Lesson 1: National Legislature Overview

1  National Legislature Overview

The freshman class of the 113th Congress included 65 men, 19 women, the first openly gay
senator, the first Buddhist, and the first Asian American woman.

Objectives
 Explain why the Constitution provides for the bicameral structure of Congress.
 Explain the difference between a term and a session of Congress.
 Describe a situation in which the President may convene or end a session of Congress.
 Identify the personal and political backgrounds of members of Congress.
 Describe the duties performed by those who serve in Congress.
 Describe the compensation and privileges of members of Congress.
Key Terms
 delegates
 trustees
 partisans
 politicos
 bills
 floor consideration
 oversight function
 Nancy Pelosi
 term
 session
 convene
 adjourn
 recess
 prorogue
 special session
 Harry Truman
 franking privilege

The Role of Congress in a Democracy

The Framers of the Constitution were well versed in the history of government. They knew that
throughout world history, heads of state—usually kings—often abused their power. Indeed, the
"list of grievances" in the Declaration of Independence was aimed squarely at King George III.
"The history of the present King of Britain," wrote Thomas Jefferson, "is a history of repeated
injuries and usurpations. . . ."

Because of this distrust of a powerful executive, coupled with an emerging view that just
governments derive their powers from the will of the people, the colonists put great stock in
representative assemblies. As alarms about oppression by the British government grew,
sentiments like "no taxation without representation" reflected this belief. The nation's first such
assembly was the Second Continental Congress, which governed the nation from the Declaration
of Independence until the Confederation Congress convened in 1781, and was composed of
delegates from every colony.
National Government
The individual colonies (and later, States) put their faith in this representative body to guide them
through both war with Great Britain and the United States' early days as a sovereign nation. Even
so, the Framers worried about vesting too much power in a body chosen directly by the people.
The average citizen can be overly passionate and driven by self‐interest, they argued. So, they
designed a National Government that couched the legislature's powers within both a broader
system of checks and balances and a federal system where a good deal would be left to the
States. It would be the job of each representative to "enlarge and refine the public views," as
suggested by James Madison in The Federalist No. 10. That is, to help citizens look beyond their
immediate interest to the national interest.
1. MAKE GENERALIZATIONS The Framers distrusted a powerful executive, putting
great trust in representative assemblies, but they were also concerned about vesting too
much power in a body chosen directly by the people. Does this idea still hold true today?
Congress: The Job
One leading commentary on American politics describes Congress and the job of a member of
Congress this way:

Congress has a split personality. On the one hand, it is a lawmaking institution and makes policy
for the entire nation. In this capacity, all the members are expected to set aside their personal
ambitions and perhaps even the concerns of their constituencies. Yet Congress is also a
representative assembly, made up of 535 elected officials who serve as links between their
constituents and the National Government. The dual roles of making laws and responding to
constituents’ demands forces members to balance national concerns against the specific interests
of their States or districts.
—James M. Burns, et al., Government by the People

House Speaker John Boehner and President Barack Obama shake hands on the floor of the
House. The Framers envisioned Congress as a body “whose wisdom may best discern the true
interest of their country.”

Members of both houses of Congress fulfill five major roles. They are most importantly (1)
legislators and (2) representatives of their constituents. Beyond those roles, they are also (3)
committee members, (4) servants of their constituents, and (5) politicians. Here, we consider
their representative, committee member, and servant functions.
Members of both houses of Congress have many roles to play. Analyze Charts Why are the
legislative and agent of constituent roles the most important?

Representatives of the People

Senators and representatives are elected to represent the people. What does that really mean? The
members of both houses cast hundreds of votes during each session of Congress. Many of those
votes involve quite routine, relatively unimportant matters; for example, a bill to designate a
week in May as National Wildflower Week. But many of those votes, including some on matters
of organization and procedure, do involve questions of far reaching importance.

Therefore, no questions about the lawmaking branch can be more vital than these: How do the
people’s representatives represent the people? On what basis do they cast their votes?

In broadest terms, each lawmaker has four voting options. He or she can vote as a delegate, a
trustee, a partisan, or a politico.

