The Legislative Branch

1
The Legislative Branch

• Your representative owes you, not his industry
  only, but his judgment and he betrays instead of
  serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion.
• Edmund Burke (1729-1797)

2
(No Transcript)
3
Representative body
Congress
Law-making body
4
Virginia Plan
New Jersey Plan
Connecticut Compromise
5
Differences Between the House and Senate
6
The Electoral Connection
Members of Congress are faced with three primary
goals

• Getting elected
• Achieving influence in Congress
• Making good public policy

Specifically, I shall conjure up a vision of
United States congressmen as single-minded
seekers of reelection, see what kinds of
activities and goals that implies, and then
speculate about how congressmen so motivated are
likely to go about building and sustaining
legislative institutions and making policy
David Mayhew,Congress The Electoral
Connection (1974)
7
The Candidate-Centered Campaign
What factors have influenced the rise of the
candidate-centered campaign?
1. THE INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK

• Separation of powers
• Bicameralism
• Federalism

2. POLITICAL CULTURE
3. CAMPAIGN TECHNOLOGY
4. POLITICAL CLIMATE
8
President
0 4 8 12 16
20 24
The president is elected every four years by the
Electoral College
Presidential election years draw in higher
turnout.
House
The entire House is elected every two years by
voters within each congressional district
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
20 22 24
Midterm congressional elections have lower rates
of voter turnout.
Senate
1/3 of the Senate is elected every two years by
voters within each state
0 6 12
18 24
2 8 14
20
4 10
16 22
9
Holding elections in this wayusing different
timetables and different constituencies
separates the electoral fortunes of members of
Congress from one another, and does little to
encourage teamwork in campaigning.
10
The Candidate-Centered Campaign
What factors have influenced the rise of the
candidate-centered campaign?
1. THE INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK

• Separation of powers
• Bicameralism
• Federalism

If conditions favor individuals over parties,
which individuals benefit most?
2. POLITICAL CULTURE
3. CAMPAIGN TECHNOLOGY
Incumbents
4. POLITICAL CLIMATE
11
The institution of Congress accommodates needs
of its members remarkably well

• Incumbency provides visibility
• Congressional privileges (e.g., franking) allows
  members to advertise their issue positions back
  home
• Political power is decentralized
• The seniority system ensures that the value of an
  incumbent appreciates over time
• Electoral success requires little zero-sum
  conflict between members

12
Who are these people?
Richard Tarrant, Republican candidate for U.S.
Senate in 2006
Cris Ericson, Independent candidate for U.S.
Senate in 2006
LEAHY
Craig Hill, Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate
in 2006
SANDERS
WELCH
Martha Rainville, Republican candidate for U.S.
House in 2006
13
Incumbency Advantage

• Redistricting
• Decline of party
  loyalty
• Familiarity
• Experience
• Resources

14
Vermont Incumbents

• PATRICK LEAHY (D) was first elected to the U.S.
  Senate in 1974. He is currently serving his 6th
  term.
• BERNIE SANDERS (I) was first elected to the U.S.
  House of Representatives in 1990. He was elected
  Senator in 2006.
• PETER WELCH (D) was elected to the U.S. House of
  Representatives in 2006. This is his first term
  in office.

15
Incumbent House Members Running for Reelection,
1964-2006
With reelection rates so high, does this mean
that Mayhew is wrong? Do members of Congress
still have to make reelection their primary goal?
16
Incumbent House Members Running for Reelection,
1964-2008
17
Incumbent House Members Running for Reelection,
1964-2006
18
Reelection Rates of House and Senate Incumbents,
1946-2008
19
Reelection Rates of House and Senate Incumbents,
1946-2006
20
Candidate-centered campaigns
Incumbent advantage
CONSEQUENCES?
21
Consequences?

• Congress as a whole is unpopular, but incumbents
  can usually weather the storm.
• What makes a member of Congress popular at home
  often involves them acting contrary to the
  national interest.

