Welcome to Washington A collection of presentations to help you navigate the Hill like an insider January 2017 Producer: Presentation Center team Director: Alistair Taylor ADMINISTRATION TOOLBOX Welcome to Washington Roadmap: Legislative processes primers Congressional indicators and insights Executive branch overviews Rules, regulations and confirmation processes Lobbying tools and statistics Congressional composition Congressional committee chairs and ranking members Prior experience/background of Members of Congress Details on Congressional staff and meeting tips January 2017 | Presentation Center 2 Welcome to Washington Legislative processes primers Page 4 – Legislative process primer: Slide illustrating the "regular order" of lawmaking; a helpful background slide for those unfamiliar with the legislative process Page 5 – Filibuster primer: Charts showing spikes in motions for cloture, small-state biases in the Senate, and longest speaking filibusters in history Page 9 – Caucus primer: Use this presentation to understand what a congressional caucus does and see details on some of the major congressional caucuses Page 16 – Federal budget process 101: Graphs, charts, and analysis explaining how the federal budget process works, in theory and in recent practice Page 22 – Federal rulemaking process 101: Graphics and charts illustrating the federal rulemaking process Page 28 – 2017 legislative and regulatory calendar: Important legislative, regulatory and other dates in 2017P January 2017 | Presentation Center 3 LEGISLATIVE PROCESS PRIMER How a bill becomes a law Representative Senator • Introduces bill in the House • Introduces bill in the Senate House committee/subcommittee Senate • Bill is debated and amended committee/subcommittee • Simple majority needed to • Bill is debated and amended proceed • Simple majority needed to proceed House floor Senate floor • Bill is debated and amended • Bill is debated and amended • Speaker must allow a floor • 3/5 majority needed to end vote debate • Simple majority needed to pass • Simple majority needed to pass Final votes/conference committee • If both chambers pass an identical bill, the bill is sent directly to the president • If each chamber passes a similar bill with some differences, a conference committee is formed to reach compromise and combine the bills President • The president can sign bills that have been passed by both chambers into law • The president can reject a bill with a veto; Congress can override a veto by passing the bill in each chamber with a 2/3 majority Source: National Journal Research, 2016. December 30, 2016 | Yanni Chen 4 FILIBUSTER PRIMER Filibusters block Senate action with lengthy debate Longest U.S. Congressional filibusters in history By hour Sen. Murphy filibustered for almost 15 hours to draw attention to Senate Democrats’ desire for action on gun safety Sources: Cassandra Vinograd, “The Longest Filibusters: Where Does Chris Murphy Stack Up?,” NBC News, June 16, 2016; Phil Helsel and Richie Duchon, “Filibuster Ends After GOP Agrees to Allow Gun Control Votes: Senator,” NBC News, June 16, 2016; National Journal Almanac, 2016. December 30, 2016 | Yanni Chen 5 FILIBUSTER PRIMER Senate invokes cloture to halt filibusters Steps to invoke cloture No: Cloture fails Piece of legislation Senator files a Voted for by at least Or U.S. Supreme motion for cloture 60 Senators? Court Nominee? Yes: Motion for Yes: Cloture invoked Signed by Cloture is taken and filibuster 16 Senators? to vote Is blocked No: Motion for cloture Judicial or Voted for by at least Fails and is not Executive Branch 51 Senators? taken to vote Nominee? No: Cloture fails Source: U.S. Senate Reference, 2013; Richard S. Beth and Valerie Heitshusen, “Filibusters and Cloture in the Senate,” Congressional Research Service, November 29, 2012. December 30, 2016 | Yanni Chen 6 FILIBUSTER PRIMER Filibusters criticized for exploiting Senate’s small-state bias Citizen Voting-Age Population, by State in 2016 California Texas Florida New York 6 votes for Pennsylvania Illinois roughly ¼ of Ohio Michigan the U.S. voting- North Carolina Georgia age population New Jersey Virginia Washington Massachusetts Tennessee Indiana Arizona Missouri Wisconsin Maryland Minnesota Colorado South Carolina Alabama Louisiana Kentucky Oregon Oklahoma Connecticut Iowa Mississippi Arkansas Kansas Utah Nevada New Mexico West Virginia Nebraska Idaho Maine New Hampshire Hawaii Montana Rhode Island Delaware South Dakota North Dakota Alaska District of Columbia Vermont Wyoming Sources: United States Census, ―Electorate profiles: selected characteristics of the citizen, 18 and older population,‖ October 28, 2016; The New York Times, ―The Small-State Advantage in the United States Senate,‖ March 10, 2013. January 3, 2017 | Yanni Chen 7 FILIBUSTER PRIMER Spike in motions for cloture