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Chapter 12: Congressional Organization

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Chapter 12: Congressional Organization The Presiding Officers: The House of Representatives: Speaker of the House The acknowledged leader of the majority party. – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Chapter 12: Congressional Organization


1
Chapter 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

2
Chapter 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

3
Chapter 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.

4
Chapter 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

5
Chapter 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

6
Chapter 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.

7
Chapter 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.

8
Chapter 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

9
Chapter 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

10
Chapter 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

11
Chapter 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

12
Chapter 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

13
Chapter 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

14
Chapter 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

15
Chapter 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)

16
Chapter 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

17
Chapter 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

18
Chapter 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

19
Chapter 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.

20
Chapter 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.

21
Chapter 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.

22
Chapter 12 Congressional Organization
  1. 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.
  2. 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.

23
Chapter 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
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