Study Material Class: B.A. II Semester Subject: Political Science
Paper: Contemporary Models of Government: UK, USA and Switzerland (PLB-252)
Unit II
Topic: The Congress – The Senate and the House of Representatives – Composition and Powers
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, and consists of two chambers: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Congress meets in the United States Capital in Washington, D.C. Both Senators and members of House of Representatives (or simply the Representatives) are chosen through direct election, though vacancies in the Senate may be filled by a gubernatorial appointment. Congress has 535 voting members: 435 Representatives and 100 Senators. In addition, the House of Representatives currently has six non-voting members, bringing the total membership of the US Congress to 541 or fewer in the case of vacancies.
The members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms representing the people of a single constituency, known as a district. Congressional districts are apportioned to states by population using the United States Census results, provided that each state has at least one congressional representative. Each state, regardless of population or size, has two senators. Currently, there are 100 senators representing the 50 States. Each senator is elected at-large in their state for a six-year term, with terms staggered, so every two years approximately one- third of the Senate is up for election. Congress consists of 100 senators (2 from each state) and 435 members of the House of Representatives, a number that was fixed by the Reapportionment Act of 1929. This act recognized that simply adding more seats to the House as the population grew would make it too unwieldy. Today, each congressperson represents approximately 570,000 people.
Americans are known for their mobility, and over the years states have lost and gained population. After each federal census, which occurs every ten years, adjustments are made in the number of congressional districts. This process is known as reapportionment. In recent years, states in the West and Southwest have increased their representation in the House, while states in the Northeast and Midwest have lost seats. As a result of the 2000 census, for example, Arizona gained two representatives while New York lost two.
Congressional district lines are usually drawn by the state legislatures (although the federal courts sometimes draw districts when the original plans lose a constitutional challenge). The Supreme Court ruled in 1964 that districts must have roughly the same number of people so that one person's vote in an election is worth the same as another's. This is known as the "one person, one vote"
principle. Still, the majority party often tries to draw the boundaries to maximize the chances for its candidates to win elections. In 1812, Governor Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts approved a bill creating such an oddly shaped district that his critics called it a "gerrymander" — a political amphibian with a malicious design. Gerrymandering now refers to the creating of any oddly shaped district designed to elect a representative of a particular political party or a particular ethnic group. In Shaw v. Reno (1993), the Court was extremely critical of oddly- shaped districts such as North Carolina's Twelfth Congressional District, and stated that such districts could be challenged if race was the main factor in their creation. A recent decision (2001) upheld the redrawn boundaries of the North Carolina district.
Article One of the United States Constitution requires that members of Congress must be aged at least 25 years (House of Representatives) and 30 years (Senate), have been a citizen of the United States for seven years (House of Representatives) and nine years (Senate), and be an inhabitant of the state which they represent.
Congress is divided into two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate is sometimes called the upper chamber and the House the lower chamber because the Founders thought that different sorts of people would be elected to these two bodies. House members face elections every two years in smaller districts, so the Founders thought that representatives would be closer to the people. In contrast, Senators were originally chosen by state legislatures, and with elections every six years and steeper eligibility requirements, the Founders believed that the Senate would serve as a voice for the nation's wealthy and established interests.
To a certain extent, the Founders correctly predicted differences between the two chambers. The Senate is more deliberative, with strict rules to encourage debate, and it follows decorous norms of behaviour like those of some exclusive club.
The House is a bit rowdier, allowing confrontational leaders like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich to rise in influence.
But in other ways the Founders were mistaken. Senators have been directly elected by voters since the Seventeenth Amendment passed in 1913 and are much more likely to lose re-election campaigns — so they must work harder to curry favour if they want to keep their positions. Members of the House, by contrast, seldom lose their re-election bids unless they have been marked by scandal or their districts have changed. They are more insulated from the popular passions that America's Founders feared they would express.
The Congress was created by the Constitution of the United States and first met in 1789, replacing in its legislative function the Congress of the Confederation.
Although not legally mandated, in practice since the 19th century, Congress members are typically affiliated with the Republican Party or with the Democratic Party and only rarely with a third party or independents.
The term Congress can also refer to a particular meeting of the legislature. A Congress covers two years; the current one, the 116th Congress, began on January 3, 2019, and will end on January 3, 2021. The Congress starts and ends on the third day of January of every odd-numbered year. Although the two chambers of Congress are separate, for the most part, they have an equal role in the enactment of legislation, and there are several aspects of the business of Congress that the Senate and the House of Representatives share and that require common action.
Congress must assemble at least once a year and must agree on the date for convening and adjourning. The date for convening was set in the Constitution as the first Monday in December; however, in the Twentieth Amendment (1993) to the Constitution the date was changed to January 3. The date for adjournment is voted on by the House and the Senate.
Members of the Senate are referred to as senators; members of the House of Representatives are referred to as representatives, congresswomen, or congressmen. A term of Congress is divided into two separate sessions, one for each year that the Congress is serving. Sessions are the time that the Congress meets all together to work. Each house meets with its own members in order to work on bills, which are new potential legislation or resolutions. There are times in which the two bodies meet together and these are called joint sessions. Joint sessions are mainly scheduled for counting electoral votes after an election for a new president of the United States or during the President's State of the Union Address to the nation. Congress must also convene in a joint session to count the electoral votes for the President and vice president. Although not required by the
Constitution, joint sessions are also held when the president or some visiting dignitary addresses both houses.
