CHAPTER TWELVE
I. Congress
A. In October 2002, both houses of Congress authorized the president to use military
force against Iraq. The authorized cited Saddam Hussein as a continuing threat who
might use weapons of mass destruction against the United States.
B. The action in the House was a party line vote: a majority of Republicans opposed a
majority of Democrats.
C. Four members who sought the Democratic nomination—Kerry, Edwards, Lieberman,
and Gephardt—supported the resolution. The other two—Graham and Kucinich—
opposed the resolution.
D. The Democratic presidential aspirants were questioned about their votes. Kerry had
some difficulty.
E. This chapter asks important questions: Can Congress meet the needs of the American
people as the nation moves into the 21st century? Is Congress an outmoded
institution? Are members too easily influenced by campaign contributions? How well
do they represent the voters, or should its members lead or follow public opinion?
II. Congress: Conflict and Controversy
A. Most of the conflict and pressures of the political system are reflected in Congress.
B. Congress can enact far-reaching and vital legislation.
1. Lawmakers often succeed in pushing through pork-barrel legislation,
benefiting their home districts.
C. Congress is often criticized for failing to act, obstructionist rules, low ethical
standards, and a variety of other imperfections.
1. It failed to act on Medicare until 1965, 20 years after it was first proposed.
2. It waited until 1993 and 1994 to pass major gun control legislation, despite the
assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., in the 1960s.
3. Too often Congress is caught in gridlock and unable to act.
a. Ralph K. Huitt notes that the obstructionist critique has often come
from liberals like Kennedy and Truman who had trouble getting their
programs passed.
III. The Varied Roles of Congress
A. Congress plays a crucial role by making laws that govern society.
B. Congress plays other important roles, including:
1. Proposing amendments, declaring war, and impeaching and trying the
president, other civil officers and judges.
2. Handling the election of the president and vice president should the electoral
college fail, and determining whether the president is disabled.
3. The Senate also consents to treaties and appointments.
4. Through senatorial courtesy, individual members of the Senate can exercise an
informal veto power over presidential appointments in their state.
5. Regulating and punishing its own members’ conduct.
6. Overseeing the executive branch and independent regulatory bodies.
7. Overseeing spending in government agencies by exercising oversight, as they
did when Firestone tires became defective.
8. In February 2002, the House and Senate Select Committees on Intelligence
investigated the intelligence agencies to discover why the agencies failed to
adequately warn against the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
9. Legitimizing the final output of the policy process.
a. As a conflict manager, Congress helps to integrate various groups and
interests within the community, acting as a referee.
b. In resolving conflict, it may make enemies in the process of trying to
do good.
c. As noted in other chapters, gerrymandering of districts limits
congressional access to African American and Hispanic citizens.
Congress is still a point of access for citizens to their government.
IV. The Legislators
A. Portrait of a lawmaker.
1. When the 108th Congress convened, the average age of House members was
54. The average of the Senate is almost 60.
a. The age average is due in part to the constitutional age restrictions.
b. Also, members have to pay their political dues in lower level jobs
before running.
2. More than half of the nation’s population is female, but only 13.6percent (59
members) of the House is female. Fourteen women served in the Senate.
There are 37 African Americans, 23 Hispanics, and only one Native American
in Congress.
3. Attorneys make up 41 percent (221) of Congress, but lawyers make up only
seven-tenths of one percent of the labor force. Other major occupational
groups represented in Congress include business, banking, education,
journalism, and agriculture.
4. Congress is mostly Protestant, 149 were Catholic, and 37 Jews.
5. Since Congress is not representative of a cross section of the public, it is not
surprising that underrepresented groups feel left out.
B. The life of a legislator.
1. There are so many demands on members of Congress that they soon discover
that they cannot possibly do all that is expected of them.
2. Most of those elected to Congress spend a fair portion of their day trying to
take care of constituent problems. This involves regular travel to and from their
districts.
