Unit 3 �Ch. 11 Legislative Branch

119^th Session

Congress

119th Congress

Unit 3,4,5

MAKE LAWS

EXECUTE the LAWS

INTERPRET the LAWS

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11

Congress (119^th session)

Duration: January 3, 2025 – January 3, 2027

Visitors

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Learning Objectives

12

Characterize the backgrounds of members of Congress & assess their impact on the ability of members of Congress to represent average Americans.

Identify the principal factors influencing the outcomes in congressional elections.

12.1

12.2

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How Congress is Organized to Make Policy

The House

• 435 (pop.)
• 2 years
• >25ya, U.S citizen (7 years+) & inhabit state
• “Congressman / woman or Representative”
• Represent people in Districts
• Limited debates / tax laws
• Brings impeachment charges

The Senate

​

• 100 (2)
• 6 year terms of office
• >30ya , U.S citizen (9 years+), & inhabit state
• “Senator”
• Represent state
• Unlimited debates (filibuster)
• Tries impeachment cases

Bicameral: legislature divided into two houses

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Congress (representative gov)

SHOULD Congress reflect population demographics of constituents (citizens)?

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Demographics 119^th Congress

House of Representatives

Senate

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119^th Session of Congress

2025-27

100

218

215

53

47

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10^th

37^th

21^st

35^th

Michael McCaul #10

Lloyd Doggett #37

Chip Roy

#21

Greg Casar

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Congress

• The Job
• Salary 🡪 $174,000 (2009) w/ retirement benefits
• Office space
• D.C. & at home w/ staff
• Travel allowances
• Franking privileges
• Free postage
• Long hours
• Time consuming & tough to play all sides

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in DC

in State / District

12

hour

days

14

hour

days

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• Led by �Speaker of the House �(elected by House members)
• 3^rd most powerful in US gov – WHY?

• Formally led by VPOTUS
• Really led by Majority Leader �(elected by Senate members)

Congressional Leadership

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President of the Senate

Minority Whip

Majority Whip

Minority Leader

Majority Leader

President Pro-Tempore

Cousin

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Speaker of the House

Majority Whip

Minority Whip

Majority Leader

Minority Leader

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Speaker of the House

4 formal powers

• Presides over house in session (Gavel = POWER)
• Major role in creating committees
• Appoints legislative leaders
• Exercise control of bill assignments

Whips up next

Salary 🡪 $223,500

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What do the Whips do?

• Assists �Maj / Min leaders
• Count votes
• Persuade party (whips up) members to support party’s priorities

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Enumerated POWERS

• Legislate
• Make laws
• Lay, collect & spend (FF) taxes
• Pass appropriations
• Authorizes gov’t to spend $$$
• Oversight
• Investigate perceived issues
• Declare war

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Caucus(es)

• Informal groups that promote common interests
• i.e. Cliques / clubs
• Important as formal structure
• 500+ caucuses today
• Goal 🡪 promote their interests

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Who Wins Elections?

• Incumbents
• Elected officials already holding office
• House 🡪 90%+ re-election
• Senate 🡪 ~85%
• Perceive themselves as vulnerable
• Hence fundraising & campaigning ALL THE TIME

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What is a Constituent?

• being a voting member of a community or organization & having power to elect

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FIGURE 12.1 Incumbency factor in congressional elections

12.2

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Advantages of Incumbency

• Credit claiming
• Casework
• Help individuals in district
• Pork barrel projects
• Support state & local projects but ALL taxpayers pay for it regardless of use
• Advertising
• Constituent contact

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Our federal reps (TX)

Senior

Junior

37

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Advantages of Incumbency

• Position taking
• Strong reflection of people (constituents)
• Weak opponents
• “n00bs” / “defaults” / rookies hard to challenge established incumbents
• Campaign spending
• House spends ~1 million
• Senate ~10 million

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Disadvantages of Incumbents

• Challengers are naïve but sometimes incumbents are vulnerable
• Need $$$

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Disadvantages of Incumbents

• Scandals

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Disadvantages of Incumbents

• Redistricting (Pushed off turf)

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Disadvantages of Incumbents

• Public mood

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Open Seats, Stability & Change