Once elected to office, members of Congress represent their constituents in different ways. Some consider themselves delegates, obligated to vote the way the majority of the people in their districts want. A congressperson or senator who takes this position makes every effort to stay in touch with voter public opinion through questionnaires or surveys and frequent trips back home. Others see themselves as trustees who, while taking the views of their constituents into account, use their own best judgment or their conscience to vote. President John Quincy Adams, who served ten terms in the House after he was defeated in the presidential election of 1828, is a classic example of a representative as trustee.
Members of Congress have a clear advantage over challengers who want to unseat them. Current members are incumbents, candidates for re-election who already hold the office. As such, they have name recognition because the people in the district or state know them. They can use the franking privilege, or free use of the mail, to send out newsletters informing their constituents about their views or asking for input. Incumbents traditionally have easier access to campaign funds and volunteers to generate votes. It is not surprising that 90 percent of incumbents are re-elected. The situation is not static, however. Legislators run for other offices, and vacancies are created by death, retirement, and resignation. Although term limits, restricting the number of consecutive terms an individual can serve, were rejected by the Supreme Court, the idea continues to enjoy the support of voters who want to see more open contests.
House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is the lower house of the United States Congress, the Senate being the upper house. Together they compose the national legislature of the United States.
The composition of the House is established by Article One of the United States Constitution. The House is composed of representatives who sit in congressional districts that are allocated to each of the 50 states on a basis of population as measured by the U.S. Census, with each district entitled to one representative.
Since its inception in 1789, all representatives have been directly elected. The total number of voting representatives is fixed by law at 435. In addition, there are currently six non-voting members, bringing the total membership of the US
House of Representatives to 441 or fewer in the case of vacancies. As of the 2010 Census, the largest delegation is that of California, with fifty-three representatives. Seven states have only one representative: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming.
The House is charged with the passage of federal legislation, known as bills, which, after concurrence by the Senate, are sent to the president for consideration.
In addition to this basic power, the House has certain exclusive powers, among them the power to initiate all bills related to revenue; the impeachment of federal officers, who are sent to trial before the Senate; and, in cases wherein no candidate receives a majority of electors for president, the duty falls upon the House to elect one of the top three recipients of electors for that office, with one vote given to each state for that purpose. The House meets in the south wing of the United States Capitol.
The presiding officer is the speaker of the House, who is elected by the members thereof (and is therefore traditionally the leader of the controlling party). The speaker and other floor leaders are chosen by the Democratic Caucus or the Republican Conference, depending on whichever party has more voting members.
Apportionments
Under Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution, seats in the House of Representatives are apportioned among the states by population, as determined by the census conducted every ten years. Each state is entitled to at least one representative, however small its population.
The only constitutional rule relating to the size of the House states: "The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative." Congress regularly increased the size of the House to account for population growth until it fixed the number of voting House members at 435 in 1911. In 1959, upon the admission of Alaska and Hawaii, the number was temporarily increased to 437 (seating one representative from each of those states without changing existing apportionment), and returned to 435 four years later, after the reapportionment consequent to the 1960 census.
Redistricting
States that are entitled to more than one representative are divided into single- member districts. This has been a federal statutory requirement since 1967. Prior to that law, general ticket representation was used by some states.
States typically redraw district boundaries after each census, though they may do so at other times, such as the 2003 Texas redistricting. Each state determines its own district boundaries, either through legislation or through non-partisan panels.
"Mal-apportionment" is unconstitutional and districts must be approximately equal in population (see Wesberry v. Sanders). Additionally, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits redistricting plans that are intended to, or have the effect of, discriminating against racial or language minority voters.
Aside from mal-apportionment and discrimination against racial or language minorities, federal courts have allowed state legislatures to engage in gerrymandering for the benefit of political parties or incumbents. In a 1984 case, Davis v. Bandemer, the Supreme Court held that gerrymandered districts could be struck down on the basis of the Equal Protection Clause, but the Court did not articulate a standard for when districts are impermissibly gerrymandered.
However, the Court overruled Davis in 2004 in Vieth v. Jubelirer, and Court precedent currently holds gerrymandering to be a political question. According to calculations made by Burt Neuborne using criteria set forth by the American Political Science Association, about 40 seats, less than 10% of the House membership, are chosen through a genuinely contested electoral process, given partisan gerrymandering.
Qualifications
Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution sets three qualifications for representatives. Each representative must: (1) be at least twenty-five years old;
(2) have been a citizen of the United States for the past seven years; and (3) be (at the time of the election) an inhabitant of the state they represent. Members are not required to live in the districts they represent, but they traditionally do. The age and citizenship qualifications for representatives are less than those for senators. The constitutional requirements of Article I, Section 2 for election to Congress are the maximum requirements that can be imposed on a candidate.
Therefore, Article I, Section 5, which permits each House to be the judge of the qualifications of its own members does not permit either House to establish additional qualifications. Likewise a State could not establish additional qualifications.
Disqualification
Under the Fourteenth Amendment, a federal or state officer who takes the requisite oath to support the Constitution, but later engages in rebellion or aids the enemies of the United States, is disqualified from becoming a representative.
This post–Civil War provision was intended to prevent those who sided with the Confederacy from serving. However, disqualified individuals may serve if they gain the consent of two-thirds of both houses of Congress.
Elections
Elections for representatives are held in every even-numbered year, on Election Day the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. By law, representatives must be elected from single-member districts. After a census is taken (in a year ending in 0), the year ending in 2 is the first year in which elections for U.S. House districts are based on that census (with the Congress based on those districts starting its term on the following Jan. 3).
