2. Congress

• Congress is the federal legislative branch of the US government, responsible for legislation and oversight of the executive.

  • Congress has consistently low approval ratings: from June 2020 to June 2021 between 15% and 36 % of Americans approved Congress's work
  • It will be seen that while Congress has significant powers, its effectiveness varies
• The structure of the US Congress

  • It is bicameral (two chambers)
  • Congressional elections are held every two years
  • Senators serve six-year terms, representatives serve two-year terms
  • one third of Senate seats and all House seats are contested at each election
  • Congress was designed by the Founding Fathers as a compromise: seats in the house were allocated according to state population to please larger states; but every state receives two seats in the senate to reassure smaller states.
• The Senate


  The upper house of Congress. It has 100 Senators, who serve six year terms. Each State has two senators
• House of Representatives


  The lower house of Congress. It has 435 members, called representatives or congress people, who are elected for two-year terms. Members represent congressional districts within a state
• Roles of Congress

  • Passing legislation
  • Representing the people
  • Overseeing the executive
  • declaring war
• Power of Congress

  • Legislative powers to initiate and approve legislation
  • Overriding a presidential veto
  • initiating amendments to the constitution
  • Ratifying treates (Senate only)
  • Declaring war
  • Congressional oversight on federal budgets and in committees
  • Confirming presidential appointments (Senate)
  • Electing the president if there is a hung electoral college (not since 1824)
• Powers of Congress: Legislation


  To initiate, debate, amend and pass legislation:

  • Either chamber can block legislation - approval of both is needed
  • Senators can filibuster a bill
  • The Senate needs a 3/5 supermajority to invoke cloture on a bill
  • The President decides whether to sign, veto or leave a bill
  • In a presidential veto, congress decides whether to amend or abandon the bill, or override the veto
  • A 2/3 majority in both chambers is required to override a veto
• Powers of Congress: Legislation

  Effectiveness:

  • only 2-3% of bills become law, fallen since the 1980s
  • Gridlock typically occurs if the House and Senate are confirmed by different parties
  • Frequent use of filibusters can kill off legislation
  • Increased use of 'closed rules' by house rules committee makes fewer amendments to bills
  • Presidential vetoes are rarely overturned as a supermajority is needed. Trump vetoed 10, Obama 12, but each only has one overriden.
• Powers of Congress: Oversight

  To oversee and investigate the activities of the government, an implied power:

  • Congressional committees hold hearing and investigate government actions
  • Congress can compel witnesses to provide information
  • Lying to Congress is a crime with a prison sentence
  • Congress has an agency to investigate and audit the government
  • Congress can impeach and try any government officials
  • Senate confirmation is needed for many executive nominees
  • Senate approval is needed to ratify treaties negotiated by the president
• Powers of Congress: Oversight

  Effectiveness:

  • oversight is typically weaker during periods when one party holds the presidency and both houses.
  • It is stronger during periods of divided government, as the majority members of one or both houses have an incentive to investigate
  • Investigation can smear the political opposition rather than being positive, they can be lengthy and time-consuming
  • It is difficult to attack an unpopular president
  • Fear of oversight keeps government effective
  • Confirmation of nominees is highly politicised
• Filibuster


  A tactic used in the Senate to prevent a vote. Senators can debate for as long as they wish, so filibustering senators aim to speak long enough to use up all the time available for voting
• Cloture


  The process for ending a filibuster. A 3/5 majority is needed to end a filibuster of a bill, but only a simple majority on a presidential nomination
• Divided government


  Different parties hold the presidency and at least one chamber of congress
• Unified government 


  One party holds the presidency, the House of Representatives and the Senate
• Composition of Congress 


  Members of Congress have to meet the following criteria:

  • Age - over 25 for representatives, over 30 for senators
  • Citizenship - representatives need to have been a US citizen for a minimum of seven years, senators for a minimum of nine years
  • Residency - must reside in the state they represent
• Composition of Congress

  The composition of Congress has been criticised for failing to accurately represent US society:

  • women make up 27% of representation in Congress despite being 51% of the US population
  • Black Americans are 12% of Congress ~
  • no religion is 0.2% despite being 23% of the country
• Composition of Congress 


  The composition of Congress has been criticised for failing to accurately represent US society:

  • Many members of Congress first serve in the state legislatures, where women and black Americans are also under-represented. This makes it difficult to increase numbers in Congress as there can be a shortage of suitable candidates
  • In 2018, more women ran for Congress than ever before. This 'pink wave' continued in 2018 and 2020.
  • Black and Hispanic Americans are better represented in the house than the senate. due to Majority minority districts.
• Majority-minority districts 


  Congressional districts in which a majority of voters in the district are from the same minority group. These may be created by drawing constituency boundaries that give the minority group a majority, making it more likely that a candidate from the minority group will be elected.
• Composition of Congress 