Delegates see themselves as the agents of the people who elected them. They believe that they
should discover what “the folks back home” think about an issue and vote that way. They are
often willing to suppress their own views, ignore those of their party’s leadership, and turn a deaf
ear to the arguments of their colleagues and of special interests from outside their constituencies.
Trustees believe that each question they face must be decided on its merits. Conscience and
judgment are their guides. They reject the notion that they must act as robots or rubber stamps.
Instead, they call issues as they see them, regardless of the views held by a majority of their
constituents or by any of the other groups that seek to influence their decisions.
Partisans believe that they owe their first allegiance to their political party. They feel duty-
bound to cast their votes in line with the party platform and the views of their party’s leaders.
Most studies of legislators’ voting behavior indicate that partisanship is the leading factor
influencing lawmakers’ votes on most important questions.
Politicos attempt to combine the basic elements of the delegate, trustee, and partisan roles. They
try to balance these often conflicting factors: their own view of what is best for their constituents
and/or the nation as a whole, the political facts of life, and the peculiar pressures of the moment.
Current Trends
Which model is the most popular today? Scholars generally agree that a growing number of
legislators adhere to the delegate model. This fact is largely due to the marvels of modern-day
polling, which gives legislators, the media, and voters a much clearer picture of "the will of the
people" than was possible in the past. In addition, the Internet has given constituents the ability
to check the voting records of their legislators with a few quick clicks, making lawmakers much
more accountable to the public than in earlier times. Finally, today's senators and representatives
often enter Congress with the goal of remaining in Washington for years to come. Throughout
the nation's early history, a stint in the House or Senate was viewed as a public service, and
legislators returned to private life after a few terms. Today, however, lawmakers often view
membership in Congress as a long-term career, giving rise to a new era that has been dubbed the
"rise of career legislators." And of course, the surest way to stay in office is to rarely, if ever,
buck public opinion. This fact makes voting as a delegate of the people much more important
than it was in the past.
U.S. Senator John McCain speaks at a campaign rally during the 2010 Senate race. Today, most
senators and representatives view Congress as a career rather than a short public service stint.

Committee Members
In every session of Congress, proposed laws, known as bills, are referred to the various
committees in each chamber. As committee members, senators and representatives must screen
those proposals. They decide, in committee, which measures will go on to floor consideration—
that is, be considered and acted upon by the full membership of the House or Senate.
Although Congress enacts laws and appropriates the money to implement them, the Constitution
assigns the task of executing those laws to the executive branch. Congress must see that
executive agencies carry out those laws faithfully and spend that money properly. It does so
through the exercise of its critically important oversight function, the process by which
Congress, through its committees, checks to see that the executive branch agencies are carrying
out the policies that Congress has set by law.
Servants of the People
Members of both the House and the Senate act as servants of their constituents. Most often, they
do this as they (and their staff aides) try to help people in various dealings with the federal
bureaucracy. Those interactions may involve a Social Security benefit, a passport application, a
small business loan, or any one of a thousand other matters.

Some of “the folks back home” seem to think that members of Congress are sent to Washington
mostly to do favors for them. Most members are swamped with constituent requests from the
moment they take office. The range of these requests is almost without limit—everything from
help in securing a government contract or an appointment to a military academy, to asking for a
free sightseeing tour of Washington or even a personal loan. Consider this job description
offered only half-jokingly by a former representative:

A Congressman has become an expanded messenger boy, an employment agency, getter-outer of

the Navy, Army, Marines, ward heeler, wound healer, trouble shooter, law explainer, bill finder,
issue translator, resolution interpreter, controversy oil pourer, gladhand extender, business
promoter, convention goer, civil ills skirmisher, veterans’ affairs adjuster, ex-serviceman’s
champion, watchdog for the underdog, sympathizer with the upper dog, namer and kisser of
babies, recoverer of lost luggage, soberer of delegates, adjuster for traffic violators, voter
straying into Washington and into toils of the law, binder up of broken hearts, financial wet
nurse, Good Samaritan, contributor to good causes—there are so many good causes—
cornerstone layer, public building and bridge dedicator, ship christener—to be sure he does get in
a little flag waving—and a little constitutional hoisting and spread-eagle work, but it is getting
harder every day to find time to properly study legislation—the very business we are primarily
here to discharge, and that must be done above all things.
—Rep. Luther Patrick (D., Alabama)

Most members of Congress know that to deny or fail to respond to most of these requests would
mean to lose votes in the next election. This is a key fact, for all of the roles a member of
Congress plays—legislator, representative, committee member, constituent servant, and
politician—are related, at least in part, to their efforts to win reelection.
Personal and Political Background
Can you name your two senators? Your representative? Regrettably, most Americans cannot—
let alone tell you much about the backgrounds, qualifications, or voting records of those who
represent them in Congress.

