The American Congress

398 Pages·2019·10.884 MB·English

by  Steven S. Smith, Jason M. Roberts, Ryan J. Vander Wielen

THE AMERICAN
CONGRESS
tenth edition
STEVEN S. SMITH
Washington University in St. Louis
JASON M. ROBERTS
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
RYAN J. VANDER WIELEN
Temple University
ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD
Lanham • Boulder • New York • London
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Executive Editor: Traci Crowell
Editorial Assistant: Deni Remsberg
Executive Marketing Manager: Amy Whitaker
Cover Designer: Sarah Marizan
Credits and acknowledgments for material borrowed from other sources, and reproduced
with permission, appear on the appropriate page within the text.
Published by Rowman & Littlefield
An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.rowman.com
6 Tinworth Street, London SE11 5AL, United Kingdom
Copyright © 2020 by Steven S. Smith, Jason M. Roberts, and Ryan J. Vander Wielen
Ninth edition published by Cambridge University Press in 2015.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic
or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written
permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Smith, Steven S., 1953- author. | Roberts, Jason M., author. | Vander Wielen,
Ryan J., author.
Title: The American Congress / Steven S. Smith, Jason M. Roberts, Ryan J. Vander Wielen.
Description: Tenth edition. | Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, [2020] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019016336 (print) | LCCN 2019021734 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781538125847 (ebook) | ISBN 9781538125823 (cloth: alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781538125830 (pbk.: alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: United States. Congress. | Legislation—United States.
Classification: LCC JK1041 (ebook) | LCC JK1041. S65 2020 (print) | DDC 328.73—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019016336
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992.
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Brief Contents
★ ★ ★
List of Figures, Tables, Boxes viii
Preface xiii
About the Authors xviii
1 The Troubled Congress 1
2 Representation and Lawmaking in Congress 33
3 Congressional Elections 61
4 Members, Goals, Resources, and Strategies 85
5 Party Leaders 116
6 The Committee System 158
7 The Rules of the Legislative Game 201
8 The Rules of the Game: The Budget Process 232
9 The Floor and Voting 249
10 Congress and the President 271
11 Congress and the Courts 317
12 Congress, Lobbyists, and Interest Groups 343
Appendix: Online Resources on Congress A-1
Index I-1
iii
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Contents
★ ★ ★
List of Figures, Tables, Boxes viii
Preface xiii
About the Authors xviii
1 The Troubled Congress 1
Studying Congress 2
A Partisan, Centralized Congress 4
Will Polarized Parties, Centralized Decision Making,
and Procedural Warfare Last Forever? 19
An Unpopular Congress 20
Other Trends in Congressional Politics 24
The Changing Congress 29
Key Terms | Discussion Questions | Suggested Readings 31
2 Representation and Lawmaking in Congress 33
Models of Representation 34
Models of Lawmaking 38
Rules for Representation and Lawmaking in the
Constitution 40
Beyond the Constitution: The Development of Parties
and Committees 50
Conclusion 58
Key Terms | Discussion Questions | Suggested Readings 59
3 Congressional Elections 61
The Rules Governing Congressional Elections 64
The Constitution: Eligibility, Voting Rights, and
Chamber Size 64
Federal Law: Apportionment and Campaign Finance 66
State Law: Redistricting and Primaries 71
Election Practice Reform 73
iv
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Contents   v
★
Variations in the Incumbency Advantage 77
Biased Campaign Funding 79
Nationalization of Congressional Elections 80
Midterm Elections 82
Conclusion 83
Key Terms | Discussion Questions | Suggested Readings 83
