Congress

1. Congress

2. Committees • Committees are the most important organizational feature of Congress • Consider bills or legislative proposals • Maintain oversight of executive agencies america.gov guides.library.msstate.edu

3. Committees • Conduct investigations • Membership is divided in proportion to the membership of the respective branch of Congress • Assignments usually are based on party loyalty and length of service wiki.verkata.com amesfetzer.blogspot.com

4. Types of Committees • Standing committees: permanent bodies with specified legislative responsibilities Hold meetings, hear speakers, and gather information about a bill • Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Budget • Subcommittees – subdivisions on specific issues Africa, Middle East, Europe

5. Types of Committees • Select committees: groups appointed for a limited purpose and limited duration – often related to scandals • Joint committees: those on which both representatives and senators serve thefullwiki.org House Select Committee on Intelligence jct.gov Joint Committee on Taxation

6. Types of Committees • Conference committee: a joint committee appointed to resolve differences in Senate and House versions of the same piece of legislation before final passage chsdemocrats.house.gov

7. Committee Practices • Majority party has majority of seats on the committees and names the chair • House - Committee Chairmen are limited to three terms • Speaker of the House to four terms • Senate – Committee Chairmen are limited to six years Senator Herb Kohl Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging ayselthofner.com

8. Committee Membership southernshiftnews.wordpress.com • How would the length of service on a committee benefit a member of Congress? • Specialization – It allows the member to become an expert in developing policy • Allows for a division of labor Congressman Paul Ryan

9. Committee Membership tulanelink.com • They are not dependent on the executive branch for guidance • They can pay special attention of a few areas of legislation Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner

10. Committee Membership dane101.com • How does the number of party representatives on committees benefit the party? • Committee representation reflects the whole chamber • It allows the party to control the agenda Senator Ron Johnson

11. Committee Membership examiner.com • It allows the party to determine the leadership on the committees – gives direction to the legislative discussions Congressman Tom Petri

12. Congressional Staff • Constituency service is a major task of members’ staff • Legislative functions of staff include devising proposals, negotiating agreements, organizing hearings, and meeting with lobbyists and administrators dreamstime.com

13. Congressional Staff • Members’ staff consider themselves advocates of their employers • Much of the negotiation over bills is conducted by the staff intermediaries clevelandseniors.com

14. House of Representative’s Staff Personnel: Each Member is allotted $748,312 to hire up to 18 staff and four additional temporary, part-time, or shared staff. Staff can not be paid more than $151,974 per year.

15. Senator’s Staff Senators do not have a limit on the amount staff they can hire. Administrative and clerical: This allowance is allocated based on the size of the Senator's state. The amount varies from $1,685,301 for a state with a population less than 5 million to $2,833,718 for a state with a population topping 28 million. Legislative assistance: Each Senator is allotted $450,477 to hire three Legislative Assistants to be paid no more than $150,159.

16. Staffs of Members and Committees in Congress http://www.legistorm.com/

17. Resolutions • Simple Resolution - simple resolutions are used to express nonbinding positions of the House/Senate or to deal with the House/Senate's internal affairs, such as the creation of a special committee. • They do not require action by the other Congressional body.

18. Simple House Resolution • H.RES.96 : Recognizing the soldiers of the 14th Quartermaster Detachment of the United States Army Reserve who were killed or wounded by an Iraqi missile attack on Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the attack.

19. Resolutions • Concurrent Resolution - A legislative measure, generally employed to address the sentiments of both chambers, to deal with issues or matters affecting both houses, such as a concurrent budget resolution, or to create a temporary joint committee. • Concurrent resolutions are not submitted to the President and thus do not have the force of law.

20. Concurrent Resolution • H.CON.RES.31 : Expressing the sense of Congress that the President is required to obtain in advance specific statutory authorization for the use of United States Armed Forces in response to civil unrest in Libya.

