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• •
The Congress of the United States is
the legislative branch of the federal government of the
United States of America. It is established by Article One
of the Constitution of the United States, which also
deliniates its structure and powers. Congress is a bicameral
legislature, consisting of the House of Representatives (the
"Lower House") and the Senate (the "Upper
House").
• • The House
of Representatives consists of 435 members, each of whom is
elected by a congressional district and serves a two-year
term. Seats in the House are divided between the states on
the basis of population, but each state is entitled to at
least one seat.
• In the Senate, on the
other hand, each state is represented by two members,
regardless of population. As there are fifty states in the
Union, the Senate consists of one hundred members. Each
Senator, who is elected by the whole state rather than by a
district, serves a six-year term. Senatorial terms are
staggered so that approximately one-third of the terms
expire every two years.
• • The Constitution vests in Congress all
the legislative powers of the federal government. The
Congress, however, only possesses those powers enumerated in
the Constitution; other powers are reserved to the states,
except where the Constitution provides otherwise. Important
powers of Congress include the authority to regulate
interstate and foreign commerce, to levy taxes, to establish
courts inferior to the Supreme Court, to maintain armed
forces, and to declare war. Insofar as passing legislation
is concerned, the Senate is fully equal to the House of
Representatives.
• • The Senate is not a mere "chamber of
review," as is the case with the Upper Houses of the
bicameral legislatures of most other
nations.
• • Both
Houses of Congress meet in the Capitol in Washington,
DC.
Composition
• • The Senate currently has 100 seats,
one-third being renewed every two years; two members are
elected from each U.S. state by popular vote to serve
six-year terms. Each state has equal representation in the
Senate because at the Constitutional Convention, where every
state had one vote, the small states refused to go along
with any Constitution that did not give them an equal vote
in at least one house of Congress. Because terms are
staggered, every state will have a "junior" and "senior"
Senator.
• • The House of Representatives currently
has 435 seats for voting Members. Additionally, there are
non-voting "delegates" from the District of Columbia,
American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin
Islands. Members are directly elected by first past the post
to serve two-year terms from Congressional districts.
• • Only the non-voting delegate from
Puerto Rico (known as Resident Commissioner) is elected to a
four-year term. The states with the very small populations
-- smaller than the population of a whole Congressional
district elsewhere -- are still guaranteed one whole seat.
These seats are apportioned according to the population of
each state, but the total number is fixed by statute at 435
(Public Law 62-5).
• •
History
• • During the American Revolutionary War
and under the Articles of Confederation, the Congress of the
United States was named the Continental
Congress.
• • The first Congress under the current
Constitution started its term in Federal Hall in New York
City on March 4, 1789 and their first action was to declare
that the new Constitution of the United States was in
effect. The United States Capitol building in Washington,
D.C. hosted its first session of Congress on November 17,
1800.
• • Proceedings of the United States
Congress were televised for the first time on January 3,
1947. Proceedings of the general Congress are now regularly
broadcast on C-SPAN, as are newsworthy meetings of
committees and subcommittees.
Specific powers held
by the Congress
• • The
powers of the Congress are set forth in Article 1
(particularly Article 1, Section 8) of the United States
Constitution. The powers originally delegated to the
Congress by the original version of the Constitution were
supplemented by the post-Civil War amendments to the
Constitution (Amendments 13, 14, and 15, each of which
authorizes the Congress to enforce its provisions by
appropriate legislation), and by the 16th Amendment, which
authorizes an income tax.
• • Other parts of the Constitution --
particularly Article 1, Section 9, and the first ten
amendments to the Constitution (popularly known as the Bill
of Rights) -- impose limitations on Congress's
power.
• • Each house of Congress has the power to
introduce legislation on any subject dealing with the powers
of Congress, except for legislation dealing with gathering
revenue (generally through taxes), which must originate in
the House of Representatives (specifically the U.S. House
Committee on Ways and Means).
• • The large states may thus appear to
have more influence over the public purse than the small
states. In practice, however, each house can vote against
legislation passed by the other house. The Senate may
disapprove a House revenue bill -- or any bill, for that
matter -- or add amendments that change its nature. In that
event, a conference committee made up of members from both
houses must work out a compromise acceptable to both sides
before the bill becomes the law of the
land.
