Chapter 11 Notes:

 In 2011 the House republicans decided to use the ceiling limit to force democrats into
accepting steep cuts in federal spending.
 Congress= lawmaking institution for the country and a representative assembly to the
states and districts
o Members of congress have a duty to serve both the interest of their constituencies
and the interests of the nation as a whole.
o The nations needs sometimes come first but not always because the support of the
voters back home is necessary for members reelection
o “granted it the greatest of all powers of the govt, the power to make laws” –
consists of a Senate and a House of Reps.
o Granted the authority to decide the form and function of executive depts. & lower
courts
Congress as a Career:
o Before 1900 at least 1/3 of the seats in congress changes hands at e/ election. Most
members left voluntarily bc travel was slow & arduous.. this meant spending time away
from family.
o Most members of congress are professional politicians & a seat in the senate or
house is as high as they could go in politics (175k per year)
o David Mayhew: “single minded seekers of reelection”
o Incumbents (as officeholders are called) have about 90% prob, of winning
reelection. In 2014, 376 House incumbents were reelected—16 weren’t.
o The PRIMARY reason why incumbents run so strongly is that many congressional
districts * states are so lopsidedly Dem. Or Rep. that candidates of the stronger party
seldom lose.
o No more than 75 of the 435 House seats is competitive enough that the weaker
party has a realistic chance of winning.
Incumbents Advantages:
1. The Service Strategy: Taking care of Constituents
o Incumbents promote their reelection prospects by catering to their constituency:
the people residing in their state or district
o Pay attention to constituency opinions when choosing positions on legislation and
they work hard to get their share of federal spending projects
o Pork barrel Spending: federally funded projects done in the members of
congress districts or state (new hospitals, research center, highways)
o Service strategy: responding to individual requests
i. Spend most of their time on constituency service and public relations not
on legislative matters
ii. Each House members receives ~1M: which hires about 18 staff members.
iii. Senators receive office allowances that range b/w $3M- $5M/ year
depending on size of state.
iv. “Frank privilege:” congress members are allowed free trips back home and
free mailing to constituents houses.

2. Campaign Fundraising: ranking in the $

o Successful House campaign in a competitive districts exceeds $1M
 o Senate members usually spend more than House members
o Individual contributors (~$200 or less) account for about 60% of all funds
receives – through fundraising events, websites, direct mail soliciting.
o Political Action Committees: (PAC’s) which are the fundraising arm of interest
groups. Most PACs are reluctant to oppose an incumbent unless the candidate
appears beatable
i. More than 80% of PAC contributors in recent elections have gone to
incumbents—“Anytime you go against an incumbent, you take a min &
think long and hard about what your rationale is”- Desiree Anderson
ii. A race w/o an incumbent—called an open seat election—normally bring
out a strong candidate from e/ party when the parties are closely matched
on a state or district.
3. Redistricting: Favorable Boundaries for House Incumbents
o Every 10 years after reach population census, the 435 seats in the House or Reps
are reallocated among the state in proportion to their population. –
reapportionment
o After the 2010 census, Texas and Florida gained House seats and New York and
Ohio lost seats
o States are required by law to have House districts that are nearly as equal in pop
as possible—they must redraw their district boundaries after each census to
account for population shifts within the state during the previous 10 years.
o Redistricting—responsibility of redrawing House election districts rest with the
respective state legislatures
o Gerrymandering--- redrawing boundaries in a way that favors candidates of its
party. (Arizona, California, and Iowa—entrust redistricting to a indep.
Commission)
Incumbent Disadvantages:
1. Disruptive issues:
o When voters are angry about existing political conditions they are more likely to
believe that those in power should be tossed out of office.
i. ’06 election which was waged in the context of Rep. George Bush
leadership of an unpopular war in Iraq, saw the defeat of more than twice
the usual number of incumbents, democrats took control of both chambers.
2. Personal Misconduct:
o “the first thing to being reelected is to stay away from scandal, even minor
scandal” – political scientist John Hibbing.
o ¼ of House Incumbents lost reelection in the past decade were shadowed with
ethical questions.
o ’05 Rep. William Jefferson demanded $100k in cash from a firm in return for
helping it in obtaining govt contracts.
i. FBI found $90k in a small freezer in his office and then in the ’08 election
lost.
