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Chapter 10: Congress Honors Classes October 24, 2013

Chapter 10: Congress Honors Classes October 24, 2013. Wanted:. House of Representatives looking for energetic person to represent the First Congressional District for the State of Alabama.

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Chapter 10: Congress Honors Classes October 24, 2013

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  1. Chapter 10: CongressHonors Classes October 24, 2013

  2. Wanted: • House of Representatives looking for energetic person to represent the First Congressional District for the State of Alabama. • Compensation: $174,000; potential to earn up to an additional 15% of salary in outside speaking engagements; generous benefits package. • Job description: (Class to fill in)

  3. Congressional salaries by comparison

  4. Section 1: The National LegislatureIt’s “Bicameral”

  5. Reasons for bicameral legislature • Historical: • We learned from Parliament. Also, the colonies were bicameral (except for GA and PA). NE is the only state today with a unicameral legislature. • Practical: • Needed to settle spat between VA and NJ plans. • Theoretical: • Check and balance. The saucer that cools the coffee. Congress was expected to dominate, so the Framers needed a way to keep it in check.

  6. A “term” of Congress • “Term” of Congress: 2 years, each with 2 sessions. Each term starts Jan. 3 in odd years. • So we began a new Congressional term this year. • We are in the first session of the 113th Congress. • Each session that begins in an even-numbered year (called an “off-year session”) can begin whenever Congress says so. • Congress will often adjourn, but can’t adjourn sine die (literally, “without day”) without consent of both chambers. If they can’t agree, the President may “prorogue” – i.e., declare a session adjourned. It’s never happened.

  7. Congressional recesses • When Congress takes a break without adjourning, it’s called being in recess. • In 2013, Congress will take lots of recesses. • It has a grand total of 125 work days scheduled (see http://majorityleader.gov/calendar/113thCongressFirstSession.pdf). • In election years, it’s even worse. In 2012, there were 105 legislative days. • To be fair, Congressmen are doing other things while not in session, but let’s save that for another chapter. • The President may call Congress into a special session after Congress has adjourned. Hasn’t been used in over 50 years; Congress is in session year-round, practically speaking (which is NOT to say that they are meeting).

  8. The House • Who gets to be a Representative? Three Constitutional requirements: • Age: must be at least 25 years years old • Citizenship: must be citizen of US for at least 7 years • Residency: must have primary residence in the state you’ll represent • Note that it’s customary, but NOT required, to live in the district you’ll serve. • Note also that many MCs have apartments in DC. • A typical MC crib:

  9. Congressional qualifications • Congress is the judge of MCs’ qualifications, sorta. • All it really gets is the right to interpret whether the Constitutional requirements have been satisfied. • See Powell v. McCormack (1969): USSC said that Congress can’t refuse to seat someone if they meet the C’al requirements. • Powell held in contempt of court • Misappropriated travel $ • Paid his wife for Congressional work not done. • Congress refused to seat him. • He sued, and won. Adam Clayton Powell

  10. Congressional qualifications (cont.) • What Congress CAN do is expel a member, upon a 2/3 vote. • See the (in)famous case of William Jefferson (LA). Among other things, he – • Set up a company in his wife’s and children’s names. • Used that company to accept bribes from a company in return for helping that company get contracts with foreign countries. • The FBI did a sting in which they used an informant to pass along money to Jefferson. • Here’s what they found in Jefferson’s refrigerator in his Congressional office:

  11. Jefferson’s bank • Jefferson is due to be released from prison in 2023.

  12. How many Representatives are there? • 435. • Set by Congress, not the Constitution. • Why 435? • Because that’s how many we had when Congress put a cap on the number in 1929.

  13. Number of Representatives (cont.) • Who decides how many Representatives a State gets? Congress, in the form of the Reapportionment Act of 1929. • It requires the following: • Seats to be reapportioned among the States on basis of population as shown in decennial census. • Census Bureau does the reapportioning. • Congress must approve it. • Today, about 1 Congressman for every 710,000 +. • Each district gets one MC (remember single-member districts?). • Districts are frequently gerrymandered to make a seat safe.

  14. Number of Representatives (cont.) • After 2010 census, 10 states lost representatives and 8 gained them (TX gained 4).

  15. How long can a Representative serve? • Until he or she dies. • House record: John Dingell has served 57 years, 320 days and counting. Being sworn inMore recently • Term for a Representative is 2 years. • As a result, they are ALWAYS in campaign mode. • No term limits (about which more later).

  16. So who is in the House? • 231 Republicans, 201 Democrats (3 vacancies) • 82 freshmen • 79 women • 40 African Americans • 33 Hispanics • 9 Asian Americans • Average age: 57 • 21 have only a high school diploma • Average length of service in Congress: 9.1 years

  17. Who is in Congress: Jobs

  18. Who is in Congress: Religion

  19. Who represents Alabama? First, the Congressional map:

  20. Alabama Congressmen Before Jo Bonner retired, • 6 out of 7 Republican. • 5 out of 7 men. • 6 out of 7 white. • Terri Sewell the exception • More: http://www.google.com/#q=alabama+congressmen

  21. One of these guys will represent Mobile/Baldwin: Dean Young Bradley Byrne Burton Leflore

  22. Who gets to vote them in? • The same people who can vote in state elections. In other words, You must – • Be a United States Citizen • Reside in Alabama • Be at least 18 years old • Have not been convicted of a “disqualifying felony” • Have not been legally declared "mentally incompetent” • Have appropriate ID

  23. The Senate • Progression is from House to Senate, not vice versa. • Size: 100, per the Constitution (which requires 2 per state, not the number 100). • Term is 6 years. • Why 6 years? To insulate Senators from faddish passions. To be a check on the House, which the Framers assumed would be more susceptible to public opinion. • Terms are staggered so that only 1/3 of Senators are up for reelection at any one time.