  Congress has been criticised for the narrow background of its members:

  • the main professions of members before entering congress are law, politics and business
  • members of congress are also a much better educated than the general population. Just 35% of US adults over 25 years had a university degree in 2019, but 99% of the 117th Congress did.
• Terms of office 


  Members of the senate and house have different terms of office:

  • six years for senators
  • two years for representatives

  There are several benefits of having terms of office of different lengths:

  • Senators are in post longer, so they should become more experienced
  • Senators should be able to take a more long term view of issues than reps , as they do not need to face public as frequently
  • the composition of the House can alter dramatically every two years, reflecting the consensus
  • The house gives an accurate representation of the nations politics, Senate is protected
• Party Allegiance 


  In Congress:

  • all members of the House of Representatives are either republican or democrat
  • all but two senators are either republican or democrat
  • those two senators are independents, but they work closely with the Democrats e.g. Senator Bernie Sanders
• Congressional Caucuses 


  Members of Congress belong to a caucus:

  • There is the house or senate republican caucus, Democrat House or Senate Democratic caucus
  • Smaller congressional caucuses act as 'sub-groupings' of members with a similar interest to advance
  • often ideological, for example the House Freedom Caucus represents conservative Republicans libertarians
  • Some congressional caucuses include members of both parties
  • congressional caucuses may include members from both houses
  • Smaller caucuses can act as alternative influence to the party influence
• Party Leadership

  • members of each party caucus elect a leader, known as the majority leader if their party has a minority in that chamber.
  • The majority and minority leaders act as 'floor leaders' in both chambers
  • The speaker of the House is the most high-profile leadership position, elected by all members of the house, presides over debates and keeps order in the house, second only to the VP in succession.
  • The house majority leader follows the speakers agenda and may provide opposition to the president if different party
• Party discipline

  • traditionally been weak, ability of leaders and whips are limited
  • The separation of powers prevents party leaders from offering government positions to members in congress for support
  • The speaker decides who sits on the House Rules Committee and who chairs select committees
  • As Congress has become more partisan, members vote more on party lines
  • Party leaders still have to use their powers of persuasion to keep all the factions within their party unified
  • Party discipline is particularly important when a party lacks a significant majority.
• Partisanship 


  A situation in which the political parties are strongly opposed to each other and have little common ground. It usually results in parties refusing to compromise or work together
• Partisanship

  • Members of Congress have become increasingly polarised over the past two decades
  • In the 1980s many members were centrists, with considerable overlap between centrist Republican/Democrats
  • The parties have moved away from each other - less in the centre
  • bipartisanship is much more difficult
  • Party unity votes have increased significantly
  • Bipartisan votes are rare, but can still happen if party leaders compromise
  • Republican senators were so opposed to Biden's American Rescue Plan Act that democrats were forced to use a complex rule called budget reconciliation to pass.
• Representative role of senators and representatives 


  Individual members of Congress perform their representative function in the following ways:

  • Communicating with their constituents through 'town hall' meetings, visits and social media, to ensure that they understand their constituents
  • Debating, amending and voting on legislation
  • Sitting on relevant standing committees.
  • Lobbying the government for funds or policies that would benefit their constituents "pork barrel politics"
  • Using their congressional offices and staff to help constituents with problems
• • Delegate model Representatives vote according to their constituents’ wishes, ignoring their own judgment if it conflicts with that of their constituents.
  • Trustee model Representatives should vote according to their best judgment, not their constituents’ wishes. This assumes that representatives are better placed to make decisions than constituents as they have a better understanding of the issues.
• The whole of Congress also has a demographic representative function:

  • This relates to how closely the whole of Congress reflects the gender, race, age and social background of America
  • Congress under-represents many key groups of voters, e.g. women and ethnic minorities
• Relative strengths of the House of Representatives and the Senate

  The House and the Senate have joint powers in the following key areas:

  • legislation
  • oversight
  • overriding a presidential veto
  • initiating amendments to the constitution
  • declaring war
• Relationship of Congress to the executive branch of government and Supreme Court

  Relationship to the executive:

  • regular contract and meetings between the presidents administration and members of Congress
  • The Office of Legislative Affairs is a government department which exists to lobby members of Congress to vote for the presidents legislation
  • key figures in the presidents administration will reach out to members of congress
  • the administration will 'call in favours' to secure the votes it needs
  • The executive may lobby and subtly modify its legislation to win support from both parties
• Relationship of Congress to the executive branch of government and Supreme Court 


  Supreme Court:

  • The Supreme Court can rule that Acts of Congress are unconstitutional and therefore no longer law
  • Congress can overturn the ruling of the court, but only by passing a constitutional amendment, which would then need to be ratified by the states
  • In practice the courts decision usually stands, as it is difficult to amend the constitution
  • the senate plays a key role in the confirmation of the Supreme Court Justices, and can impeach