POLS 206 Lecture 15 Outline of Previous Lecture Ch 11 Congress o 11 1 Members o 11 2 Who wins elections Advantages of Incumbency Outline of Current Lecture o 11 3 American Bicameralism Congressional Leadership Committees and Subcommittees Caucuses Lecture o 11 3 American Bicameralism need to know differences between houses Bicameral Legislature set up by Article I in the Constitution Bills must pass both houses Checks and balances Result of Connecticut Compromise Great Compromise House More institutionalized and seniority based More rules governing them than Senate Rules Committee Rules Committee Limit debate Set rules for debate and vote of bills Senate Filibuster unlimited debate Only in Senate Used to need 60 to stop a filibuster Now its only 51 Possible that Senate may do away with filibuster Less centralized and seniority based Power gap isn t as large as House Congressional Leadership Chosen by party House Speaker of the House Majority and minority leaders Assist speaker Whips Other leadership roles that assist majority minority leader Senate Vice president Technically presiding officer In practice the majority leader Majority leader Committees and Subcommittees where the bulk of the work is done Four types of committees Standing committees most important Permanent Joint committees Members of house and senate study or research committees Conference committees 5 members from house and 5 members from senate Iron out differences between bills passed in House and Senate Select committees For a special purpose Executive oversight some executive has done something wrong Committees at work legislation Legislative oversight investigate why the executive branch is not doing what they are supposed to be doing Getting on a Committee Constituent needs want to be on committees that help you get reelected Appealing to leadership Caucuses Informal Organization of Congress As important as formal structure Dominated by caucuses 500 caucuses today Goal is to promote their interests Black caucus Hispanic caucus
View Full Document
Unlocking...