• • The broad powers of the whole Congress
are spelled out in Article I of the
Constitution:
• To levy
and collect taxes
• To borrow
money for the public treasury
• To make rules
and regulations governing commerce among the states and with
foreign countries
• To make
uniform rules for the naturalization of foreign
citizens
• To coin
money, state its value, and provide for the punishment of
counterfeiters
• To set the
standards for weights and measures
• To establish
bankruptcy laws for the country as a whole
• To establish
post offices and post roads
• To issue
patents and copyrights
• To set up a
system of federal courts
• To punish
piracy
• To declare
war
• To raise and
support armies
• To provide
for a navy
• To call out
the militia to enforce federal laws, suppress lawlessness,
or repel invasions
• To make all
laws for the seat of government (Washington, D.C.)
• To make all
laws necessary to enforce the
Constitution
• • A few of these powers are now outdated,
but they remain in effect. The Tenth Amendment sets definite
limits on congressional authority, by providing that powers
not delegated to the national government are reserved to the
states or to the people.
• • In addition, the Constitution
specifically forbids certain acts by Congress. It may
not:
• • * Suspend the writ of habeas corpus --
a requirement that those accused of crimes be brought before
a judge or court before being imprisoned -- unless necessary
in time of rebellion or invasion
• Pass laws
that condemn persons for crimes or unlawful acts without a
trial (attainder)
• Pass any law
that retroactively makes a specific act a crime
• Levy direct
taxes on citizens, except on the basis of a census already
taken (This was overridden by the Sixteenth Amendment)
• Tax exports
from any one state
• Give
specially favorable treatment in commerce or taxation to the
seaports of any state or to the vessels using them
• Authorize any
titles of nobility
• • The Congress
also has sole jurisdiction over impeachment of federal
officials. The House has the sole right to bring the charges
of misconduct which would be considered at an impeachment
trial , and the Senate has the sole power to try impeachment
cases and to find officials guilty or not guilty.
• • A guilty verdict requires a two-thirds
majority and results in the removal of the federal official
from public office.
• • The Senate has further oversight powers
over the executive branch. For those, see United States
Senate.
Officers of the
Congress
• • The
Constitution provides that the vice president shall be
President of the Senate. The vice president has no vote,
except in the case of a tie. The Senate chooses a President
pro tempore to preside when the vice president is absent.
The most powerful person in the Senate is not the president
pro tempore, but the Senate Majority
Leader.
• • The House of Representatives chooses
its own presiding officer -- the Speaker of the House. The
speaker and the president pro tempore are always members of
the political party with the largest representation in each
house, aka the majority.
• • At the beginning of each new Congress,
members of the political parties select floor leaders and
other officials to manage the flow of proposed legislation.
These officials, along with the presiding officers and
committee chairpersons, exercise strong influence over the
making of laws.
• •
• •
Position Senate Current Office Holder
House Current Office Holder
• Presiding
Officer President of the Senate (symbolic)
• President pro
tempore of the United States Senate (acting) Dick
Cheney
• Ted Stevens
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Dennis
Hastert
• Majority
Leader United States Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist
Majority Leader of the United States House of
Representatives Tom DeLay
• Minority
Leader United States Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid
Minority Leader of the United States House of
Representatives Nancy Pelosi
• Majority Whip
United States Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell Majority
Whip of the United States House of Representatives Roy
Blunt
• Minority Whip
United States Senate Minority Whip Richard Durbin Minority
Whip of the United States House of Representatives Steny H.
Hoyer
• •
• • The
committee process
• • One of
the major characteristics of the Congress is the dominant
role that Congressional committees play in its proceedings.
Committees have assumed their present-day importance by
evolution, not by constitutional design, since the
Constitution makes no provision for their establishment. In
1885, when Woodrow Wilson wrote Congressional Government,
there were only 60-odd legislative committees and
subcommittees, in the 1990's there were 300.
• • There are so many subcommittees that
Morris Udall of Arizona could joke that he could address any
Democrat whose name he had forgotten, "Good morning, Mr.
Chairman," and half the time be right. (Frozen Republic,
191)
• • At present the Senate has 17
full-fledged standing (or permanent) committees; the House
of Representatives has 19 standing committees. Each
specializes in specific areas of legislation: foreign
affairs, defense, banking, agriculture, commerce,
appropriations, etc. Almost every bill introduced in either
house is referred to a committee for study and
recommendation.
