4.6: Issues of
Congress/Modern
Congress
AP U. S. Government
Main roles of Congress
• One
of the main roles of Congress is to help
the citizens in your district/state to receive
the benefits, etc. that they want/need.
• Representatives,
especially, do this
through individual casework
Our View of Congress
• Public
• Who
opinion of Congress is EXTREMELY low
is responsible for national problems?
• Congress
• Senators
is and they often fail
and Congressmen can directly impact our
lives, communities, etc. (“bringing home the bacon”)
Understanding Congress
• Congress
and Democracy
 Representation versus Effectiveness
 Supporters claim that Congress:
 is a forum in which many interests compete for policy
 is decentralized, so there is no oligarchy to prevent comprehensive
action
 Critics argue that Congress:
 is responsive to so many interests that policy is uncoordinated,
fragmented, and decentralized
 is so representative that it is incapable of taking decisive action to
deal with difficult problems
Servicing the Constituency
•
Constituents: citizens that the
Congressperson represents
•
Casework: helping constituency as
individuals (cutting through red tape to give
people what they think they have a right to
get)
•
Pork Barrel: List of federal projects,
grants and contracts available to cities,
businesses, colleges and institutions
Criticisms of
Congress
Public Criticisms of Congress
1. Members of Congress are a bunch of crooks.
2. Members of Congress don't level with people.
3. There's too much pork–barrel spending by Congress.
4. Members of Congress just bicker and don't get anything done.
5. Ordinary people can't have an impact.
6. Congress conducts too many frivolous investigations.
7. Congress has no relevance to my life.
8. It really doesn't matter whether we have a Congress or not.
9. Congress can't think long term.
10. Members of Congress compromise too much.
11. There's too much money in politics these days.
12. Members don't listen to their constituents.
13. The legislative process is too complicated.
14. Political campaigns are too nasty.
15. Congress is run by a few big interest groups.
Earmarks
EARMARKS
• An
earmark is a congressional
provision that directs
appropriated funds to be spent on
specific projects or that directs
specific exemptions from taxes or
mandated fees.
Pork Barrel Spending.
Pork
Barrel- legislation that allows representatives to
bring home the bacon to their districts in the form of
public works programs, military bases, or other
programs designed to directly benefit their districts.
Logrolling
Logrolling
• Logrolling
favors.
• “I’ll
means exchanging votes for
vote for your bill if you vote for my
bill.”
Logrolling
• With
simple majority voting, voters can’t
register the strength of their (or their
constituents’) preferences.
allows people to trade votes
thereby partially revealing the strength of
their preferences.
 Vote for something to which you’re not strongly
opposed in return for support for your pet project.
© Terrel Gallaway 2003
• Logrolling
13
• Voluntary
trade can
lead to increased
efficiency and a stable
equilibrium.
 (You would expect a net
gain for both traders.)
• Compromise
is an
essential part of
governing
Cons
• May
accommodate
pork.
• The
gains to powerful
special-interest groups
might not balance the
loss to others.
• Vote
trading may
reflect relative power
and not just strength
of preferences.
© Terrel Gallaway 2003
Pros
Logrolling
14
Inefficiency / Gridlock
President and Congress
• Designed
• Party
for Gridlock (Separation of Powers)
Politics and Divided Government
• Organization
• Timetables
• Public
and the Rules of Congress
May be Different
Opinion
• “Stalemate”
Complaint: Gridlock is a
problem
• Congress
is seen as inefficient, and because of
the complicated legislative process, most bills
never see the light of day
• Reforms
have been suggested: Streamlining the
committee system, improving coordination of
information between House & Senate, requiring
action of some sort on all proposed bills
Term Limits
Term Limits in Congress
• Currently
there are NO term limits in
House or Senate
• Constitutional
amendment
• Pros?
Share responsibility in government, give others
a chance to participate, keep Congress “fresh”
• Cons?
Want to keep good incumbents in office
Congress and Term Limits
• Public
anger with Congress led many states in
the 1990s to adopt term limits;
• The
Supreme Court voided term limit (1995)
in arguing that:
•These would create “a patchwork of state qualifications” and
undermine uniformity and national character;
•States were effectively amending the Constitution
Congressional Term Limits
•A
thought is that Representatives,
especially, are so busy running for
office, that they become beholden to
special interest groups and PACs
Financial Obligations
Financing
• The
pressures of elections and constituency
service undermine Congress’s ability to focus on
public policy;
• Pressure
to raise money for reelection incurs
obligations to interest groups which may be at
odds with constituent views;
• Partisanship
is now at record highs as the
legislative process has become party dominated
PACs and Congress
• Political
Action Committees
• Fundraising,
campaign contributing arm
of an interest group
• Criticisms
in Congress?
“buy votes”
Access to representatives and senators
Congress & Ethics
Separation of Power &
Corruption
Fragmentation of power increases number
of officials with opportunity to sell
influence. Example: senatorial courtesy
offers opportunity for office seeker to
influence a senator
Forms of influence
 Money
 Exchange of favors
Ethics and Congress
• Separation
of powers meant to control
ambition and corruption
define
• House
conduct not always easy to
and Senate ethics codes
8-27
• Unethical
Copyright © 2011 Cengage
Problem of Defining Unethical
Behavior
• Violation
of criminal law is obviously unethical
 Since 1941, over one hundred charges of misconduct
 Most led to convictions, resignations, or retirements
 Ethics codes and related reforms enacted in 1978, 1989, and 1995
have placed members of Congress under tight rules
• Other
issues are more difficult.
 A substantial outside income from speaking and writing does not
necessarily lead to vote corruption.
 Personal friendships and alliances can have an undue influence on
votes.
 Bargaining among members of Congress may involve exchange of
favors and votes.
Post 9-11 Congress
• 9-11
Commission recommended Congress
make fundamental changes in how it
oversees agencies involved in intelligencegathering and counter-terrorism
Copyright © Houghton
Mifflin Company. All rights
reserved.
Post 9-11 Congress
passed some of those proposals
after some opposition in both parties
13 | 31
• Congress
Understanding Congress
• Congress
and Democracy
While it is a representative body, it
doesn’t necessarily represent the people,
just their interests.
Congress does try to respond to what the
people want, but some argue it could do a
better job.
Interest groups and presidents exert
influence on what Congress does.