Chapter 6. The Congress

Study

The Constitution grants Congress substantial powers, such as the ability to impose taxes, regulate interstate commerce, raise armies and all other powers "necessary and proper" for executing its enumerated responsibilities. With 435 members in the House and 100 more in the Senate, however, Congress faces difficult collective action problems. These problems are caused by the incentives members have to be individually responsive at the expense of collective responsibility.

The power and policy goals of individual members are predicated on their ability to win reelection at regular intervals. In the nineteenth century, members' electoral fates were tied to the collective reputation of their party. Since World War II, a more candidate-centered pattern of electoral politics has emerged, where candidates operate as independent political entrepreneurs. Congressional incumbents have taken advantage of this loosening of party ties, voting themselves staff and other resources for building substantial personal followings.

Inside the House and Senate, members face pressing information needs, coordination problems, transaction costs, and time concerns. Over time, party organizations and committee systems have evolved to help members deal with these challenges. The committee system improves decision-making through the division of labor and specialization. Members give up the ability to affect policy in all jurisdictions while retaining influence in areas under the control of their respective committees. Parties serve as ready-made coalitions in an institution that makes most decisions via majority rule. In delegating authority to party leaders, members cede some measure of individual autonomy and face the possibility of agency loss.

Differences in the lawmaking procedures used in the House and Senate reflect the different size of the two chambers and respective terms of its members. In the House, the majority party is firmly in control, stacking committees with majority party members, and using rules to pursue legislation favored by its members. In the Senate, individual members are better able to hold up the process, which leads to lower conformity costs, but higher transaction costs. The intricacy of the lawmaking process gives opponents multiple opportunities to kill a bill, creating a strong bias in favor of the status quo.

Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should understand...

• why the Republicans believed that gaining control of both houses of Congress in 1994 would allow them to influence national policy more than in prior years when they controlled the presidency but not Congress
• the formal powers of Congress established by the Constitution
• how the rules for selecting representatives have had profound effects on the way our government works, and how changes in these rules can favor one group over another
• how local and national considerations affect the chances that a member will be reelected
• the difference between candidate-centered and party-centered elections and why each of the two strategies has been selected over time
• the value of incumbency and its limits
• why members often pursue policies that sacrifice the common interest to their districts' interest and how this incentive can be counteracted
• how the rules and organizational structures of Congress affect the distribution of power and policymaking in these bodies
• the characteristics of the people who serve in Congress and how members differ from the general population
• how Congress structures itself to gain information and reduce transaction costs and the potential disadvantages of relying on this structure
• how Congress organizes itself to deal with the competition between the individual and collective needs of members
• what members gain and lose by attaching themselves to parties and how these benefits increase when their party is in the majority
• why members sometimes delegate more power to their leaders than in other times
• the necessary hurdles legislation must jump to become law and how these obstacles make laws easier to block than to enact
• why members are usually more popular in their districts than in Congress as a whole

Review Questions

1. How do the differences between the House and the Senate reflect the competing interests of small and large states?
   



2. How does the electoral system established by the Constitution differ from that of other parliamentary democracies?
   



3. What constraints are placed on states when they draw districts for congressional elections? How can parties give their members an advantage through districting?
   



4. How has the role of political parties in congressional elections changed over time? How did congressional incumbents help change this role? How did the 1994 election change the prevailing pattern of electoral competition?
   



5. Why do members of Congress worry about reelection when incumbents are so consistently successful at winning another term? Why do incumbents work so hard to appear invulnerable?
   



6. What impact do national forces have on a member's chances for reelection?
   



7. What is the difference between a member being responsive and a member being responsible? How does the method of election help foster one behavior over the other?
   



8. Why is it so difficult for Congress to put the interest of the public above special interests? What strategies can members use to overcome these difficulties?
   



9. Why did the Tax Reform Act of 1986 pass when other similar attempts had failed in the past?
   



10. Why weren't members of Congress allowed the chance to vote on censuring President Bill Clinton?
    



11. What are the different types of committees used in Congress and why might they matter?
    



12. Why does the House have stricter rules and greater leadership control than does the Senate? How do these differences affect the day-to-day operation of the chambers?
    



13. If members are elected by majorities from their districts, why do interest groups sometimes prevail, even in conflicts with majority opinion?