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| Context & Significance of congress |
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Definition
1. “First branch” of government under Article I
2. Congress is the only rep body that possesses powers of governance.
3. Federalist 51 described Congress as the most dangerous branch. |
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| members of the district from which an official is elected |
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representatives are held accountable to their constituents
constituents have the power to hire and fire their representatives |
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| house vs senate differences |
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Definition
1. Terms: Senate 6 years ; House 2 years
2. Number: 435 vs. 100
2. The Senate is more deliberate: any and all ideas can receive thorough hearing.
-the rules give its leaders relatively little power and specialization.
-better able to deal with large groups and interest organized on a national basis
3. The House is more centralized and organized
-The rules give House leaders more control over the legis. process and provide for
House members to specialize in certain legislative areas.
4. Partisanship:
a. Senators are concerned. They are more likely to seek compromises that will offend as few voters as possible.
b. the House members usually rep more homogenous districts in which their own party is dominant. House is less inclined to seek compromises. |
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holding a political office for which one is running
Incumbency Effect:
♣ House - 95% and 99% get re-elected
♣ Senatorial - 90% re-elected |
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| an effort by members of congress to gain the trust and support of constituents by providing them with personal service. E.g. receiving favorable treatment from the federal bureaucracy |
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a variety of forms of direct services and benefits that members provide to their districts
The resources available to higher officials, usually opportunities to make partisan appointments to offices and to confer grants, licenses or special favors to supporters |
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legislation in which reps seek to capture federal projects and funds for their own districts
appropriations made by legislative bodies for local projects that are often not needed but are created so that local representatives can win reelection their home district |
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a permanent committee with the power to propose and write legislation that covers a particular subject
The committee system provides Congress with its second org structure, but it is more a division and specialization of labor than a hierarchy of power that determines leadership arrangements. |
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congressional committee decides the order in which bills come up for a vote and determined the specific rules that govern the length of debate and opportunity for amendments
assigns numbers to bills and decides which committees the bill should be sent to.
• Lower the number, higher the priority
• Set the terms of debate when the bill comes to the house floor
• Amendments have to be germane - have to actually pertain to the topic (unlike Senate)
• An increasing trend is to prohibit amendments on bills |
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joint H/S committee charged with reconciling the differences between the two bills. Then it must be approved on the floor of each chamber.
Conference committee irons out the differences between senate and house versions of bills passed |
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a. Closed rule: preferred by a bill’s supporters because it limits floor debate/amends.
b. Open rule: preferred by a bill’s opponents because it permits floor debates and amendments that may weaken or cripple the bill |
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write the bill, assigned a number (based on priority), assigned a committee, if passed, then debate, and finally passage/rejection.
1. Bills are submitted in a hopper and have to be sponsored by a congress person
2. Rules Committee (includes Speaker of House) - assigns numbers to bills and decides which committees the bill should be sent to.
3. Committees can "mark up" a bill to make it more palatable to more people
4. Sequential consideration leads to most bills dying in committee
5. 6,000-10,000 bills are proposed in a two-year cycle
6. Framer's wanted bills to actually have legitimacy, which is why it is so hard to get through |
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multiple referral; somebody intros a bill and someone refers it to committee.
the norm? |
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a tactic whereby a small minority can force the majority to consider its demands
every senator has a right to be heard
o Can end a debate with a supermajority |
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the way to end a filibuster, by receiving 60 votes (super majority)
Rule allowing supermajority of the members of a legislative body to set a time limit on a debate |
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Delegate (constituency expects you to do whatever they want), Trustee (act how you would anyways), Politico (middle ground)
o Individual Constituents
o Organized Interests
o District as a whole |
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the effort by Congress through hearings and investigations to exercise control over the activities of executive agencies
Informal: visiting agencies and sending questionnaires
Formal: committees conduct hearings and investigations |
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statutes or bills, the amounts of money approved by Congress for each agency
amount of money approved by the Congress in bills that each agency or unit of the government can spend |
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the exchange of support or favors
a legislative practice wherein reciprocal agreements are made between legislators, usually in voting for or against a bill. In contrast to bargaining, parties to logrolling have nothing in common but their desire to exchange support. |
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the tendency of Congress to spread the benefits of a bill over a wide range of members’ districts
The tendency of Congress to spread the benefits of a bill over a wide range of members’ district |
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| congress and public trust |
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Definition
not much
25% view favorably |
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