C. As of 2004, members of the House and Senate received salaries of $158,100 per year.
D. Other funds are available for staff, office supplies, phone calls, travel, and special
mailing assistance.
1. The “franking” privilege provide members with the right to send mail to their
constituents without charge, providing it is used only for official business and
does not solicit funds and votes.
2. Computers make sophisticated mailing lists and targeted mailings possible.
3. Since 1990, new rules limit the amount of mail that members can send to
constituents. Members also must pay for those mailing costs out of their
increased expense budgets.
4. Computers enable Congress to target specialized groups with their mailings.
All members have e-mail addresses and a Web page.
E. On a typical day, a member can spend an hour reading mail, making calls, and
dictating memos, followed by a 10 A.M. committee meeting, and lunch (if time
permits). They then dash to a floor vote, later returning for a committee meeting and
to meet with constituents in the office. Next come receptions sponsored by powerful
interest groups. After that, it’s back to the Hill or a flight back to the district.
F. Members were surveyed about how they spent their time.
1. More than two-thirds said they spend a great deal of time meeting constituents.
2. Just under one-half said attending committee meetings took a great deal of
time, as did meeting with lobbyists and government officials on legislative
issues, and attending a floor debate or watching it on TV.
3. Seventy-seven percent listed legislative work as their most time-consuming
job.
4. Among the things that drive their work priorities: working for district interests,
aspiring to party leadership, running for higher office, becoming an issue
specialist, or taking on an issue that brings national exposure.
G. The image of the legislator.
1. Congress and its individual members enjoy a rather mixed public image.
2. The public’s ranking of Congress has dropped from 64 percent in 1965
(ranking its performance from excellent to pretty good) to 29 percent in 2004
(saying they had “a great deal” to “quite a lot” of confidence in Congress).
3. This low confidence likely drives the call for term limits.
4. Paradoxically, the voters love and reelect their own district representatives.
5. Through 2002, 93 percent of the House members and 80 percent of senators
were returned to office.
H. Representation: the legislators and their constituents.
1. Should members of Congress lead or follow the opinions of their constituents?
2. British political philosopher Edmund Burke felt that the voter’s wishes should
create weight, but concluded that “Your representative owes you, not his
industry only, but his judgment.”
3. The Burkean concept of the trustee holds that legislators should act according
to their conscience. This clashes with the concept of the instructed delegate—
that is, that legislators should mirror the will of the constituents.
a. Members who attempt to follow opinion find it difficult to accurately
measure opinion.
b. Their constituencies are also made up of different issues and positions,
so they please one group and anger the others.
4. Roger Davidson and representatives find that blending the two works.
5. Davidson and colleague Walter Oleszek say there are two Congresses: one that
legislates and one that must relate to the districts and constituents in order to
be reelected.
6. In studying how legislators make up their minds, David Mayhew concluded
that their relationship with their constituencies is key.
7. Members generally vote according to their known policy positions. When they
cast a vote on an issue that is complex, members look for clues from trusted
colleagues.
8. There is often a gap between constituents’ actual views and the legislator’s
perceptions of those views. Half the voters surveyed had heard nothing about
either the incumbent or the opposing candidate.
V. The House
A. Although we speak of Congress, the House and Senate are distinct institutions, each
with its own rules and traditions.
1. The Constitution establishes one major difference: A House term is two years,
a Senate term, six years.
2. The sheer size of the House (435 members) means that it needs stricter rules
and procedures than the Senate, which only has 100 members.
a. Senate rules call for unlimited debate.
b. House rules can limit debate to five minutes or less.
3. Since the Senate has only 100 members, the positions are seen as more
prestigious. Senators more likely to be seen as presidential prospects.
4. House members aren’t well-known by their own constituents. Although many
voters cannot remember the name of their representative, they could recognize
it from a list.
