Chapter 11: Congressional Organization

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Chapter 11 Congressional Organization

• The Presiding Officers
• The House of Representatives Speaker of the
  House
• The acknowledged leader of the majority party.
• Main duties revolve around presiding over and
  keeping order in the House
• The Speaker names the members of all select and
  conference committees, and signs all bills and
  resolutions passed by the House.
• Speaker of the House in the 112th Congress is
  John Boehner

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

• The Presiding Officers
• Senate President of the Senate
• Assigned by the Constitution to the Vice
  President
• The president of the Senate has many of the same
  duties as the Speaker of the House, but cannot
  cast votes on legislation
• The President of the Senate is Vice President
  Joseph Biden

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

• The Presiding Officers
• President Pro Tempore
• Leader of the majority party, is elected from the
  Senate and serves in the Vice Presidents absence
  Usually the longest tenured member of the
  Majority Party in the Senate
• The President Pro Tempore of the 112th Congress
  is Senator Daniel Inouye.

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

• The Presiding Officers
• The Floor Leaders House and Senate Majority and
  Minority Leaders
• Party officers picked for their posts by their
  party colleagues
• Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
• Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
• House Majority (Republican) Leader Eric Cantor
• House Minority (Democrat) Leader Nancy Pelosi

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

• The Presiding Officers
• Party Whips -
• Assist the floor leaders and serve as a liaison
  between the partys leadership and its
  rank-and-file members
• Senate Assistant Majority Leader (Democratic
  Whip) Richard Durbin
• Senate Assistant Minority Leader (Republican
  Whip) - Jon Kyl
• House Majority (Republican) Whip Kevin
  McCarthy
• House Minority (Democrat) Whip Steny Hoyer

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

• Committee Chairman
• Members of Congress who head the Standing
  committees in each chamber.
• Decide which bills the committee will consider,
  in what order, and what witnesses the committee
  will call allows testimony that will provide
  the pros and cons of a bill.
• Manage debate and steers passage on floor
• Seniority Rule An unwritten custom that the
  most important posts in Congress are held by
  those (Majority) party members with the longest
  service record.

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

• Types of Committees
• Standing Committees Permanent Panels in both
  Houses of Congress.
• Considers all bills of similar subject matter
• 20 in the House (10 to 75 members) 16 in the
  Senate (14 to 28 members)
• Representatives are usually assigned to one or
  two Senators three to four standing committees.
• Most bills receive most of their consideration
  and their fate is determined in standing
  committees.
• See Handout.

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

• Subcommittees Divisions of Standing Committees
• Do most of the committees work
• Responsible for a portion of the committees
  workload
• Select Committee (Special Committees) - Panels
  set up for some specific purpose and for a
  limited time
• Main purpose is to investigate
• For example Watergate and Iran Contra Affair

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

• Joint Committees Composed of members from both
  Chambers of Congress
• Some are permanent and some are temporary
• Investigate and issue reports (in depth studies
  to provide information to Standing Committees)
• Conference Committees A Select, Joint Committee
  created to iron out differences in a bill
• Resolves differences in House and Senate versions
  of the same bill
• Produces a compromise bill that both houses will
  accept

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

• Making a Law (House of Representatives)
• Bill A proposed law presented to the House of
  Representatives or the Senate
• Anyone can propose a bill
• The most important come from the Executive Branch
• All Revenue (money making or tax) bills must
  originate in the House

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

• Types of Bills
• Public Bills Measures applying to the nation as
  a whole tax measures
• Private Bills Measures that apply to certain
  persons or places rather than the entire nation.
• Joint Resolution Similar to bills, and when
  passed have the effect of a law.
• Deal with temporary matters to appropriate
  (provide money to pay for something) money,
  propose constitutional amendments, and annex
  territories

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

• Concurrent Resolutions Deal with joint matters
  of both the House and the Senate
• Does not have the force of a law does not have
  to be signed by the President.
• Used in Foreign Affairs
• Resolution A measure relating to the business
  of either house or expressing and opinion.
• Does not have the force of a law does not have
  to be signed by the President.
• Adopting a new rule of procedure or an amendment
  to an existing rule in the House or Senate

