 19 standing committees in the House. In addition there are temporary committees that spring up occasionally to handle special work; but the majority of the heavy lifting is done by the 19 standing committees.

The Senate is structured similarly, but with one difference, the Senate is presided over by the Vice president of the US. When he is not there, the President Pro Tem of the Senate presides. There is a senate Majority and Minority Leader, as well as the Whips. But there are only 16 standing committees in the Senate. 2. Leadership in the U.S. Senate: (Leadership-The floor leaders and whips of each party are elected by a majority vote of all the senators of their party assembled in a conference or, as it sometimes is called, a caucus. The practice has been to choose the leader for a two-year term at the beginning of each Congress. The majority and minority leaders are the elected spokespersons on the Senate floor for their respective political parties. floor leaders - The majority leader and minority leader are elected by their respective party conferences to serve as the chief Senate spokesmen for their parties and to manage and schedule the legislative and executive business of the Senate. By custom, the presiding officer gives the floor leaders priority in obtaining recognition to speak on the floor of the Senate. whips - Assistants to the floor leaders who are also elected by their party conferences. The majority and minority whips (and their assistants) are responsible for mobilizing votes within their parties on major issues. In the absence of a party floor leader, the whip often serves as acting floor leader. conference, party - The organization of all party members in the chamber. The conferences elect the party and committee leaders as well as rank-and-file committee members from their party. The conferences meet periodically to discuss political strategy and to review party positions on pending legislative business.)

E. The Committee System-Due to the high volume and complexity of its work, Congress divides its tasks among committees and subcommittees. Both the House and Senate have their own
Committee systems. Which are similar but not identical. Within chamber guidelines,
However, each committee adopts its own rules; thus, there is considerable variation among panels. This report provides a brief overview of the organization and operations
Of House and Senate committees
1. Types of Committees
There are three types of committees—standing; select; and joint. Standing committees are permanent panels identified in chamber rules. The rules also list the jurisdiction of each committee. Because they have legislative jurisdiction, standing committees consider bills and issues and recommend measures for consideration by the respective chambers. They also have oversight responsibility to monitor agencies, programs, and activities within their jurisdictions, and in some cases in areas that cut across committee jurisdictions. Most standing committees recommend authorized levels of funds for government operations and for new and existing programs within their jurisdiction. Standing committees also have jurisdiction over appropriations (in the case of the Appropriations Committees), taxation (in the case of the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees) , various other revenues such as user fees, and direct spending such as Social Security, veterans’ pensions, and some farm support programs.

Select committees usually are established by a separate resolution of the parent chamber, sometimes to conduct investigations and studies, sometimes to consider measures. A select committee is established because the existing standing committee system does not address an issue comprehensively, or because a particular event sparks interest in an investigation. A select committee may be permanent or temporary. Special committees tend to be similar in constitution and function and that distinction from select committees is generally thought to be only semantic.

Joint committees are made up of Members of both chambers. Today, they usually are permanent panels that conduct studies or perform housekeeping tasks rather than consider measures. A conference committee is a temporary joint committee formed to resolve differences in Senate- and House-passed versions of a particular measure. 2. Committee Chairs
. A committee's authority is centered in its chair. In practice, a chair's prerogatives usually include determining the committee's agenda, deciding when to take or delay action, presiding during meetings, and controlling most funds allocated by the chamber to the committee. Several rules allow others a share in controlling a committee's business, such as one allowing a majority of members of a committee to call a meeting. The ranking minority member, usually the minority party member of longest committee service, often participates in the chair's regulation of the committee, in addition to leading on matters affecting a committee's minority members. Also, each subcommittee has a chair and a ranking minority member who oversee the affairs of their panel. To distribute committee power, chamber and party caucus rules limit the number of full and subcommittee chair or ranking minority positions a single Member may hold. Only the Republicans have committee leadership term limits. No House Republican may serve as chair (or ranking minority member) of a committee or subcommittee for more than three consecutive terms, effective with the 104th Congress, and no Senate Republican may serve more than six years as chair and six years as ranking member of any standing committee, effective with the 105th Congress. Waivers can be granted. 3. Committee Membership

F. The Lawmaking Process

1. Steps to how a Bill becomes a Law…
Step 1: A Bill Is Born
Anyone may draft a bill; however, only members of Congress can introduce legislation, and, by doing so, become the sponsor(s). The president, a member of the cabinet or the head of a federal agency can also propose legislation, although a member of Congress must introduce it.

