Parties and Committees in Congress

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Parties and Committees in Congress

• GOVT 2305

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Previously we read through and analyzed the
constitutional language that established the U.S.
Congress and the Texas Legislature. You should
now be familiar with what is and is not said
about the design of each in the Constitution.
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This week we breathe life into this picture by
discussing how each works dynamically. Think
about it like starting a car. Last week we
checked the thing out, this week we start it and
see how it drives.
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Specifically we will look at what happens in each
institution and what factors cause those things
to happen. In a sense, this section is simply
about power in Congress. Who or what determines
what it does?
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There are four entities to investigateConstituti
onal OfficesIndividual Members of
CongressCommittees Political Parties
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A brief note about each
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Now we analyze how legislative institutions have
evolved over American history. We will look
specifically how internal institutions have
developed over time and try to determine who or
what controls each institution.
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We will try to understand how power flows within
the institution. Who or what is actually in
charge of it.
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The two dominant institutions are political
parties and standing committees.
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Note that neither political parties nor
committees are mentioned in the United States
Constitution. But each has evolved into
critically important power centers in Congress.
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Parties are useful. They help recruit and run
candidates for office and organize the House and
Senate once they are elected. Currently parties
re the dominant feature in Congress.
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Committees are also useful. Bills once they are
introduced in Congress are usually but not
always sent to a committee to be marked up and
debated.
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Committees also allow members of Congress to
specialize on policy issues important to their
constituents.
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We will also look at the Speakers office and
understand the nature of its powers.
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First, lets look at the websites of some of
legislative branches on the national state and
local levels. This gives us an idea about what
each institution has evolved into.
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U.S. HouseU.S. SenateTexas HouseTexas
SenateAlvin City CouncilPearland City
CouncilHouston City Council
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A good way to understand each institution is to
take a closer look at the complete bill making
process on the national and state level. This
allows us to see how each committee and parties
are integrated into the process.
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Remember that Section Seven of Article One says
nothing about the bill making process in Congress
other than that tax bills have to begin in the
House.This means that the bill making process
is not fixed. The process described here only
describes how a bill might become a law. The
precise way a specific bill will becomes a law
or is considered in Congress varies.
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To get a general idea of the process why dont
you review School House Rock Im just a bill on
Capitol Hill, then The Simpsons Im an Amendment
to be.
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Here are two graphical descriptions, the first
simple, the next complex
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Click here for the full image.
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For official a written descriptions click on any
of theseThe US House The Legislative
Process.The US Senate Flowchart.The
Legislative Process on the Senate FloorAn
Introduction.The Library of Congress How Our
Laws Are Made.Also Government and Politics.
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Note that bills can be stopped at anytime in the
process. While the official description of
Congress is that it makes laws, it is just as
easy to say that Congress job is to keep laws
from being passed.
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Major Steps in the ProcessNote that the many
links below take you to the Library of Congress
page on the bill making process.
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1 - Introducing the Bill and Referral to a
Committee.
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While only members of Congress can introduce
legislation, they can originate from almost
anywhere. Constituents including interest
groups often present legislation to
congressional allies, as well as the President
and his administration.
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There are four basic types of legislationBills
Joint ResolutionsConcurrent ResolutionsSimple
Resolutions
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The bill must have the signature of a sponsor,
and will often also have a number of co-sponsors.
These are important in order to obtain support
for the bill once introduced. It is then assigned
a legislative number.
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Then with the assistance of the Parliamentarian
(House / Senate), the Speaker refers the bill to
the appropriate committee, which means the
committee that has jurisdiction over the subject
matter of the bill. These are called standing
committees. Click here for the list of committees
in the House and the Senate.
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Remember that these are the places where members
of Congress can most effectively protect the
interests of their constituents. It is vitally
important for members of Congress to be placed on
committees that have jurisdiction over policies
important to their constituents. The political
party caucus decides where members go, which
gives them leverage over the rank and file.
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2 - Committee Action Hearings and Mark Up.
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Once in committee, an internal decision is made
to refer the bill to one of the many
subcommittees each committee is required to have
by law. Click here for the list of subcommittees
in the House Ways and Means Committee (the tax
writing committee) .Then input is requested about
the bill from various sources both inside and
outside government.