3. Turnout Variation: The Midterm election Problem
o Midterm Elections—those that occur midway through a president’s term
o In 21 of the last 25 midterm elections the president’s party has lost House seats
 o This pattern is attributable to the drop off in turnout that accompanies a midterm
election
o Turnout midterms is only about 2/3 the level of presidential elections, people who
vote only in the presidential election tend to have weaker party ties and are more
responsive to the issues of the moment. – these issues typically favor one party
which contribute to the success of the presidential nominee but also of its
congressional nominees
o Those who vote in the midterm elections vote largely along the party lines
o Congressional candidates of presidents party don’t get the boost they enjoyed in
past elections and the House loses seats.
o Some voters treat the midterm elections as a referendum on the presidents
performance—presidents often lose popularity based on policy decisions
4. Primary Elections challengers:
o If incumbents are faced w a stronger challenger from the extreme wing of their
party they stand a chance of losing bc strong partisans are more likely than party
moderates to vote in primary elections
o ’12 Richard Luger (6-term incumbent) lost to Richard Mourdrock (Indiana) bc he
was seen as too moderate and a Washington insider
5. General Election Challengers: A problem for Senators
o Senators often run against high ranking politicians such as the state’s governor or
attorney general. Such opponents have the voter base, campaign organization,
fundraising ability, public recognition and credential to mount a strong campaign.
o House incumbents are less likely to face strong challengers. A seat in the House
isn’t that attractive to lure in a local political such as a mayor or state legislator.
i. House incumbents face monetary challenges
6. Super PACs:
o Contributors form outside the state or district may target the race and donate
money to the challenger—Super PACs have the capacity to pour millions of
dollars into a race.
o ’14 Senate race in NC, which pitted the Dem. incumbent Kay Hagan vs Rep.
Thom Tillis, the Speaker if the NC House of Reps.
i. More than $75M was spent & 2/3 of the money was from Super PACs or
indpt. Groups
ii. Hagan lost by less than 2% points.
Who are the Winners in Congressional Elections?
o In order to be elected to congress you must be:
o At least 25 years old & a citizen for 7yrs. (House members)
o At least 30 years old & a citizen for 9yrs. (Senate members) Must be residents of
the state from which they are elected.
o Lawyers make up ¼ of the house and more than half of the Senate
o Attorneys enter politics in large numbers in part bc of knowledge of the law is an asset in
congress and also bc campaign publicity is a good way to build up a law practice.
o Business executives, educators, bankers, and journalist account for 90% of
congressional members
o Blue collar workers, clerical employees ad homemaker are seldom elected to
congress
 o Farmers and ranchers fare better—a #of house members from rural districts have
an agricultural background.
Parties and Party leadership:
o The U.S Congress is a bicameral legislature, meaning it has two chambers, the House
and the Senate.
 Both chambers are organized among party lines
o At the start of each two year congressional term, party members in each chamber meet to
elect their party leaders, the individuals who will lead their party’s efforts in the
chambers.
o Party members also meet periodically in closed session, which is called a party caucus,
to plan strategy, develop issues, and resolve policy differences.
Party Unity in Congress
o Parties are the primary source of unity among members of Congress, as well as the
primary source of division
o The partisan divide in congress has steadily widened in the past three decades
o Congressional Republicans were divided almost evenly b/w the parties conservative and
progressive wings
o Congressional democrats consisted of a liberal northern wing and a smaller
conservative southern wing.
o Rosenthal & Poole found that the least conservative Rep. was more conservative
than the most conservative Dem.
o Party unity—members of a party band together on legislation and stand against
the opposite party.
o Roll call votes—votes on which each members vote is officially recorded as
opposed to voice votes, where the members simply say “aye” or “nay” (this has
increased since the 1980s)
o ’13: House Rep’s. wanted year delay in implementing new healthcare system as a
condition of passing a budget that would avert a govt shutdown. The year delay
was voted majority (231-192) with all but 2 Republicans voting for the delay and
2 Democrats voting against it.
Party Leadership in Congress:
o Party leaders have the challenge of having to craft legislative proposals that will attract
their members support
o House Leaders- The house of Reps will be presided over by a Speaker—which is elected
by the vote of its members. Usually a member of the majority party.
 Speaker of the House is described as the nations most powerful elected national
official.
 The Speaker of the House is in charge of many of the rules in the House, and its
435 members:
 Formal powers: right to speak first during House debate on legislation and
the power to recognize members. Chooses chairperson and the majority
party members of the powerful House Rules Committee—which controls
the scheduling of bills.
