Transcript Congress and Public Policy

Wednesday January 8, 2014
• OBJ: SWBAT demonstrate their
understanding of Congress’s role in public
policy through examination of the 14th
Amendment.
• Drill: What is public policy? How does
Congress decide what types of issues to
address?
• Homework: Use the links to complete the
Congress Leadership chart, you may work
with one other person (both names must
appear on both charts)
Public Policy
• Public policy is a purposive and consistent
course of action produced as a response
to a perceived problem of a constituency,
formulated by a specific political process,
and adopted, implemented, and enforced
by a public agency.
Influences on Law-making
There are two major forces impacting
Congressional law-making
• External influences
– Constituency
– Interest groups
• Internal/governmental influences
– Party leadership
– Congressional colleagues
– President/executive branch
Influences on Law-making
Influence from the Constituency
• Members of Congress comply with views of
constituents due to re-election need
• They voluntarily anticipate or find out
constituents’ positions
– 1998, 31 House democrats crossed the party line and
voted in favor of an impeachment inquiry (e.g.,
Congressman Gary Condit)
Influences from Interest
Groups
• Mobilize followers in a member’s congressional
districts
– “Astroturf lobbying”
• Provide information
Influences from Party Org
• Party leaders in Congress have influence over members
• Party organizations have resources:
– Leadership PACs
• PACs (1) raise funds and then (2) distribute to members for
running for election
• PACs enhance party power
• PACs create bond between leaders & members who receive
money
– Committee Assignments
– Access to Floor
– The whip system
communication network, with info on member intentions in
voting
– Logrolling
Influences from the President
• Since 1940s, President submitted yearly
legislative proposals to Congress
• Since mid-1950s, Congress has looked to the
President for legislative proposals
Senate vs. the House
• Size
– 435 members in the House (since 1911)
• 106 members in 1791 representing 3.5 million residents
– 100 Senators in the Senate
• Qualifications
– House
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25 years of age
Citizenship for at least 7 years
Residency in district: 1 year
Term of service: 2 years
1 member per 550,000 people
– How often is Congressional election?
– How many Members face election each
time?
Senate vs. House
• Congress & Constituency
– House of Representatives
• Closer to the voters
• More reflective of voter preferences
• More answerable to constituents
– Senate
• More remote to the voters
– Allows for political stability & policy continuity
• Less responsive to temporal changes in
popular sentiments
– Can act as a dispassionate counter-weight to the
more popular & radical House
Senate vs. House
• Congress & Constituency
– House of Representatives
• Closer to the voters
• More reflective of voter preferences
• More answerable to constituents
– Senate
• More remote to the voters
– Allows for political stability & policy continuity
• Less responsive to temporal changes in
popular sentiments
– Can act as a dispassionate counter-weight to the
more popular & radical House
Senate vs. House
• Qualifications
– Senate
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30 years of age
9 years of citizenship
Residency requirement in state: 1 year
Term: 6 years
2 seats per state in Senate
– How often is Senatorial election?
– How many Senators face election each
time?
What do sausage and legislation have
in common?
• Laws are like sausages," goes the famous
quote often attributed to the Prussian
Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, "it is better
not to see them being made."
Politics and Public Policy
I. Setting the Agenda
– A: Is this a traditional role for a government to be
involved in?
– B: Does the issue legitimately belong on the
issue because it:
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Deals with shared political values
Represents customs and traditions
Results from unforeseen events
Was impacted by elite or public opinion
Politics and Public Policy: A Checklist
Public Policy is: A purposive course of governmental action to deal with a matter of public concern
I. Setting The agenda
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N
Is this a traditional role for government to be involved in?
Is this a new role for government to be involved in?
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The issue legitimately belongs on the agenda because:
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Deals with shared political values
Represents changes in customs and traditions
The result of an unforeseen event
Impacted by elite or public opinion
II. Developing the policy: Who has played a role in impacting the policy development?
The media
Civil liberties
Constitutional issues
Interest groups
Foreign policy
Judicial interpretation
An election
Public opinion or elite
Bureaucratic rules/process
Congressional issues
Political socialization
Executive action
Political efficacy
Other
III. Making the Decision: Costs versus benefits
Majoritarian (Everyone pays, everyone benefits)
Client Politics (everyone pays, few benefit)
Interest group politics (Few pay, few benefit)
Entrepreneurial Politics (Few pay, everyone benefits)
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th
14
Amendment
All persons born or
naturalized in the United
States and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, are
citizens of the United
States …”
Senator Jacob M. Howard of
Michigan—the author of the
Citizenship Clause—described the
clause as excluding American Indians
who maintain their tribal ties, and
"persons born in the United States
who are foreigners, aliens, who
belong to the families of ambassadors
or foreign ministers."
