Exam 3 Discussion Lecture 11 11 2013 Discussion 10 29 Medicare controversy o Bribery o Majority Leaders kept bill open 3 hours instead of 15 minutes Government o Divided Congress not likely to listen to the President His party minority so can t get all of the votes Filibuster Reform o Filibuster Congress Benefits minority party block tyranny Delays voting Cloture o Ending to the debate to start the vote o 60 Senators to overturn Filibuster Lecture 10 29 U S Congress Constitutional Provisions Exogenous Structural Rules Congress as First Branch powerful and important Organizational Structure Bicameral 2 Houses HOR Senate House of Representatives o 2 year term shortest elected term in Gov t o direct election o population based representation reapportionment every 10 years Constitution requires population count gerrymandering o chooses own leader Speaker of the House members get to choose who leader is Dem vote Dem Rep vote Rep Senate o 6 year term longest elected term in Gov t o originally indirect now direct election 17th Amendment o state based representation states count equally not based on number of people o leader imposed by Constitution Vice President President of the Senate Vice President VP takes over if Pres leaves office impeached death Temporal Structure chronological organization o Two year Congress ends with each election 2013 113th Congress 1st Session o All internal rules adopted at start of new congress Old Congress makes rules for themselves new makes rules for themselves Endogenous Rules All rules from old and new congress are very similar o All bills must pass within a congress or they die Important Powers Enumerated Constitution enumerates Congress powers o Tax H R initiates o Appropriation Spend Money o Regulate Interstate Commerce o Declare War o Organize Judicial and Executive Branches o Confirm Executive Judicial Appointees Senate o Removal Power of Execution and Judicial Officials o Can Elect President H R Vice president Senate o Necessary and Proper Clause Elastic Clause Describing the Members of Congress o Demographic and Occupational Characteristics Descriptive representation shared traits Not in U S Policy representation shared views Do they spend their time on the things we care about Approval ratings for all of Congress low approval for your rep high o Incumbents 90 success for those seeking reelection 15 turnover rate due to retirements 10 15 serve 20 years o Member Goals and Their Implications Reelection impact of Seniority Rule Policy that we want get our vote Power to people who have been there the longest power to those who get reelected In house Influence Powerful in the committee system endogenous rule Powerful in your party Make good policy Helps them move to committees that they care about How Members get to Congress o Single Member Plurality Districts System one man one vote applied to House one person one vote Wesberry v Sanders 1964 Gerrymandering advantage given to one political party over the other State legislatures are given the power to draw district lines o Incumbency Advantage Name Recognition Claim credit pork barrel Casework constituency service Position taking Government funded resources 1 3 million for house in 2012 Ex staffing the franking privilege Campaign finance support 2 to 1 advantage over challengers Challenger intimidation Quality challengers wait for an open seat Discussion 11 05 Congress Obama s Proposal Gun Control o Ban assault rifles o Republicans Democrats Rural Urban Interest what voters want Personal Issues Rep McCarthy s husband 3 Goals of Congress o Reelection Please voters o In house Policy o Make good policy Personal issues Rep McCarthy Pork Barrel Spending o Rep s trying to get things added into Bills to benefit their district and gain votes Immigration Reform o 2 Ways for Success Gang of 8 puts together its own Bill Bi partisan group of 8 Senators Pass a more limited Bill o 3 Ways to Fail Too aggressive Democrats voting no on it Too difficult to get people to agree on Lecture 11 05 Rules of Congress Committee System Committee Functions o Conduct research collect analyze information o Provide expertise recommend bills to chamber o Act as political agents build support for bills modify bills to reduce opposition Consequences of Committee System o Fragmentation and Decentralization of Chamber s Power to Subsets of Members o Specialization of members in preferred policy issues o Reciprocity of influence Chamber defers to Committees judgments about policy within their jurisdiction The Party System o Structure Hierarchical and centralized within chambers o Party Leadership Structure in Congress House Constitution Speaker of the House Elected by members House Constitution Speaker of the House elected by members o Chamber Rules Majority Leader Whips Rank and File Minority Leader Whips Rank and File Senate Constitution President of the Senate Vice President of the U S o Chamber Rules Majority Leader Whips Rank and File Minority Leader Whips Rank and File Within each party organization Caucuses Policy Campaign Finance Committee Assignments o Leadership task institutional Coherence Set chamber agenda Build coalitions within chamber Liaison with other chamber and president o Leadership Powers Formal set by chamber at start of each congress Run caucus that assigns members to committees Appoint party members to Rules Committee Recognize speakers on the floor Refer bills to standing committees Appoint party members to temporary committees Informal informational advantages o Party System Effects Centralize Authority Weak leaders lack control over nominations Natural cohesion similar constituency views Source of national orientation within chamber o Changes in Power of Committees and Parties H R Endogenous rules balance of power changes with changes in members values Through 1900 s dominated by Speaker of the House No careerism ideological homogeneity Members rely on Speaker of the House Members gain power by obeying Speaker 1910 Revolt against Speaker Adopt Seniority Rule Progressive vs pro business Republicans Progressive gain committee power through seniority Seniority Rule Speaker can no longer appoint to committees 1930 s 70 s Committee Government Democratic majority ideologically diverse Speaker weaker power over agenda and committees Committees more power on bills reported to the floor Lecture 11 07 Continued o 1980 s 210 Stronger Speakers and Parties Increased ideological homogeneity in majority party Safer for