• Vacant seat = no incumbent running
• Most turnover occurs
• Death, resignation, retirement, expulsion, & election or appt to other gov’t posts
• Founding fathers incorporated “Stability” from incumbency
• Development of expertise

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Open Seats, Stability & Change

• Vacant seat
• Obama left Illinois state senate to run for president

2008 Blagojevich tried to SELL this VACANT seat to highest bidder & was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison

2010 - Trump met him on Celebrity Apprentice (fired him) & pardoned him in 2020 after serving 8 years in federal prison

Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich w/ Obama ‘07

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Filibuster & Cloture

• Filibuster
• Procedural action to delay or prevent a legislative vote (right of Senate minority)
• “Unwritten Constitution”
• 1^st usage 🡪 debate & compromise
• Cloture (60% voted needed)
• Vote to end debate / stop filibuster
• Very tough

Unwritten Rules:

• Can’t stop talking
• Water / milk allowed
• No bathroom breaks
• Can’t sit
• Can’t leave unless someone replaces you
• CAN READ ANYTHING YOU WANT

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“Nuclear Option”

• Procedure allowing Senate to override a rule (specifically 60-vote rule to close debate “CLOTURE”) by simple majority of 51 votes, rather than supermajority (3/5^ths) normally required to amend the rules
1. Harry Reid 🡪 lower court judges (2013)
2. Mitch McConnell 🡪 SCOTUS justice (2017)

CHANGE RULES for your own benefit

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Longest Filibusters in History?

Guess how long?

25:05

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Committees & Subcommittees

• Handles a specific duty (rather than general duties of Congress)
• ”Little legislatures”
• Monitor on-going governmental operations
• Identify issues suitable for legislative review
• Gather & evaluate information
• Recommend courses of action to their parent body

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Committees & Subcommittees

Joint Economic Committee

• 4 types of committees
1. Standing committees
• Permanent
2. Joint committees
• Both parties / houses
3. Conference committees
• Appt’d 2 resolve differences in Senate & House versions of same bill
4. Select (special) committees
• Temporary committees

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Appropriation Committee & Subcommittees

Responsible for the allocation of federal funds $$$

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Reasons to be on Committees?

1. Affect public policy (laws)
2. Job security w/ constituents
3. More power in Congress to change things for your party / constituents

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Checks & Balances �of Congress

• Legislative Oversight
• Presidential Confirmations (S)
• Advise & Consent
• Veto Override (2/3rds both)
• Impeachment proceedings
• Appropriations ($$)

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How a Bill Becomes a Law

• Resolution
• Recognize people, events, groups, issues w/o actually making law
• Bill
• Proposed legislation
• Law (Act)
• Rule(s) or actions formally recognized as binding by LB
• MUST pass BOTH chambers
• President must sign as well

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US Code of Laws

• ALL laws usually become incorporated w/ US Code of Laws

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Vetoes

12

• Constitutional power of president REJECTING a bill
• Congress can OVERRIDE a veto
• 2/3rds (67%) vote in each house can override a veto.

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Impeachment

67%

How many presidents have been impeached?

51%

2x

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Redistricting Gerrymandering

​

​

Sen. Antoon

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The path to Gerrymandering

1. Census occurs every 10 years (count population)
2. Reapportionment
• In the HoR-435 total does not change; states can either gain/lose reps
• 1990: Texas 32 electors �(30 House + 2 Senators)
• 2000: 34 electors (32 H + 2 S)
• 2010: 38 electors (36 H + 2 S)
• 2020: 40 electors (38 H + 2 S)
3. Redistricting
• Congressional lines are redrawn by State Legislatures to reflect pop changes
• Gerrymandering
• manipulating boundaries of a district to favor one party or class

Do WE chose our Reps or do our Reps choose US?

+2

+4

+2

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The Role of Party Identification

• Parties & districts
• Drawn for one-party dominance
• STATE LEGISLATURES draw districts

TX Senate TX House

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Redistricting (Gerrymandering)

• Packed
• Drawing lines so they include as many of the opposing party’s voters as possible
• Cracked
• Dividing an opponents voters into other districts to weaken opposition
• Contiguous
• Must be connected

Perfect!

UNFAIR!

REALLY UNFAIR!

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