patterson ch11

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Chapter 11

© 2015 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 11-2

Congress as a Career: Election to Congress

Using incumbency to stay in CongressThe service strategy: taking care of constituentsCampaign fundraising: raking in the moneyRedistricting: favorable boundaries for incumbents


Congress as a Career: Election to Congress

Pitfalls of incumbencyDisruptive issuesPersonal misconductTurnout variation: the midterm election problemPrimary election challengersGeneral election challengers: a problem for senatorsA new threat: super PACs


Parties and Party LeadershipParty caucus—closed sessionParty unity in Congress

Parties are the strongest force within CongressHeightened unity seen through roll-call votes in recent

decades


Parties and Party LeadershipParty leadership in Congress

House leadersSpeaker of the HouseHouse majority leaderHouse majority whip


Parties and Party LeadershipSpeaker of the House

Elected by the House membershipBy default, a member of the majority partySaid to be the second-most-powerful official in WashingtonDevelops party issuesPersuades party membersCan speak first during debateRecognizes speakers during debateInfluences House Rules Committee


Parties and Party LeadershipSenate leaders

Majority party leader is the most powerful senatorThe vice president presides over the Senate; however, has

power only to cast tie-breaking voteSenate president pro tempore presides over the Senate in the

vice president’s absenceLargely an honorary position held by the majority party’s

senior member


Committees and Committee Leadership

Committee types: standing, select, conferenceCommittee jurisdiction

Bills introduced must be referred to the proper committee Committee membership typically mirrors the party ratio

of the bodyCommittee chairs

Typically senior members of the majority party Committees and parties: which is in control?

The power of subcommittees: “little legislatures”


How a Bill Becomes a LawCommittee hearings and decisions

Most work on legislation is done in committeeFrom committee to the floor

Rules for debate are definedLeadership and floor action

Debate, changes, and vote by full membershipConference committees and the president

Reconcile differences between similar legislationPresident signs, vetoes, or uses pocket veto


Congress’s Policymaking RoleLawmaking function of Congress

Makes laws authorizing federal programsBroad issues: fragmentation as a limit on Congress’s role

The president typically has the more prominent role.Congress in the lead: fragmentation as a policymaking

strengthAbility to deal with narrow problems, but not broad ones


Congress’s Policymaking RoleThe representation function of Congress

Representation of states and districts: focus on the localRepresentation of the nation through parties: focus on the

big issuesThe obstacle of partisan divisions

Oversight function of CongressSees that executive branch carries out the laws faithfullyDone primarily by committeesDemanding task that can’t be done adequately


Congress: An Institution DividedPro (advantages):

Culturally representative of nationDiverse interests represented

Cons (disadvantages):National interest subjugated to special interestsDisproportionate influence of the minority

patterson ch11

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