Congress Book outline part 1 Bralee Griffin 1 The Functions of Congress a b c d e Bicameralism Lawmaking Representation Service to Constituents Oversight 1 Process by which Congress follows up on laws it has enacted to ensure that they are being enforced and administered in the way Congress intended f Conflict Resolution 1 Congress seen as an institution for resolving conflicts within American society 2 The Powers of Congress a Enumerated powers a power specifically granted to the national government by the Constitution b Constitutional Amendments c Necessary and Proper Clause 3 House vs Senate a Size and Rules 1 House is much larger than Senate 2 Rules Committee b Debates c Filibuster 4 Congressional Elections a Representatives elected every second year by popular ballot b Only states can elect members of Congress c Candidates for House and Senate seats may be self elected d Direct Primary intraparty election in which the voters select the candidates who will run on a party s ticket in the subsequent general election 5 Power of Incumbency a Once members are elected and survive the second election they build up considerable loyalty among their constituents and are frequently re elected as long as they wish to serve Bookt outline part 2 Emma Hunt Congressional Apportionment Reapportionment the allocation of seats in the House to each state after each census Redistricting the redrawing of the boundaries of the districts within each state Gerrymandering drawing of legislative district boundary lines to obtain partisan or factional advantage o Packing and cracking o This is to ensure party s continued strength in state legislature or Congress Some states use nonpartisan redistricting When race is dominant factor in the drawing of district lines the districts are unconstitutional Perks and Privileges Franking privilege enables members of Congress to send material through the mail by substituting their facsimile signature frank for postage 30 000 people employed in Capitol Hill bureaucracy o personal staff office clerks secretaries o professionals deal with media relations draft legislation and satisfy constituency requests for service o staffers maintain local offices speech or debate clause member may make any allegations or other statements he or she wishes in connection with official duties and normally not be sued for libel or slander The Committee Structure committee structure is a way to provide for specialization and division of labor committees usually have final say on pieces of legislation chairpersons of committees exercise control over scheduling of hearings and formal action on a bill Types of committees o standing committee permanent bodies that are established by the rules of each chamber of Congress have subcommittees o select committee created for a limited time and specific purpose o joint committee o conference committee formed to achieve agreement between House and Senate on exact wording of legislative acts o house rules committee sets time limit and how bill is amended seniority system in place when selecting committee members The Formal Leadership House of Representatives o speaker of the house foremost power holder in the House of Representatives has been the official leader of the majority party in the House o majority leader of the house o minority leader of the house o whips assistants to majority and minority leaders first step toward a larger leadership position Senate o President pro tempore presides over Senate in vice president s absence o Also majority and minority leaders and whips How Members of Congress Decide Party affiliation usually Conservative coalition voting bloc made up of conservative Democrats and conservative Republicans Some people cross over based on local interests or even personal ideological beliefs Logrolling when a member trades his or her vote on a particular bill with another member in exchange for his or her vote on other legislation How a Bill Becomes a Law Money bills introduced in House only Similar bills introduced in both chambers referred to committees and subcommittees after bill is passed in both chambers must be worded same sent to president How Much Will the Government Spend Executive budget used to be in place which gave president power to kill programs by withholding funds but now Congress has more control Federal government operates on fiscal year cycle runs from October through September Spring review all agencies review their programs activities and goals Fall review OMB Office of Management and Budget looks at budget requests and usually cuts them back Authorization formal declaration by the appropriate congressional committee that a certain amount of funding may be available to an agency Appropriation of funds occurs when final bill is passed If spending exceeds amount brought in by taxes the government runs a budget deficit First budget resolution sets overall revenue goals and spending targets passed in May Second budget resolution sets binding limits on taxes and spending for the fiscal year beginning on October 1 Continuing resolution allows agency to keep on doing whatever it was doing the previous year with same amount of funding Thomas Murro and Emily Givens Notes from lecture Congress Members of Congress are regularly home from Washington to campaign 535 people represent their own constituency to get a majority of the Senate to agree to take written bills and go into conference committee so exact same bill is voted on by a majority supporting it Then it goes to the president who either vetoes it or lets it pass After a crisis like 9 11 we expect the president to act quickly instead of long process by Congress Dick Fenno contacted Congress to ask if he could follow them and take notes Dick concluded Congress had 3 main goals 1 To make good public policy 2 To move up in their career to gain power 3 To get reelected Politicians like power so they keep wanting to move up in position David Mayhew another political scientist said if we assume Congress has only 1 goal to get reelected we ll understand them better Mayhew said competition for reelection is actually good because the candidates will focus on what people really want in order to get votes for themselves Not all members of Congress fear defeat during reelection time Every 10 years there s a consensus with the Constitution Gerrymandering drawing a district in an odd shape to pack Republicans or Democrats together Incumbency when people vote in