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Bicameral legislature
a legislature divided into two houses (Neb. is only U.S. exception)
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Apportionment
number of people for each representatives; currently about 300 million citizens for 435 representatives (reached in 1910, set by statute in 1929)
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Bill
a proposed law; can become law only with consent of both houses, President
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The House of Representatives
- "lower" house; members elected to 2-year terms
- Larger and majority rules
- Speaker of the House - leader of the House and head of the majority party; also 2nd in presidential succession
- notable speakers: Henry Clay (ca. 1811-24), Joe Cannon (1903-10), Tip O'Neill (1977-86), Newt Gingrich (1995-98); now Nancy Pelosi (2007- )
- other House leaders:
- Majority leader (second after the speaker) - works with the speaker and the minority leader to schedule the House's work
- minority leader - head of the R party, and leads the opposition (Ford, 1965-73)
- Whips - for majority and minority; stay close with members, "count noses" on key votes, and "whip" their caucuses into line
- committee Chairs - very powerful, especially Appropriations ("Cardinals"); chosen from very loyal majority members
- as the larger body, the House is organized more tightly, with stricter rules; the House is also more overtly partisan, and the majority has almost total control over proceedings
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The Senate
- "upper" house; members elected to staggered 6-year terms (1/3 every 2 years)
- Smaller and minority rules
- senate Majority leader - leader of the Senate and head of the majority party
- notable majority leaders: Henry Cabot Lodge (1920-26), Lyndon Johnson (1955-60), Mike Mansfield (1961-76), George Mitchell (1989-94)
- senate minority leader - head of the minority party; leads the R
- notable minority leaders (also effective opposition leader to the president): Everett Dirksen (1959-71), Bob Dole (1989-94), Tom Daschle (1995-2001, 2003-4)
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other Senate leaders:
- vice president - "presiding" officer; can only vote to break a tie
- president pro tempore ("pro tem") - ceremonial, presides in absence of VP; also 3rd in presidential succession; most senior member in majority, now Robert Byrd, D-WV
- committee chairs - very powerful, as in the House
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Senate rules
- give individual senators tremendous power; they are "more active, assertive, and consequently less predictable;" also very ambitious, 100 "presidents-in-waiting"
- a smaller body, the Senate has fewer formal rules, and more informal ones (�folkways�); senators usually try to be more civil to each other
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Congress is organized by
- political parties; significant recent partisan developments:
- 1986 - Dems retake the Senate; Bork fight, nomination fights v. Reagan and Bush I
- 1994 - GOP takeover in both House (Gingrich) and Senate (Dole, then Lott)
- 1998 - Dem. seats gained and preserved (rare in a president's 6th year); Clinton survives politically, Gingrich retires
- 2000 - Dems win several close Senate races, gain tie (but broken by GOP VP's vote)
- 2001 - defection of Jeffords (VT) from GOP gives Senate to Dems in 2001-2 (Daschle becomes majority leader); GOP gets Senate back in 2002; Dems in 2006
- significance: near-parity in Senate means Dems can block many Bush II nominees
- caucis or conference - collection of all members of each party: select party officers, review committee assignments, set policy and themes, discipline, plan media strategy
- The Committee System - types of committees
- standing - committees to which bills are referred; fewer than 10% of bills ever get voted out of committee; called "standing" because they continue from one Congress to the next; some committees are more powerful or desirable than others (Table 7.3)
- joint - members from both H & S to effect business between the houses; also focus on the biggest issues, or investigations
- conference - joint, temporary committee formed to resolve differences between two versions of a specific bill
- ad hoc, special, or select - temporary, formed for specific purposes, including special studies or investigations
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Discharge petition
a majority of the House can force a bill to the floor for a vote; very unusual: nobody in the majority wants to cross the House leadership (if minority gets enough majority can force bill)
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pork barrel
legislation that lets members "bring home the bacon" to their districts with public works projects, military contracts, or other federal spending; only benefits one location, but drains national money; e.g., Alaska's "bridge to nowhere" (the goal)
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Earmark
member-directed provision in a bill directing funds to a specific project (pork) (the tool)
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Committee chairs
less powerful in the House since 1995; many were kings before
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The Members of Congress
members must appease two sets of constituencies: their voters and supporters at home, and the party leaders, colleagues, and lobbyists in Washington, D.C.
