POLS 206 1st Edition Lecture 11Outline of Last Lecture I. The Senate and House of RepresentativesOutline of Current Lecture II. The House of Representatives OrganizationIII. The Senate OrganizationIV. Committees of CongressV. Process in Legislationa. Introb. Committee referredc. Committees start actingd. Bill reporte. Schedule on the Floorf. Debating on the Floorg. Votes!h. Committees in Conferencei. Last, the President’s approval?Vl. More Congress Responsibilities Current Lecture l. The House of Representatives Organizationa. Speaker of the House- essentially, leader of the House and majority party, controls what is said and who speaks in the House, and assigns committees- so a very powerful position. (#3 in power over the US, the President being #1 and Vice President #2). Republican John Boehner is Speaker right now. b. Majority Leader- essentially keeps the party together and in line, like a spokesperson. c. Majority Whip- this person is the party discipline, getting people to vote for bills, the enforcer of the political partyd. Minority Leader- has same responsibilities as majority leader, but over the minority party (right now it is Democratic Nancy Pelosi).e. Minority Whip- has same responsibilities as majority whip but on minority party side.ll. The Senate Organizationa. Vice President (VP) (right now, Joe Biden) is President of the Senate, heads the Senateb. President pro tem- is in control when VP is gone (which is frequently), is elected by their own party, #4 in the line of controlling the US.c. Majority Leader, Majority Whip, Minority Leader, Minority Whip- all much of the sameresponsibilities as in the House Majority but for the Senate insteadlll. Committees of Congressa. the real work of making bills b. responsibilities is split, thus allowing subjects to be fully investigatedc. House: 19 Standing Committees (Standing Committees deal with large issues such as transportation)d. Senate: 16 Standing Committeese. Political parties decide who goes in each committeef. Subcommittees are divided from committees, thus allowing concentration on subjectsand real work is done (200+ subcommittees)g. Joint Committees- involve both the Senate and House, for certain/particular assignments/questions and for limited timeh. Conference Committees- involve both the Senate and House, work only with bills for specific legislative reasonsi. Select Committees- set-up for a small time limit and specific issue, either with the House or SenatelV. Process in Legislationa. Intro- one member of either House or Senate can introduce a bill, most are made ready by executive branch and presented by a nicer legislator, Congressmen are given copies and consideredb. Committee referred- the bill is given a number and “referred” to a standing committee, the Speaker assigning the bill in the House and the President of the Senate assigning the bill in the Senate, then further goes on to a subcommittee (to tryto look at all aspects of the bill)c. Committees start acting- subcommittees do research on bill (Staff Research), public hearings are made (the public can voice their opinion), “mark-ups” are made on the bill (revising it), majority have to approve in order to go on then reported to Full Chamberd. Bill report- can be good (favorable) whether revised or not, or unfavorable, in which case the committee thinks it over. The report itself describes what the bill is about and what the committee plans to do with it (this is like a “cheat sheet” for Congress to look over the bill)e. Schedule on the Floor- The House: the Rules Committee and Leadership decide on bills and debates on the floor (when the floor debate is and details of the bills); the Senate: bills that come through must have a “unanimous” vote in order to bring the bill into consideration (cannot happen if one Senator does not vote for it, the bill does not go on- it does not happen often, with the idea being “treat us well, we treat you well”f. Debating on the Floor- hardly ever changes anyone’s mind- the House: close regulation by the Rules Committee and Speaker because of so many members, the Chairperson of the Standing Committee usually controlling the debate (timed now forsake of time and need to keep things moving); the Senate- no time limit, filibusters are allowed- once someone starts talking they can talk for as long as they want as long as they do not leave the floor, if 16 Senators sign a petition (3/5’s vote) and give the Senator one hour then the Filibuster can endg. Votes!- both chambers, majority makes quorum- minimum number of people to hold a session (so a minority cannot get together and pass a bill), members can show the vote, can be a voice vote, standing vote or roll call (recorded), electronic voting (though this is not always completely safe from others voting in their place), though Senate does not use the electronic votingh. Committees in Conference- the bill has to be the same as in both the Senate and House and so must have communication. Once paired-up, the bill must be voted on againi. Last, the President’s approval?- after bill was passed, the President checks it out and within 10 days he has to sign it, veto it, or do nothing to it (in which case if Congress isin session, then the bill becomes a law, if they are not in session the the bill is automatically vetoed. V. More Congress Responsibilitiesa. The Senate has to approve no matter what position is taken, with Presidential Appointments or Treatiesb. Impeachment- the President put up on charges; the House deciding whether to bring the charges, the Senate working as the jury to hear the case and decide on the guilt, the Supreme Court, Peace Justice overseeing
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