  24. Constitutional requirements Must be: • 30 years old (House: 25) • citizen of US for 9 years (House: 7) • inhabitant of state you represent (House: same) Senate judges the qualifications of Senators.

  25. Election of Senators • Used to be done by State legislatures. • 17th Amendment changed all that, making election of Senators and Representatives both by the public. • Senators are elected in at-large elections (as opposed to single-member districts). • Our 2 Senators: Richard Shelby Jeff Sessions

  26. A deeper dive into the 17th Amendment • Why the 17th? Several theories: • B/c the old way led to political infighting at state levels? Nah, corruption reportedly wasn’t really a problem in the state legislatures. • B/c of the “progressive movement,” which wanted to restore power to the people? Nah; none of the other progressive reforms (e.g., recalls, referenda) were made part of the Constitution. • B/c it benefitted special interests, who would have better luck appealing to the electorate than state legislatures? Maybe. See, http://archives.cnn.com/2002/LAW/09/23/findlaw.analysis.dean.17th.amendment/. • This reduced the power of states. Some say that, plus the federal income tax amendment (16th), are responsible for the great expansion of the federal gov’t.

  27. Term of Senators • As with Representatives, there is no limit on how many terms a Senator may serve. • Record: Robert Byrd (D, Wva); 51 years, 5 months, 26 days. Being sworn in Final day in Congress

  28. The composition of the Senate Who is in the Senate? • Politics: • 52 Ds • 46 Rs • 2 Independents (who caucus with the Ds) (Angus King (ME) and Bernie Sanders (VT)) • 80 men, 20 women • Race/ethnicity • 1 African American • 4 Hispanics • 1 Asian American • Average age: 62 • 51 have served in the House • 1 has only a high school degree • Average length of service: 10.2 years

  29. Senate discipline • Senate can expel and censure its own. • Last expulsion: Bob Packwood. The Committee on Ethics found that Packwood -- • repeatedly engaged in sexual misconduct • sought favors from people who had an interest in legislation that he could influence • obstructed justice by destroying relevant evidence • History of Senate expulsion and censure: http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Expulsion_Censure.htm

  30. Roles of MCs 1. Legislator(see next chapters) 2. Representative • MCs must decide how to vote. How are you going to decide? • Some possibilities: • Trustee – each Q must be decided on its merits. Decisions made based on judgment, not on what constituents want. • Delegate – agent of the voters. • Partisan – vote how party leadership instructs. • Politicos – combination of first 3.

  31. Roles (cont.) 3. Committee member • Debate and mark up bills, decide which ones make it to the floor. • Engage in oversight (hugely important; more to come on this) 4. Servantsof constituents • Engage in casework – solving specific problems of constituents • See, e.g., Senator Sessions’ and Senator Shelby’s websites: http://www.sessions.senate.gov/public/ • http://www.shelby.senate.gov/public/ 5. Politicians • They need to get re-elected.

  32. Back to compensation and perks • Lots of perks • Travel and office allowances (around $1.4 mm/year in House, $3.2 mm/year in Senate) • Franking – free mail • Free printing of speech • Parking • Retirement package • Etc. • 27th Amendment precludes Congress from granting themselves a pay raise during the current term.

  33. Other privileges • Immune from arrest going to and from Congress • Rarely invoked. • Doesn’t protect against commission of crimes, only “civil arrests”. The Senators and Representatives...shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony, and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same.... • ARTICLE I, SECTION 6, CLAUSE 1

  34. Other privileges (cont.) • Speech and Debate clause: Protects against liability for libel and slander arising from official conduct. ...for any Speech or Debate in either House, [Senators and Representatives] shall not be questioned in any other Place. • ARTICLE I, SECTION 6, CLAUSE 1 • What’s protected? Anything that is “an integral part of the deliberative and communicative processes by which Members participate in committee and House proceedings with respect to the consideration and passage or rejection of proposed legislation or with respect to other matters which the Constitution places within the jurisdiction of either House." Gravel v. United States (1972). • Includes conduct during a committee • Protects staff. See Gravel (the Pentagon Papers case) • But see Hutchinson v. Proxmire: Senator can be sued for libel for statements made in article.

  35. Should we have term limits? • Resolved: No person should be permitted to serve more than 12 years in Congress.

  36. Term limits pros and cons Pro1. Term limits downgrade seniority, favor meritocracy.
  2. Increases competition, encourages new challengers.  3. Breaks ties to special interests.
  4. Improves tendency to vote on principle.
5. Reduces power of staff, bureaucracy, lobbies.
 Con:
  1. Terminates the good politicians along with the bad.
  2. Instead of term limits, a reform of Congress' procedures would be easier.
  3. Reduces range of voter choice.
  4. Loss of knowledge and experience.
  5. Increases the power of staff, lobbies, and bureaucracy.

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