4 Members, Goals, Resources, and Strategies 85
Members’ Goals 86
Members’ Resources 93
Influences on Members 101
Choosing Strategies 107
Legislative Styles 111
Conclusion 113
Key Terms | Discussion Questions | Suggested Readings 114
5 Party Leaders 116
The Nature of Congressional Parties 117
Factions Within Congressional Parties 124
Party Organizations 126
Party Leaders 128
House Party Leaders 134
Senate Party Leaders 139
Party Leaders’ Resources 140
Term Limits for Party Leaders 149
Congressional Leaders and Presidential Succession 151
A New Party Era 152
Conclusion 155
Key Terms | Discussion Questions | Suggested Readings 156
6 The Committee System 158
Types of Committees 159
The Nature of Congressional Committees 164
The Power of Modern Committees 166
Declining Committee Autonomy 175
Committee Membership 182
Committee Leaders 191
Limiting the Power of Full Committee Chairs 194
Conclusions 198
Key Terms | Discussion Questions | Suggested Readings 199
7 The Rules of the Legislative Game 201
Legislative Rules in Perspective 202
Beyond the Constitution: House and Senate Rules 204
The Standard Legislative Process 205
Introduction of Legislation 207
Referral to Committee 208
Committee Action 209
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vi   Contents
★
Circumventing Committees 210
Floor Scheduling 212
Floor Consideration 218
Resolving Differences Between the Chambers 223
House and Senate Rules Compared 224
Authorizing and Appropriating 227
Evolution of the Legislative Process 228
Conclusion 230
Key Terms | Discussion Questions | Suggested Readings 230
8 The Rules of the Game: The Budget Process 232
Overview of the Federal Budget 233
Creating a Congressional Budget Process: 1974 236
The Pliable Budget Process 238
The Multiple Legislative Personalities of Tax Legislation 242
The Multiple Legislative Personalities of Spending Bills 244
The Battle Over Earmarks 246
Conclusion 247
Key Terms | Discussion Questions | Suggested Readings 247
9 The Floor and Voting 249
House-Senate Differences 252
Voting Procedure 252
Analyzing Votes 261
Conclusion 269
Key Terms | Discussion Questions | Suggested Readings 270
10 Congress and the President 271
The President as a Legislative Player 273
Presidents’ Strategies 282
Presidential Resources 293
Congressional Resources and Strategies 296
Ideological Outlook 310
The Divided-Government Debate 312
Conclusion 314
Key Terms | Discussion Questions | Suggested Readings 315
11 Congress and the Courts 317
Courts as Umpires 319
Judges as Policymakers 329
Congressional Resources and Strategies 332
Conclusion 341
Key Terms | Discussion Questions | Suggested Readings 342
12 Congress, Lobbyists, and Interest Groups 343
The Expanding Community of Lobbyists
and Interest Groups 344
Developments In Interest-Group Strategies 350
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Contents   vii
★
Inside Lobbying 351
Outside Lobbying 355
Coalitions 359
Legislators Influencing Organized Interests 360
Regulating Lobbying 361
Members’ Groups and Legislative Service Organizations 366
The Influence of Lobbyists and Interest Groups 369
Conclusion 372
Key Terms | Discussion Questions | Suggested Readings 372
Appendix: Online Resources on Congress A-1
Index I-1
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Figures, Tables, Boxes
★ ★ ★
FIGURES
1.1 Average Liberal-Conservative Scores by Party, House
and Senate, 1961–2018 6
1.2 Percent of House and Senate Seats Held by Democrats,
1961–2018 7
1.3 The Ideological Distribution of House Democrats,
Freedom Caucus Republicans, and Other Republicans,
2015–2016 14
1.4 Number of Public Laws Enacted and Number of Pages
Enacted into Law, 1961–2016 15
1.5 Number of Legislative Measures and Presidential
Nominations Subject to Cloture Motions, 1961–2018 17
1.6 Percent of Americans Who Approve of Congress’s Job
Performance, 1974–2018 21
1.7 Number of Seats in the U.S. House of Representatives,
1960s and 2010s 25
1.8 Number of Women and Minorities in Congress,
1973–2019 27