5. Despite its size, the House has achieved a stability of tenure and a role never
envisioned by the Founding Fathers.
a. They feared the vacillation of the House on issues because it was too
close to the masses.
b. They saw the Senate as more of an aristocracy, with all the stability
that would entail.
6. Ironically, on some issues, the House and Senate have exchanged places in
terms of the expectations of the framers.
7. House seats are safer than the Senate (thus more stable). Safe seats mean one
candidate gets 55 percent of the vote or more. Fewer House seats are
marginal.
a. Marginals may be making a comeback, though.
b. In 1994, the House, with 73 freshman GOP members, was more
conservative than the Senate.
c. Still, there has been a major turnover in House seats. A majority of the
104th Congress had been elected in the 1990s.
d. Some members just got tired of running every two years.
B. Power in the House: the leadership.
1. The speaker is the presiding officer and the most powerful person in the
House.
2. The speaker must preside over the House, recognize or ignore members,
appoint chairs, refer bills to committees, and exercise procedural controls.
3. The speaker is elected by the House, usually by a caucus, and exercises more
formal powers than any other member.
a. Thomas “Tip” O’Neill played a key role in the decision to hold
impeachment hearings that became a factor in Richard Nixon’s
resignation in 1974.
b. O’Neill’s successor, Jim Wright, found himself under fire over book
royalties. His book had been published by a Texas supporter who
received money from campaign committee. Wright was forced to
resign.
c. Wright was followed by mild-mannered Tom Foley, a Democrat from
Washington.
4. In 1994, Speaker Newt Gingrich, the one who brought ethics charges against
Jim Wright, became the speaker.
5. Ironically Gingrich would later be criticized for a book deal and actions as
head of the GOPAC political action committee.
a. Gingrich hurt himself by being so aggressive in attacking opponents.
b. He came across to the public as arrogant for complaining about having
to go out the back door of Air Force One on a flight with the
president.
c. In 1998, Gingrich resigned as speaker and left Congress. He was
succeeded by Dennis Hastert.
6. In 1999, Dennis Hastert of Illinois became the 51st speaker of the House. He
was promoted only after the sudden resignations of his predecessors, Newt
Gingrich and Bob Livingston.
7. The speaker has two key assistants: the majority leader, who schedules debates
and negotiates with party members and committee chairs, and the majority
whip, who rounds up party members (noses) for votes.
8. In January 2003, Nancy Pelosi, a democrat from San Francisco, became the
first woman to become minority leader—the first woman to lead a major party
on Capital Hill.
C. The Rules Committee.
1. Exercises considerable control over what bills are brought to the floor.
a. Major legislation usually requires a “special rule” to limit floor debate
and bill amendment.
b. The whole House must adopt each special rule before it goes into
effect.
2. Since 1970, Democratic party rule permitted the speaker to appoint all of the
members of his party on the rules committee.
D. The legislative labyrinth: the House in action.
1. The basic power structure includes: a speaker, floor leaders and whips of the
two major parties, the Rules Committee, and chairpersons of 19 other standing
committees.
2. About 5 percent of all bills and joint resolutions that are introduced become
law.
3. In the 107th Congress, 7,439 bills were introduced. Yet, only 377 became
public laws.
3. Steps in the process:
a. After a bill is introduced in the House by a member, it is referred to a
standing committee by the speaker.
b. Only about 16 percent of bills get out of committee to one of the five
calendars or on to the floor of the House.
c. Two days a week, any bill may be debated under “suspension of the
rules.”
4. Floor debate requires a quorum (218 members).
a. When dealing with tax and spending legislation, the House uses the
Committee of the Whole. This allows it to conduct debate with fewer
members and restrictions.
b. Prior to 1971, teller votes were used in the Committee of the Whole.
