Some notes from teh online Book!

- Members of Congress have a nonpartisan Office of Legislative Counsel that takes the ideas they suggest and drafts them into proper legislative format. This office also checks to make sure that contrary legislation does not exist and suggests other changes in the legal code required to reach the intended goal.
- Coalition – A temporary group of often diverse members who agree to support a particular policy position. See also natural coalition and bought coalition.
-Natural Coalition – A group of individuals agreeing to support a particular position without any additional inducement. In Congress, members of naturally forming coalitions often share similar ideological, partisan goals or district interests.
- Bought Coalition – A group of individuals agreeing to support a position only after a change in the substance of the legislation or in exchange for some other benefit.
- Natural coalitions in Congress often lack permanency. The supporters of one piece of legislation might well be locked in total disagreement on another. Building winning natural coalitions one member at a time would be a daunting task. Fortunately for coalition managers, the building blocks for a winning natural coalition often tend to be identifiable groups of members sharing partisan, ideological, or constituency interests.
- Conservative coalition, which often dominated congressional decision making from the 1930s to the 1980s. This group of Republicans and southern democrats voted together on as many as one-quarter of the votes and prevailed over two-thirds of the time, especially during the 1940s and 1950s.
- The exact path of cause and effect is difficult to determine here. A district with a large parochial school population may be more likely to elect a member who was a product of parochial schools. It is then difficult to determine whether that member’s support for government aid to parochial schools stems from personal experience, constituency interests, or a combination of the two.
- To create the necessary majority, a natural coalition often needs to be augmented through the addition of new members whose support is "bought" by coalition managers. The process of bargaining and cajoling is often called logrolling.
- " Buying" Support, two common methods
- 1. Substantively broadening the appeal of the legislation
- 2. Offering side payments.
- Side payments – Benefits for joining a coalition having nothing to do with the substance of the issue at hand.
-Minimum winning coalition – The minimum number of coalition members required to achieve a particular policy goal. In Congress, the number required is usually a simple majority of those present and voting, but for certain actions (such as overriding a veto), super majorities are required.
- Concurrent majorities – A sequential series of majorities at different stages of the legislative process and involving differing groupings of members. For example, in order to pass, a bill must get support in a subcommittee, which is not a random sample of it’s parent committee, it then must get support from the committee, which is not a random sample of the changer from which is drawn.
- Cosponsorship – The right to add one’s name to a bill. Members cosponsor to claim some credit for final passage, while bill sponsors seek cosponsoship as in indication of popularity of their proposals.
- These averages are dramatically diminished by the large number of commemorative resolutions, which continue to average just a few pages.
- Evidence of the popularity of omnibus legislation emerges dramatically by looking at the average length of the bills passed by Congress.. During the 1950's the average bull was about 2 pages long.
- Executive privilege – The Presidents right to keep information from Congress in order to guarantee candid advice from his advisers or to protect national security. Members of the executive branch need White House approval to testify before Congress.
- Germane – Refers to the requirement that speeches and amendments to bills must be relevant to the issue being discussed. Rules of Germaneness are much tighter in the House than in the Senate.
- Unanimous Consent agreement – The literal approval of all members of a course of action The Procedure is most relevant to the Senate with it’s right of unlimited debate.
- Hold – A senator’s right to ask for a delay backed up by the right of unlimited debate.
- The House has special calendars and procedures for dealing with noncontroversial legislation. The "consent calendar" is in order on certain Mondays and each party has three official "objectors" on the floor to make sure that proposals do not contain controversial aspects. A two-thirds majority can bypass the time-consuming amending process by suspending the rules. The Speaker selectively recognizes individuals to offer motions that provide for the adoption of a measure and the measure and the amendment included in the motion. Bills that deal with individuals are placed on the "private Calendar" and dealt with expeditiously.