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized
in the United States, and subject to the
jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the
United States and of the State wherein
they reside. No State shall make or
enforce any law which shall abridge the
privileges or immunities of citizens of the
United States; nor shall any State deprive
any person of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law; nor deny to
any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.
Anchor Babies and the 14th Amendment
• In pairs read the articles about the 14th
Amendment and Anchor Babies.
• Take notes on the articles, what is
important information.
• Make a decision, do you believe Congress
should intervene to stop this practice or
not, why?
Congress has the power to:
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Impose and collect taxes
Borrow money
Regulate commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes
Establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization (Process of becoming a citizen), and uniform Laws on the
subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States
Coin money, regulate its value, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures
Punish counterfeiting
Establish Post Offices and roads
Issue patents and copyrights
Create courts below the United States Supreme Court
Define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations
Declare war (Simple majority vote of both Houses)
Raise and support the armed forces of the United States
Provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel
Invasions
Provide for a militia (reserving the states the rights to appoint militia officers and to train the militia under
congressional rules).
Exercise legislative powers over the seat of government (Washington, DC) and over places purchased to
be federal facilities (Forts, arsenals, docks, and other federal buildings).
Alter the number of Justices on the Supreme Court
Impeach officials (House impeaches, Senate holds the Trial)
Offer advice and consent on presidential appointments (Senate)
Propose Constitutional amendments (with2/3rd’s majority of both houses)
Overturn presidential vetoes (with2/3rd’s majority of both houses)
Ratify treaties negotiated by the President (Senate)
Restrict funding to presidential programs (Simple majority vote of both Houses)
Create laws to address and issue (Simple majority of both Houses)
Make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all
other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or
Officer thereof.
Powers of Congress
• Look over the list of the powers of
Congress.
• Than look at the scenarios on the back of
your sheet, place the number of the power
that would be used to rectify the situation
next to the scenario.
The number of attacks on
American ships off the coast of
Somalia has increased
dramatically. Pirates from
Somalia have been boarding
ships and holding the crew and
the cargo hostage until a ransom
is paid. What powers(s) give
Congress the ability to do
anything?
The United States government
has accrued a debt of well
over $60 trillion. There is a
fear that the debt will
eventually force the United
States to go bankrupt. What
powers(s) give Congress the
right to do anything?
Inflation has eaten away at the value of the
penny to such a degree that it no longer
facilitates commerce. Minting the penny is
a waste of money. The US mint produces
about 7 billion pennies every year (roughly
half of all coins made each year), at a cost
of over $100 million dollars. About onethird of this money is used to pay for the
zinc that pennies are made out of, which is
why the zinc industry is lobbying to keep
the penny in production. What powers(s)
give Congress the ability to do anything?
Recently it has been discovered that
immigrants seeking to become naturalized
citizens move to certain areas of the
United States prior to taking their
citizenship exam. A government audit
discovered that immigrants do this
because the citizenship exam that is
administered is easier in some areas than
in others. What powers(s) give Congress
the ability to do anything?
The United States is the only
industrialized nation in the world
that does not use the metric
system to determine weights and
measurements. Mr. Lesh wants to
run five kilometers rather than 3.1
miles because it sounds longer.
What powers(s) give Congress
the ability to do anything?
Recently the United States Supreme
Court ruled that unions and
corporations do not need to form
PAC’s to donate to political
campaigns. Some see this as
opening the door to foreign nations
being able to influence American
elections. Since the law was
overturned by the courts, what power
does Congress have to ameliorate
the situation?
Citizens in California have been
calling on Congress to fund
high speed rail lines from
Southern California to Las
Vegas. What powers(s) give
Congress the ability to do
anything?
During 2004 and 2005, some
people were opposed to the
American war in Iraq. What
powers(s) give Congress
the ability to do anything?
In 1964, Douglas Engelbart
invented the idea for a tool that
would allow people to move an
image around on a computer
screen; and thus the computer
mouse was born. What power
does Congress have to protect
Engelbart’s invention?
The Republican Party desires to
limit the influence of American
Labor Unions on government
policy. The Obama Administration
has nominated a former lawyer to
be head of the National Labor
Relations Board. What powers(s)
give Congress the ability to do
anything?
The French government placed a
stiff tariff on American beef
products. In return the United
States Congress placed a 300%
tariff on singled roquefort cheese.
What powers(s) give Congress
the ability to do anything?
Chinese banks (almost all of which
are owned by the Chinese
government) have loaned the
Unites states $772 billion so that
US can meet its budgetary needs
each year.
In 2009, the United States Post
Office posted a $3.8 billion loss.
Congress has called hearings to
investigate the problems with the
post office and some
Congresspersons are calling for
the closing of Post Office
Branches, having deliveries
limited to Tuesday, Thursday and
Saturdays
Wrap Up
• What responsibility does Congress have to
shape our public policy? Where does that
stop, where do they cross the line?