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

• Rider A provision not likely to pass on its own
  merit that is attached to an important measure
  that is certain to pass.
• Most are attached to appropriation bills.
• How a Bill Becomes a Law
• A Bill is Introduced Only members can introduce
  bills
• Usually done by dropping the bill in the Hopper
  on the clerks desk

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

• Clerk gives the bill a number and title
• For example, H.R. 2011 would be the 2,011 measure
  introduce in the House during the congressional
  term.
• S 201, would be used in the same manner in the
  Senate
• Clerk will also give the bill a short title a
  brief summary of its principal contents

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

• First Reading Bill is entered into the House
  and Senate Journal and Congressional Record
• Journal contains the official record of the daily
  proceedings in either chamber
• Congressional Record is a massive account of the
  daily proceedings (speeches, debates, comments
  votes, etc)
• Bill is referred to the appropriate standing
  committee.
• Determines viability of a bill either passed on
  for floor consideration or pigeon-holed (buried
  and dead)

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

• Subcommittees may hold hearings for information
  gathering purposes
• Committee reports bill - Chairman
  recommendation
• Do Pass recommendation favorable
• Pigeonhole it Unfavorable
• Amend the original form Favorable w/ changes
• Unfavorable Wants the whole House or Senate to
  kill it. Save Face!
• Report a committee bill a new bill entirely

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

• Bill is placed on appropriate calendar (5 House,
  1 Senate)
• Union Calendar Bills having to do with
  revenues, appropriations, or govt property
• House Calendar All other public bills
• Private Calendar Private Bills
• Corrections Calendar Bills from Union and House
  calendars with no opposition.
• Discharge Calendar Petitions to discharge bills
  from committee

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

• Rules Committee grants rule to permit floor
  consideration Setting conditions for debate
• When, how long, and under what circumstances a
  bill may be debated
• Bill receives second reading may be debated and
  amended Bill is re-introduced to floor from
  committee
• Quorum More than half of the representatives
  must be present to conduct congressional business
• Debate and Amend

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

• House votes on Amendments, motions, and full bill
  Every amendment and motion on a bill must be
  approved by majority of the house yeas and
  nays, until they reach a final version of the
  bill
• Approved bill is engrossed Printed in its final
  form
• Bill is read for a third time By title only
• Final vote is taken
• If the bill passes the House or Senate, that
  final approved version is then placed on the
  Speaker of the House or the President of the
  Senates desk to go through the same process
  before it is handed over to the President to be
  signed into law.

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

• Different rules in the Senate
• Unanimous Consent Agreements
• Agreement by all Senators to limit the debate on
  the floor before debate
• Two-Speech Rule No senator can make more than
  two speech on any given bill.
• Filibuster A stalling tactic by which a
  minority of senators seeks to delay or prevent
  Senate action on a measure. Talk a bill to
  death.
• Too much talking may force Senate to kill the
  bill or change it to appease the minority party.

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

• The Cloture Rule or Rule 22 limits time for
  debate
• 3/5 of a full Senate must vote for cloture
  limits debate to 30 hours from time cloture vote
  is taken them bill must be brought to final
  vote.
• Executive Action
• President signs the bill into law.
• President may veto refuse to sign the bill.
• President them must return the vetoed bill with
  an explanation on why the bill was vetoed.
• Though rare, Congress can Override a Presidential
  Veto by a 2/3 vote by the full membership in both
  houses of Congress.

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

1. President may allow a bill to become a law if
   he/she does not act upon it w/in 10 days, not
   including Sundays, of receiving it.
2. Pocket Veto If Congress adjourns its sessions
   w/in 10 days not including Sundays, of submitting
   a bill to the President, and the President does
   not act, the bill dies.

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Chapter 12 Congressional Organization

• POI Line Item Veto Act of 1996 - Congress gave
  the chief executive the power reject individual
  items in appropriations bills.
• Ruled Unconstitutional by Supreme Court in 1998.
• President cant Amend a final bill w/o the bill
  going back through the two house lawmaking process