In most states, major party candidates for each district are nominated in partisan primary elections, typically held in spring to late summer. In some states, the Republican and Democratic parties choose their respective candidates for each district in their political conventions in spring or early summer, which often use unanimous voice votes to reflect either confidence in the incumbent or the result of bargaining in earlier private discussions. Exceptions can result in so-called floor fight—convention votes by delegates, with outcomes that can be hard to predict. Especially if a convention is closely divided, a losing candidate may contend further by meeting the conditions for a primary election.
The courts generally do not consider ballot access rules for independent and third party candidates to be additional qualifications for holding office and there are no federal regulations regarding ballot access. As a result, the process to gain ballot access varies greatly from state to state, and in the case of a third party may be affected by results of previous years' elections.
In 1967, the United States Congress passed the Uniform Congressional District Act, which requires almost all representatives be elected from single-member- districts. Following the Wesberry v. Sanders decision, Congress was motivated by fears that courts would impose at-large plurality districts on states that did not redistrict to comply with the new mandates for districts roughly equal in population, and Congress also sought to prevent attempts by southern states to use such voting systems to dilute the vote of racial minorities. Several states have
used multi-member districts in the past, although only two states (Hawaii and New Mexico) used multi-member districts in 1967. Hawaii and New Mexico were made exempt from the Uniform Congressional District Act, and are free to use multi-member districts, although neither state chooses to do so.
Louisiana is unique in that it holds an all-party "primary election" on the general Election Day with a subsequent run-off election between the top two finishers (regardless of party) if no candidate received a majority in the primary. The states of Washington and California now use a similar (though not identical) system to that used by Louisiana.
Seats vacated during a term are filled through special elections, unless the vacancy occurs closer to the next general election date than a pre-established deadline. The term of a member chosen in a special election usually begins the next day, or as soon as the results are certified.
Non-voting delegates
Historically, many states, prior to achieving statehood, have sent non-voting delegates to the House. While their role has fluctuated over the years, today they have many of the same privileges as voting members, have a voice in committees, and can introduce bills on the floor, but cannot vote on the ultimate passage of bills. Presently, the District of Columbia and the five inhabited U.S. territories each elect a delegate. A seventh delegate, representing the Cherokee Nation, has been formally proposed but has not yet been seated. An eighth delegate, representing the Choctaw Nation is guaranteed by treaty but has not yet been proposed. Additionally, some territories may choose to also elect shadow representatives, though these are not official members of the House and are separate individuals from their official delegates.
Terms
Representatives and delegates serve for two-year terms, while a resident commissioner (a kind of delegate) serves for four years. A term starts on January 3 following the election in November. The U.S. Constitution requires that vacancies in the House be filled with a special election. The term of the replacement member expires on the date that the original member's would have expired.
The Constitution permits the House to expel a member with a two-thirds vote. In the history of the United States, only five members have been expelled from the
House; in 1861, three were removed for supporting the Confederate states' secession: John Bullock Clark (D-MO), John William Reid (D-MO) and Henry Cornelius Burnett (D-KY). Michael Myers (D-PA) was expelled after his criminal conviction for accepting bribes in 1980, and James Traficant (D-OH) was expelled in 2002 following his conviction for corruption.
The House also has the power to formally censure or reprimand its members;
censure or reprimand of a member requires only a simple majority, and does not remove that member from office.
Leadership
The Speaker of the House of Representatives is the only presiding officer and traditionally has been the main spokesperson for the majority party in the House.
The position is a very powerful one; the Speaker is third in line in presidential succession (after the president and vice president). The Speaker's real power comes from controlling the selection of committee chairs and committee members and the authority to set the order of business of the House.
The majority floor leader is second only to the Speaker. He or she comes from the political party that controls the House and is elected through a caucus, a meeting of the House party members. The majority leader presents the official position of the party on issues and tries to keep party members loyal to that position, which is not always an easy task. In the event that a minority party wins a majority of the seats in a congressional election, its minority leader usually becomes the majority leader.
The minority party in the House also has a leadership structure, topped by the minority floor leader. Whoever fills this elected position serves as the chief spokesperson and legislative strategist for the party and often works hard to win the support of moderate members of the opposition on particular votes. Although the minority leader has little formal power, it is an important job, especially because whoever holds it conventionally takes over the speakership if control of the House changes hands.
Legislative Functions
Most bills may be introduced in either House of Congress. However, the Constitution states, "All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives". As a result of the Origination Clause, the Senate cannot initiate bills imposing taxes. This provision barring the Senate from introducing revenue
bills is based on the practice of the British Parliament, in which only the House of Commons may originate such measures. Furthermore, congressional tradition holds that the House of Representatives originates appropriation bills.
Although it cannot originate revenue bills, the Senate retains the power to amend or reject them.
The approval of the Senate and the House of Representatives is required for a bill to become law. Both Houses must pass the same version of the bill; if there are differences, they may be resolved by a conference committee, which includes members of both bodies. For the stages through which bills pass in the Senate, see Act of Congress.
The president may veto a bill passed by the House and Senate. If he does, the bill does not become law unless each House, by a two-thirds vote, votes to override the veto.
Checks and balances
The Constitution provides that the Senate's "advice and consent" is necessary for the president to make appointments and to ratify treaties. Thus, with its potential to frustrate presidential appointments, the Senate is more powerful than the House The Constitution empowers the House of Representatives to impeach federal officials for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors" and empowers the Senate to try such impeachments. The House may approve "articles of impeachment" by a simple majority vote; however, a two-thirds vote is required for conviction in the Senate. A convicted official is automatically removed from office and may be disqualified from holding future office under the United States. No further punishment is permitted during the impeachment proceedings; however, the party may face criminal penalties in a normal court of law.
