Various terms associated with lawmaking
- logrolling (refer back to previous post)
- earmark funding appropriations specifically designated within legislation for a named project in a distrcit or state
- pork concept that legislators who deliver earmarks for their constituents are 'bringing home the bacon'
So then, how does a bill become a law See Figure 12-5 on p.435
House Committees & Senate Committees This is where things happen Standing Committees
- permanent committees; usually have sub-committees that report to them examples House: Budget, Foreign Affairs, Rules*, Ways & Means* (*=something notable) examples Senate: Judiciary, Foreign Relations
Forward to minute 23 to see the Hearings before the Senate Foreign Relations Committe on Syria from September 2013
Select Committees
- created to carry out a specific task example: Watergate investigative committees Joint Committees
- addresses issues that affect both House and Senate
Conference Committee
- members of House & Senate resolve differences in two similar bills passed for same purpose
Note importance of Committee Membership, Committee Chairs, seniority, safe seats, and what the discharge petition is
Leadership positions in the House
(selected by party caucus)
Speaker of the House (most powerful)
Party leaders (majority and minority)
Party whips (majority and minority)
Leadership positions in the Senate
(again, selected by party caucus)
Party leaders (majority and minority) special note: majority leader most powerful in Senate
Party whips (majority and minority)
President of the Senate
President Pro-tempore
Reapportionment & Redistricting & Gerrymandering
- 435 members in the House (fixed at that number in 1929)
- Each district represents approx. 690,000 people for correct apportionment
- Each state guaranteed a minimum of 1 seat in the House, so ratio not always perfect
- House is reapportioned based on census
- Malapportionment is unconstitutional (Wesberry v Sanders ; Davis v Bandemer)
- Gerrymandering (drawing district boundaries for political advantage) does happen and isn't necessarily unconstitutional
depends on whether the courts feel that the boundaries disenfranchise or violate the equal protection clause
Alternatives to the traditional gerrymandering-style of redistricting
- nonpartisan redistricting
see figure 12-3 on p.420
- "minority-majority" districts
All Congressional districts must be drawn so that they comply with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. They must not intentionally disenfranchise voters nor violate the equal protection clause.
Perks & Privileges for Members of Congress
- franking privilege
- permanent professional staff
- privileges and immunities under the law (Article I Section 6)
Congressional Elections
- every two years (all House & 1/3 of Senate)
- House district size determined by census
- House districts organized by state (each state guaranteed at least 1 seat)
- each state has 2 Senators chosen by popular vote of state (16th amend)
- elections organized by states (must meet national criteria) (Article I Section IV)
- territories elect non-voting representatives to House
Qualifications for House / Senate
- minimum 25 yrs old / 30
- US citizen minimum 7 yrs / 9 yrs
- resident of state representing / same
Unofficial qualifications??
Keys to electoral victory
- fundraising winning a House seat = +$1.4 mil / Senate seat = +$8.5 mil for more on fundraising & elections that will make you think, watch this TED Talk
- appeal to the base must be able to win direct primary before general election
- meet unofficial requirements
- ride the coattails if they are available refer to Table 12-3 on p.415 to examine midterm election results and Presidential coattail effect
- incumbency advantage refer to Table 12-4 on p.416; roughly 90% retention rate for Congressional seats
Congressional Apportionment
Apportionment - allocation of seats on the House of Reps based on population
Reapportionment
Malapportionment
Redistricting
Let's quickly review the various powers of Congress: Article I Section 8
Expressed (Enumerated) A1 S8 C1-17
Inherent
Implied A1 S8 C18
And don't forget the powers denied to Congress: Article I Section 9 Now let's examine the Enumerated Powers in detail
Article 1 Section 8 Clause 1 - power to levy taxes (remember sources of tax revenue)
Clause 2 - power to borrow money (borrowing can lead to deficits)
Clause 3 - power to regulate commerce (commerce clause; Gibbons v Ogden; HofA v US)
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Clause 11 - power to declare war (War Powers Act)
Clause 12 - raise an army
Clause 13 - raise a navy
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Clause 18 - to do what is necessary & proper (necessary & proper clause/ elastic clause)
Checks on the power of Congress:
- checked by the executive - veto
- checked by the judicial - judicial review
- checked by the people - elections
- checked by the legislative - opposing chamber
What are the structural differences between the House and Senate? (see Table 12-1 on p.410)
What do those differences reflect and what are the effects? (see explanation of rules & rules committees on p.411)
Many of you have heard of a filibuster, but what is it really? What is its effect? How do you beat the filibuster?
Now....it's time to play..... Who's In Congress??!!!! Refer to Table 12-2 on p.413.
In short, broad, and general terms, members of Congress are: - older
- whiter
- manlier
- richer
than the general American population.
We can consider 6 basic functions for all members of Congress.
- The Lawmaking Function
- The Representation Function
- The Service Function
- The Oversight Function
- The Public Education Function
- The Conflict Resolution Function
In the interest of time, let's bypass the latter four (you can read about them in your text; pretty self-explanatory) and let's focus on the first two functions: lawmaking & representation.
The most basic task of any legislator is to legislate (i.e. - to make laws). This is easier said than done. We will see later on that getting a bill through the process of becoming a law is dang-near-impossible. Today, most of the laws that Congress tries to pass aren't even written by those in Congress. They are brought to the Congress by the White House (written by their team of lawyers) or by special interest groups (written by their team of lawyers). Bills that somehow navigate their way through Congress usually only survive because of logrolling (vocab term). Simply put, I'll support your bill if you support mine. How badly do you really want your bill passed?