22
Confidence in American Institutions, 2010
"I am going to read you a list of institutions in
American society. Please tell me how much
confidence you, yourself, have in each one--a
great deal, quite a lot, some, or very little?"
Source CNN/USA Today/ Gallup poll, July 8-11,
2010.
23
Confidence in American Institutions, 2009
"I am going to read you a list of institutions in
American society. Please tell me how much
confidence you, yourself, have in each one--a
great deal, quite a lot, some, or very little?"
Source CNN/USA Today/ Gallup poll, June 14-17,
2009.
24
Congressional Approval, 1974-2010
Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress
is handling its job?
Americans are far more favorable towards their
own member of Congress
25
Congressional Approval, 1974-2006
Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress
is handling its job?
Americans are far more favorable towards their
own member of Congress
26
Trust in Government

• Whats Wrong with Congress?
• Congress It Doesnt Work. Lets Fix It.
• Kick the Bums Out
• The Best Congress Money Can Buy

Can the publics distrust of Congress be blamed
on the electoral system?
27
Should We Enlarge the U.S. House of
Representatives?

• At first there was 1 member of the House of
  Representatives for every 30,000 American
  citizens. Today, with a current population of
  300 million, that ratio has increased to about
  1690,000.
• If we were to restore the original ratio between
  the House of Representatives and their
  constituents, it would require increasing the
  size of the chamber from 435 members (where it
  has been locked since 1911), to 10,000 members.

Has political representation been diluted by
population growth?
28
Reapportionment, as Defined by the U.S.
Constitution
ARTICLE 1, Section 2, Clause 3 Representatives
and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the
several States which may be included within this
Union, according to their respective Numbers,
which shall be determined by adding to the whole
Number of free Persons, including those bound to
Service for a Term of Years, and excluding
Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other
Persons. The actual Enumeration shall be made
within three Years after the first Meeting of the
Congress of the United States, and within every
subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as
they shall by Law direct. The Number of
Representatives shall not exceed one for every
thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at
Least one Representative
29
Redrawing District Lines
30
What is Apportionment?
Apportionment (or reapportionment), is the
process of distributing seats for a legislative
body among different sectors of the country by
creating constituencies. Typically, this is done
proportionally to the population in the
individual sectors to prevent unequal
representation among different constituencies. In
the United States, for example, the 435 seats in
the House of Representatives are allotted
proportionately between the states, who then
create districts for House members to run
in. Malapportionment is broad and systematic
variance in the size of electoral constituencies
resulting in disproportionate representation for
a given voter.
Source http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apportionmen
t
31
Redrawing District Lines

• What is gerrymandering? Gerrymandering is a term
  that describes the deliberate rearrangement of
  the boundaries of congressional districts to
  influence the outcome of elections.  
• Where did gerrymandering come from?The original
  gerrymander was created in 1812 by Massachusetts
  governor Elbridge Gerry, who crafted a district
  for political purposes that looked like a
  salamander.  
• What is the purpose of gerrymandering?The
  purpose of gerrymandering is to either
  concentrate opposition votes into a few districts
  to gain more seats for the majority in
  surrounding districts (called packing), or to
  diffuse minority strength across many districts
  (called dilution).  
• How has Congress regulated redistricting?In
  1967, Congress passed a law requiring all U.S.
  representatives to be elected from single member
  districts in the system we use today. Congress in
  1982 amended the Voting Rights Act to protect the
  voting rights of protected racial minorities in
  redistricting. Within those laws, states have
  great leeway to draw districts, which often leads
  to gerrymandering.

Source http//www.fairvote.org/redistricting/ger
rymandering.htm
32
Cracking and Packing
Redrawing the balanced electoral districts in
this example creates a guaranteed 3-to-1
advantage in representation for the blue voters
as 14 red voters are packed into the light green
district and the remaining 18 are cracked across
the 3 remaining blue districts.
Source http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymanderi
ng
33
Redistricting Software
Maptitude for Redistricting is a special edition
of Caliper Corporations Maptitude GIS for
Windows that includes everything you need to
build and analyze redistricting plans. As you
assign area features to a district, the district
boundaries are redrawn and selected attributes
are automatically summarized to reflect the
districts characteristics
34
The Texas Redistricting Case
Gerrymandering based solely on race has been
ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.
However, partisan gerrymandering remains legal.
Some argue that Lays plan strengthened the GOP
majority in the House by as many as 5 seats.
35
Racial Gerrymandering
The unusual earmuff shape of the 4th
Congressional District of Illinois connects two
Hispanic neighborhoods while remaining continuous
by narrowly tracing Interstate 294.
Source http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymanderi
ng
36
The Fight Over North Carolinas 12th
Congressional District
District lines have been redrawn several times in
response to legal challenges.
Gerrymandering based solely on race has been
ruled unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court
under the Fourteenth Amendment, first by Shaw v.
Reno (1993) and subsequently by Miller v. Johnson
(1995). Partisan gerrymandering remains legal.
37
Rotation in Office
Washington, D.C. in the 19th century was
described as a swampy, mosquito-infested, rural
outpost.
38
A Term Limits Amendment?