In the history of the United States, the House of Representatives has impeached seventeen officials, of whom seven were convicted. (Another, Richard Nixon, resigned after the House Judiciary Committee passed articles of impeachment but before a formal impeachment vote by the full House.) Only three presidents of the United States have ever been impeached: Andrew Johnson in 1868, Bill Clinton in 1998, and Donald Trump in 2019. All three trials ended in acquittal;
in Johnson's case, the Senate fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority required for conviction.
Under the Twelfth Amendment, the House has the power to elect the president if no presidential candidate receives a majority of votes in the Electoral College.
The Twelfth Amendment requires the House to choose from the three candidates with the highest numbers of electoral votes. The Constitution provides that "the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote."
It is rare for no presidential candidate to receive a majority of electoral votes. In the history of the United States, the House has only had to choose a president twice. In 1800, which was before the adoption of the Twelfth Amendment, it elected Thomas Jefferson over Aaron Burr. In 1824, it elected John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson and William H. Crawford. (If no vice-presidential candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes, the Senate elects the vice president from the two candidates with the highest numbers of electoral votes.)
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, which, along with the United States House of Representatives—the lower chamber—constitutes the legislature of the United States. The Senate chamber is located in the north wing of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
The composition and powers of the Senate are established by Article One of the United States Constitution. The Senate is composed of senators, each of whom represents a single state in its entirety. Each state, regardless of its population size, is equally represented by two senators who serve staggered terms of six years. There being at present 50 states in the Union, there are currently 100 senators. From 1789 to 1913, senators were appointed by legislatures of the states they represented; they are now elected by popular vote, following the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913.
As the upper chamber of Congress, the Senate has several powers of advice and consent which are unique to it. These include the approval of treaties, and the confirmation of Cabinet secretaries, Supreme Court justices, federal judges, flag officers, regulatory officials, ambassadors, other federal executive officials and other federal uniformed officers. In addition to these, in cases wherein no candidate receives a majority of electors for vice president, the duty falls to the Senate to elect one of the top two recipients of electors for that office.
Furthermore, the Senate has the responsibility of conducting the trials of those impeached by the House.
The Senate is widely considered both a more deliberative and more prestigious body than the House of Representatives due to its longer terms, smaller size, and state-wide constituencies, which historically led to a more collegial and less partisan atmosphere. The presiding officer of the Senate is the vice president of the United States, who is president of the Senate. In the vice president's absence, the president pro tempore, who is customarily the senior member of the party holding a majority of seats, presides over the Senate. In the early 20th century, the practice of majority and minority parties electing their floor leaders began, although they are not constitutional officers.
Qualifications
Article I, Section 3, of the Constitution, sets three qualifications for senators: (1) they must be at least 30 years old; (2) they must have been citizens of the United States for the past nine years or longer; and (3) they must be inhabitants of the states they seek to represent at the time of their election. The age and citizenship qualifications for senators are more stringent than those for representatives. In Federalist No. 62, James Madison justified this arrangement by arguing that the
"senatorial trust" called for a "greater extent of information and stability of character".
The Senate (not the judiciary) is the sole judge of a senator's qualifications.
During its early years, however, the Senate did not closely scrutinize the qualifications of its members. As a result, four senators who failed to meet the age requirement were nevertheless admitted to the Senate: Henry Clay (aged 29 in 1806), John Jordan Crittenden (aged 29 in 1817), Armistead Thomson Mason (aged 28 in 1816), and John Eaton (aged 28 in 1818). Such an occurrence, however, has not been repeated since. In 1934, Rush D. Holt Sr. was elected to the Senate at the age of 29; he waited until he turned 30 (on the next June 19) to take the oath of office. In November 1972, Joe Biden was elected to the Senate at the age of 29, but he reached his 30th birthday before the swearing-in ceremony for incoming senators in January 1973.
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution disqualifies from the Senate any federal or state officers who had taken the requisite oath to support the Constitution, but later engaged in rebellion or aided the enemies of the United States. This provision, which came into force soon after the end of the Civil War, was intended to prevent those who had sided with the Confederacy from serving.
That Amendment, however, also provides a method to remove that disqualification: a two-thirds vote of both chambers of Congress.
Term
Senators serve terms of six years each; the terms are staggered so that approximately one-third of the seats are up for election every two years. This was achieved by dividing the senators of the 1st Congress into thirds (called classes), where the terms of one-third expired after two years, the terms of another third expired after four, and the terms of the last third expired after six years. This arrangement was also followed after the admission of new states into the union.
The staggering of terms has been arranged such that both seats from a given state are not contested in the same general election, except when a vacancy is being filled. Current senators whose six-year terms are set to expire on January 3, 2021, belong to Class II. There is no constitutional limit to the number of terms a senator may serve.
The Constitution set the date for Congress to convene — Article 1, Section 4, Clause 2, originally set that date for the third day of December. The Twentieth Amendment, however, changed the opening date for sessions to noon on the third day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day. The Twentieth Amendment also states that Congress shall assemble at least once in every year and allows Congress to determine its convening and adjournment dates and other dates and schedules as it desires. Article 1, Section 3, provides that the president has the power to convene Congress on extraordinary occasions at his discretion.