21. Resolutions • Joint Resolution – a legislative measure,, which requires the approval of both chambers and, with one exception, is submitted (just as a bill) to the President for possible signature into law. • J.R. also are used to propose constitutional amendments – these resolutions require a two-thirds affirmative vote in each house but are not submitted to the President; they become effective when ratified by three-quarters of the States.

22. Joint Resolution • The Iraq Resolution or the Iraq War Resolution (formally the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002, 116 Stat. 1498, enacted October 16, 2002, H.J.Res. 114) is a joint resolution passed by the United States Congress in October 2002 as Public Law No: 107-243, authorizing the Iraq War.

23. Joint Resolution • Congress by joint resolution called on the United States to recognize Texas's independence from Mexico in 1836. • Another significant joint resolution was the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution of 1964, by which the Congress authorized President Lyndon B. Johnson to take any military action necessary to prevent communist aggression in South Vietnam.

24. Passing A Bill

25. How a Bill Becomes a Law • Bill must be introduced by a member of Congress • Bill is referred to a committee for consideration by either Speaker or presiding officer of the Senate opensecrets.org

26. How a Bill Becomes a Law • All bills for raising revenue must originate in the House • Most bills die in committee freedomist.com

27. How a Bill Becomes a Law • After hearings and mark-up sessions, the committee reports a bill out to the House or Senate • Bill must be placed on a calendar to come for a vote before either house • House Rules Committee sets the rules for consideration thecapitol.net

28. Rules of Debate • Quorum – the minimum number of members that must be present to conduct business • Committee of the Whole – requires only 100 House members – They can do everything to a bill, except vote on it (218 members are required in the House) • Cloture - shuts off a filibuster – requires 3/5ths of the Senate – 60 members

29. Rules of Debate • Double tracking – a procedure used to keep the Senate going during a filibuster – temporarily shelve the disputed bill so the Senate can go on with other business

30. Rules of Debate • Hold - An informal practice by which a Senator informs his or her floor leader that he or she does not wish a particular bill or other measure to reach the floor for consideration. • The Majority Leader need not follow the Senator's wishes, but is on notice that the opposing Senator may filibuster any motion to proceed to consider the measure.

31. How a Bill Becomes a Law • Bills are debated on the floor of the House or Senate • If there are major differences in the bill as passed by the House and Senate, a conference committee is appointed • The bill goes to the president

32. How things work - House • Discharge petition – procedure used to get a stalled bill out of a committee • House – Closed Rule – strict time limit, forbids introduction of amendments from the floor, only allows amendments from the sponsoring committee

33. How things work • Open Rule – permits amendments from the floor • Restrictive Rules – limits the type of amendments from the floor

34. How a Bill Becomes Law • The president may sign it • If the president vetoes it, it returns to house of origin • Both houses must support the bill, with a two-thirds vote, in order to override the president’s veto

35. Congressional Lexicon • Rider – a provision added to a bill that is not germane to the bill’s purpose • Christmas Tree Bill – the addition of many riders to a bill

36. Congressional Lexicon • Pork Barrel – a piece of legislation that contains benefits to an individual Congressmen’s district – the hope is to win additional votes in future elections • Log Rolling – supporting legislation of another in return for support of their bill

37. Powers of the House and Senate • The House elects the President, if neither of the candidates receives a majority vote in the Electoral College • Impeachment – The House determines whether or not to bring criminal charges against a federal official

38. Powers of the House and Senate • The Senate conducts the trial and votes to convict and remove an impeached official • The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court serves as the trial judge

39. Powers of the House and Senate • The Senate selects the Vice-President when the Electoral College fails • The House initiates all revenue bills • The Senate ratifies all treaties • The Senate confirms judicial and executive appointments

40. House – Closer to the people • More representative of and responsive to the public because of its size and two-year terms

41. Powers of the House and Senate • Senate - more mature/”august” body • Longer and staggered terms • More closely reflects state, rather than individual district, interests