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The procedure in the committee and subcommittee
is overseen by the chair. Historically there
has been tension between the leadership styles
and relative power of committee chairs and the
other members of committees.
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Generally, sub committees hold public hearings,
especially if the bill is considered to be
important. These meetings are announced publicly
and are open to public testimony.Often these
are well attended by lobbyists who are hired to
represent the interests impacted by the bill
under debate.
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Here is a link to the schedule of committee
hearing in the House and in the Senate.
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Markup sessions are held, generally beginning
with the sub-committee. The bill can be debated,
amended and rewritten. When the sub-committee is
done, the process begins again with the full
committee.
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The full committee can either choose to accept
the sub-committee bill and report it to the House
or Senate depending on which chamber the action
is being taken in or they can hold hearing and
engage in mark-up just as the sub-committee did.

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If the original bill was heavily amended, the
committee may decide to report a new bill (a
clean bill) with a new number.
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The committee can also decide to table the
legislation, which means that it stays in
committee and effectively dies there. If it
chooses to do so, the full chamber can vote to
bring it out of committee over the committees
objection, with a discharge petition. This allows
the rank and file to consider bills over the
objection of their leadership.
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3 - Committee Report
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When a bill is reported to the House or Senate,
the committee staff prepares a report that
describes the bill and details its history.
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From the LOC The report of a committee on a
measure must include (1) the committee's
oversight findings and recommendations (2) a
statement required by the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974, if the measure is a bill or joint
resolution providing new budget authority (other
than continuing appropriations) or an increase or
decrease in revenues or tax expenditures (3) a
cost estimate and comparison prepared by the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office and
(4) a statement of general performance goals and
objectives, including outcome-related goals and
objectives, for which the measure authorizes
funding.
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Here is a link to Congressional Reports created
over the past two decades.
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4 - Floor Debate and VotesHouse ActionSenate
Action
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Bills reported out of committee have to be placed
on calendars in the House and Senate in order to
determine when they shall be heard.- Calendars
in the House.- Calendars in the Senate.
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In the House, bills also have to go through the
Rules Committee in order to determine how much
time can be spent debating a bill and whether
amendments can be added to it. The House
process is dominated by the majority party.
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This process is unnecessary in the Senate since
there is less need to manage 100 Senators than
435 members of the House.
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The Rules Committee generally grants an hour for
debate on bills but can provide more time for
important bills. On the floor, the leaders of
each party are given half of this time to parcel
out to its members who wish to speak on the
floor. This is an important power, it means
that access to the floor during the bill making
process is controlled by each party.
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The power to recognize members to speak on the
floor of the House is given to the House Majority
and Minority Leaders. These are the people in
charge of each partys caucus on the floor.
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The Rules Committee also can issue a variety of
rules regarding amendments, and whether they can
be offered on the floor. Committee members
generally do not like amendments offered on their
bills since they do not want them changed.
There are four types
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Open rules permit the offering of any amendment
that otherwise complies with House rules, and
allows debate under the 5-minute
rule.Modified-Open rules operate much like an
open rule, but have some restriction on the
universe of amendments, either through a
pre-printing requirement or an overall time limit
on consideration of amendments.Structured rules
specify that only certain amendments may be
considered and specify the time for
debate.Closed rules effectively eliminate the
opportunity to consider amendments, other than
those reported by the committee reporting the bill
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In the House though not the Senate everything
added to or spoken about a bill must be on topic.
This is called The Germaneness Rule. - Basic
Training from House Republicans.-
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In the Senate there are no rules of germaneness,
so anything can be added to a bill. If the bill
is later passed by the House and are signed into
law, these become law. Bills that are
deliberately full of random items are sometimes
called Christmas Tree Bills.
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The point behind the rules in the House is to
give party leaders control over the legislative
process. This facilitates action. The process
in the Senate is far looser and allow greater
autonomy for each individual Senator. The rules
also allow for a minority of the Senate to
prevent action on bills. This facilitates
inaction.
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Any bill reported out of a Senate Committee is
placed on the Senates Calendar of Business along
with other items to be discussed. A bill can be
brought to the floor out of sequence by unanimous
consent.- CRS The Senates Calendar of
Business.- The Senate Calendars and
Schedules.LOC Senate Action.
