CONGRESSIONAL ORGANIZATION
In brief: Congress is organized into two chambers. The House of Representatives has 435 voting members divided among the 50 states, plus several non-voting representatives of the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The official title of members of the House is "Member of Congress." However, they are more commonly called "Representative" or "Congressman/Congresswoman." The Senate has 100 voting members (two from each state), each of whom is called a "Senator." The House and Senate are equal in power, if not in prestige. The chief officer of the House is called the "Speaker." The most important officer of the Senate is the "Majority Leader." By virtue of their positions, each of these people is the most important person of the political party which controls their particular chamber. Each is in charge of a leadership structure which is designed to promote the policy objectives of their party and the efficient working of Congress and its committees.
A. MEMBERSHIP OF THE HOUSE
As presently constituted, the House of Representatives has 435 voting members who are elected every two years by popular vote. Following every national census (which occurs once every 10 years), each state is apportioned a share of House seats which represents its share of the national population. The Constitution, however, assures that each state is entitled to at least one Representative. In addition to the voting members, there are four non-voting Delegates, one each from the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa, as well as one non-voting Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico. Although the Delegates and Resident Commissioner cannot vote on the House floor, they can vote in the committees on which they serve.
B. MEMBERSHIP OF THE SENATE
The Senate is currently composed of 100 members (two from each of the fifty states) each of whom has one vote. Senators are elected by popular vote for six-year terms. These elections are arranged so that approximately one-third of Senate seats are up for election every two years and that the terms of both Senators from a state do not expire in the same year.
C. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
A member of the House must be at least 25 years of age on the date of his or her election, must be a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and must reside in the state he or she represents. A member of the Senate must be at least 30 years of age on the date he or she is elected, must be a U.S. citizen for at least nine years, and must be a resident of the state he or she represents.
D. TERMS AND SESSIONS OF CONGRESSEach two-year period which begins at noon on January 3rd of odd-numbered years is usually referred to as a "Congress." Congresses are numbered sequentially, the first having been assembled in 1789. Thus, the term of the current (108th) Congress began at noon on January 3, 2003, and will expire at noon on January 3, 2003.
Each Congress consists of two "sessions." The first session begins in January of the odd-numbered year; the second session begins in January of the even-numbered year. (The Constitution also provides procedures for calling "Special Sessions" of Congress under unusual circumstances.)
E. LEADERSHIP STRUCTURESBoth the House and the Senate have a leadership structure that is essential to the operation of the legislative process. While the structures of the two bodies have similarities, it is the differences which are most important.
House of Representatives
- Speaker of the House
The preeminent leader of the House is the Speaker, who is chosen by a majority vote of the full House. (It is a little known fact that the Speaker need not be a member of the House.) The Speaker has the right to vote. However, this right is traditionally used only to break a tie vote. The Speaker has both formal and informal powers which make this position the most influential of all House leadership posts:
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Presiding Officer: The Speaker is the presiding officer of the House. As such, he or she rules on points of order, recognizes Members who wish to speak, and in general exercises significant influence over the scheduling of legislation and the course of floor debate.
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House Rules Committee: Traditionally, the Speaker has significant influence over the House Rules Committee. This powerful committee acts as a "traffic cop." It determines which bills that have been reported out of other committees will actually come to the House floor for a vote and specifies the rules for debate on those bills.
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Committee Appointments: The Speaker also appoints members of the House to House/Senate conference committees, chairs the majority party committee (which assigns members of that party to committees), and nominates committee chairmen (who then must be approved by a caucus of that party's members).
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Bill Referral: The Speaker also has the formal responsibility of referring bills to the appropriate committee(s). In practice, this is done on his behalf by the House Parliamentarian. The subject matter of legislation is the major determinant of the committee(s) to which the bill is referred. Rules adopted by the House determine the subject matter jurisdiction of each committee. Precedent, custom, and law may also be factors in the committee referral decision. However, on occasion the committee to which legislation is referred can determine the fate of that bill. The members of one committee may be more disposed to approve legislation than the members of another.
- House Majority (and Minority) Leader
The House Majority Leader is the majority party's chief legislative advocate and spokesperson. By custom, the Majority Leader develops and coordinates the party's legislative program in cooperation with the Speaker and other party leaders, and is instrumental in establishing and achieving the party's legislative agenda.
The counterpart position for the minority party is called the House Minority Leader.
- House Majority (and Minority) Whip
The House Majority Whip, together with Deputy and Assistant Whips, is responsible for rounding-up votes in support of legislation endorsed by the majority leadership. When a close vote is expected, the whips put together "head counts" (or "whip counts") listing how members are likely to vote. These lists are used by the party leadership to influence members who may be undecided.
The counterpart position for the minority party is called the House Minority Whip.
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House Party Caucuses
Each party also has a caucus to which all of the Representatives of that party belong. (The Republicans call their caucus a conference.) The party caucuses formulate party rules and floor strategy, elect party leaders, approve committee assignments, and -- on occasion -- adopt party positions on legislation.
Each of the parties has its own committees that work with the party leadership and handle party business. For example, House Republicans have a Policy Committee, which examines and advises House Republicans on major pending legislation; and a Steering Committee, which assigns Republicans to committees subject to approval of the Republican Conference.
Similarly, House Democrats have the House Democratic Caucus, which combines the functions of committee assignment, policy advisement, and floor tactics under one umbrella organization.
Senate
- President of the Senate
The two top Senate leadership positions are largely ceremonial. The Vice President of the United States serves as President of the Senate. In this capacity, he may preside over the Senate and does have the important power to break a tie vote.