bring about talks of reform Senate action on cloture motions, 65th-114th Congress 1917 – present ■ Motions Filed ■ Votes on Cloture ■ Cloture Invoked 300 250 200 150 In the 94th Congress, the Senate reduced the 100 number of votes required to invoke cloture from two- thirds to three-fifths (60 of 50 100) 0 65 67 69 71 73 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99 101 103 105 107 109 111 113 Source: United States Senate, ―Senate Action on Cloture Motions,‖ Reference, 2017. January 3, 2017 | Yanni Chen 8 CAUCUS PRIMER Lawmakers use caucuses to advance common interests Lawmakers from either chamber* who share legislative agendas form Broadcast interest a “congressional member and education public organization” to promote common interests Example: The Congressional Wine Caucus promoted research analyzing wine’s contribution to the economy Build support for legislation Common interests Example: The Pro-Choice Include race, Caucus wrote a letter to the ideology, and diverse Secretary of Health and shared concerns Human Services firmly (hunting, the backing the ACA’s environment, etc.) contraception coverage Organize affiliates Example: The Congressional Hispanic Caucus created the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute and the “Building Our Leadership Diversity” PAC *Caucuses discussed in this presentation refer specifically to the congressional member organizations officially recognized by the U.S. House of Representatives, which are bicameral, but must contain one member of the House. This excludes the one Senate caucus. Source: U.S. House Committee on House Administration, 2016; Images by Steve Morris and the AIGA, made available through The Noun Project. January 6, 2017 | Justin C. Brown 9 CAUCUS PRIMER Major caucuses formed around Democratic ideology Blue Dog Coalition Co-Chairs • Founded in 1995 Rep. Kurt Schrader • Currently consists of 14 members (D-OR) • Composed of fiscally conservative Democrats dedicated to the financial stability and national security of the United States Rep. Jim Costa • Membership has been steadily declining since its height at 44 members in (D-CA) 2008. Rep. Jim Cooper • Historically supports budgetary legislation such as “pay-as-you-go” budgetary (D-TN) rules, the establishment of a bipartisan fiscal commission, and performance- based budgeting Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chairs • Founded in 1991 Rep. Raul Grijalva • Currently consists of 75 House representatives and 1 senator (D-OR) • Dedicated to promoting the “progressive promise,” which “believes in government of the people, by the people, and for the people” Rep. Keith Ellison • Has advocated for worker’s rights, Social Security expansion and the EPA’s (D-MN) Clean Power Plan • Current mission focuses on fighting for economic security, protecting civil rights, promoting global peace and advancing environmental protection Source: Blue Dog Coalition, 2017; Congressional Progressive Caucus, 2017. January 6, 2017 | Justin C. Brown 10 CAUCUS PRIMER Major caucuses formed around conservative ideology House Freedom Caucus • Founded in January 2015 • Supports open, accountable, limited government, the Constitution and “policies that promote the liberty, safety, and prosperity of all Americans” • Has supported legislation focused on defunding Planned Parenthood, abolishing the Export-Import Bank and supporting religious freedom • The caucus does not publish an official roster. During the 114th Congress (2015-16) 38 members openly discussed their membership. Chair Sen. Mark Meadows (R-NC) Republican Study Committee • Founded in 1973 • Currently consists of over 170 members • Dedicated to a limited and Constitutional role for the federal government, a strong national defense, the protection of individual and property rights, and the preservation of traditional family values • Considers itself the “independent research arm for House Republicans” Chair Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC) Source: Ryan Lizza, ―A House Divided,‖ The New Yorker, December 14, 2015; Lindsay McPherson, ―Mark Meadows elected House Freedom Caucus chairman,‖ Roll Call, December 5, 2016; Timothy B. Lee ―The House Freedom Caucus, Explained,‖ Vox, October 9, 2015. Republican Study Committee, 2016. January 6, 2017 | Justin C. Brown 11 CAUCUS PRIMER Major caucuses formed around race and ethnicity Congressional Black Caucus • Founded in 1971 • Aims to advance the global black community by developing leaders, informing policy and educating the public • Led the effort to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a federal holiday • Supported Hurricane Katrina relief • Affiliate Congressional Black Caucus Foundation acts a nonprofit research arm, offers fellowships and scholarships Chair Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) Congressional Hispanic