Step 2: Committee Action
As soon as a bill is introduced, it is referred to a committee. At this point the bill is examined carefully and its chances for passage are first determined. If the committee does not act on a bill, the bill is effectively "dead."

Step 3: Subcommittee Review
Often, bills are referred to a subcommittee for study and hearings. Hearings provide the opportunity to put on the record the views of the executive branch, experts, other public officials and supporters, and opponents of the legislation.

Step 4: Mark up
When the hearings are completed, the subcommittee may meet to "mark up" the bill; that is, make changes and amendments prior to recommending the bill to the full committee. If a subcommittee votes not to report legislation to the full committee, the bill dies. If the committee votes for the bill, it is sent to the floor.

Step 5: Committee Action to Report a Bill
After receiving a subcommittee's report on a bill the full committee votes on its recommendation to the House or Senate. This procedure is called "ordering a bill reported."

Step 6: Voting
After the debate and the approval of any amendments, the bill is passed or defeated by the members voting.

Step 7: Referral to Other Chamber
When the House or Senate passes a bill, it is referred to the other chamber, where it usually follows the same route through committee and floor action. This chamber may approve the bill as received, reject it, ignore it, or change it.

Step 8: Conference Committee Action
When the actions of the other chamber significantly alter the bill, a conference committee is formed to reconcile the differences between the House and Senate versions. If the conferees are unable to reach agreement, the legislation dies. If agreement is reached, a conference report is prepared describing the committee members' recommendations for changes. Both the House and Senate must approve the conference report.

Step 9: Final Action
After both the House and Senate have approved a bill in identical form, it is sent to the president. If the president approves of the legislation, he signs it and it becomes law. Or, if the president takes no action for ten days, while Congress is in session, it automatically becomes law.If the president opposes the bill he can veto it; or if he takes no action after the Congress has adjourned its second session, it is a "pocket veto" and the legislation dies.

Step 10: Overriding a Veto
If the president vetoes a bill, Congress may attempt to "override the veto." If both the Senate and the House pass the bill by a two-thirds majority, the president's veto is overruled and the bill becomes a law.

G. Functions of Congress 1. Budgetary Function ___
a. “Pork”
Members of Congress help their constituents by getting money for their districts through legislation. The federal government, for example, may fund a highway project or a research project at a local university. The term pork refers to federal money that is funneled into a specific legislative district. A member of Congress will often insert pork into a bill in order to gain another member’s support or to win votes back home.

Example: An infamous example of pork in 2006 was the so-called bridge to nowhere, a bridge in a remote part of Alaska (to be built with federal money) that would be used by very few people. The bridge was inserted into the budget by Alaska senator Ted Stevens.
Defining Pork

To some degree, one’s person’s pork is another person’s worthy way to spend money. People often label money as “pork” when the money goes to someone else’s district.
(A bill introduced by a member of Congress that gives tangible benefits, like a highway or bridge, to constituents in the hopes of winning votes in return.)EXTRA: b. Earmarks
An earmark is a legislative (especially congressional) provision that directs approved funds to be spent on specific projects, or that directs specific exemptions from taxes or mandated fees.[1] The term "earmark" is used in this sense in several countries, such as the United States and South Africa.[2]
Earmarks come in two varieties: Hard earmarks, or "hardmarks", found in legislation, and soft earmarks, or "softmarks", found in the text of congressional committee reports. Hard earmarks are legally binding, whereas soft earmarks are not but customarily are acted upon as if they were binding.[3] Typically, a legislator seeks to insert earmarks that direct a specified amount of money to a particular organization or project in their home state or district. 2. Oversight Function a. War Powers Act b. Congressional Review c. Confirmation of Presidential Appointment 3. Impeachment Process
H. Congressman Decision-Making 1. Party 2. Constituents 3. Colleagues and Caucuses 4. Interest Groups, Lobbyists, Political Action Committees 5. Staff and Support Agencies
I. Balancing Institutional Powers (Issues of Reform…) 1. Congress and the Executive Branch 2. Congress and the Judiciary