US Congress

• Parties in Congress are very weak as there is few "stick and carrot" to help promote unity
• Parties have no control over the candidate nomination - it is chosen by the voters in primaries. This means that the members have to worry about the voter not the party
• House members focus on more local issues especially to do with constituent whilst Senate focus on international issues
• Senators serve longer terms so they may be less responsive to their electorates
• There are caucus in Congress that have certain ideological leaning - House Freedom Caucus in the GOP is most right wing and often rebel against the leadership
• Traditionally, legislation had be passed by the broad coalition of both parties in Congress
• Separation of power means that members of Congress cannot run for the executive position
• Decline in the overlap is caused by the increased partisanship and polarisation between the two parties
• Members of Congress are often punished if they work with the other party - Liz Cheney lost the Wyoming primaries due to her collaboration with Democrats on Jan 6th
• Republican 2016 - 93% opposition to Obama Democrat 2017 - 93% opposition to Trump
• Endorsement is important for member of Congress running in midterm like Trump in 2018
• Senate Judiciary Committee - confirmation of appointment
• Senate Foreign Relation Committee - ratification of treaties
• House Rule Committee - set times for bills on the floor of House
• Ways & Means - tax legislation
• Bills can be pigeonholed on the committee stages to prevent it from being voted on the floor
• The standing committee is filled with specialist who have specific interest in the subject manner - the military committees are often filled with ex-military personnel
• Select Committees are temporary, they only last as long as there is an issue that needs addressing
• Joint Select Committees are made up of members from both houses of congress
• Legislation that was passed with bipartisan support - 2002 No Child Left Behind/ 2021 Infrastructure bill
• Legislation that failed to pass are 2014 DREAM Act/ 2017 ACHA Act
• Oversight hearings are held by the relevant committee to investigate issues such as corruption, mismanagement, wasteful spending etc.