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With some exceptions, there is no limit on the
amount of time a Senator can speak on a bill.
This is based on the idea that members of
Congress have a right to unlimited debate.
Members of the House had this right until 1842.
This has turned into a legislative tactic
allowing a minority to stop a bill that has
majority support.
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Notable filibusters include Strom Thurmonds 24
hour failed effort against the Civil Rights Act
of 1957 and the 57 day long filibuster against
the Civil Rights Act of 1964. US Senate
Filibuster and Cloture.Wikipedia Filibuster in
the US Senate.
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In order to contain filibusters, in 1917 the
Senate added Rule 22 to its procedures which
allowed for a debate to be brought to a close if
a number of Senators (originally 2/3rds, but no
3/5ths) agreed to it. - CRS Invoking Cloture
in the Senate.- Heritage Foundation support for
the filibuster.
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What this means is that 40 Senators can stop
legislation. Supermajorities are necessary to
pass legislation.
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Controversy In recent years, filibusters and
most notably cloture motions have been
increasingly common. The use of filibusters have
changed, instead of Senators speaking for long
periods of time, the threat to do so has been
sufficient to stop legislation. Cloture motions
are more commonly filed and if it can proved that
a cloture motion can be passed, that can be
enough to kill a bill.
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Once a bill is passed by one chamber. It has to
be sent to the other for consideration.Votes in
the House and Senate are regularly recorded and
are readily available online.
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5 - Referral to the Other Chamber
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Once a bill passes one chamber it is sent to the
other for consideration. Aside from revenue bill
which must begin in the House, these can come
from either chamber. Since the process is
separate, it is unlikely that a bill will emerge
from either chamber in exactly the same language.
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There are times when a bill passing one chamber
has been accepted by the other and the bill
proceeds directly to the floor for a vote. When
there is a conflict between the two however, a
conference committee has to be called to
reconcile that conflict.
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6 - The Conference
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When the chamber that originally considered a
bill receives word that the other chamber has
amended the bill, they have the opportunity to
accept those changes. If they refuse they can ask
for a conference committee to be established to
reconcile differences.
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Whatever compromise is made must be accepted on
the floor of the House and the Senate if it is to
become a law.
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The members of the conference committee are
selected by party leaders and the chairs of the
committees involved in the making of the bill.
They must have one open meeting, but their
meetings are generally held in secret. A variety
of often creative devises are used to persuade
the members of each chamber to approve the
result. Sometimes these involve projects in
members house districts that can make the members
look good back home. These are sometimes called
sweeteners.
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A conference committee can be especially
difficult if parties split control of Congress
one party controls the House and the other
controls the Senate.
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The agreed upon bill is called a conference
report. If that bill is passed by the House and
Senate then it is presented to the president for
a signature. If not the bill could be dead.
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After the conference report is accepted or
whenever a bill passes both the House and Senate
in the same language it goes through a
complicated process called enrollment which
reflects of all amendments agreed to by each
chamber.
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This is what is presented to the President for a
signature or veto.
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7 - Action by the President
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Here we finally hit part of the process that is
mentioned in the Constitution. Once the bill
passes Congress it is presented to the President
for a possible signature, or a veto.
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As we noted last week, there is no real reason
for the President to sign a bill. It
automatically becomes a law if he does not veto
it within 10 days. He only needs to sign it if
less than 10 days are left in the session of
Congress. If he does not, it dies. This is the
pocket veto.
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As we know from the previous section, if the
President vetoes the bill, it gets sent back to
Congress and if they vote to pass it again by a
2/3rds vote, it overrides the veto and becomes a
law.
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Vetoes were very rare until after the Civil War.
Cleveland, FDR and Truman vetoed the most bills,
since then the number of vetoes has actually
declined.APJ Presidential Vetoes.Wikipedia
List of Presidential Vetoes.
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The principle factor determining the number of
vetoes a President is likely to issue is whether
the government is divided or unified, that is
whether the President and Congress are of
different parties or of the same party.
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In his first two years in office, when Democrats
controlled Congress, Clinton vetoed no laws, but
would veto 37 (with only two overrides) in the
next six years when Republicans were controlled
Congress.