When members filed forward, no one could see how they voted.
c. A recorded vote is more common today. The position of each member
is published in the Congressional Record.
d. In 1973, a system of electronic voting was installed in the House. A
green light appears for a “yes” vote, a red light appears for “no,” and
an amber for “present.” This reduces the need for recorded votes.
e. Recorded votes are requested by members as a delaying tactic to round
up their forces. It can be used against them by opponents.
f. When debate is completed in the Committee of the Whole, the House
may vote on final passage, send a bill back to its committee of origin,
or send a bill back to the committee with instructions that further
changes be made.
E. Televising Congress.
1. Despite major opposition, live radio and TV broadcast of floor debate began in
March 1979.
2. The nonprofit network C-SPAN provided gavel-to-gavel coverage of floor
action to nearly 7,900 cable television systems and 86 million homes in 2004.
3. Cameras (which are operated by House employees) are not permitted to pan
the floor and expose sleeping or strolling members.
4. Television coverage of the Senate began in 1986. Its opponents later conceded
that TV had little or no impact on the way Senate business was conducted.
VI. The Senate
A. The Senate is sometimes referred to as the rich man’s club.
1. Membership is small, and the chamber is opulent.
2. There were 40 millionaires were senators in 2004.
3. Senate rules have changed markedly since the New York Times senate
correspondent wrote that the Senate was an “Inner Club” run by Southerners.
4. Don Matthew has noted that the Senate has unwritten rules and norms of
conduct.
5. Freshman senators are to be work horses and older senators “show horses.”
6. There are elaborate customs dictating how senators address one another.
7. Nelson Polsby says Senate norms are not as important today.
8. Newcomers want national attention today, not tomorrow.
9. Freshmen members no longer stay on the sidelines, according to Barbara
Sinclair.
10. Peabody, Ornstein, and Rohde trace the decline in norms to John F. Kennedy,
who wanted to speak out to better prepare himself to run for president.
11. Senators no longer seek to be one-area specialists, but prefer to be generalists
(to better prepare themselves for the presidency).
12. Five of the nine candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination were
senators or a former senator in 2004.
B. Power in the Senate: the leadership.
1. According to the Constitution, the president pro tempore presides over the
Senate when the vice president isn’t there. It’s largely a ceremonial position.
(The Senate majority leader exercises greater influence.)
2. As in most political offices, great leadership depends on personality and
political circumstances. A good example is Senate Majority Leader Lyndon
Johnson (1953–1960).
a. His personality was powerful and he used “The Treatment” to get his
way.
b. He knew how to help members get what they wanted.
c. He controlled committee assignments and built up the “Johnson
Network” to anticipate the outcome of votes.
d. He used the network to get to know the strengths and weaknesses of
every senator. People took for granted that he’d get the necessary
votes.
3. His immediate successor, Mike Mansfield of Montana, was subdued. Robert
Byrd, who was elected in 1977, concentrated more on making the Senate work
than on influencing legislation ideologically.
4. George Mitchell succeeded Byrd in 1988, but was even more low-key.
5. Bob Dole served as majority leader from 1994 to 1996, when he left to run for
president.
6. Tom Daschle became majority leader in 2001 when Republican Jim Jeffords
became an independent and agreed to work with the Democrats, giving the
Democrats a 51-49 edge. Daschle is noted for his low-key style and
willingness to consult with Democratic colleagues.
7. After the 2002 elections, Trent Lott was poised to become majority leader but
was forced to resign after praising Strom Thurmand’s 1948 presidential bid in
which he advocated racial segregation. Bill Frist of Tennessee then became
majority leader.
C. The Senate in action.
1. Senate procedures are less complex than those of the House because of the
small size of the body.
2. For example, Senate bills appear on one legislative calendar, not five.
3. Bills are usually called up for action by unanimous consent. Any Senator may
object.
4. The Senate has no electronic voting system like the House. Roll call and tally
are used.
D. The filibuster.
1. A single senator or a group may start a filibuster to talk a bill to death by tying
it up so long that it won’t get to a vote.
2. Traditional filibusters, as seen in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, are rarely
seen these days.