• Section A. No person shall serve in the office
  of U.S. Representative for more than three terms,
  but upon ratification of the Term Limits
  Amendment no person who has held the office of
  U.S. Representative or who then holds the office
  shall serve for more than two additional terms.
• Section B. No person shall serve in the office
  of U.S. Senator for more than two terms, but upon
  ratification of the Term Limits Amendment no
  person who has held the office of U.S. Senator or
  who then holds the office shall serve more than
  one additional term.
• Section C. This article shall have no time limit
  within which it must be ratified by the
  legislatures of three-fourths of the several
  States.

39
Public Opinion on Term Limits
Respondents Yes No Total sample 61 21 By
party Republican 64 28 Democrat 60 30
Independent 58 33 By ideology Liberal
58 34 Moderate 64 30 Conservative
63 29 By race White 61 31
Black 61 27 By gender Men 57 35
Women 63 27
Do you think there should be a limit to the
number of times a member of the House of
Representatives can be elected to a two- year
term?
40
(No Transcript)
41
(No Transcript)
42
(No Transcript)
43
The Citizen-Legislator
Joe the Plumber
44
(No Transcript)
45
More Representative is Not Necessarily Better
If these reforms were put into place, would the
public suddenly love Congress? We do not think
so. Certain reforms, such as campaign finance
reform, may help, since they would diminish the
perception that money rules politics in
Washington. But the main reason the public is
disgruntled with Congress and with politics in
Washington is because they are dissatisfied with
the processes intrinsic to the operation of a
democratic political system - debates,
compromises, conflicting information,
inefficiency, and slowness. This argument may
seem odd on its face, so in the next few
paragraphs we provide our interpretation of why
the public questions the need for democratic
processes.
46
Congress as a Lawmaking Body
Because of the electoral needs of its members,
Congress is characterized by individualism and
decentralization. We see this

• In the way it conducts the peoples business
• In the way congressional norms and procedures are
  set
• In the way the committee system allocates power
  and responsibility
• In the way laws are passed

Clearly, these electoral incentives have
consequences for Congress as a lawmaking body.
47
(No Transcript)
48
(No Transcript)
49
How should members of Congress behave?
Trustee
Delegate
Politico
50
(No Transcript)
51
(No Transcript)
52
(No Transcript)
53
Patrick Leahy on the Northeast Dairy Compact
Dairying in Vermont is more than a job or an
industry.  It is a way of life.  Vermonts
landscape is defined by the green pastures and
silos that dot the hills.  Our agricultural
economy depends on the hundreds of millions of
dollars dairy farmers bring to the state every
year.  We all need to ensure that dairying is not
only a part of Vermonts past, but a vital part
of Vermonts future. Our dairy farms, however,
will not be able to survive unless they can
receive a fair price for the milk they produce. 
I remain a strong proponent of the Northeast
Dairy Compact, the single best tool for getting a
fair price for milk out of the market, not from
the government.  I will also continue to oppose
over consolidation in the dairy processing
industry.  Consumers and farmers benefit when
there is competition in our dairy markets.
54
(No Transcript)
55
(No Transcript)
56
The Northeast Dairy Compact
Vermonters, MidwesternersSalute New National
Dairy ProgramIn A Milk Toast
57
(No Transcript)
58
The Debate Over Earmarks
Total spending in FY07 2.8 trillion
59
(No Transcript)
60
Individual Responsiveness vs. Collective
Responsibility
What kind of political representation is produced
by American electoral politics and how does that
representation influence the laws Congress
enacts?

• Increasingly, we have seen the insulation of
  members of Congress from national political
  forceswhich makes it harder and harder to unseat
  incumbents once they are elected into office.
• Candidate-centered campaigns allow members to
  escape responsibility for Congress performance
  as an institution.
• As the electoral fates of Congress and the
  president diverge, so does their incentive to
  cooperate to get things done.
• The fragmentation of the legislative process and
  the committee system often lead to gridlock.

61
Some scholars claim that Congress rewards
individual responsiveness over collective
responsibility. Are stronger parties the
answer?
62
(No Transcript)
63
(No Transcript)
64
(No Transcript)