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In his first six years in office, when
Republicans controlled Congress, W. Bush vetoed
one law, but in the last two years when Democrats
controlled Congress he vetoed 11, and 4 were
overridden.
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Signing StatementsA controversial practice
recently has been when Presidents issue
statements when they sign bills claiming what
they regard as unconstitutional and are therefore
in no obligation to implement. Critics argue
Presidents should simply veto these bills.
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8 - Publication
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The final step in the process is that it be made
public, so that the people who have to follow the
law are aware of it. It is given a number, for
example if it is the 100th public law passed by
the 112th Congress it is titled Public Law
112-100. Click here for where you can find
lists of public laws on Thomas.
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The law is then added to the United States
Code.See Wikipedia United States Code.
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But so what about this process?
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As mentioned before, there is nothing in the
Constitution stipulating this process so bills
can become bills in many different ways. Here
are links to the legislative histories of recent
bills
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Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection ActPatient Protection and Affordable
Care Act Uniting and Strengthening America by
Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept
and Obstruct Terrorism Act
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Also keep in mind that all these steps make it
easier for a greater number of people to not only
get involved in the bill making process, but to
block legislation. There are multiple veto points
throughout the process, and makes it unlikely
that large numbers of significant pieces of
legislation actually get passed into law.
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Almost 12,000 bills are introduced into Congress
each session, but less than 500 are passed. Many
of these bills concern relatively mundane matters
like the naming of Post Offices. Here is an
analysis of the activity of the 110th Congress
(and a related story in Roll Call). 11,056 bills
were introduced and 442 were passed. Most died in
committee.
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So now that we are familiar with the process,
lets look more in depth at the actors in the
process and try to determine which ones have the
biggest impact on the content of legislation.
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Notice that as we went through the process, we
mentioned a variety of players. Individual
Members of CongressConstitutional Leadership
PositionsCommitteesPolitical PartiesInterest
Groups
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Looking through each, gives us a good idea of who
is in charge of Congress plus a look at how each
of these institutions developed and have evolved
over time.
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First lets look at the individuals members of
Congress.
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Heres a good place to start Roles and Duties
of a Member of CongressPrepared by the
Congressional Research Service
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As we know, Congress is composed of 535 members,
100 in the Senate and 435 in the House. Weve
discussed already that the members of each
institution have a unique connection to the
population given their terms lengths.
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Obviously becomes a members of Congress, one has
to run for office.But who are these people?
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This is an important question, because it is
argued that Congress especially the House
ought to have a composition that mirrors the
American public. But the do not. Note this
graphic
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Nearly half of the members of Congress are
millionaires, can they relate to the struggles of
the middle class?
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Here is a more comprehensive look at members of
Congress Membership of the 111th Congress A
ProfileMembership of the 112th Congress A
ProfileUS Senator various data.
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For reasons we will discuss later, members of
Congress are more likely to be ideologically
driven, moderates tend not to be able to get
elected.
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Here are the members that represent the greater
Houston area Ron PaulTed PoePete OlsonAl
GreenSheila Jackson-LeeGene GreenJohn
CulbersonKevin Brady Michael McCaul
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Are these people are really interested in
representing the interests of their
constituents?Who do they consider to be their
true constituents? What are their goals?
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People who study these types of things suggest
that there are three dominant goals driving
members of Congress ReelectionPublic
PolicyLeadership
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First an important point All members of Congress
have to prioritize re-election if they are going
to accomplish any of their goals. The more
seniority a member attains, the more clout they
get, meaning the more they are likely to get on
the powerful committees and get other perks.
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Here lists in Wikipedia of the members of the
House and Senate by seniority.HouseSenate
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Some members of Congress are content to simply
serve out their terms without seeking leadership.
These members are called the rank and file.
Their primary concerns is to serve the interests
of their constituents and are not necessarily
committed to their partys agenda.
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Constituency Service refers to a whole set of
activities that members of Congress can engage in
that makes them more likely to be reelected by
their constituents because they see them as being
responsive to their needs.
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Some of this simply involves having a sizable
enough staff to be able to respond to calls from
constituents regarding services from executive
agencies such as the Social Security
Administration or the Veterans Administration.
