Lecture 11-3
Party leadership: the House
The Speaker of the house is the presiding officer of
the House and the leader of the majority party
The majority leader is the Speakers chief deputy
The minority leader is the head of the opposition
party in the House
Party leadership: the House
The party whip acts as an assistant majority or
minority leader
Democrats in the House are members of the Democratic
caucus
Democratic committee assignments are made by the
Steering and Policy Committee of the caucus
Party leadership: the House
Republican
committee assignments are made by the Committee on Committees of the Conference
Party leadership: The Senate
In the absence of the vice president, the president
pro tempore (the most senior majority party member) or his designee presides.
The majority leader the leader of the majority part in
the Senate
Party leadership: The Senate
The minority leader if the head of the opposition
party
Because power is more decentralized, the Senate is
more difficult to lead than the House
The whip system is smaller and less institutionalized
than in the House
The Committee System
The three classes of congressional committees
Standing committees
Joint Committees
Special or (select) Committees
The Committee System
The committee chairman is usually the member of the
majority party with the longest consecutive service on a particular committee.
Ranking member is the minority party counterpart to
the chairman
Three goals motivate member to try to gain membership
on certain committees
The Committee System
Three goals motivate members to try to gain membership
on certain committees
Enhancing reelection prospects (be on committees the
related to the district)
Shaping public policy (be on committees that have
broad policy implications
Increasing ones influence in Congress (be on the
power and money committees)
Subcommittees
Most committees are divided into subcommittees
Subcommittee have gained greater independence from the
full committees
Subcommittees now hold more than 90 percent of all
hearing on proposed legislation
Subcommittees
Especially in the House, the dispersal of power among
subcommittees has made leadership difficult.
Multiple referrals allow the Speaker to assign pieces of
legislation to two or more committees with strict deadlines for consideration.
Congressional Staff and Agencies
Legislative assistants draft and analyze bills
Administrative assistants act for the member in
dealing with staff and other members
Caseworkers deal with constituent requests
Press aides try to gain as much favorable publicity as
possible for their member, especially in the home-state press.
Congressional Staff and Agencies
Committee staffers are difference from personal
staffers in that they devote the bulk of their time to the legislative needs of
the committees
The congressional Research service conducts research
and analysis for all members
Congressional Staff and Agencies
The General Accounting Office is the watchdog agency
for programs Congress has approved
The Congressional Budget Office provides analysis of
the economy and the federal budget for Congress.
Congressional Procedures: How a Bill Becomes a Law
Committee to floor debate
Hearings may be held if a committee or subcommittee
wishes to consider a bill.
A bill is marked up when the hearings are completed
If approved by
the subcommittee, the bill goes to the full committee
If approved by the committee, the bill goes to the
floor
This process can be bypassed by the unusual device
called a discharge petition.
Floor Debate: The House
The Speaker and the majority leader determine when
bills are called from one of the House calendars and placed on the House floor.
Most bill need approval by the Rules Committee to be
considered
Floor Debate: The House
Much House business is expedited by members agreeing
to operate as a Committee of the Whole
An electronic voting system makes time-consuming
roll-call votes unnecessary
Floor Debate: The Senate
Senate floor procedures are more flexible than in the
House
There is no equivalent to the House Rules Committee
Ordinarily there is no time limit on general debate
Floor Debate: The Senate
Senate rules permit nongermane amendments called
riders.
Much of the Senates work is expedited by the use of
unanimous consent agreements.
The best know device for stalling the Senates work is
the filibuster, which can be curtailed only by voting cloture
Voting Decisions
Among strong influences are cue-givers--others member
whom the member trusts
The members
own ideology
Views of
constituents
Interest
groups
The president
and executive agencies
Staff
The Conference Committee
Major differences in bills passed by both houses must
be resolved in a conference committees
Only when a bill is approved by both houses in exactly
the same form can it go to the presidents desk for his signature.