• • The committee may approve, revise, kill
or ignore any measure referred to it. It is nearly
impossible for a bill to reach the House or Senate floor
without first winning committee approval. In the House, a
petition to release a bill from a committee to the floor
requires the signatures of 218 members; in the Senate, a
majority of all members is required. In practice, such
discharge motions only rarely receive the required
support.
• • The majority party in each house
controls the committee process. Committee chairpersons are
selected by a caucus of party members or specially
designated groups of members. Minority parties are
proportionally represented on the committees according to
their strength in each house.
• • Bills are introduced by a variety of
methods. Some are drawn up by standing committees; some by
special committees created to deal with specific legislative
issues; and some may be suggested by the president or other
executive officers. Citizens and organizations outside the
Congress may suggest legislation to members, and individual
members themselves may initiate bills. After introduction,
bills are sent to designated committees that, in most cases,
schedule a series of public hearings to permit presentation
of views by persons who support or oppose the legislation.
The hearing process, which can last several weeks or months,
theoretically opens the legislative process to public
participation.
• • One virtue of the committee system is
that it permits members of Congress and their staffs to
amass a considerable degree of expertise in various
legislative fields. In the early days of the republic, when
the population was small and the duties of the federal
government were narrowly defined, such expertise was not as
important. Each representative was a generalist and dealt
knowledgeably with all fields of interest. The complexity of
national life today calls for special knowledge, which means
that elected representatives often acquire expertise in one
or two areas of public policy.
• • When a committee has acted favorably on
a bill, the proposed legislation is then sent to the floor
for open debate. In the Senate, the rules permit virtually
unlimited debate. In the House, because of the large number
of members, the Rules Committee usually sets limits.
• • When debate is ended, members vote
either to approve the bill, defeat it, table it (which means
setting it aside and is tantamount to defeat) or return it
to committee. A bill passed by one house is sent to the
other for action. If the bill is amended by the second
house, a conference committee composed of members of both
houses attempts to reconcile the
differences.
• • Conference committees are not supposed
to add anything that was not supported by either house, or
delete anything that was supported by one house, but in
practice conference committees make substantial changes to
legislation. According to Citizens Against Government Waste,
conference committees even add pork to legislation. For the
2005 budget conference committees added 3407 pork barrel
appropriations, budget, up from 47 pork barrel
appropriations in 1994.
• • Once passed by both houses, the bill is
sent to the president, for constitutionally the president
must act on a bill for it to become law. The president has
the option of signing the bill -- at which point it becomes
national law -- or vetoing it. A bill vetoed by the
president must be reapproved by a two-thirds vote of both
houses to become law, this is called overriding a veto
.
• • The president may also refuse either to
sign or veto a bill. In that case, the bill becomes law
without his signature 10 days after it reaches him (not
counting Sundays). The single exception to this rule is when
Congress adjourns after sending a bill to the president and
before the 10-day period has expired; his refusal to take
any action then negates the bill -- a process known as the
"pocket veto."
Congressional powers
of investigation
• • One of
the most important nonlegislative functions of the Congress
is the power to investigate. This power is usually delegated
to committees -- either to the standing committees, to
special committees set up for a specific purpose, or to
joint committees composed of members of both houses.
• • Investigations are conducted to gather
information on the need for future legislation, to test the
effectiveness of laws already passed, to inquire into the
qualifications and performance of members and officials of
the other branches, and, on rare occasions, to lay the
groundwork for impeachment proceedings. Frequently,
committees call on outside experts to assist in conducting
investigative hearings and to make detailed studies of
issues.
• • There are important corollaries to the
investigative power. One is the power to publicize
investigations and their results. Most committee hearings
are open to the public and are widely reported in the mass
media. Congressional investigations thus represent one
important tool available to lawmakers to inform the
citizenry and arouse public interest in national issues.
• • Congressional committees also have the
power to compel testimony from unwilling witnesses and to
cite for contempt of Congress witnesses who refuse to
testify and for perjury those who give false testimony.
Informal practices of
Congress
• • In
contrast to European parliamentary systems, the selection
and behavior of U.S. legislators has little to do with
central party discipline. Each of the major American
political parties is a coalition of local and state
organizations that join together as a national party --
Republicans and Democrats.