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More controversially this includes efforts to
ensure that the district gets federal projects
and the accompanying spending in their
districts. These can include the preservation of
military installations and funding for items
built in that district which employs district
residents.
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These are called pork barrel projects. In our
area, this includes funding for manned space
flight and the Johnson Space Center.Earmarks
also fall under this category.
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Each allow members of Congress to direct spending
in their districts, which many argue is a
legitimate part of their power of the purse, but
other argue is at least partly responsible for
increases in the budget.
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Heres an irony though. While people criticize
this spending, voters tend to reward members of
Congress that obtain these funds for them and
punish those that do not.This creates the
obvious tension.
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The job of leadership to try to organize these
members in order to pursue common objectives over
their individual interests. Party leaders are
evaluated based on their ability to do so.
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Some members run for Congress with the intent to
have an impact on some aspect of public policy.
Ron Paul and his focus on monetary policy,
etc is a good example.
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Other members come to Congress with the intent to
attain leadership positions. This means that they
work within the parties and work themselves up
the ladder. The ultimate prize is to become
leader of the party.
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2 - The Constitutional leaders of each chamber
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We already mentioned that very few positions are
established in the Constitution. The chambers are
said to be presided by respectively, the Speaker
of the House and the President of the
Senate.Heres some info on each.
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The idea of a Speaker dates back to the Speaker
of the House of Commons who was given the
responsibility to recognize speakers, retain
order in the House and speak for the House of
Commons before the King. That last job could be
dangerous.
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Some Links US House Speakers of the U.S.
House. Wikipedia Speaker of the United States
House of Representatives
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The Speaker of the House of Commons is not
member of the House. There is no clear statement
that the Speaker of the House should be either.
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Officially the Speaker is meant to be neutral,
but since the position is held by the leader of
the majority party, they are not really neutral.
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The role of the Speaker is not specified in the
Constitution, though it was expected that the
Speaker would be a neutral presiding officer.
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This remained the case until the development of
strong parties and the discovery that the ability
to recognize speakers on the House floor could be
used for political advantage.
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The early Speakers were in fact neutral, and the
office was not especially important until Henry
Clay took advantage of the power the position
offered.
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The early Speakers were in fact neutral. Henry
Clay is considered to have been responsible for
using the office this was.
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The Power of the Speaker reached its zenith with
the speakerships of Joseph Cannon and Thomas
Reed.
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A revolt against them in the early 20th century
led to a restructuring of the positions power.
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The power of the Speaker is conditional, based on
power over committee appointments, the Rules
Committee, and the bill making process. Once
these powers are minimized, the Speaker becomes
less powerful, but other institutions fill the
vacuum.
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One of the more powerful Speakers was Texan Sam
Rayburn who held the office for about two decades
in the mid- 20th Century
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Two other Texans served as Speaker during the
20th CenturyJohn Nance GarnerJim Wright
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The Texas Speaker has far more powers that the
U.S. Speaker due to his ability to staff
committees, select committee chairs, and send
legislation to committees for markup.
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Current SpeakersU.S. John BoehnerTexas Joe
Straus
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The United States Senate is headed by the
President of the Senate who is also the Vice
President in the executive branch. The Texas
Senate is headed by the Lieutenant Governor, who
is also called the President of the Senate.
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The President of the SenateVice
PresidentLieutenant Governor
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Joe BidenDavid Dewhurst
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The United States Vice President is also
President of the Senate, but has no real power.
He can break tie votes, but his role in the
governing process generally stops after the
election.
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This is the only position that serves in two
branches, though there is a dispute about whether
each is primarily a legislative or executive
office.
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Vice Presidents who have unique skills and are
allowed discretion by the President have been
known to exercise considerable power. Dick Cheney
up until 2006 is the classic example.
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3 Committees
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The Workhorses of CongressCongress in session
is Congress on display, Congress in committee is
Congress at work. - Woodrow Wilson
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Note Whoever has control over committees, has
control over the legislature. Who ever wants to
get on a particular committee has to do what that
person or institution wants.
