Congress

1
Congress

• An Overview

2
The Breakdown

• Senate
• 49 Republicans
• 51 Democrats
• House
• 233 Democrats
• 202 Republicans

3
Characteristics of the House

• Large
• Partisan
• Many Rules
• Rewards Seniority
• Rewards knowledge of Procedure

4
Characteristics of the Senate

• Reflective
• More Prestigious
• Deliberative

5
Change over the Years

• Before Television Sam Rayburn said that freshmen
  congressmen were to be seen and not heard.
• Old Congress
• Rewarded Silence and Seniority
• Reputation was everything

6
Change over the Years

• Richard Russell Senator from GA was President
  Pro-Tempore of the Senate from 1933- 1971. He
  shunned Publicity.
• 1973 Senate Watergate hearing are televised ended
  
• Congress was no longer secretive

7
Officers of the Senate

• President Pro-Tempore Robert Byrd, WV
• Most senior member.
• 3rd in succession.
• Serves in absence of the VP.
• Majority Leader (Harry Reid, NV) Minority
  Leaders (Mitch McConnel)
• Set the parties positions
• Whips (Ttrent Lot, AL, R)(Richard Durbin, IL,D)
• Counts votes

8
Officers of the House

• Majority Leader (Steny Hoyer) Speaker (Nancy
  Pelosi)
• Set the agenda through the Rules Committee
• Whips John C. Clyburn(D), Roy Blundt(R)
• Minority Leader John Boehner

9
Life as a Congressmen

• 2 Worlds
• The District You are king
• Washington D.C.
• You have to work your way up

10
Committees

• They can make or break your career
• Majority Party controls appointments

11
The Good Ones

• House
• Ways and Means-Raising Money
• Appropriations-Spending Money
• Judiciary
• Senate
• Armed Services
• Foreign Relations
• Appropriations

12
Criticism

• Congress operates least in the public view
• Pork- The way you get things for your district.
  The more seniority you have the more pork you
  get.
• Congress does all the work but the president gets
  all the TV time.
• Most of what happens in congress never becomes
  law.