US Congress: Organization and Powers

• Every two years, a new term of Congress begins on January 3rd of every odd-numbered year.

House of Representatives Organization

• All 435 House members are elected and sworn in, with no previous rules carrying over.
• The Clerk calls the chamber to order.
• The House chooses a Speaker, nominated by the majority party, who then takes an oath.
• The Speaker swears in the remaining House members.
• Non-Representative positions, such as Clerk, Parliamentarian, and Sergeant-at-Arms, are elected.
• Rules and proceedings are adopted.
• Members of standing committees are appointed via floor vote.

Senate Organization

• The Senate is a continuous body that has been organized without interruption since 1789.
• New members are sworn in.
• Committee vacancies are filled.
• Once both houses are organized, the President is informed and addresses Congress to present their policy agenda.

Congressional Powers

• House Majority requires 218 votes, while a super majority requires 290.
• Senate Majority requires 51 votes, while a super majority requires 67.
• The House initiates impeachment charges with 218 votes.
• The Senate confirms presidential appointments, requiring 51 votes.
• The Senate hears impeachment trials, requiring 67 votes for conviction.
• Overriding a presidential veto requires 290 votes in the House and 67 in the Senate.
• The Senate ratifies treaties with 67 votes.
• Proposing a constitutional amendment requires 290 votes in the House and 67 in the Senate.

Leadership Roles in Congress

• The Vice President serves as President of the Senate, can't participate in debates, and votes in case of a tie.
• The Senate Majority Leader is the spokesperson for the majority party, aiming to pass their programs.
• The Senate Minority Leader speaks for the minority party, working to resist the majority's programs.
• Senate Majority Whip: Assistant majority leader in Senate, 2nd in command
• Senate Minority Whip Assistant minority leader in Senate, 2nd in command
• The House Majority Leader is the spokesperson for the majority party, working to pass their programs.
• The House Minority Leader speaks for the minority party, working to resist the majority's programs.
• House Majority Whip: Assistant majority leader in the House, 2nd in command
• House Minority Whip: Assistant minority leader in the House, 2nd in command
• The President Pro Tempore presides over the Senate in the VP's absence, chosen by the majority party caucus.
• The Speaker of the House is the most powerful position in the House, assigning bills to committees and appointing committee members.
• Chairman of House Ways and Means Committee has power over taxation
• Chairman of House Appropriations Committee has power over all federal spending
• Seniority allows for chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee which specializes in transportation, communication, and interstate commerce
• Chair of Senate Foreign Relations Committee handles matters relating to other nations
• The Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee handles matters with other countries
• The Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee deals with impeachment charges.
• The Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee supervises expenditures of the department of government with the largest budget (military)

Budgetary Process

• Budget process starts with a budget proposal from the executive branch and includes both houses, some agencies, and interest groups.
• The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) was formed in the 1970s, establishing the budgeting process with the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act.
• The OMB, led by the President's accountant, reviews the needs of federal departments and agencies.
• The 1974 act defines stages of reconciling the budget, by passing changes to revenue or spending by majority in both houses with limited debate time.
• Each chamber has an appropriations committee that assigns money to federal spending.
• The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) was created as a nonpartisan agency to analyze budget proposals and check the OMB.
• Government revenue comes from individual income taxes, corporate taxes, social insurance tax (payroll tax), tariffs and excise taxes, and other sources.
• Mandatory spending is required by law for programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and unemployment insurance.
• Discretionary spending is debated by congressional committees, with human resources spending as the largest category.

Oversight Functions

• Oversight ensures that the government operates correctly, follows rules, and uses money wisely.
• Congress oversees the executive branch by reviewing, monitoring, and supervising the implementation of public policy.

Redistricting and Reapportionment

• Reapportionment rearranges districts every 10 years after the census due to population shifts.
• Redistricting involves drawing district lines to reflect reapportionment.
• Criteria for redistricting include equal population size, contiguity, compactness, and preservation of county/town lines.

Gerrymandering

• Gerrymandering is drawing electoral district boundaries to give one political party an unfair advantage.
• Marginal District: District where race for congress seats in very close ( back to congress → ⅔ override
• If the President does not sign a bill, it becomes law after 10 days if Congress is in session.
• A pocket veto occurs if the President doesn't sign the bill and Congress goes out of session within 10 days, causing the bill to die.

Committees

• Committees monitor government operations, identify issues for legislative review, gather information, and suggest actions.
• Standing committees are permanent groups that consider legislation, propose policies, and oversee programs.
• Select committees are temporary groups formed to investigate or study a specific issue, reporting findings to the legislature.
• Subcommittees are smaller groups within committees that focus on specific issues or tasks.

Pork Barreling

• Pork barreling is the use of government funds for projects that please voters or legislators to win votes.
• Pork barreling allows politicians to secure votes, funding local projects shows tangible benefits to their voters and can help to secure re-election
• Benefits a small population of people at the expense of taxpayers.

Baker v. Carr (1962)

• Baker alleged that a plan to apportion seats for the state's general assembly was being ignored and that reapportionment efforts ignored economic growth and population shifts
• Federal courts can hear cases alleging that a state's redistricting violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Shaw v. Reno

• NC submitted a reapportionment plan with 2 Black majority districts one of which was oddly shaped
• The court held that the district was so bizarrely shaped that it was enough to suggest that it constituted an effort to separate voters into different districts based on race