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There are four typesStanding CommitteesJoint
CommitteesSpecial CommitteesConference
Committees
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standing committee - Permanent committees
established under the standing rules of the
Senate and specializing in the consideration of
particular subject areas. There are currently 16
standing committees.
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joint committee - Committees including membership
from both houses of Congress. Joint committees
are usually established with narrow jurisdictions
and normally lack authority to report
legislation. Chairmanship usually alternates
between the House and Senate members from
Congress to Congress.
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select or special committee - A committee
established by the Senate for a limited time
period to perform a particular study or
investigation. These committees might be given or
denied authority to report legislation to the
Senate.
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conference committee - A temporary, ad hoc panel
composed of House and Senate conferees which is
formed for the purpose of reconciling differences
in legislation that has passed both chambers.
Conference committees are usually convened to
resolve bicameral differences on major and
controversial legislation.
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Standing committees in Congress date back to the
establishment of the Ways and Means Committee
when the Treasury Department was created.
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A standing committee is sometimes established
when a new executive department is established.
The most recent example is the Committee on
Homeland Security.
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Standing Committees in US HouseUS
SenateTexas HouseTexas Senate
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Principle Functions of Standing
CommitteesMarkupHearingsOversightConstituency
Service
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Members must get on right committee in order to
successfully provide benefits for constituents.
They will be in a position to ensure that
legislation contains language that benefits their
constituents.
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The most powerful standing committees are
those that have jurisdiction over money, be it
taxing, budgeting or appropriations.
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House Ways and MeansSenate FinanceHouse and
Senate BudgetHouse and Senate Appropriations
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The Ways and Means committee is very difficult to
be appointed to.
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Parties can use this as leverage to get their
support for party positions.
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The partisan composition of each committee
reflects the party composition in the chamber as
a whole. The majority party is a majority in each
committee and holds the party chair.
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The precise ratio is up for negotiation following
each election.
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The Committee ChairThe process for determining
the committee chair is established by the
majority party.
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Means used in the pastDiscretion of Party
LeaderStrict SeniorityOpen Party BallotSecret
Party Ballot
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The Strength of Committee Chairs is largely based
on the process by which each gets the position.
The more it is based on seniority, the stronger
and more autonomous they are.
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An exceptionally strong committee chair can
override the preferences of the party.
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The Committee ChairThe consequence of strict
seniority in the mid 20th Centrury
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Factors facilitating strength of committee
chairsAbility to table legislationAbility to
override decision of rest of committeeLack of
sub-committees
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The Sub-Committee Bill of Rights. An effort in
1973 to restrict the power of Committee Chairs.
Each Committee is mandated to have a number of
subcommittees which allow for further
specialization, and restricted the ability of the
Chair to dominate committee activities.
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4 - Political Parties
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Political Parties are the dominant organizing
feature in the United States Congress. They are
less important in the Texas Legislature due to
the strength of the Speaker and Lieutenant
Governor.
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Currently almost all members of Congress are
members of either the Democratic or Republican
Parties.
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Parties are responsible forRecruiting
CandidatesFunding CampaignsOrganizing
CampaignsStaffing Committees Setting the
Congressional Agenda
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Political Parties date to the early days of
Congress and helped members organize to either
support of oppose the policies of the Washington
Administration.
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Parties are far more important in the United
States Congress than in the Texas Legislature.
Texas had a long history as a one party state,
but parties are becoming more important in the
legislature.
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In the U.S. Congress parties are referred to as
caucuses and conferences.
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House Democratic CaucusHouse Republican
Conference Senate Democratic CaucusSenate
Republican Conference
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Parties were not held in favor by the framers of
the Constitution, nevertheless two founders were
responsible for the establishment of the first
two parties.
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Alexander Hamilton The Federalist PartyThomas
Jefferson The Democrat-Republican Party
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Washington opposed them.He argued that their
existence would only lead to further
contentiousness in society. Other claimed that he
simply didnt like there to be an opposition
party.
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His Farewell Address
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Contemporary commentators argue that political
parties are necessary in order for Congress to
function at all and to overcome the impediments
created by the checks and balances.
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Two important termsUnified GovernmentDivided
Government
182
Unified Government The term used to describe
periods when one party controls both the
legislative and executive branches. It is assumed
that during these times, it is easier for
legislation to be passed, and for the executive
to be free from investigative activites.
