CongressIn this chapter we will learn aboutSlide 3Representation and lawmakingThe conflict between representation and lawmakingFour kinds of representationFour kinds of representation, cont’d.Powers of the House vs. the SenateDifferences between the House and the SenateChecks and balances: Congress and the presidentChecks and balances: Congress and the judiciaryCongressional electionsSlide 13Types of gerrymanderingSlide 15Slide 16Deciding to run for CongressDeciding to run for Congress, cont’d.Who gets elected?How Congress works: organizationSlide 21Organization, cont’d.Committee system: types of committeesCommittee system, cont’d.Slide 25How Congress works: process and politicsHow a bill becomes a law – some of the timeHow a bill becomes a law, cont’d.The citizens and Congress: why the public dislikes CongressWhy the public dislikes Congress, cont’d.Slide 31Slide 32Slide 33Slide 34Slide 35Slide 36Slide 37Slide 38Slide 39Slide 40Slide 41Slide 42Slide 43CongressChapter 7In this chapter we will learn about•The clash between representation and lawmaking•The powers and responsibilities of Congress•Congressional membership and elections•The organization of Congress and the rules of congressional operation•The relationship of citizens to CongressRepresentation and lawmaking•Representation: the efforts by elected officials to look out for the interests of those who elect them•Lawmaking: the creation of policy to address the problems and needs of the entire nationThe conflict between representationand lawmaking•Local good different from national good, and members favor representing their local constituencies•Difficult for members to fulfill their collective responsibility of national lawmaking•Explains why Americans hate Congress as a whole but love their own senators and representativesFour kinds of representation•Policy representation: congressional work to advance the issues and ideological preferences of constituents•Allocative representation: congressional work to secure projects, services, and funds for the represented district–Pork barrel: public works projects and grants for specific districts paid for by general revenuesFour kinds of representation, cont’d.•Casework: legislative work on behalf of individual constituents to solve their problems with government agencies and programs•Symbolic representation: efforts of members of Congress to stand for American ideals or to identify with common constituency valuesPowers of the House vs. the Senate•Bicameral legislature: legislature with two chambers•Constitutional differences–Term length, age, apportionment, treaties, appointments, etc.•Organizational differences–Size, number of committees, Rules Committee, limits on debate•Electoral differences–Campaign spendingDifferences between the House and the SenateHouse SenateConstitutional DifferencesTerm length 2 years 6 yearsMinimum age 25 30Citizenship required 7 years 9 yearsResidency In state In stateApportionment Changes with population Fixed; entire stateImpeachment Impeaches official Tries impeached officialTreaty-making power No authority 2/3 approvalPresidential appointments No authority Majority approvalOrganizational DifferencesSize 435 members 100 membersNumber of standing committees 20 16Total committee assignments per member Approx. 6 Approx. 11Rules Committee Yes NoLimits on floor debate Yes No (filibuster possible)Electoral DifferencesCosts of elections Incumbents $1.26 million $9.4 million Challengers $510,195 $5.4 million Open seat $1.5 million $10.4 millionIncumbency advantage 98% reelected 96% reelected(93.4% 50-year average) (80.4% 50-year average)Source: Roger Davidson and Walter Oleszek, Congress and Its Members, 11th ed. (Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2008), 63, 209; Federal Election Commission data compiled by Center for Responsive Politics; calculations by authors.Checks and balances: Congress and the president•Congress passes bills; president signs or vetoes–President’s State of the Union address formulates policy•President executes laws and is in charge of administering executive branch; Congress exercises oversight of executive branch activities•President appoints cabinet, ambassadors, judges to federal courts–Senate has “advise and consent” role•President represents national constituency; Congress represents district or state constituenciesChecks and balances:Congress and the judiciary•Congress makes the laws; the courts interpret them•Congress sets up lower federal courts, determines salaries•Congress decides jurisdiction for courts to hear cases•Congress passes legislation that limits courts’ discretion to rule or impose sentencesCongressional elections•Politics of defining congressional districts–Reapportionment: a reallocation of congressional seats among the states every ten years, following the census–Redistricting: process of redrawing of district lines in states with more than one representative (carried out by state legislators or commission)–Gerrymandering: redistricting to benefit a particular groupTypes of gerrymandering•Pro-incumbent gerrymandering•Partisan gerrymandering•Racial gerrymandering: redistricting to enhance or reduce the chances that a racial or an ethnic group will elect members to the legislature–Majority-minority districts after Voting Rights Act (1982)–Often deemed unconstitutional by Supreme CourtDeciding to run for Congress•Who can run? –Age, citizenship, and residency qualifications•Why would anyone want this job?–Sense of duty, policy, ideology –Pay, perks, power–Down side: hard work, low job security, expensiveDeciding to run for Congress, cont’d.•Strategic politician: office-seeker who bases the decision to run on a rational calculation that he or she will be successful–Understands national trends–Relies on focus groups and research, not mere speculationWho gets elected?•Congress does not represent the public demographically. Many more white males over the age of 40 in Congress than in the U.S. population.•Descriptive representation: the idea that an elected body should mirror demographically the population it represents. This is a theory, not a reality in the United States.How Congress works: organization•Central role of party–Parties frequently vote in unison in Congress–Majority party controls leadership structureOrganization, cont’d.•Speaker of the House: majority-party