3. Today, senators may ask for a hold, an informal tactic used to stall action on
legislation or a nomination for an ambassador or other official.
4. To conduct an old-style filibuster, one must remain on their feet and keep
talking.
a. The longest filibuster on record was 24 hours, 18 minutes, presented
by Strom Thurmond against the 1957 Civil Rights Act.
b. Senators must speak to the topic for three hours, but after that they can
read the phone book. To counter filibusters, the Senate can meet
around the clock.
c. Senators conducting the filibuster may retaliate by suggesting the
absence of a quorum at 4 A.M.
d. Today’s “gentleman’s filibusters” go from 9 A.M. to 5 P.M.
e. Rule XXII says a petition signed by 16 members and voted for by
three-fifths of the entire membership (60 senators) will bring about
cloture.
f. At first, southerners used filibusters against civil rights legislation, but
in the 1970s liberals used them against funding the Vietnam War and
extending the draft.
g. Senator Byrd invoked a rule to require attendance of senators. He
ordered the sergeant-at-arms and Hill police to find senators and force
them to come. Bob Packwood of Oregon was arrested and carried feet
first into the Senate chamber.
VII. The Party Machinery
A. The Senate and House are organized along party lines for both political and legislative
duties.
1. Floor whips and deputy whips round up members for key votes.
2. The party caucus or conference of each party is made up of all of the senators
of that party. They elect party leaders in each chamber.
3. The policy committee is a forum for discussion of the party position on
legislative issues.
4. In the House, the Republicans and Democrats each have a Steering Committee
that makes committee assignments. In the Senate, this task is performed by the
Republican Committee on Committees and for the Democrats by the Steering
and Coordination Committee.
VIII. The Committee System
A. Committees are where Congress does most of its work. Policies are shaped and
legislation is hammered out.
1. Woodrow Wilson saw them as little legislatures: “Congress in its committeerooms is Congress at work.”
2. Standing committees are permanent committees that consider bills and conduct
hearings and investigations. In the 108th Congress, there were 16 standing
committees in the Senate and 19 in the House.
3. At times, Congress may create select committees to conduct special
investigations. There also are joint committees with members from both
houses.
4. Members of House and Senate are assigned to committees by the party
machinery. Each party is allotted seats on committees in proportion to its
strength in each house.
a. Members are ranked by seniority once they are on a committee.
b. Committee assignments are based on several factors, including:
i. Voting in the past with party leadership.
ii. Geographic balance, and the number of vacancies available.
iii. The interests in the legislator’s district to help reelection.
5. Certain House and Senate committees are more important than others, so
members compete for places on them.
a. House: Appropriations, Rules, and Ways and Means.
b. Senate: Appropriations, Finance, Foreign Relations, and Armed
Services.
C. Committee chairs.
1. The party that controls the House and Senate selects the chairs and that party’s
members of the standing committees. Most chairs achieve their position by the
seniority system.
2. Although seniority is still an important consideration, it is no longer the sole
criterion.
3. Senate Republicans select their chairs by party conference, whereas the
Democrats vote as a group.
4. Despite the reforms, seniority is rarely set aside. However, Newt Gingrich
passed over three senior Republicans when he approved chairs in the 104th
Congress.
5. The biggest argument against seniority is that it bestows power not necessarily
on the most qualified.
6. Committee chairs are powerful because they:
a. Schedule meetings and decide what bills will be taken up, and when.
b. Usually control the hiring and firing of committee staff members.
7. In recent years, procedures have been adopted to give rank and file members
more say in operations and to provide regularly scheduled meetings.
D. The Subcommittees
1. The 35 chairs of the standing committees much power. Yet, changes do
occur.
2. Congress has become somewhat decentralized and the number of
subcommittees grew in the 1970s.
3. When Republicans took control in 1994, they reduced the number of
subcommittees.
4. In 1951, there were 69 House subcommittees, in 1992, 135. By 2000, the
number dropped to 87 in the House.