- Some of the committees such as Appropriations, Budget, and Ways and Means have the right to bring certain types of legislation directly to the floor.
- Rule – In the context of House consideration of legislation, a rule is the agree upon set of procedure for handling a piece of legislation. Before debate begins on the substance of a bill, the House Rules Committee proposes a plan for how much time will be spent on a piece of legislation and the right to make amendments.
- legislative intent – The purpose of an enacted law as evident in congressional debate over its passage. Federal courts often use legislative intent in interpreting federal law.
- Quorum- The minimum number of individuals who must be present in a congressional committee or on the floor in order to conduct business. Quorums are a protection against a small number of individuals taking over the legislative process. For most business, the quorum is usually a majority of the members.
- Committee of the Whole – A procedure used in the House to facilitate the handling of legislation by reducing the quorum to one hundred.
- filibuster - The tradition of unlimited debate in the Senate, which can be restricted only by a vote of sixty members in support of a cloture motion that limits debate.
- There is some debate over who has the individual record for filibustering. Strom Thrumond (Then D-SC) spoke for twenty-four hours and seventeen minutes in a vain attempt to kill civil rights legislation, but he had help from friends who bought him some time off through quorum calls. Wayne Morse (D-OR) single-handedly held the floor for almost twenty-three hours.
-Cloture– A senate procedure for cutting off debate during a filibuster by garnering the support of sixty senators.
- Rider – An Amendment to a bill having nothing to do with the substance, but "riding along" on the original bill’s merits or making the original bill more appealing.
- The house tends to vote somewhat more often than the Senate. During the 1980's the house averaged 569 votes per session and the Senate averaged 349. The activist agenda of first year of the Republican majority (1995) resulted in 885 votes in the house and 613 in the Senate.
- Roll Call vote – A vote in which the specific votes of each member are recorded. In the Senate, roll call votes are done in the traditional way, with a clerk reading off the list of senators a number of times and recording their votes. In the house, most recorded votes are done using automated voting terminals.
- Congress does pass various types of resolutions, which do not have the force of law. Such resolutions are often used to publicly express Congress’s position on an issue, but they do not authorize programs or appropriate funds.
- When congress has adjourned, the president has an additional option. If the President does nothing and there is no Congress to return the legislation, a pocket veto occurs and the legislation dies.
- agenda game– The game of articulating the national purpose and setting the nation’s agenda, perhaps the preeminent game of national politics.
- Image game – A form of public reaction that involves touting a public figures or institution personal traits in order to promote popular support and policy success.
- Coalition game – The contest to build coalitions and make coalitions work, played frequently in Congress.
- War Powers resolution – A resolution passed into law over President Nixon’s Veto, calling for the collective judgement of the Congress and President before troops enter combat. Under this law, the President must consult with Congress before committing troops into hostilities, report any commitment of troops to Congress within forty-eight hours, and terminate the use of forces within sixty days if Congress Does not declare ware or extend the period.
- Oversight - Defined by Joel Aberbach as congressional review of the actions of federal departments, agencies, and commissions, and of the other programs and policies they administer, including review that takes place during program and policy implementation as well as afterwards!
- legislative veto – A provision in federal law that delays an administrative action, usually for sixty to ninety days, during which time Congress may vote to approve or disapprove the action.
- Blue Game – Defined by Hedrick Smith as maneuvers that have little chance of implementation but that dramatize their side’s virtue and the opposition’s villainy!
-Subgovernemnt – interrelationships between congressional committees and subcommittees, federal agencies, interest groups, and local elites in particular policy areas, usually concerning domestic policy.
- issue networks – a set of interrelationships between senators and representatives, interest groups, the bureaucracy, and the media in particular policy areas. Generally broader in scope, more permeable, and less influential than subgovernments.