 Speaker focuses on leadership & legislative issues—not to force them to vote for
or against something
  ’15 the speaker of the House, John Boehner resigned bc no one supported him—
Paul Ryan replaced him
Senate Leaders:
 Majority leaders role resembles that of the Speaker of the House in that the Senate
majority leader formulates the majority
 Senate majority leader formulates the majority party’s legislative agenda.
 They also chair the party policy committee and acts as the party’s voice in the chamber
 Assisted by the majority whip, who sees to it that members know when important votes
are scheduled.
 Less powerful than the Speaker of the House .. the Senate leader is not the chambers
presiding officer.
 Unlimited debate in the senate.. can speak at any time for however long
 Limited by the fact that individual senators have more autonomy than do individual
House Members
 Senators act as co-equals in a way that House member cannot—senate has 100 members
and House has 435
 Senators serve 6yr terms and font face unrelenting reelection pressures on House
members who serve 2 year terms.
Committees and Committee Leadership:
o Standing committees—permanents committees with responsibility for particular areas of
public policy
o 20 committees In the House and 16 in the Senate—each chamber has a standing
committee that handles foreign policy issues. Others deal with agriculture, commerce, the
interior, defense, government spending, labor, judiciary, taxation.
o House committees have about 35-40 members, Senate committees are about twice the
size
o Each standing committee has legislative authority in that it can draft and rewrite proposed
legislation and can recommend to the full chamber the passage or the defeat of the bills it
handles
o Most standing committees have subcommittees
 Senate committee on health, education, labor and pensions has 3
subcommittees: Primary Health and aging, Children and Families, and
Employment and Workplace Safety.
 About 10k bills are introduced during each two year session of Congress—they help draft
legislation, gather information, and organize hearings
 Select committees—designated responsibilities but unlike standing committees, they don’t
produce legislations (Senate Select Committee on Intelligence—receives periodic
classified briefings from the intelligence agencies)
 Joint Committees—composed of both House and Senate members, perform advisory
functions. (Joint Committee on the library, oversees the Library of Congress, the largest
library in the world.)
 Conference Committees—joint committees to temporarily work out differences in House
and Senate versions of a particular bill
 1946 Legislative Reorganization Act—requires that each bill be introduced in congress to
a proper committee.
 Jurisdiction—policy area in which it is authorized to act
  “Turf war” happens when debate over which committee should handle a bill
Committee Membership:
o Majority party determines the ratio of seats within committee
o Members of the House: serve 2 committees
o Members of the Senate: serve 4 committees, although they can sit on only 2 major
committees (Finance committee or the Foreign Relations Committee)
o Most vacancies occur after an election as a result of the retirement or defeat of members
o Most newly elected members of congress ask for and receive assignment to a
committee on which they can serve their constituents interest and at the same time
enhance their reelection prospects
o Members of congress prefer a seat in the most prestigious committees such as the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee or the House was And Means Comm.
 Party loyalty, level of knowledge, work ethic, and length of congressional
service determine this position.
Committee Chairs:
o Chair schedules committee meetings, determines the order in which committee bills are
considered, presides over committee discussions, directs the committees majority staff,
and chooses to lead debate when committee bill goes to the floor of the chamber for a
vote
o Always members of the majority party & have the most seniority—most years of service
in committee
o Committee seniority has some advantages—power struggles that would occur is
the chairs were decide each time by open competition are reduced. & it enables
members to look forward to the reward of a position as a chair after years of
experience on the same comm.
Committee or Party: Which is in Control?
 comm. Decentralize power in Congress and serve individual members’ power and
reelection needs
 Less than a dozen members hold a party leadership position, but several hundred serve as
committee or subcommittee chairs or are ranking members- minority party’s comm &
subcomm. Leaders.
 ’95: Rep took control of congress and they anted to reduce the power comm chairs in
order to strengthen the role of party leaders. No seniority rule, therefore giving the party
leader more power.