3.1 Presidential Approval and Partisan Seat Loss in
Midterm House Elections, 1946–2018 62
3.2 Candidate Spending in U.S. House Elections 67
3.3 Candidate Spending in U.S. Senate Elections 68
3.4 House and Senate Reelection Rates 75
3.5 Percentage of Incumbents Facing a Quality Challenger 76
4.1 Highest Previous Elective Office of Representatives
and Senators, 116th Congress, 2019–2020 92
viii
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Figures, Tables, Boxes   ix
★
4.2 Percentage of House Staff Located in District Offices,
1978–2016 95
4.3 Hours Spent in Session in the House and Senate,
1951–2018 99
4.4 Ideology of House Representatives Serving from 2017
to 2018 by District Partisanship 102
4.5 Distribution of Legislative Styles 113
5.1 Party Votes as a Percent of All Roll-Call Votes, House
and Senate, 1953–2016 120
5.2 Distribution of Senators on a Liberal-Conservative Scale,
1971–1972 and 2017–2018 121
5.3 Number of Democrats and Republicans, House and Senate,
1901–2019 141
5.4 Number of Bills Passed, House and Senate, 1947–2018 142
5.5 Spending Designated for House and Senate Party Staffs in
Legislative Appropriations Measures, 1947–2018 150
5.6 Percentage of House Seats Held by Democrats, by
Region, 1973 and 2017 153
6.1 The Frequency of House and Senate Committee Hearings,
1946–2015 160
6.2 Party Polarization in the House and Senate, 1937–2018 176
6.3 Frequency of House Roll-Call Votes on Amendments
and Special Rules, 1953–2018 179
6.4 Percentage of Public Laws Resolved Using Conference
Committees, 1963–2018 181
6.5 Difference between the Percentage of Majority-Party
Members on Committees and in the Chamber,
1983–2020 183
6.6 Median Conservatism Score for Standing Committee,
2017–2018 189
6.7 Number of Committee Staff in the House and Senate,
1930–2015 197
7.1 Standard Legislative Process for a Major Bill 206
7.2 Percentage of House Passage Votes Taken under
Suspension of the Rules 213
7.3 Number of Public Laws Enacted and Number of
Conference Committees 224
8.1 Federal Outlays and Revenues for 1968–2017, with
Projected Levels for 2018 and 2019 234
8.2 Major Categories of Federal Spending, Fiscal Year 2017 235
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x   Figures, Tables, Boxes
★
8.3 Discretionary and Mandatory Spending, 1968–2017 236
8.4 The Congressional Budget Process before and after 1980 237
8.5 Number of Regular, Supplemental, and Other
Appropriations Bills by First Year of Congress,
1961–2016 245
9.1 House Vote Type by Congress 257
9.2 Senate Vote Type by Congress 258
9.3 Special Rule Type in the House 259
9.4 Party Difference in Voting on Special Rules in the House 260
9.5 Party Unity in Congressional Voting 263
9.6 Dimensional Alignment of U.S. Senators 268
10.1 Average Number of Executive Orders Issued per Year
by President, 1789–2018 276
10.2 Presidential Vetoes: Regular Vetoes, Pocket Vetoes,
and Veto Overrides, 1947–2018 278
10.3 Presidential Veto Options Depend on Whether Congress
Remains in Session 288
10.4 House, Senate, and Presidential Conservatism,
1955–2018 310
10.5 Racial Composition of Congressional Districts in the
116th Congress, 2019–2020 313
11.1 Laws Overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court 319
11.2 Confirmation Rates of Federal Judicial Nominees 337
12.1 Spending on Lobbying, 1998–2018 347
12.2 Amazon Lobbying Disclosure Filing 365
12.3 House and Senate Member Organizations, 1971–2018 367
TABLES
1.1 Party Control of the Senate, House, and Presidency,
1971–2015 8
1.2 Highlights of Recent Congressional Ethics Scandals 22
2.1 Two Forms of Aggregating Policy Preferences in the
Public and in Congress 36
2.2 Timeline of Major Events in Congressional Development 53
3.1 Congressional Campaign Contribution Limits under the
Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, for the
2017–2018 Cycle 70
4.1 The Frequency with which Legislators Mentioned Political
Actors as Factors in Their Voting Decisions 108
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