How a Bill Becomes a Law

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

Committees & Leadership Positions in Congress

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

Gerrymandering and a Look at Congressional Privileges

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 & Apportionment

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

Powers of Congress & Differences in House and Senate

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)
------
Clause 11 - power to declare war (War Powers Act)
Clause 12 - raise an army
Clause 13 - raise a navy
------
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.

What Does Congress Do?

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)

-older

-whiter

-manlier

-richer

than the general American population as a whole