183
Having the two elected institutions dominated by
groups of individuals committed to the same
policies and principles makes it easier for
policy to be passed into law.
184
It then allows the general population to evaluate
the policies and determine whether they approve
or disapprove of it.
185
Proponents of unified party control of government
argue that it provides the only opportunity for
a democratic choice to be made by the general
population.
186
Divided GovernmentThe period when one party
controls the legislative branch and the other
controls the executive branch. It is assumed that
it becomes more difficult to pass laws and to
effectively implement policy.
187
Divided government is favored by those who wish
to minimize governmental action.
188
Although 3 out of the 4 most recent sessions of
Congress have been unified, divided government
has been the rule recently.
189
The United States Congress is dominated by two
political parties which are organized as
caucuses.The Democratic Caucus.The Republican
Conference.
190
As we will see, that is because of the existence
of rules which give the bulk of power within the
Texas House and Senate to the Speaker of the
House and the President of the Senate.
191
Specifically, they can staff committees and
direct the flow of legislation through each
institution.
192
Since there are only two major parties in each
legislature, there is inevitably a majority party
and a minority party. Its good to be the
majority party, mostly in the U.S. Congress.
193
Perks for the Majority Party in the U.S.
Congress You select the SpeakerYou hold a
majority in all the standing committeesYou hold
the committee chairsYou set Congress agenda
194
The best the minority can do is slow down the
legislative process in the Senate by threatening
to filibuster and taking advantage of the many
rules that require 60 votes to proceed with
legislation.
195
Back to History
196
Political parties in Congress date back to the
first Congress.
197
Political disputes of this timeThe Hamilton
Tariff.The Establishment of the State, War and
Treasury Department. The Compromise of 1790.
198
Many of these disputes came down to support or
opposition to the economic policies proposed by
Alexander Hamilton. He presented a series of
proposals during the first Congress that would
strengthen the nations economic system.
199
First Report on the Public Credit.Operations of
the Act Laying Duties on Imports.Second Report
on Public Credit.Report on the Establishment of
a Mint.Report on Manufactures.
200
Internal conflict over these policies became
organized around the personalities and efforts of
Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson.
201
Originally these factions were simply called pro
and anti administration, but the pros would
become the Federalist Party and the antis would
become the Democrat-Republicans.
202
The Federalists promoted pro-commercial policies
under the direction of Alexander Hamilton. They
promoted further expansions of national power, a
strong currency, the development of national
infrastructure and the creation of a national
bank. They represented the interest of the
commercial classes, urban bankers and businessmen.
203
The Democratic Republicans promoted agrarian,
state oriented policies under the direction of
Thomas Jefferson. They represented the interests
of the working classes shop owners, farmers,
and laborers.
204
This was the birth of the political party system
in the United States. Despite the fact that some
opposed parties, they proved to be effective ways
to organize Congress internally, and to recruit
candidates to run for offie.
205
Until the early 1820s, congressional parties
dominated the presidential selection process
through a process that became known as King
Caucus.
206
As the country and suffrage expanded, parties
became controlled more by external forces, not
the parties in Congress.
207
Over the years, parties in the United States
Congress have evolved considerably.
208
History of Parties in the United States House
Party Leadership, etc. . Party Divisions in
the U.S. House
209
History of Parties in the United States
SenatePolitical Parties and Leadership.Party
Divisions.
210
Wikipedia Party Divisions in Congress and the
Presidency
211
Officially, parties do not really exist in
Congress. Members are simply affiliated with one
of two major caucuses in each chamber.
212
House Democratic CaucusHouse Republican
Conference Senate Democratic CaucusSenate
Republican Conference
213
The term caucus is used to refer to any
political group. The term also refers to informal
collections of members of Congress who wish to
influence some aspect of public
policy.Congressional Caucus. List of Caucuses
in Congress.
214
Members, with very few exceptions, are elected
into Congress as members of parties and meet
first in their partys caucus where they receive
committee assignments.
215
They must work within the party in order to
achieve personal goals. Parties also have certain
powers they can use to coerce members not to
stray.
216
Political parties place members on committees and
determine whether a members goals will be
realized.Party support conditional on member
loyalty to party.
