Title: Chapter 12: Congressional Organization
1Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- The Presiding Officers
- The House of Representatives Speaker of the
House - The acknowledged leader of the majority party.
- Main duties revolve around presiding over and
keeping order in the House - The Speaker names the members of all select and
conference committees, and signs all bills and
resolutions passed by the House. - Speaker of the House in the 112th Congress is
John Boehner
2Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- The Presiding Officers
- Senate President of the Senate
- Assigned by the Constitution to the Vice
President - The president of the Senate has many of the same
duties as the Speaker of the House, but cannot
cast votes on legislation - The President of the Senate is Vice President
Joseph Biden
3Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- The Presiding Officers
- President Pro Tempore
- Leader of the majority party, is elected from the
Senate and serves in the Vice Presidents absence
Usually the longest tenured member of the
Majority Party in the Senate - The President Pro Tempore of the 112th Congress
is Senator Daniel Inouye.
4Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- The Presiding Officers
- The Floor Leaders House and Senate Majority and
Minority Leaders - Party officers picked for their posts by their
party colleagues - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
- House Majority (Republican) Leader Eric Cantor
- House Minority (Democrat) Leader Nancy Pelosi
5Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- The Presiding Officers
- Party Whips -
- Assist the floor leaders and serve as a liaison
between the partys leadership and its
rank-and-file members - Senate Assistant Majority Leader (Democratic
Whip) Richard Durbin - Senate Assistant Minority Leader (Republican
Whip) - Jon Kyl - House Majority (Republican) Whip Kevin
McCarthy - House Minority (Democrat) Whip Steny Hoyer
6Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- Committee Chairman
- Members of Congress who head the Standing
committees in each chamber. - Decide which bills the committee will consider,
in what order, and what witnesses the committee
will call allows testimony that will provide
the pros and cons of a bill. - Manage debate and steers passage on floor
- Seniority Rule An unwritten custom that the
most important posts in Congress are held by
those (Majority) party members with the longest
service record.
7Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- Types of Committees
- Standing Committees Permanent Panels in both
Houses of Congress. - Considers all bills of similar subject matter
- 20 in the House (10 to 75 members) 16 in the
Senate (14 to 28 members) - Representatives are usually assigned to one or
two Senators three to four standing committees. - Most bills receive most of their consideration
and their fate is determined in standing
committees. - See Handout.
8Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- Subcommittees Divisions of Standing Committees
- Do most of the committees work
- Responsible for a portion of the committees
workload - Select Committee (Special Committees) - Panels
set up for some specific purpose and for a
limited time - Main purpose is to investigate
- For example Watergate and Iran Contra Affair
9Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- Joint Committees Composed of members from both
Chambers of Congress - Some are permanent and some are temporary
- Investigate and issue reports (in depth studies
to provide information to Standing Committees) - Conference Committees A Select, Joint Committee
created to iron out differences in a bill - Resolves differences in House and Senate versions
of the same bill - Produces a compromise bill that both houses will
accept
10Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- Making a Law (House of Representatives)
- Bill A proposed law presented to the House of
Representatives or the Senate - Anyone can propose a bill
- The most important come from the Executive Branch
- All Revenue (money making or tax) bills must
originate in the House
11Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- Types of Bills
- Public Bills Measures applying to the nation as
a whole tax measures - Private Bills Measures that apply to certain
persons or places rather than the entire nation. - Joint Resolution Similar to bills, and when
passed have the effect of a law. - Deal with temporary matters to appropriate
(provide money to pay for something) money,
propose constitutional amendments, and annex
territories
12Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- Concurrent Resolutions Deal with joint matters
of both the House and the Senate - Does not have the force of a law does not have
to be signed by the President. - Used in Foreign Affairs
- Resolution A measure relating to the business
of either house or expressing and opinion. - Does not have the force of a law does not have
to be signed by the President. - Adopting a new rule of procedure or an amendment
to an existing rule in the House or Senate
13Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- Rider A provision not likely to pass on its own
merit that is attached to an important measure
that is certain to pass. - Most are attached to appropriation bills.
- How a Bill Becomes a Law
- A Bill is Introduced Only members can introduce
bills - Usually done by dropping the bill in the Hopper
on the clerks desk -
14Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- Clerk gives the bill a number and title
- For example, H.R. 2011 would be the 2,011 measure
introduce in the House during the congressional
term. - S 201, would be used in the same manner in the
Senate - Clerk will also give the bill a short title a
brief summary of its principal contents
15Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- First Reading Bill is entered into the House
and Senate Journal and Congressional Record - Journal contains the official record of the daily
proceedings in either chamber - Congressional Record is a massive account of the
daily proceedings (speeches, debates, comments
votes, etc) - Bill is referred to the appropriate standing
committee. - Determines viability of a bill either passed on
for floor consideration or pigeon-holed (buried
and dead)
16Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- Subcommittees may hold hearings for information
gathering purposes - Committee reports bill - Chairman
recommendation - Do Pass recommendation favorable
- Pigeonhole it Unfavorable
- Amend the original form Favorable w/ changes
- Unfavorable Wants the whole House or Senate to
kill it. Save Face! - Report a committee bill a new bill entirely
17Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- Bill is placed on appropriate calendar (5 House,
1 Senate) - Union Calendar Bills having to do with
revenues, appropriations, or govt property - House Calendar All other public bills
- Private Calendar Private Bills
- Corrections Calendar Bills from Union and House
calendars with no opposition. - Discharge Calendar Petitions to discharge bills
from committee
18Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- Rules Committee grants rule to permit floor
consideration Setting conditions for debate - When, how long, and under what circumstances a
bill may be debated - Bill receives second reading may be debated and
amended Bill is re-introduced to floor from
committee - Quorum More than half of the representatives
must be present to conduct congressional business - Debate and Amend
19Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- House votes on Amendments, motions, and full bill
Every amendment and motion on a bill must be
approved by majority of the house yeas and
nays, until they reach a final version of the
bill - Approved bill is engrossed Printed in its final
form - Bill is read for a third time By title only
- Final vote is taken
- If the bill passes the House or Senate, that
final approved version is then placed on the
Speaker of the House or the President of the
Senates desk to go through the same process
before it is handed over to the President to be
signed into law.
20Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- Different rules in the Senate
- Unanimous Consent Agreements
- Agreement by all Senators to limit the debate on
the floor before debate - Two-Speech Rule No senator can make more than
two speech on any given bill. - Filibuster A stalling tactic by which a
minority of senators seeks to delay or prevent
Senate action on a measure. Talk a bill to
death. - Too much talking may force Senate to kill the
bill or change it to appease the minority party.
21Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- The Cloture Rule or Rule 22 limits time for
debate - 3/5 of a full Senate must vote for cloture
limits debate to 30 hours from time cloture vote
is taken them bill must be brought to final
vote. - Executive Action
- President signs the bill into law.
- President may veto refuse to sign the bill.
- President them must return the vetoed bill with
an explanation on why the bill was vetoed. - Though rare, Congress can Override a Presidential
Veto by a 2/3 vote by the full membership in both
houses of Congress.
22Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- President may allow a bill to become a law if
he/she does not act upon it w/in 10 days, not
including Sundays, of receiving it. - Pocket Veto If Congress adjourns its sessions
w/in 10 days not including Sundays, of submitting
a bill to the President, and the President does
not act, the bill dies.
23Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
- POI Line Item Veto Act of 1996 - Congress gave
the chief executive the power reject individual
items in appropriations bills. - Ruled Unconstitutional by Supreme Court in 1998.
- President cant Amend a final bill w/o the bill
going back through the two house lawmaking process