Whatever else they may be, the 535 members of Congress are not a representative cross section
of the American people. Rather, the “average” member is a white male in his late 50s. The
average age of the members of the House is 57 and about 62 for those in the Senate.
The composition of Congress is gradually becoming more diverse. For example, the 114th
Congress included the largest number of women in history. Eighty-eight women served in the
House of Representatives, up from 23 only 25 years before. Nancy Pelosi (D., California), who
became the first woman Speaker of the House in 2007, was elected Minority Leader. Twenty
women sat in the Senate, whereas only 39 women had served in all previous
years combined. The 113th Congress was notable for its inclusion of the first two women combat
veterans to be elected to office.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was the first woman to be elected Minority Whip, and the
first woman elected Speaker of the House of Representatives.

In addition, the Congress included 42 African Americans and 35 Hispanics in the House, as well
as 11 Asian Americans, 2 Native Americans, and one Pacific Islander. Three Hispanics and one
Asian sat in the Senate, including the first ever Asian American woman. One African American
served in the upper house, but only six had ever held seats in that body.

Nearly all members were married, a few were divorced, and they had, on average, two children.
Only a very few members said they had no religious affiliation. Over half were Protestants,
nearly three in ten were Roman Catholics, less than one in ten were Jewish, three were
Buddhists, two were Muslims, one was a Quaker, and one was Hindu.

Well over a third of the members of the House and over half the senators were lawyers. Ninety-
four percent had a college degree and two thirds had advanced degrees. Most senators and
representatives were born in the States they represented.

Only a handful were born outside the United States. Sprinkled among the members of Congress
were several millionaires. A surprisingly large number of the men and women who sat in the
House depended on their congressional salaries as their major source of income, however.

Most members of Congress have had considerable political experience. The average senator is
serving a second term, and the typical representative has served four terms. Approximately one-
half of the senators once sat in the House. Several senators are former governors. A few senators
have held Cabinet seats or other high posts in the executive branch of the Federal Government.
The House includes a large number of former State legislators and prosecuting attorneys among
its members.

Again, Congress is not an accurate cross section of the nation’s population. Rather, it is made up
of upper-middle-class Americans, who are, on the whole, quite able and hardworking people.

1. DISTINGUISH A representative is preparing to vote on a bill that includes some

benefits for her State, but also results in greater deficit spending. She is aware that most
of her constituents support the bill. Under what circumstances do you think she would
choose to vote as a partisan or a trustee, rather than a delegate, on this bill?
Terms and Sessions of Congress
It is said that a woman, incensed at something her senator had done, said to him, “You know, the
535 of you people in Congress meet every two years. Well, Senator, there are some of us who
think that it would be much better if just two of you met every 535 years.”

Whether that story is true or not, that woman’s advice has never been followed. Ever since 1789,
Congress has met for two-year terms.
Terms of Congress
Each term of Congress lasts for two years, and each of those two-year terms is numbered
consecutively (Article I, Section 2, Clause 1). Congress began its first term on March 4, 1789.
That term ended two years later, on March 3, 1791.
The date for the start of each new term was changed by the 20th Amendment in 1933. In an
earlier era, the several months from election to March 4 allowed for delays in communicating
election results, and it gave newly chosen lawmakers time to arrange their affairs and travel to
Washington. The March date gave Congress less time to accomplish its work each year,
however, and by the 1930s travel and communications were no longer an issue. The start of each
new two-year term is now “noon of the 3d day of January” of every odd-numbered year. So the
scheduled term of the 113th Congress runs for two years—from noon on January 3, 2013, to
noon on January 3, 2015.