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Casework
solving constituents- problems dealing with the federal government
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incumbency factor
being in office helps a politician to stay in office, because of the benefits of the position
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term limits - proposed for Congress, but never enacted; would require a constitutional amendment
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Theories of Representation
- trustees - listen to constituents, then use best judgment to make final decisions (Burke)
- delegates - vote the way their constituents want them to
- politicos - representatives act as either trustees or delegates, depending on the issue; on issues of great importance to their constituents, they act as delegates
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party
very important; party unity affects outcomes
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constituents
members vote their way about 2/3 of the time (as does Congress)
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colleagues
advice, logrolling (vote trading), personal lobbying
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caucuses
special-interest groups within Congress for industries, regions, key issues, minorities, etc.; many had special status and funding pre-1995, now more informal
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interest groups and lobbyists
K Street offers information, research, & campaign cash; their PACs provide issue-based campaign funding
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think tanks, academia, and foundations
do academic research, define issues
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staff
invaluable to individuals and committees
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support agencies
include CBO (Congressional Budget Office) and GAO (Government Accountability Office)
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three stages of how a bill becomes a law
committee approval, approval by each house, & conference
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hold
a senator stops a bill from coming to the floor; he/she "asks to be informed" about the bill (or appointment); has objections
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filibuster
halts action on a senate bill by means of unlimited speeches; debate can only be cut off by cloture; prevents any vote on a bill or nominee
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closure
motion requiring 60 senators to cut off debate
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pocket veto
if Congress adjourns in the 10 days after a bill is passed, the bill is considered vetoed if the president doesn't sign it
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line-item veto
Congress created in 1995; tried by Clinton, but struck down by the Supreme Court; proposed as a const. amendment, but never passed by Congress
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Congress and the President
presidential power started to increase ca. 1900, at the expense of Congress: TR, FDR, and LBJ were most conspicuous at it; in 1973 Congress started to fight "the imperial presidency;" but presidents ascended again after 1980
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Oversight
Congressional review of the activities of an agency, department, or office; includes program review, hearings, departmental funding, investigations
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foreign affairs
largely an executive function since early 1900s; technology (air power, nukes, etc.) now necessitates more quick decision-making and more secrecy
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War powers Act
requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of sending troops overseas; prez also needs congressional approval to commit U.S. forces to a combat zone for more than 60 days
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Senate confirmation of presidential appointments - can be very contentious
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Impeachment
- arraignment and trial of a judicial or executive officer; only 16 federal officials have been impeached (7 were convicted and removed, 3 resigned)
- Congress can charge the president and other "civil officers" with "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors" (see Table 7.7)
- the House judiciary Committee first votes on a bill or resolution of impeachment; hearings before a vote may result in an extensive evidentiary report
- the full house can indict with a majority vote on each article of impeachment
- Senate trial - on Senate floor, acting as jury; the official is defended by attorneys, and prosecuted by members of the House Judiciary Committee
- if convicted in the Senate trial - the official is removed from office (and can face criminal charges)
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presidential impeachment efforts: charges, results
- Tyler - corruption and misconduct, 1843; not impeached
- Johnson - serious misconduct, 1868; impeached, acquitted in Senate by one vote
- Nixon - obstruction of justice, abuse of power, 1974; resigned before House vote
- Clinton - obstruction of justice: 4 charges heard / 2 articles approved, 1998; acquitted in Senate
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Senatorial courtesy
a president usually defers to senators on district court appointments
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Oversight
includes the setting of jurisdiction of federal courts, number of judges on each court, including the Supreme Court
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Roots of the Office
- colonial royal governors were appointed by the king, and often at odds with the elected colonial legislatures; after 1776, most state constitutions had weak, largely symbolic chief executives
- the framers of the Constitution, however, wanted a strong chief executive
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presidential qualifications
must be a natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old, and a U.S. resident for at least 14 years
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presidential term - 4 years; only FDR elected more than twice, TR also ran for a 3rd term; 22nd Amendment (1951) limits president to 2 terms, 10 total years in office
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presidential removal
by impeachment: only for treason, bribery, or other "high crimes and misdemeanors;- "articles of impeachment" are the specific charges brought against the president or federal judge
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presidential succession
- set by Presidential Succession Act of 1947: VP, speaker of the House, president pro tempore of the Senate; then secretaries of state, treasury, defense, etc.