• • Thus, traditionally members of Congress
owe their positions to their districtwide or statewide
electorate, not to the national party leadership nor to
their congressional colleagues. As a result, the legislative
behavior of representatives and senators tends to be
individualistic and idiosyncratic, reflecting the great
variety of electorates represented and the freedom that
comes from having built a loyal personal
constituency.
• • Congress is thus a collegial and not a
hierarchical body. Power does not flow from the top down, as
in a corporation, but in practically every direction. There
is comparatively minimal centralized authority, since the
power to punish or reward is slight. Congressional policies
are made by shifting coalitions that may vary from issue to
issue. Sometimes, where there are conflicting pressures --
from the White House and from important interest groups --
legislators will use the rules of procedure to delay a
decision so as to avoid alienating an influential sector.
• • A matter may be postponed on the
grounds that the relevant committee held insufficient public
hearings. Or Congress may direct an agency to prepare a
detailed report before an issue is considered. Or a measure
may be put aside by either house, thus effectively defeating
it without rendering a judgment on its
substance.
• • There are informal or unwritten norms
of behavior that often determine the assignments and
influence of a particular member. "Insiders,"
representatives and senators who concentrate on their
legislative duties, may be more powerful within the halls of
Congress than "outsiders," who gain recognition by speaking
out on national issues.
• • Members are expected to show courtesy
toward their colleagues and to avoid personal attacks, no
matter how unpalatable their opponents' policies may be,
though in recent years this norm has been called into
question. Still, members daily refer to one another as the
"Gentlewoman from Tennessee" or the "distinguished Senator
from Michigan," reflecting a traditionalist etiquette found
in few other domains of American life.
• • Members usually specialize in a few
policy areas rather than claim expertise in the whole range
of legislative concerns. Those who conform to these informal
rules are more likely to be appointed to prestigious
committees or at least to committees that affect the
interests of a significant portion of their
constituents.
• • A Congressional practice that is newly
emerged is the practice of the Speaker of the House only
supporting legislation that is supported by his party,
regardless of whether or not he personally supports it or
the majority of the House supports it.
• • Dennis Hastert believes that the
Speaker should only let pass legislation that is supported
by the "majority of the majority," not necessarily the
entire House. In a 2003 Capital speech Hastert said "On
occasion, a particular issue might excite a majority made up
mostly of the minority .
• • Campaign finance is a particularly good
example of this phenomenon. The job of speaker is not to
expedite legislation that runs counter to the wishes of the
majority of his majority."
[[1]]
• • The traditional independence of members
of Congress has both positive and negative aspects. One
benefit is that a system that allows legislators to vote
their consciences or their constituents? wishes is
inherently more democratic than one that does not. In
European party systems legislators are beholden to the party
leadership through the slating process, in America's party
system they are responsible to voters through
primaries.
• • The independence of Congressmen and
Senators also allows much greater diversity of opinion than
would exist if Congressmen had to obey their leaders. If
legislators had to vote with the party leadership,
presumably America would become a multi-party system. Thus
although there are only two parties represented in Congress,
America?s Congress represents virtually every shade of
opinion that exists in the land. (see third
party
• • The problem of independence is that
there is less accountability for voters than there would be
if Congressmen took responsibility for their party?s
actions.
• • When in the majority, congressional
leaders in both houses and both parties use a technique that
is sometimes called "catch and release." In "catch and
release," if a piece of pending legislation is unpopular in
a member?s district or state, that member of Congress will
be allowed to vote against the law if his or her vote will
not affect the outcome.
• • If the vote will be close, Congressmen
will be "reeled in" and required to vote for the party?s
legislation. Because of catch and release, it is possible
for Congressmen to hide their true political stances from
their constituents until an extremely close vote comes up.
As an example, in 2002, several members of Congress voted to
authorize presidential Trade Promotion Authority , formerly
known as "Fast Track," who had never voted for free trade in
the past.
• • Apparently, they had always supported
free trade, but had been able to conceal it from their
anti-trade constituents. On the 2003 Prescription Drug
Benefit, 13 Republicans voted affirmatively in extremely
close 6:00 AM initial vote only to vote against the
conference bill when it returned a few weeks later, thereby
being able to tell their constituents whatever they needed
to tell them.
• • Congressional freedom of action also
allows Congressmen and Senators to hold out on certain bills
in order to pull down pork for their districts. Often a
reluctant vote has to be won over by pet projects or jobs
for allies. In the Senate, small state Senators are more
likely to hold out than large state Senators are.
