<p> Congressional Webquest</p><p>Review the information contained in this webquest packet. Complete the tasks using the websites: house.gov and senate.gov. There are also opinion questions to answer. We will discuss your findings in class tomorrow. ______</p><p>All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. Constitution, Article I, section 1.</p><p>American Bicameralism: legislature divided into two houses</p><p>The House – 435 members, 2 year terms of office – Initiates all revenue bills, more influential on budget – House Rules Committee – Limited debates</p><p>The Senate – 100 members, 6 year terms of office – Gives “advice & consent,” more influential on foreign affairs – Unlimited debates (filibuster)</p><p>Congressional Leadership</p><p>The House – Led by Speaker of the House—elected by House members – Presides over House – Major role in committee assignments and legislation – Assisted by majority leader and whips</p><p>The Senate – Formerly lead by Vice President – Really lead by Majority Leader—chosen by party members – Assisted by whips – Must work with Minority leader Go to house.gov to identify the following:</p><p>Speaker of the House ______</p><p>Majority leader ______</p><p>Minority leader ______</p><p>Go to senate.gov to identify the following:</p><p>Majority leader ______</p><p>Minority leader ______</p><p>Review the following graph, The Incumbency Factor in Congressional Elections </p><p>What does the graph indicate about incumbents in Congress? </p><p>What factors could account for this? The Committees and Subcommittees Four types of committees: 1. Standing committees: subject matter committees that handle bills in different policy areas 2. Joint committees: a few subject-matter areas—membership drawn from House and Senate 3. Conference committees: resolve differences in House and Senate bills 4. Select committees: created for a specific purpose, such as the Watergate investigation</p><p>Getting Ahead on the Committee: Chairs and the Seniority System Committee chair: the most important influencer of congressional agenda - Dominant role in scheduling hearings, hiring staff, appointing subcommittees, and managing committee bills when they are brought before the full house - Most chairs selected according to seniority system: members who have served on the committee the longest and whose party controlled Congress become chair</p><p>See the following table, Standing Committees in the Senate and in the House. </p><p>Select one Committee in the Senate and one in the House. Use house.gov and senate.gov to identify: (1) the chairman of the committee; (2) important issues that the committee is presently working on. Caucuses: The Informal Organization of Congress – Caucus: a group of members of Congress sharing some interest or characteristic – About 300 caucuses – Caucuses pressure for committee meetings and hearings and for votes on bills. – Caucuses can be more effective than lobbyists</p><p>Use house.gov and senate.gov to identify some of the caucuses. If you were a member of Congress, which caucuses would you like to be a member of?</p><p>Congressional Staff - Personal staff: They work for the member, mainly providing constituent service, but help with legislation too. - Committee staff: organize hearings, research and write legislation, target of lobbyists - Staff Agencies: GAO, CBO provide specific information to Congress</p><p>Go to house.gov and click on Educators & Students. Click on Branches of Government. Under Legislative, find out what GAO and CBO stand for, and what information they provide to Congress? Go to house.gov and click on Educators & Students. Go to Legislative Process to confirm the accuracy of the information in Figure 12.2. Is there any additional information provided? </p><p>Party, Constituency, and Ideology</p><p>Party Influence: - Party leaders cannot force party members to vote a particular way, but many do vote along party lines</p><p>Constituency versus Ideology - Prime determinant of member’s vote on most issues is ideology - On most issues that are not salient, legislators may ignore constituency opinion. - But on controversial issues, members are wise to heed constituent opinion.</p><p>Lobbyists and Interest Groups There are thousands of registered lobbyists trying to influence Congress—the bigger the issue, the more lobbyists will be working on it. - Lobbyists try to influence legislators’ votes. - Lobbyists can be ignored, shunned and even regulated by Congress. - Ultimately, it is a combination of lobbyists and others that influence legislators’ votes.</p><p>* In 1974, 3% of retiring members of Congress became lobbyists. Today, 50% of senators and 42% of house members do.</p><p>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</p><p>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</p><p>Your members of Congress</p><p>Use only house.gov and senate.gov to answer the following questions: </p><p>Who is your representative in the House?</p><p>Go to your representative’s home page to identify:</p><p>- Committees that he/she is a member of:</p><p>- Choose three issues (e.g., healthcare, terrorism, education) and find your representative’s positions on these issues: </p><p>Who are your two Senators?</p><p>Go to your senators’ home pages to identify:</p><p>- Committees that they are members of:</p><p>- Choose three issues (e.g., healthcare, terrorism, education) and find your senators’ positions on these issues: </p><p>Go to the following website and play the redistricting game. http://redistrictinggame.org/index.php?pg=game</p><p>What was the challenge that you faced?</p><p>Explain how redistricting can be political. </p>