- 25th amendment (1967) allows for appointment to fill VP office, with consent of H & S; also allows for president's incapacitation: VP can become "acting president"
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Vice President
- an office with practically no official authority (ask Garner)
- constitutional backstop - only there in case the president dies or is incapacitated
- political uses: ticket balancing; the "Mondale model" (active); Cheney's role
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The Constitutional Powers of the President
- in Article II of the Constitution
- appointments - 3,000 + (1,125 require Senate confirmation), including ambassadors, federal judges (for life), cabinet and sub-cabinet level officials; for politics, policy
- cabinet - 15 (now) heads of executive departments: "principal officers" (25th Am.)
- make treaties - with Senate approval; historically, 70% are ratified; important trade agreements are negotiated under "fast track" approval procedures
- veto power - formal, constitutional authority to reject bills passed by both houses, preventing them from becoming law (unless overridden by 2/3 votes in each house)
- commander-in-chief - of the armed forces; now limited by the war powers Act (1973); Bush got wide authority to use force against terrorists, Saddam's Iraq
- pardon - executive release from the punishment or legal consequences of a crime; restores all rights and privileges of citizenship; Ford and Carter suffered for theirs
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The First Three Presidents
- Washington (1789-1797) set several important precedents:
- primacy of the national government - e.g., put down the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794
- met regularly with his advisors: established the informal cabinet system
- asserted the executive role in foreign affairs: sent envoys to negotiate the Jay Treaty with Britain; assumed authority to negotiate treaties & send them to the Senate
- asserted "inherent powers" - derived or inferred from the Constitution in Article II
- Adams (1797-1801) the role of parties increased in federal politics and governance
- Jefferson (1801-1809), though an Anti-Federalist, also expanded presidential power, and used it to make the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 (doubled the size of the U.S.)
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Congressional Triumph: 1804 - 1933
- most presidents of this era were weak relative to Congress, with a few exceptions:
- Jackson (1829-37) - used mass appeal and patronage to build the Democratic party; fought Congress� creation of a federal bank
- Lincoln (1861-65) - assumed many emergency powers to preserve the Union
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The Growth of the Modern Presidency
- Franklin Roosevelt (1933-45) is credited with the major expansion of presidential power:
- asked for, and got, "broad executive powers" to try to improve the economy
- The New Deal - program of "Relief, Recovery, Reform" to fight the Depression
- regularly sent a legislative program to Congress (didn't just respond to Congress)
- increased the federal bureaucracy from under 600,000 to over 1 million
- "personalized" the presidency with radio addresses ("fireside chats"), newsreels
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Vice president
est. as insignificant, usually chosen to "balance" a presidential ticket; power depends on what the president gives him; Mondale, Gore, Cheney
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the cabinet
has grown as needed for administration, or by political pressure; now 15 cabinet-level departments; informal - not mentioned in constitution
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The First Lady - significantly:
- Edith Wilson - was the de facto chief of staff (president?), 1919-21 when WW was incapacitated (most politically powerful behind the scenes)
- Eleanor Roosevelt - spoke and wrote widely on liberal issues; later, delegate to UN (most visibly political)
- Hillary Lcinton - led attempted health care reform, 1993; elected senator from New York in 2000; ran for president in 2008
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Executive Office of the President
helps the president oversee the bureaucracy; includes the National Security Agency (NSA), OMB, VP, etc.
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The President as Policy Maker
- from FDR ' "the president , and the Congress disposes"
- LBJ - "Without constant attention from the administration, most legislation moves through the congressional process at the speed of a glacier."
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Proposing and Facilitating Legislation
- "honeymoon period" - when first inaugurated, a president gets his first, best opportunity for major achievements
- patronage - rewards of jobs, grants, or special favors to friends and political allies
- party ties - the president is usually leader of his party; sometimes tries to appear more moderate than the rest of his party, e.g. Clinton's "triangulation"
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OMB
Office of Management and Budget, created in 1921 as the Bureau of the Budget; prepares a colossal budget for each fiscal year
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Executive order
a rule or regulation issued by the president; has the effect of law
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Presidential Leadership and Public Opinion
- Leadership - focusing public attention on selected issues; "great crises make great presidents"
- power to persuade - necessary because of limited constitutional powers
- Going Public - he can go "over the heads" of congress, directly to the people
- speeches and appearances - presidents and their advisors travel and appear on TV constantly; today's 24/7 media news cycle demands constant fresh material
- Presidential Approval Ratings - polls that measure the president's popularity; Bush 41 wasted his high ratings after the 1991 Gulf War; Clinton protected his at all costs
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