So, the most basic task of those in Congress (legislating) is a bit more difficult than we first thought. Surely the other most basic task, representing the people, is simpler.
We live in a democratically-elected representative republic. Therefore, each elected representative is tasked with representing the will of their constituents (the people they represent). This is not an easy task however. Think of what it really means to represent a large group different people. For every decision, a good representative must take into consideration the following:
- constituents
- interested groups (interest groups)
- "the people" (the good of the nation as a whole)
- self (personal beliefs)
If you take all of those into consideration for each decision, then you can see that legislating well can be a very difficult task.
The Structure of Congress
As we know, by way of the Great Compromise, Congress is a bicameral body.
Theoretical map of US for apportionment
Map of the US for equal representation of state
And this is a map of the United States Congressional Districts
Time to play..... Who's in Congress?!!!!
Basic rule of thumb (yes, it's a huge generalization but tends to be true....awkward)
The limits of Constitutional power and the power of the different spheres of government (national/state) continued to evolve during the early 19th Century. After all, the United States was (and still is to some extent) an experiment in federal democratic republicanism.
Secession & Civil War
at question: Does a state have the autonomy to decide to withdraw from the Union?
conclusion/result: No (might makes right); 14th Amendment
Dual Federalism essentially ends with FDR and the New Deal. America then enters a period characterized by what is known as Cooperative Federalism. (state and national government work together on a common problem; i.e.- unemployment)
Cooperative Federalism evolves into what is called (for our purposes) Picket-Fence Federalism by the 1960s. Different levels of government tackle the same problem in their own way while trying to support the efforts of the other levels.
The most influence that the national government has over state governments today comes by the way of what we call fiscal federalism.
Fiscal federalism - taxing, spending, and providing aid within the federal structure
The national government can have an immense amount of influence over what the states do by offering grants-in-aid to the states. (We can just refer to them as grants) This is money that is given to the state by the national government to aid the state governments in doing something.
Grants come in 2 forms: categorical grants or block grants
Categorical grants - money is designated and can only be used for a specific purpose (category) Example: Money is provided to the state to assist specifically with bridge repairs/renovations Block grants - money that is provided for use in a general area Example: money is provided to the state to assist with general transportation needs So the national government just gives away money to state governments? Is the national government the most benevolent institution or what? Well.......no.
As with many gifts, there are strings attached. The strings, we call mandates.
Mandates - conditions of aid Things the state has to do in order to receive the grant money Examples: Education money & 'No Child Left Behind'; National Drinking Age Some mandates exist, not so that a state can get aid, but so that the state can continue to receive the aid it already received regularly. These are referred to as unfunded mandates. (comply or else)
Again, it all comes down to money. What is money? (Power) How much of it do you want? (All of it or as much as you can get) So are you willing to comply with some rules and stipulations in order to get it?
Welcome to the world of grants & mandates. Fiscal federalism at its finest.
As you can see, under the current structure of American Federalism, economic conditions/incentives make things happen. This is also true of how the government exercises its influence over the people. The government, through the use and interpretation of the commerce clause, has seen an expansion of power ever since Gibbons v Ogden. That expansion of the commerce clause has become more acute in recent history.
While the Constitution allows a certain amount of autonomy for the states, it also lays out specific rules for how the states must interact with one another as a part of this Union.
Interstate Relations - Article IV
A4 S1 - give full faith and credit to every other state's public acts, records, and judicial proceedings full faith & credit clause
As long as the conditions surrounding the record, act, license, etc. are similar between the states, each state is expected to recognize the records, judicial rulings, licenses, of other states (rule of reciprocity)
A4 S2 - extend to every other state's citizens the privileges and immunities of its own citizens privileges & immunities clause
A state cannot discriminate against a citizen of another state in the application of law just because they are from another state
A4 S2 - agree to return persons who are fleeing from justice in another state back to their home state extradition clause
States must be willing to extradite persons fleeing justice when requested and not knowingly harbor them
Defining Constitutional Power
Since the federal court system has the power to interpret the Constitution (What's that called? Where did it come from?), it stands to reason that they would be the ones to define the limits of Constitutional power when it is in dispute.
McCulloch v Maryland - 1819
- at question: the necessary & proper clause
- decision defines: validity of n&p clause; supremacy clause
McCulloch v Maryland: Part 1
McCulloch v Maryland: Part II
Gibbons v Ogden - 1824
- at question: state power v national power
- decision defines: extension of commerce clause
Concurrent powers
powers held at both levels of government as a matter of fact; not necessarily due to enumeration
The Constitution, while being very gray at times, is also a very logical document. It is structured as a basic outline of government and its powers. It stands to reason then, that if Article I Section 8 were to list the powers of the Congress, that Article I Section 9 lists the powers that are denied to Congress.
In short hand form:
AI S9 C1 - slave trade cannot be abolished before 1808
AI S9 C2 - writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended (unless in times of rebellion)
AI S9 C3 - no bill of attainder or ex post facto laws allowed
AI S9 C4 - no direct tax shall be laid (direct tax on the people)
AI S9 C5 - no export tariffs
AI S9 C6 - no preference given to certain states/ports regarding tariffs
AI S9 C7 - no shady money dealings Congress
AI S9 C8 - no giving of titles of nobility; no accepting titles of nobility
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