POLS 206 1st EditionExam # 3 Study Guide-Ch. 11: Congress - the center of policy making o11.1-MembersNot a glamorous job, but there are perks -Power -174,000 annual salary-Generous retirement and health benefits Constitutional requirements -House: 25, citizen for 7 years -Senate: 30, citizen for 9 years -Reside in state -435 representatives; 100 senators Demographics-Descriptive vs substantive representation -Descriptive -How much do they look like their constituents -Do they? No-Substantive -Representation of the interest of groups -Do they? Yeso11.2-Who wins elections?Incumbents-Over 90% win reelection -Senators do not have it as easy (80-85%)Incumbents perceive themselves as vulnerable-Hence fundraising and campaigning -Advantages of Incumbency Advertising-Constituent contact Credit claiming -Casework-Pork barrel projects Position taking Weak opponents Campaign spending -PACs give primarily to incumbents-Usually outspend competitor 3 or 4 to 1 -Role of Party Identification Parties and districts -Drawn for one-party dominance -Defeating Incumbents Challengers are naïve -But sometimes incumbents are vulnerable Redistricting Public mood -Open Seats and Stability and ChangeVacant Seat = no incumbent running -Most turnover occurs here Stability from incumbency -Development of expertise Term limits?Lecture 15o11.3-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 Know table of responsibilities in book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 executivebranch 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 caucusLecture 16Congressional Staff-Personal Staff-Casework-Legislative functions -Committee Staff-2000 staff members -Legislative oversight -Staff agencies - know for test*****-Congressional Research Service (CRS)-Headed by Library of Congress -Get about 5000 requests for information every year -Government Accountability Office (GAO)-Investigate if bills are being implemented correctly and whether money is being spent correctly -Congressional Budget Office (CBO)-Make economic forecasts-Policy predictions -Tell congress how much things will cost - they can only go buy what is in the billo11.4-Know figure 11.2: how a bill becomes a law How a Bill Becomes a Law -Goes to House and is sent to a committee -In committee it can be pigeon holed it is basically dead -Can receive a discharge petition to revive it (218 votes in house)-If passed then it goes to rules committee where debate rules are set and is then sent to House where it is debated -If passed it then goes to Senate to repeat the process but without a rules committee (Senate doesn’t have as many rules on debate) -If passed it goes to conference committee to iron out differences and is sent back to both Houses for vote -If passed it goes to President for signature or veto -Veto it goes back to congress and needs a 2/3 vote to overturn -Presidents and Congress: Partners and ProtagonistsPresident's legislative agenda-Persuade Congress -Work at the margins but usually win -Yet Congress is quite independent -Party, Constituency, and Ideology Party Influence -Economic and social welfare policiesPolarized politics -Parties more internally homogeneous-Less likelihood of compromise Constituency opinion vs member ideology -Trustees versus instructed delegates -Trustee - make decisions on what they think is best for us -Instructed delegate - do what constituents want -Politico - combines the two o11.5-Congress and DemocracyDemocracy depends upon representationCongress unrepresentative -Members are elites -Leadership chosen, not elected -Senate based on states, not population Obstacles to good representation -Constituent service -Reelection campaigns Representativeness vs Effectiveness -Congress and the Scope of Government Does the size of government increase to please the public?-Pork barrel spending Contradictory preferences -Against large government, for individual programs -Ch. 12: The Presidencyo12.1-Great ExpectationsAre expectations realistic?-Ensure peace, prosperity and security -Power does not match responsibilityCognitive dissonance:-Americans want a strong leader but fear concentration of power -We want government to be small and limited, yet solve all social and economic problems -Who They Are Basic requirements: (Constitutionally) -Natural-born citizen -35 years of age or older -Resident of the US for previous 14 years White, male, protestant Lecture 17-How They Got There Elections: The Typical Road to the White House - most presidents assume presidency through electoral process*-Twenty-Second Amendment (1951)-Limits presidents to two terms in office or 10 years Succession-Twenty-Fifth Amendment (1967)-Outlines the line of succession and the procedures -Line