E. The committees at work.
1. Committees perform the functions of division of labor and specialization.
a. There were 7,439 bills introduced in the 107th Congress, but no
member could know all the details.
b. Members rely on the expertise of colleagues on the appropriate
committee and assume that if the committee approves a bill, it is
worthwhile.
c. Committees provide a place for members of both parties to become
more knowledgeable in their areas and resolve their differences.
2. Richard Fenno has identified factors that may affect a committee’s degree of
independence and influence in Congress. They include:
a. Member goals reflect the benefits desired by each committee member.
b. Environmental constraints are the outside influences from other
members, client groups, the executive branch, or parties.
c. Strategic premises are the basic rules of the game for a committee.
d. Decision-making processes are the internal rules for each committee.
F. Congressional investigations have been used to publicize risks to consumers.
1. Committees educate the public through hearings and investigations.
2. The Watergate investigation revealed the inner workings of the executive
branch and lead to Nixon’s resignation.
3. The 1987 Iran-contra hearings were viewed by millions and revealed the secret
foreign policies of the Reagan Administration.
4. In 2000, a House committee investigated defective Firestone tires on Ford
Explorers.
5. Congressional investigated the war in Vietnam, hunger, the violation of
individual rights by government intelligence agencies, and intelligence failures
prior to the 2003 war in Iraq.
6. The Joseph McCarthy hearings demonstrated that Senate investigating
committees can trample all over individual rights.
a. Since that case, the Supreme Court has ruled that questions asked by
the committee be relevant to its legislative purpose.
b. Witnesses have a right to invoke the Fifth Amendment against
incriminating themselves.
F. Congressional staffs.
1. In recent years, the staffing systems have become bureaucratized and the
number of staffers in Congress has mushroomed.
2. Senators and representatives have large committee and subcommittee staffs to
serve them. They draft and analyze bills, coordinate with executive branch
officials, and prepare for hearings.
3. The congressional staff has been criticized for being too influential, but much
of the work of Congress could not be done without them.
4. In 1957, congressional staffs totaled 4,489. In 2000, they number about 24,000.
5. In 2001, each House member was allowed to spend $662,708 for up 18 fulltime workers.
6. Staffers of the key House and Senate committees are viewed as on par with
White House staffers.
7. In addition, Congress has several legislative support agencies:
a. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) provides computerized
data for quick answers, and long-range studies to help legislators.
b. The General Accounting Office (GAO) serves as a watchdog for the
bureaucracy and conducts investigations at congressional call.
c. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) provides independent
analysis of the president’s budget and its economic assumptions.
G. Congressional reforms.
1. Congress has reformed and modernized its procedures.
2. Congress is assailed for rules and regulations that block rather than facilitate
the passage of legislation. When it failed to act on the federal budget, the
government was shut down.
3. Richard F. Fenno, Jr., argued that the House of Representatives “must process
a workload that is enormous.” Committee chairs are necessary for Congress to
function at all.
4. The House operated under a set of rules that maintains the system and keeps it
functioning.
5. Some analysts argue that congressional procedures may protect the country
from hasty or misguided action.
6. In foreign affairs, Congress yields power through the War Powers Resolution
in 1973. Although it was an attempt to reassert Congressional authority, the
president’s military power was not effectively restricted.
a. Congressional investigations in the 1970s failed to perform their task
of overseeing the intelligence agencies.
7. Congress is criticized for failing to monitor executive agencies, yet can be
innovative on matters of importance.
8. In 1974, Congress passed the Budget and Impoundment Control Act in
order to take a greater role in spending money.
IX. Congress and the Budget
A. In preparing the annual budget, Congress first passes authorizations for spending
programs, and then the appropriations to pay for them.
1. Before the passage of the Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, it
was difficult for members to keep track of the total appropriations in spending
bills.
2. The law required Congress to adopt budget resolutions each year, setting target
figures for total spending.