A member who has been elected, but not yet seated, is called a senator-elect; a member who has been appointed to a seat, but not yet seated, is called a senator- designate.
Elections
Originally, senators were selected by the state legislatures, not by popular elections. By the early years of the 20th century, the legislatures of as many as 29 states had provided for popular election of senators by referendums. Popular election to the Senate was standardized nationally in 1913 by the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment.
Elections to the Senate are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years, Election Day, and coincide with elections for the House of Representatives. Senators are elected by their state as a whole. The Elections Clause of the United States Constitution grants each state (and Congress, if it so desires to implement a uniform law) the power to legislate a
method by which senators are elected. Ballot access rules for independent and minor party candidates also vary from state to state.
In 45 states, a primary election is held first for the Republican and Democratic parties (and a select few third parties, depending on the state) with the general election following a few months later. In most of these states, the nominee may receive only a plurality, while in some states, a runoff is required if no majority was achieved. In the general election, the winner is the candidate who receives a plurality of the popular vote.
However, in 5 states, different methods are used. In Georgia, a runoff between the top two candidates occurs if the plurality winner in the general election does not also win a majority. In Washington, California, and Louisiana, a nonpartisan blanket primary (also known as a "jungle primary" or "top-two primary") is held in which all candidates participate in a single primary regardless of party affiliation and the top two candidates in terms of votes received at the primary election advance to the general election, where the winner is the candidate with the greater number of votes. In Louisiana, the blanket primary is considered the general election and the winner of the blanket primary can win the overall election if he or she received a majority of the vote, skipping the run-off. This can lead to a potential situation in those three states in which both candidates advancing are affiliated with the same party and the seat is considered "won" by that party even though a winner has not been determined yet overall. In Maine, following two ballot initiatives in 2016 and 2018, respectively, to establish and maintain instant- runoff voting (IRV), known in that state as "ranked-choice voting", the state uses IRV to nominate and elect candidates for federal offices, including the Senate.
Leadership
The Senate has a somewhat different leadership structure. The vice president is officially the presiding officer and is called the president of the Senate. The vice president seldom appears in the Senate chamber in this role unless it appears that a crucial vote may end in a tie. In such instances, the vice president casts the tiebreaking vote.
To deal with day-to-day business, the Senate chooses the president pro tempore.
This position is an honorary one and is traditionally given to the senator in the majority party who has the longest continuous service. Because the president pro tempore is a largely ceremonial office, the real work of presiding is done by many senators. As in the House, the Senate has majority and minority leaders. The
majority leader exercises considerable political influence. One of the most successful majority leaders was Lyndon Johnson, who led the Senate from 1955 to 1961. His power of persuasion was legendary in getting fellow senators to go along with him on key votes.
In both the Senate and the House, the majority and minority party leadership selects whips, who see to it that party members are present for important votes.
They also provide their colleagues with information needed to ensure party loyalty. Because there are so many members of Congress, whips are aided by numerous assistants.
Legislative Functions
Bills may be introduced in either chamber of Congress. However, the Constitution's Origination Clause provides that "All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives". As a result, the Senate does not have the power to initiate bills imposing taxes. Furthermore, the House of Representatives holds that the Senate does not have the power to originate appropriation bills, or bills authorizing the expenditure of federal funds.
Historically, the Senate has disputed the interpretation advocated by the House.
However, when the Senate originates an appropriations bill, the House simply refuses to consider it, thereby settling the dispute in practice. The constitutional provision barring the Senate from introducing revenue bills is based on the practice of the British Parliament, in which only the House of Commons may originate such measures.
The approval of both houses is required for any bill, including a revenue bill, to become law. Both Houses must pass the same version of the bill; if there are differences, they may be resolved by sending amendments back and forth or by a conference committee, which includes members of both bodies.
Checks and balances
The Constitution provides several unique functions for the Senate that form its ability to "check and balance" the powers of other elements of the Federal Government. These include the requirement that the Senate may advise and must consent to some of the president's government appointments; also the Senate must consent to all treaties with foreign governments; it tries all impeachments, and it elects the vice president in the event no person gets a majority of the electoral votes. The president can make certain appointments only with the advice and consent of the Senate. Officials whose appointments require the Senate's approval
include members of the cabinet, heads of most federal executive agencies, ambassadors, justices of the Supreme Court, and other federal judges. Under Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, a large number of government appointments are subject to potential confirmation; however, Congress has passed legislation to authorize the appointment of many officials without the Senate's consent (usually, confirmation requirements are reserved for those officials with the most significant final decision-making authority). Typically, a nominee is first subject to a hearing before a Senate committee. Thereafter, the nomination is considered by the full Senate. The majority of nominees are confirmed, but in a small number of cases each year, Senate committees purposely fail to act on a nomination to block it. In addition, the president sometimes withdraws nominations when they appear unlikely to be confirmed.
Because of this, outright rejections of nominees on the Senate floor are infrequent (there have been only nine Cabinet nominees rejected outright in United States history).
The powers of the Senate concerning nominations are, however, subject to some constraints. For instance, the Constitution provides that the president may make an appointment during a congressional recess without the Senate's advice and consent. The recess appointment remains valid only temporarily; the office becomes vacant again at the end of the next congressional session. Nevertheless, presidents have frequently used recess appointments to circumvent the possibility that the Senate may reject the nominee. Furthermore, as the Supreme Court held in Myers v. United States, although the Senate's advice and consent is required for the appointment of certain executive branch officials, it is not necessary for their removal. Recess appointments have faced a significant amount of resistance and in 1960, the U.S. Senate passed a legally non-binding resolution against recess appointments.