Notes Friday March 28th, 2008

Sources of Tension between the President and Congress
"National v. Local Forces"

4 Points

1. Different constituency
2. Different Time tables
3. "Old" Relationships
4. Constitutional ambiguity

Balance of power between the Presidential and Congress
"In the near Constant (Flux)"

5 points

1. Popular approved of each vacilities
2. The role of secondary players and scandal
3. National crisis works to the advantage of the President
4. can be a positive-Sum game
5. Often daily swings within broader era effects.



Here is a little bit of the Review that he gave us. Not sure That it's all there, but it's the best I could do, writing it down in class after sitting in his class from 7:30 A.M. from his other class... I took the notes on short hand.

- Alot of little lists in this test
- All of the calendars -
- What type of referral that sends it to two committees
- Split Referral
- Joint Referral
- When does the motion to recommitt occurs- Often on the floor
- What usually happens to votes
-Motion to recommitt both on house and Senate Floor
- Omnimous legislation
- To form a coalition ( Known as a bought coalition)
- log rolling
- legislative veto


Hope this helps you guys, if you have any questions, just e-mail me at le0dude@yahoo.com

Notes from Wednesday March 26th, 2008

3 types of Senate Floor voting

1. Un-tabulate voice vote. ( all in favor of saying "I") [It's pretty much self explanatory]
2. A standing or "Division" ( You know, stand up if you favor it, sit down if you oppose)
3. A roll call ( Yes or Nay when your name is called)


Both Floors
"Coalition Formation"

- Legislation rarely goes to the floor if it is not ready to pass
- Strategic floor activity is more common in election years.
- A motion to "recommitt" the legislation to committee often kills legislation
- If passed there is usually a motion to "reconsider" a motion to "table" the previous question.


Presidents Options
"More than just a veto"

Options
- Sign it ( Signs it with 5 different pens, to gove these pens to the sponsors as gifts)
[The Bill that goes to the president is called the enrolled Bill and is printed on Parchment. Signed by the speaker first then VP, and then then the President]
[Clear bill, that gets marked up alot, all the amendmends would be cleared up, less amendments]

- Veto it
- Wait 10 days and let it become a law
- Pocket Veto.

Class Notes Friday March 21, 2008

Types of Committee Referral
"four Primary types"
Single Referral
- Entire bill sent to a single committee
-Preferred by the sponsor of the legislation
Joint Referral
- Same bill sent to multiple committees
-Has been done to try and speed things up
- But it is just as likely a dilatory maneuver
Split referral
- Bull is broken up and sent to multiple committees
- Bill is still known by a single number , so if any part is rejected the whole bill is dead
-Probably the least favorite alternative from the viewpoints of the sponsors.
Sequential referral
-Speaker determines that a bill must pass through multiple committees
- Sometimes avoided by joint referral
Committee Calendar Politics
- Committee chair discretion - "Pigeon holing"
- The role of "Speaker discharge" and "committee discharge petitions".

The Legislation Calendars
"Lots of political maneuvering"
House calendars
- The Union Calender- Orders bulls for governable appropriates and raising revenue tax and spending legislation ( Most political calendar)
- The house calendar- The catch all calendars that handles most public law initiative
-The Consent Calendar- Deals with legislation of a non-controversial nature ; including propaganda legislation. Called on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month, while in session.
-The Private calendar- deals with matters of private law. Called on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays when in Session.
-The discharge calendar- Can be called at any time if the necessary signatures have been gathered for discharge petition.
Senate Calendars
- The Executive calendar
- Treaties and nominations Submitted to the senate by the executive branch
- The Senate calendar or legislative Calendar-
- Handles all the matters that are not treatises or nominations.

Hey Folks

The notes for March 19th, and Fridays March 21st notes will be up by tonight... so if your checking in, just check it out later on tonight... Cause i'm waiting for Wednesdays notes... cause I missed Wednesdays class... have no fear!

March 17th,2008

In congress class, we didn't do much, there was a guest speaker in class. He is teaching stuff from the Parlimentary place!

Notes for Class, March 3 2008

The influence of Public Opinion on Congress
“3 Casual mechanisms”
1. An environmental constraint “ala systems theory”
- The role of “Events” and saliency
-Boarder cultural constraints

2. Re-election consideration
- Rational desire to stay in office
but many votes are “safe”
and what about the “Lame ducks?”
Lame ducks _ Someone in office who can’t be re-elected.

3. Turnover
- Electoral lost
-Strategic retirements
-Effects on seniority
-Staff turnover

There weren’t that many notes that he gave in class today! He was kind of upset at the fact that the class average is a C+. He says if you need help, go to his room, and he will be more than willing to help check your notes and everything! Next test, I’ll have more things prepared, at this time I didn’t have enough time to get all the notes here for all of the tests! But for next time it will be more prepared!