3. It also created separate House and Senate budget committees and the CBO.
4. It created a timetable for Congressional committees to act on spending bills so
they would have time to evaluate the president’s program and choose among
competing programs.
5. Revised legislation revised the budget calendar so the new fiscal year begins
October 1 and ends September 30.
6. Again in 1990, Congress revisited the budget process after a budget summit
involving White House and congressional leaders.
a. It placed mandatory spending programs like Medicare on a pay-asyou-go basis.
b. Presidential budget requests were due to Congress in February and the
Budget resolutions were due by April 15.
7. Though many complain that the process is complex, it made Congress look
more fiscally responsible.
X. A Bill Is Passed
A. Any member may introduce a bill.
B. Bills are referred to committee.
1. Committee chairs refer bills to subcommittees where hearings (mostly public)
are held.
2. After the subcommittee recommendation, the full committee meets to accept
subcommittee reports.
a. The full committee may do nothing with the bill.
b. It may rewrite it completely (substitute).
c. It may report the bill out to a House calendar or the Senate calendar,
with our without amendments.
C. When a bill is passed by one house, it is sent to the other for consideration.
1. If different versions of the same legislation are created and passed, the two
versions must be reconciled into one for passage.
2. One house may ask for a conference. A joint House/Senate conference
committee attempts to reconcile the two versions.
a. Each house may accept or reject the conference report.
b. If both houses approve, the final version is signed by the speaker and
the president of the Senate and is sent to the president for his
signature.
D. Legislative vetoes.
1. Legislative vetoes are provisions of a law in which Congress asserts the power
to override or strike down an action by an executive branch agent.
2. Presidents have always opposed such provisions as being unconstitutional.
3. In 1993 the Supreme Court agreed with the presidents in Immigration and
Naturalization Service v. Chadha.
4. The War Powers Resolution was rooted in a legislative veto.
5. Congress can continue to influence the executive branch even after a law is
passed.
a. It controls spending authority and exercises oversight.
b. It can enact new legislation to strengthen or modify earlier laws.
c. It can conduct congressional investigations.
E. Congressional ethics.
1. Congress has been tarnished by scandal and by questionable ethics and
activities.
2. In the wake of all the scandals, Congress made efforts to strengthen its codes.
a. In 1991, the public was outraged when House members wrote 8,331
bad checks, some totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars, that
didn’t bounce.
b. In 2002, the House voted to expel James A. Traficant, Jr., because of
his convictions on bribery, racketeering, and tax evasion.
c. In 2002, incumbent Gary A. Condit lost in his primary because of his
reported affair with a young intern found murdered in a Washington
park.
d. Also in 2002, Senator Robert Torrcelli withdrew from his reelection
campaign for accepting gifts.
e. In 2003, Bill Janklow was convicted of manslaughter after he sped
through a stop sign and killed a motorcyclist.
3. Despite these cases, the majority of Congress are honest and hardworking. In
1968 and 1977, both houses adopted ethics codes.
4. In 1991, members can no longer accept fees for speeches or articles.
5. In 1995, Congress set limits on the value of gifts.
XI. Congress and the American Political System
A. Congress is a battleground for democracy and is caught in the crosscurrents of a
rapidly changing society.
1. Two crosscurrents have surfaced—the revitalization of parties and the rise of
partisanship.
2. These trends reflect the increased policy differences between the two major
parties.
3. Another trend: the frequency of divided government. Twenty-six of the last
thirty-two years saw the divided control of the Congress and the presidency.
4. In 1995, Bill Clinton shared control of Congress with the Republicans. In
2002, a unified Republican party controlled the Congress and the presidency.
5. Another trend: the close balance in voting strength between the two major
parties.
6. At times, Congress does innovate and initiate. It sometimes seems to be still
operating in the 19th century.
7. Congress is neither ideal nor obsolete, but an enduring arena for political
conflict and democratic change.