The Senate also has a role in ratifying treaties. The Constitution provides that the president may only "make Treaties, provided two thirds of the senators present concur" in order to benefit from the Senate's advice and consent and give each state an equal vote in the process. However, not all international agreements are considered treaties under US domestic law, even if they are considered treaties under international law. Congress has passed laws authorizing the president to conclude executive agreements without action by the Senate. Similarly, the president may make congressional-executive agreements with the approval of a simple majority in each House of Congress, rather than a two-thirds majority in
the Senate. Neither executive agreements nor congressional-executive agreements are mentioned in the Constitution, leading some scholars such as Laurence Tribe and John Yoo to suggest that they unconstitutionally circumvent the treaty-ratification process. However, courts have upheld the validity of such agreements.
The Constitution empowers the House of Representatives to impeach federal officials for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors" and empowers the Senate to try such impeachments. If the sitting president of the United States is being tried, the chief justice of the United States presides over the trial. During an impeachment trial, senators are constitutionally required to sit on oath or affirmation. Conviction requires a two-thirds majority of the senators present. A convicted official is automatically removed from office; in addition, the Senate may stipulate that the defendant be banned from holding office. No further punishment is permitted during the impeachment proceedings; however, the party may face criminal penalties in a normal court of law.
The House of Representatives has impeached sixteen officials, of whom seven were convicted. (One resigned before the Senate could complete the trial.)[64]
Only three presidents of the United States have ever been impeached: Andrew Johnson in 1868, Bill Clinton in 1998 and Donald Trump in 2019. All three trials ended in acquittal; in Johnson's case, the Senate fell one vote short of the two- thirds majority required for conviction.
Under the Twelfth Amendment, the Senate has the power to elect the vice president if no vice presidential candidate receives a majority of votes in the Electoral College. The Twelfth Amendment requires the Senate to choose from the two candidates with the highest numbers of electoral votes. Electoral College deadlocks are rare. The Senate has only broken a deadlock once; in 1837, it elected Richard Mentor Johnson. The House elects the president if the Electoral College deadlocks on that choice.
Powers
Much of the work of Congress is done in committees, where bills are introduced, hearings are held, and the first votes on proposed laws are taken. The committee structure allows Congress to research an area of public policy, to hear from interested parties, and to develop the expertise of its members. Committee membership reflects the party breakdown; the majority party has a majority of
the seats on each committee, including the chair, who is usually chosen by seniority (years of consecutive service on the committee). Membership on a key committee may also be politically advantageous to a senator or representative.
Both houses have four types of committees: standing, select, conference, and joint. Standing committees are permanent committees that determine whether proposed legislation should be presented to the entire House or Senate for consideration. The best-known standing committees are Armed Services, Foreign Relations, and Finance in the Senate and National Security, International Relations, Rules, and Ways and Means in the House. Both chambers have committees on agriculture, appropriations, the judiciary, and veterans' affairs. In 2007, the Senate had 16 standing committees and the House had 20. The House added the Committee on Homeland Security in response to the events of September 11, 2001.
Select committees are also known as special committees. Unlike standing committees, these are temporary and are established to examine specific issues.
They must be re-established with each new Congress. The purpose of select committees is to investigate matters that have attracted widespread attention, such as illegal immigration or drug use. They do not propose legislation but issue a report at the conclusion of their investigation. If a problem becomes an ongoing concern, Congress may decide to change the status of the committee from select to standing.
Conference committees deal with legislation that has been passed by each of both houses of Congress. The two bills may be similar, but they are seldom identical.
The function of the conference committee is to iron out the differences. Members of both the House and Senate who have worked on the bill in their respective standing committees serve on the conference committee. It usually takes just a few days for them to come up with the final wording of the legislation. The bill is then reported out of the conference committee and is voted on by both the House and the Senate.
Like the conference committees, joint committees have members from both houses, with the leadership rotating between Senate and House members. They focus on issues of general concern to Congress and investigate problems but do not propose legislation. The Joint Economic Committee, for example, examines the nation's economic policies.
The complexity of law-making means that committee work must be divided among subcommittees, smaller groups that focus more closely on the issues and draft the bills. The number of subcommittees grew in the 20th century. In 1995, the House had 84 and the Senate had 69 subcommittees. These numbers actually represent a reduction in subcommittees, following an attempt to reform the legislative process. Although subcommittees allow closer focus on issues, they have contributed to the decentralization and fragmentation of the legislative process.
When a House subcommittee is formed, a chair is selected, whose assignment is based on seniority, and a permanent staff is assembled. Then the subcommittee tends to take on a political life of its own. As a result, there are now many legislators who have political influence, while in the past the House was dominated by just a few powerful committee chairs. The increase in subcommittees has also made it possible for interest groups to deal with fewer legislators in pressing their position. It has become more difficult to pass legislation because the sheer number of subcommittees and committees causes deliberations on bills to be more complicated. Once considered an important reform, Congress's decentralized subcommittees have caused unforeseen problems in advancing legislation.
At the beginning of a session, the president delivers a State of the Union address, which describes in broad terms the legislative program that the president would like Congress to consider. Later, the president submits an annual budget message and the report on the economy prepared by the president’s Council of Economic Advisors. In as much as congressional committees require a period of time for preparing legislation before it is presented for general consideration, the legislative output of Congress may be rather small in the early weeks of a session.
Legislation not enacted at the end of a session retains its status in the following session of the same two-year Congress.
