conglect

D and Z
Chapter 12

CONGRESS

Due Friday:
Explorit 12

Congress as the Pluralist Arena of
Bargaining, Accommodation, and Compromise 1) theoretically--"What do the theories say about Congress?" 2) empirically--"What have social scientists discovered about Congress" What can we discover via MicroCase?" 3) comparatively---"How does the legislature operate in Ruritania?"

Thinking Theoretically
How the theories view Congress:

Elite	Congress is an institution comprised of members of the elite, allowing access to other members of the elite and representing the interests of the elite
Plural	Congress is the arena--- dominated by bargaining, accommodation, and compromise-- where interests have multiple access points to the process of policymaking
Democratic	Congress is a democratic mechanism where the Congress "represents" the people and where discussion leads to consensus on issues. Congress also provides multiple access points to "the public".

Thinking Empirically
Evidence to use in assessing the theories:
who are Congresspersons?

what are their socio-demographic characteristics?

what do they represent?

how does Congress operate?

what are the results of congressional action?

There are 4 major aspects of Congress
which we will explore:

1) The tension between representation and lawmaking

2) How Congress operates

3) The Unwritten Rules of the Game

4) Presidential/ Congressional Relations

Representation vs. Lawmaking

There are two basic questions to be answered: 1) Is Congress's primary function to represent constituent views or to make laws? 2) How does one adversely affect the other?

Types of Representation:

formal representation: the procedures designed for choosing a representative
(ie. elections, apportionment, district size, etc.)

Apportionment
(the concept of distributiong legislative seats to reflect population shifts after each census)
American mobility means that the population shifts quickly
After every census, states either gain or lose seats
the vehicle for reapportionment in each state varies and is generally a very political question

reapportionment raises the democratic issue of "one person, one vote"

Important Cases

Colegrove v. Green (1946)	S. Court refuses to enter "the political thicket" of apportionment
Baker v. Carr (1962)	Court argues reapportionment is not a "political" question but a constitutional one
Wesbury v. Sanders (1964)	Court invalidated unequal congressional districts in Georgia stating unequal districts were a violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment
Reynolds v. Sims (1964)	Court ruled same notion applied to state legislative districts as well and demanded that both houses of a state legislature be apportioned equally

Gerrymandering
the drawing of an odd shaped legislative districts to achieve some partisan electoral advantage

Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960)

Court ruled that drawing up districts to exclude blacks voters from Tuskegee, Alabama city elections violated the 15th amendment (forbids a state to deny a person the right to vote because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude)

descriptive representation: the extent to which the representative reflects the characteristics
of the people they formally represent

symbolic representation: if the constituents think the representative is acting
the ways her/his constituents want him/her to act

substantive representation: if a representative acts they way her/his constituents want him to act

Is there a way to study the interaction between
these forms of representation and behavior?

Descriptive Characteristics of Congresspersons

Overwhelmingly white (90%), male (88%),
older (about 60% over 50 years of age)
and wealthy (% depends on your definition of wealthy).

Dominated by the legal profession and representatives of the business community

Occupational Characteristics of Congresspersons:

Occupation	House	Senate
Lawyer	52	58
Business	27	24
Education	7	2
Pub serv.	4	6
Agriculture	4	9
other professional	6	0
Labor	1	0

Symbolic and Substantive Representation
Both are ascertained through public opinion research.

People think their representative represents them if the Congressperson votes "the right way" on a few key issue

Lack of public interest on non-key votes makes substantive representation harder to assess

What are the key factors influencing how Congress operates?

1) seniority

2) the committee and subcommittee system

House

Committees

3) the lawmaking process:
How the legislative process works(Click on the above link to access the House of Representatives' Website!
They (try to) explain how the legislative process works!!)

4) congressional behavior:

a) Congressional Role Categories:
Representative Role:

trustee	allow representative to use her/his conscience
politico	combination of two dependent upon situation
delegate	reflect the demands of your constituency no matter what you believe

Interest group:
facilitator neutral resistor

Constituency role:
district or state district or nation nation

Bureaucratic role:
executive-oriented agency-oriented

Structural role:
expert leader committeeperson friend

b) "The Unwritten Rules of the Game in Congress"
specialization apprenticeship show horse v. work horse courtesy reciprocity honesty institutional patriotism Specialization Become an expert in areas of interest to your constituents you request specific committee and subcommittee assignments you then become part of "the cozy or iron triangle" Apprenticeship Stay fairly quiet the first term and learn from your elders find a patron rule broken by the "class of '94" Show Horse vs. Work horse Are you there for a long time? If so, get to be known as a conscientious and hard worker. You'll get good assignments and you'll curry favor with party leaders. In Congress as a stepping stone to other office? "Be more show than go!" Courtesy While legislating can be bitter and acrimonious, hold your temper and be courteous otherwise..... Don't do things that a challenger can use against the other congressperson (they could do the same to you!!!) Reciprocity Passing legislation is about "trading votes" With little party voting, congress-persons make individual deals: I'll vote for your bill, if you'll vote for mine! Honesty Vote trading is predicated upon being able to rely on each other to keep your bargains. The pluralist system in Congress would fall apart if deals couldn't be consummated. Institutional Patriotism Never do anything to discredit the institution If you want a long career in this institution, remember that your power rises as the prestige of the institution rises Prestige=counterbalance to Presidency Congressional/ Presidential Relations discussed in greater detail after next section of course: 1) the pendulum of power 2) soured relationship in a era of "divided government"
The Pendulum of Power Between Congress and the President In exploring the power relationship between Congress and the President, it is helpful to think of the relationship as a pendulum swinging back and forth between a President who dominates Congress and a Congress that dominates the President.