Congressional freedom of action also gives more power to
lobbyists. Compared to America, parliamentary nations have
far fewer lobbyists per capita.
• • The practice of districts choosing
their own Congressmen also results in members of Congress
being the best fundraisers and best campaigners, not
necessarily the best qualified. The US Congress has fewer
women in it than legislatures in other countries, as well as
many more lawyers. The percentage of lawyers in Congress
flucuates around 45 percent, by contrast, in the Canadian
House of Commons, the British House of Commons, and the
Bundestag, approximately 15 percent of members have law
degrees.
Lobbyists
• •
Lobbying has been called the fourth branch of the
American government. Many observers of Congress consider
lobbying to be a corrupting practice, but others appreciate
the fact that lobbyists provide information. Lobbyists also
help write complicated
legislation.
• • Lobbyists must be registered in a
central database and only sometimes actually work in
lobbies. Virtually every group - from corporations to
foreign governments to states to grass-roots organizations -
employs lobbyists.
• • As of 1987, there were 23,000
registered lobbyists, a sixty-fold increase from 1961.
(Power Game, Hendrick Smith, 29-31) Many lobbyists are
former Congressmen and Senators, or relatives of sitting
Congressmen. Former Congressmen are advantaged because they
retain special access to the Capital, office buildings, and
even the Congressional gym.
Elections
• •
Elections for members of both houses of Congress are
invariably held in November of every even numbered year, on
that month's first Tuesday following its first Monday (that
is to say, on the Tuesday that falls between the second and
eighth days, inclusive), a day known as Election
Day.
• • In the case of the House of
Representatives, these elections occur in every state, and
in every district of the states that are divided into
Congressional districts. Occasionally a special election is
held within a state, or district of a state, that has an
unscheduled vacancy in its corresponding
seat.
• • A
candidate gets to run in an election by winning a
primary.
• • In the
case of the Senate, however, since terms of office last six
years and each state has two, it follows mathematically that
Senate elections can occur in a given state no more often
than twice for every three Congressional-election years.
• • In fact, no state has elections for
both its senators in the same year (with possible exceptions
in cases of unscheduled vacancies); every state elects one
senator two years after the other, and then next elects a
senator after four additional years. (One additional
possible wrinkle remains: rarely, a state may divide itself
into two Senate districts, with an Senate election occurring
every sixth year in each district, and never in both
districts in one year.)
• • Replacements for vacant Senate seats
are usually appointed by state governors, rather than by
special election. Before the passage of the Seventeenth
Amendment to the United States Constitution, providing for
direct elections, Senators were chosen by state
legislatures.
House and Senate
elections were held on November 5, 2002.
The scheduled date for the succeeding House and
Senate elections is November 2, 2004.
Seats by party (108th
Congress, 2003-2005)
•
Senate:
• Republican
Party: 51
• Democratic
Party: 48
• Independent:
1 (James Jeffords (I-Vt.) caucuses with the
Democrats.)
• House of
Representatives:
• Republican
Party: 227
• Democratic
Party: 205
• Independent:
1 (Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) member of the Democratic
Socialists of America.)
• Vacant Seats:
2 (Doug Bereuter (R-NE) resigned on August 31, 2004 to head
the Asia Foundation . Porter Goss (R-FL) resigned on
September 23, 2004 to become Director of the
CIA.)
• • List of United States Congresses by
Session
• For a
detailed list of congressional members or information on
particular congressional sessions, click on a session's link
from the List of United States Congresses.
Further
reading
• Davidson,
Roger H., and Walter J. Oleszek, Congress and Its Members,
6th ed. Washington DC: Congressional Quarterly, Inc.,
1998.
• Hunt,
Richard, "Using the Records of Congress in the Classroom,"
OAH Magazine of History 12, (Summer 1998): 34-37. EJ 572
681.
• Rimmerman,
Craig A. "Teaching Legislative Politics and Policy Making."
Political Science Teacher 3 (Winter 1990): 16-18. EJ 409
538.
• Ritchie,
Donald A, "What Makes a Successful Congressional
Investigation," OAH Magazine of History 11 (Spring 1997):
6-8. EJ 572 628.
///
///
ByLines:
Editors Note
More Articles
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