In terms of legislation, the president may be considered a functioning part of the congressional process. The president is expected to keep Congress informed of the need for new legislation, and government departments and agencies are required to send Congress periodic reports of their activities. The president also submits certain types of treaties and nominations for the approval of the Senate.
One of the most important legislative functions of the president, however, is that of signing or vetoing proposed legislation. The president’s veto may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of each chamber of Congress; nevertheless, the
influence of the president’s potential power may extend to the procedures of Congress. The possibility that a bill may be vetoed gives the president some influence in determining what legislation Congress will consider initially and what amendments will be acceptable. In addition to these legal and constitutional powers, the president has influence as the leader of a political party; party policy both in Congress and among the electorate may be moulded by the president.
Although the U.S. Supreme Court has no direct relations with Congress, the Supreme Court’s implied power to invalidate legislation that violates the Constitution is an even stronger restriction on the powers of Congress than the presidential veto. Supreme Court and federal court decisions on the constitutionality of legislation outline the constitutional framework within which Congress can act.
Congress is also affected by representative interest groups, though they are not part of the formal structure of Congress. Lobbyists play a significant role in testifying before congressional hearings and in mobilizing opinion on select issues.
Many of the activities of Congress are not directly concerned with enacting laws, but the ability of Congress to enact law is often the sanction that makes its other actions effective. The general legal theory under which Congress operates is that legal authority is delegated to the president or executive departments and agencies and that the latter, in turn, are legally responsible for their actions. Congress may review any actions performed by a delegated authority; and in some areas of delegated legislation, such as in proposals for governmental reorganization, Congress must indicate approval of specific plans before they go into effect.
Congress may also retain the right to terminate legislation by joint action of both houses.
Congress exercises general legal control over the employment of government personnel. Political control may also be exercised, particularly through the Senate’s power to advice and consent to nominations. Neither the Senate nor the House of Representatives has any direct constitutional power to nominate or otherwise select executive or judicial personnel (although in the unusual event that the electoral college fails to select a president and vice president, the two houses, respectively, are expected to do so). Furthermore, Congress does not customarily remove officials. Congress, however, does have the power of impeachment. In such proceedings the impeachment is made by the House of
Representatives, and the case is tried before the Senate—a vote of two-thirds of the senators present is required for conviction.
The power to levy and collect taxes and to appropriate funds allows Congress considerable authority in fiscal matters. Although the president has the initial responsibility for determining the proposed level of appropriations, once estimates for the next fiscal year are submitted to Congress, a single budget bill is not enacted, but rather a number of appropriation bills for various departments and agencies are passed during the first six or seven months of a session.
In its non-legislative capacity, Congress also has the power to initiate amendments to the Constitution, and it must determine whether the states should vote on a proposed amendment by state legislatures or by special state conventions. Finally, Congress has the right to investigate any subject that affects its powers. Congressional investigating committees may call witnesses and require them to produce information. These committees may also be given the power that persons who deliberately block the legislative process may be charged with contempt of Congress and may be issued warrants for their arrests.
Article One of the United States Constitution states, "All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives." The House and Senate are equal partners in the legislative process—legislation cannot be enacted without the consent of both chambers. However, the Constitution grants each chamber some unique powers. The Senate ratifies treaties and approves presidential appointments while the House initiates revenue-raising bills. The House initiates impeachment cases, while the Senate decides impeachment cases. A two-thirds vote of the Senate is required before an impeached person can be removed from office.
Under the Constitution, Congress has both specific and implied powers. These powers have been expanded through the amendment process as well as by Congress's own legislative action. Moreover, both houses are granted authority in certain areas.
Specific powers
Congress is given 27 specific powers under Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution. These are commonly known as the enumerated powers, and they cover such areas as the rights to collect taxes, regulate foreign and domestic commerce, coin money, declare war, support an army and navy, and establish
lower federal courts. In addition, Congress can admit new states to the Union (Article IV, Section 3), propose amendments to the Constitution (Article V), collect federal income taxes (Sixteenth Amendment), and enforce protection and extension of civil rights (Thirteenth, Fifteenth, Nineteenth, Twenty-third, Twenty-fourth, and Twenty-sixth amendments).
Implied powers
Implied powers are not stated directly in the Constitution. They derive from the right of Congress to make all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out its enumerated powers. Located at the end of Article I, Section 8, this sentence is often called the elastic clause because it stretches the authority of Congress. The Supreme Court upheld the concept of implied powers in the landmark case McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), ruling that the federal government had the right to establish a national bank under the power delegated to Congress to borrow money and control commerce. A more recent example of implied powers is the War Powers Act of 1973, which limited the ability of the president to send American troops into combat without consulting and notifying Congress.
Limitations on the powers of Congress
The Constitution lists powers that are denied to Congress (Article I, Section 9).
The Bill of Rights prohibits Congress from making laws that limit individual liberties. Under the system of checks and balances, the president can veto a law passed by Congress, or the Supreme Court can declare a law unconstitutional.
Voters can ignore unpopular laws and press for their repeal, as happened with the Eighteenth Amendment establishing Prohibition.
How a Bill Becomes a Law
Each Congress is elected for a two-year term and holds two annual sessions.
During that time, as many as 20,000 bills might be introduced, but only 5 percent to 10 percent of them are actually signed into law. While some may pass through Congress rather quickly, others lead to lengthy hearings in the subcommittees or committees and protracted debates on the floor of the House and Senate. Few legislative proposals emerge from the process exactly as they were first written.