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President Pro Tempore
The President Pro Tempore is elected by members of the Senate to act as the Senate's presiding officer in the absence of the Vice President. This official is usually the most senior member of the majority party. In practice, the Majority Leader, acting on authority from the President Pro Tempore, selects Senators who serve temporarily as Presiding Officers during different portions of the day when the Senate is in session.
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Senate Majority (and Minority) Leader
The preeminent leader of the Senate is the Majority Leader, who is elected by the members of the majority party. In contrast to the Speaker of the House, the Senate Majority Leader relies more on persuasion than on formal powers to accomplish his leadership responsibilities. This is due to the fact that Senate operations are based on the principal of unlimited debate. To assure that this principle does not mire the Senate in inaction, the Majority Leader must secure agreements among Senators from both parties to schedule legislation and place reasonable limits on debate. (The Senate has no counterpart to a committee with the "traffic cop" powers of the House Rules Committee.) Working with the Presiding Officer, the Majority Leader also has a significant role in determining which Senators are recognized to speak and what parliamentary strategy will be used during floor debate.
The Minority Leader is chosen by the members of his party and acts to assure that the interests of his party and its members in the Senate are taken into account in the scheduling of legislation and floor debate. If the President of the U.S. and the Minority Leader are members of the same party, the Minority Leader acts as Senate spokesman for the President.
- Senate Majority (and Minority) Whip
The Majority Whip is elected by a vote of the majority party Senators. Like his House counterparts, he has "head counting" responsibilities when important votes are pending.
The Minority Whip is chosen by the members of his party and has the same functions as his majority counterpart.
- Senate Party Conferences
In the Senate the party caucuses (or organizations of all members of each of the respective parties) are called conferences (Democratic Conference/Republican Conference). Like their House counterparts, these party conferences adopt positions on legislation, formulate party rules and floor strategy, elect party leaders, and approve committee assignments.
As in the House, the respective parties in the Senate also have party committees who work with the party leadership and deal with party business. Both parties have a Policy Committee to formulate and coordinate policy on major issues. In addition, the Senate Republican Committee on Committees and the Senate Democratic Steering Committee make committee assignments, subject to conference approval.
These House and Senate officials comprise the leadership of Congress and are responsible for making the legislative process work in the interests of their respective parties.
Every two years, at the beginning of a new term, Congress reorganizes itself and chooses its leaders. Often, it uses this opportunity to make changes (usually minor) in Senate and House rules of procedure. On occasion, it also changes the number of committees and subcommittees or their jurisdiction, as well as rules regarding which or how many Members are eligible for membership on subcommittees or committees. Once this process is accomplished, it is ready to begin the formal consideration of legislative proposals.
F. Committee Structure
Each chamber establishes its own committee structure (House/Senate) and the jurisdiction of its committees. Both the House and Senate have Appropriations Committees (House/Senate) whose sole responsibility is to appropriate public funds. Both the House and Senate also have Budget Committees (House/Senate) which establish an overall target for both revenues and expenditures; and authorizing committees which establish the authority for the various federal agencies and programs.
The House and Senate each have their own committees. However, there are currently four joint committees (the most important of which are the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Joint Economic Committee) whose members consist of both Senators and Representatives. While the practical importance of these joint committees has varied over time, none has any power to approve legislation or appropriations.
Members of the various committees are assigned under procedures which vary by chamber and by party. In the House, some committees are exclusive committees. Representatives assigned to any one of these committees may not serve on any other standing committee of the House. These include Appropriations, Ways and Means, and Rules, because they all yield tremendous amounts of power and have time-consuming agendas. Those not on an exclusive committee may serve on one major committee and one non-major committee.
In the Senate, both parties designate committees as "A", "B", or "C". Generally, Senators can serve on no more than two "A" committees (Agriculture; Appropriations; Armed Services; Commerce, Science and Transportation; Energy and Natural Resources; Government Affairs; Foreign Relations; Small Business; and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) and one "B" committee (Budget; Rules and Administration; Aging; and Joint Economic Committee), but may also be assigned a "C" committee (Indian Affairs; Intelligence; Ethics).
Committees establish their subcommittees and adopt procedural rules governing such issues as meeting times, quorum requirements, proxy voting (voting by absent members), etc. Chamber and party rules prescribe the maximum number of committees and subcommittees on which a member may serve or be chairman. In each chamber, it is the custom to give the minority party representation of every committee in rough proportion to its total membership in the chamber as a whole. The same ratio may be used to make subcommittee assignments.
Within each committee, the chairman is the dominant figure. However, congressional reforms in the 1970's diffused some of their formerly unlimited powers. Now, in many committees, the subcommittee chairmen exercise significant authority. These reforms also resulted in the creation of many new subcommittees and a more active role in the legislative process for junior members of Congress.
Currently in the House, the chairmen of subcommittees are elected by a vote of all majority party members of the full committee. In fact, the majority party members of the committee also have the power to decide on the number of subcommittees and what their jurisdictions will be. Each of these powers was formerly exercised solely by the committee chairman.
In the Senate, subcommittee chairmen are selected by a less formal process involving discussions between the full committee chairman and the majority party members of the committee. Here, too, there has been a noticeable effort to provide junior members -- even newly-elected Senators -- with subcommittee chairmanships so they have a greater role in the legislative process.
With the establishment of new subcommittees came more subcommittee staffers who are often appointed by the subcommittee chairman or members of the subcommittee. Prior to the reforms, subcommittee staffs were usually appointed by the full committee chairman.
As a result of the reforms of the 1970's, some subcommittee chairmen exercise a significant degree of control over the legislation referred to them. It is possible, for example, for a recalcitrant subcommittee chairman to refuse to act on legislation favored by the full committee chairman. In such cases, there is a significant chance that the bill will die.
Next Chapter - The Legislative Function