 Term limits were set: after 6 years a chair had to relinquish the post
 Comm power and party power is a big issue:
 Theres always been the issue of trying to pursue the national agenda by
the parties and trying to pursue the locals concerns by the committees
How a Bill becomes a Law:
 Bill—proposed legislative act
How a Bill becomes a Law:
1. When a bill is introduced in the house or senate it receives a bill number and sent
to the relevant committee which is signs it to one of its subcommittees
a. less than 10% of the bills referred to committee will get to the floor for a
vote but others were killed when committees decide they lack merit.
 b. Most bills die in committee because they are poorly conceived or a little
interest to any one other than a few members of Congress.
c. The fact the committees kill more than 90% of the bills submitted in
Congress does not mean that they exercise 90% of the power in Congress
2. Committee action: most of the work on legislation is done and committees and
subcommittees. hearings are held the bill can be revised and a recommendation to
pass a table the bill is made
3. Floor Action: before debate takes place in the house, the house rules committee
defines the rules for debate. in the Senate the leadership proposes rules for floor
action. the legislation is debated on the floor amendments are proposed and the
bill is voted by the full membership of the house or senate.
4. Conference Actions: if the bill passes and no similar bill has been passed by the
other chamber, it is sent to that chamber for consideration. If the other chamber
has passed a similar Bill, a conference committee of members of both chambers is
formed to work out it can’t compromise version, which is sent to the full
membership of both chambers for final approval. Only if a bill passes both
chambers in identical form is it sent to the president.
5. Executive actions: if the president signs the bill, it becomes a law. A presidential
veto can be overridden by a 2/3 majority in each chamber
 In the house, the Rules Committee has the power to determine when the bill will be voted
on and how long the debate on it will last
 The Rules Committee also decides whether a bill will receive a “closed rule” (no
amendments will be permitted), “open rule” (members can propose amendments relevant
to any of the bills suctions), or something in between (for example only certain sections
of the bill will be subject).
 In 1995, Democrats employed closed rules to prevent Republican from proposing
amendments to major bills
 In the senate the majority leader usually in consultation with the minority leader,
schedules bills. All Senate bills are subject to unlimited debate unless a 3/5 majority vote
for cloture—which limits debate to 30 hours.
o Cloture is a way of defeating a Senate filibuster—which is a procedural tactic
whereby a minority of senators can block a bill by talking until other senators give
in and the bill is withdrawn from consideration or altered to fit opponents
demands. (In 2013, the filibuster was eliminated for Senate votes in presidential
nominees, though retained for legislation and the confirmation of Supreme Court
justices)
 In the Senate, members can propose any amendment to any me a bill. For example a
senator me propose an antiabortion amendment to a bill dealing with defense
expenditures. Such amendments are called riders. The House doesn’t permit rides, only
amendments that relate directly to a bill’s content are allowed in the House.
Leadership and Floor Action:
 A bill that emerges from committee with the support of all or nearly all of its members is
usually passed by an overwhelming majority of the full chamber
o When the committee vote is closely divided, other members may conclude that
they need to give the bill a close look before deciding whether to support it
  On major bills, the majority party’s leaders (particularly in the House) have increasingly
assumed the lead
o They shape the bills broad content and work closely with the relevant committee,
they often direct the floor debate—they depend on the ongoing support of their
party’s members. To obtain the support they consult their members informally
and through the party caucus
Conference Committees and the President:
 For a bill to pass it must have the support of the simple majority of the house or senate
members voting on it.. To become a law however a bill must be passed an identical form
by both the House and the Senate
 About 10% of the bills that pass both chambers differ in important respects in their House
and Senate versions—Conference committees.
o Each are formed temporarily for the sole purpose of handling a particular bill. Its
members are appointed from the House and Senate standing committees that
drafted the bill
o If the president signs the bill, then it becomes law
o If president vetos, then Congress can override veto if 2/3 of each chamber agrees
on override.
Congress’s Policymaking Role:
 Congress and the president share the legislature effort, although their roles differ
o 3 Major Functions: 1. Lawmaking 2. Representation 3. Oversight
o Lawmaking function: the authority to make the laws necessary to carry out the
powers granted to the national government. (Power to tax, to spend, to regulate
commerce, and to declare war)
 Broad Issues: One reason why Congress doesn’t take on broad issues is
because it isn’t well suited for those issues.
o Representation function: through its elected Constitutional officers—U.S
senators and representatives— Congress represents the interests of constituents
and the nation in its deliberations and its lawmaking
o Oversight functions: through its constitutional responsibility to see that the
executive branch carries out the laws faithfully and spend appropriations properly,
Congress oversees and sometimes investigates executive action
 Logrolling—the practice of trading ones vote with another members so that both get
what they want