What many have called the "dance of legislation" is influenced by partisan politics, the lobbying of interest groups, and public opinion.
A Bill is introduced
With the exception of revenue or tax bills, which must originate in the House, legislation can be introduced in either the House or the Senate; sometimes identical bills are introduced in both houses. The majority of bills are written by the executive branch. In the State of the Union address, the president presents a legislative program for the coming session. Members of Congress, usually through their staffs, draft legislation as well. Very often, an interest group that wants a particular law passed will work with congressional staff or the administration to get a bill introduced. A Senate or House member may sponsor (introduce) a bill, and the bill may have numerous congressional cosponsors.
Each bill is assigned a number (and the prefix HR in the House or S in the Senate) by the clerks of the House or the Senate. Bills are then sent to the appropriate committees by the Speaker of the House or the Senate majority leader.
A Bill in Committee
A bill goes to one of the standing committees and then to a subcommittee, as determined by the committee chair. The subcommittee holds hearings on the bill, taking testimony from its supporters and opponents. After the hearings, it usually issues a report that is either favourable or unfavourable to the bill. Or it may report out an amended or changed bill or rewrite the original bill entirely as a committee print. The standing committee usually accepts the recommendation of its subcommittee.
A bill favourably reported out of a Senate committee is put on the calendar for floor action. The bill's sponsors schedule when the debate on the bill will begin through a unanimous consent agreement. The process is different in the House.
Here bills must first go through the Rules Committee, which decides when the full House will hear the bill, if the bill can be amended from the floor, and how much time will be allowed for debate.
A Bill before the House of Representatives and Senate
The procedures for debating and voting on legislation are different in the House and the Senate. In the House, each member is allowed five minutes to speak on a bill. If amendments are allowed by the Rules Committee, these must pertain to the bill itself. Amendments are accepted or rejected by a vote of the members present. In the Senate, there is no time limit on debate. A senator who wants to delay action on a bill or kill it altogether may use a tactic called a filibuster. This is a marathon speech that may go on for hours with the senator yielding the floor
only to members who support his or her position. A filibuster can be cut off only through cloture. A petition from a minimum of 16 senators is needed for a cloture vote, and 60 senators must actually vote for cloture to end a filibuster. Even then, each senator can still speak for one hour. The Senate also puts no restrictions on the nature of the amendments to a bill. Amendments completely unrelated to the bill are called riders. A senator may add an amendment to a highway bill for a new veterans' hospital in his or her state, for example.
Bills are passed in the House and Senate by voice vote (either "aye" or "no"), standing vote (members must stand up to indicate yes or no), or roll call vote (each member's vote for or against a bill is recorded).
Factors influencing voting decisions
Legislators are influenced by a variety of factors in making their voting decisions.
The unwritten rules of Congress certainly have a role. Through serving on committees, members develop an expertise in a particular field. Other representatives or senators are likely to accept their judgment that a bill merits their support. They will expect the same deference for a piece of legislation in their area of specialization. Legislators often vote for each other's bills when a bill does not affect their constituency. This is a political technique known as logrolling. It is frequently used to advance pork-barrel legislation — bills designed to benefit a congressional district or state through the appropriation of federal funds. Highway construction, river and harbor improvements, and military base siting are typical examples of pork-barrel projects. A type of pork- barrel spending is an earmark. Although there is little agreement on a definition, most in Congress would agree that the term refers to a specific spending proposal included by a member in an appropriations bill that does not get full scrutiny.
Party loyalty is probably the most important voting factor. In the 1990s, more than 80 percent of the members of Congress voted according to party affiliation.
Interest groups provide information to and put pressure (sometimes subtle, sometimes not) on a legislator to vote one way or another. Industry trade associations, unions, environmental groups, and political action committees employ lobbyists, paid professionals who try to influence legislation. The role of these groups is significant because they also contribute money and sometimes volunteers to election campaigns. Also, a call from the president to vote for or against a bill is hard to resist. The president can appeal for the good of the nation or party loyalty, promise to actively support legislation the member of Congress wants, or threaten to cut off campaign funds.
Constituents, the voters whom the legislator represents, also exercise considerable influence. A congressperson or senator who consistently votes against what the majority of the "folks back home" wants will soon be out of office. Personal beliefs are certainly a factor in voting decisions. If a member of Congress holds a strong position on an issue, no amount of pressure from party members, lobbyists, the president, or even constituents will make a difference.
The Conference Committee and action by the President
Similar bills that have been passed independently by the House and the Senate go to a conference committee to resolve the differences. If the committee cannot work out a compromise version, the bill is dead for that session of Congress. The bill that comes out of the committee is sent to both houses for a vote, and it cannot be amended from the floor. If the bill is approved by the House and the Senate, it is sent to the president for final action.
A bill becomes a law when signed by the President. If the President vetoes a bill, Congress can override the veto by a two-thirds vote of both houses. There are many reasons for a president to reject legislation. For example, although the president may be supportive of the bill's main purpose, he may decide that it contains unacceptable riders. If the president does not sign or veto a bill within ten days, the bill becomes law. On the other hand, the bill is dead if Congress adjourns within this ten-day period. This is known as a pocket veto. In 1996, Congress gave the president line-item veto power, which meant he could reject specific spending items within a larger bill. The Supreme Court struck down this attempt to increase presidential discretion two years later, however, in Clinton v.
City of New York.
Further Readings:
Vishnu Bhagwan and Vidya Bhushan, World Constitutions. (Latest Edition) A. C. Kapur, Select World Constitutions. (Latest Edition)