217
Parties can punish members who do not support
party, but members can switch parties if
prompted, or lured.
218
All important assignments are made in the party
caucus. Each side votes for their leader, which
they nominate for Speaker. This means that the
Speaker is always the leader of the Majority
Party.
219
Caucuses meet often in closed sessions to
establish legislative agendas, select committee
members and chairs, and hold elections to choose
various floor leaders.
220
Party Leadership Positions- Floor Leaders-
Party Whips- Caucus Chairmen- Policy and
Steering Committee Chairs- Congressional
Campaign Committee Chairs
221
Click here for financial information about the
congressional leadership each from OpenSecrets.
222
Floor LeadersThese are the majority and
minority leaders. Each is responsible for
scheduling business on the floor, planning party
strategy, and keeping the party as united as
possible when casting roll call votes.
223
One of the principle powers the floor leader in
the House has is selecting which members of the
party can and cannot speak on legislation before
the House.
224
Party WhipsThe Party Whip (majority or
minority) is in charge of the Whip System, which
is the organization responsible for counting
votes and pressuring party members to vote with
the party.
225
Caucus ChairmenThese are the individual in each
party who organize caucus related activities and
work to coordinate the partys communications.
226
Policy and Steering Committee ChairsThey are
responsible for advice and analysis concerning
policy proposals advanced by each party and the
proper means of advancing them through Congress.
227
Congressional Campaign Committee ChairsThese
individuals oversee the partys recruitment of
candidates, fundraising, and the organization of
races in districts where the party is expected to
be competitive.
228
Democratic Congressional Campaign
CommitteeNational Republican Congressional
Committee Democratic Senatorial Campaign
Committee National Republican Senatorial
Committee
229
Party CohesionThis is a vitally important
factor for party success. A party is only strong
if it is unified.
230
The Democratic Party tends to be less unified
than the Republican Party.This is argued to be
due to the greater diversity within the party.
231
In recent years, the two major parties have
become increasingly distinct ideologically. Very
few members are moderate. This is argued to be
due to gerrymandering, which organizes
congressional districts along partisan lines, and
primary elections, which allows party identifiers
to select candidates for the general election.
This has made moderate candidates from either
party less competitive than extremists.
232
Republicans are increasingly conservative and
Democrats are increasingly liberal. Moderates are
uncompetitive in either party.
233
For evidence read Pulling Apart
234
A driving force leading to this is argued to be
the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which
positioned the Democratic Party as the party of
civil rights and drove conservative members out
of the party. But this process took decades.
Democrats continued to control Congress which
meant they controlled committees, so there was
little reason to shift alliances.
235
Republicans developed the Southern Strategy to
encourage Southern Democrats to shift parties.
This process did not begin significantly until
the 1994 election when the Republican Party
became the majority Party in Congress and was
then attractive to Southern members Democrats.
236
Some argue that party polarization has led to the
current level of dysfunction in Congress.Was
Washington right to counsel against them?
237
Additional InstitutionsCongress has developed a
variety of additional institutions to provide
information for bills and other related matters
238
Congressional Budget Office.Provides
Objective, nonpartisan, and timely analysis to
aid in economic and budgetary decisions on a wide
array of programs covered by the federal budget.
239
Congressional Research Service.Conducts
research for members of Congress about matters
that are the subject of legislation.
240
Government Accountability Office.Assists
Congress in reviewing and monitoring the
activities of government by conducting
independent audits, investigations, and
evaluations of federal programs.
241
Study Guide
242
- What institutions have been developed to assist
Congress in the creation of legislation and
especially in the preparation and evaluation of
the budget.- Which are the most powerful
committees and why?- What do committees do? -
How do members of Congress get their committee
assignments? - What types of committees exist?-
What functions do political parties perform in
Congress? What positions exist in each party? -
What factors drive individual members of
Congress?- What constitutional functions do
parties perform?
243
- What functions does the Speaker of the House
perform? - What is unified government? What is
divided government?- Why is it advantageous to
be the majority party in Congress? - How do
parties attempt to rally maintain cohesiveness
among their members? - What factors have led to
party polarization?- Why did parties form in the
early Congress?