The Senate is divided into three equal classes so that only a third of the Senate seats may change
hands in an election. Analyze Charts How does the Senate arrangement differ from the House?
Sessions of Congress
A session of Congress is that period of time during which, each year, Congress assembles and
conducts business. There are two sessions to each term of Congress—one session each year. The
Constitution provides that:
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on
the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.
—20th Amendment, Section 2

In fact, Congress often does “appoint a different day.” The second session of each two-year term
frequently convenes a few days or even a few weeks after the third of January.
Congress adjourns, or suspends until its next session, each regular session as it sees fit. Until
World War II, the nation’s lawmakers typically met for four or five months each year. Today, the
many pressing issues facing Congress force it to remain in session through most of each year.
Both houses do recess for several short periods during a session. That is, they temporarily
suspend business.

When Congress is not in session, the House of Representatives is empty and legislators may be
working in their home States. The 2014 schedule called for Congress to be in session 113 days.
Neither house may adjourn sine die (finally, ending a session) without the other’s consent. The
Constitution provides that
Neither House . . . shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor
to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
—Article I, Section 5, Clause 4

Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution does give the President the power to prorogue a session,
but only when the two houses cannot agree on a date for adjournment. No President has ever had
to use that power.
Special Sessions
Only the President may call Congress into special session(Article II, Section 3). Only 27 of these
special joint sessions of Congress have ever been held. President Harry Truman called the most
recent one in 1948, to consider anti-inflation and welfare measures in the aftermath of World
War II.

During a special joint session of Congress the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor,
President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan.
Note that the President can call Congress or either of its houses into a special session. The Senate
has been called alone on 46 occasions, to consider treaties or presidential appointments, but not
since 1933. The House has never been called alone.

Of course, the fact that Congress now meets nearly year-round reduces the likelihood of special
sessions. That fact also lessens the importance of the President’s power to call one. Still, as
Congress nears the end of a session, the President sometimes finds it useful to threaten a special
session if the two chambers do not act on some measure high on the administration's legislative
agenda.

1. DRAW CONCLUSIONS What option does the Constitution give the President if

Congress adjourns without an approved budget?
Congressional Compensation
The Constitution says that members of Congress “shall receive a Compensation for their
Services, to be ascertained by Law. . . (Article I Section 6, Clause 1).” That is, the Constitution
says that Congress fixes its own pay. The late Senator Russell Long (D., Louisiana) once
characterized this provision as one that gives to members of Congress “a power that no good
man would want and no bad man should have.” The 27th Amendment modified this pay-setting
authority. It declares that no increase in members' pay can take effect until after the next
congressional election—that is, not until after voters have had an opportunity to react to the pay
raise.
Salary
Today senators and representatives are paid $174,000 per year. A few members are paid
somewhat more. The Speaker of the House makes $223,500 per year. The Vice President makes
$230,700 per year. The Senate’s president pro tem and the floor leaders in both houses receive
$193,400 per year.
Nonsalary Compensation
Members receive a number of “fringe benefits,” and some are quite substantial. For example,
each member has a special tax deduction. That deduction recognizes the fact that most members
of Congress must maintain two residences, one in his or her home State and one in Washington.

This chart shows the salaries of members of Congress from a different perspective. Analyze
Charts How do Congress’ salaries compare to those of C.E.O.s and the average American?
Generous travel allowances offset the cost of several round trips each year between home and
Washington. Members pay relatively small amounts for life and health insurance and for
outpatient care by a medical staff on Capitol Hill; they can get full medical care, at very low
rates, at any military hospital. They also have a generous retirement plan, to which they
contribute. The plan pays a pension based on years of service in Congress, and longtime
members can retire with an income of $150,000 or more per year. The lawmakers are also
covered by Social Security’s retirement and Medicare programs.

Members are also provided with offices in one of the several Senate and House office buildings
near the Capitol and allowances for offices in their home State or district. Each member is given
funds for hiring staff and for the operating costs related to running those offices. The franking
privilege is a well-known benefit that allows them to mail letters and other materials postage-
free by substituting their facsimile signature (frank) for the postage.
Congress has also provided its members with the free printing—and through franking, the free
distribution—of speeches, newsletters, and the like. Radio and television tapes can be produced
at very low cost. Each member can choose among several fine restaurants and two first-rate
gymnasiums. Members receive still more privileges, including such things as the help of the
excellent services of the Library of Congress and free parking in spaces reserved for them at the
Capitol and also at Washington’s major airports.
Why Serve?
Despite these many fringe benefits, few citizens choose to run for Congress. In addition to the
costs such a venture entails, the reluctance to serve can be traced to the enormous challenges of
the job, weighed against the relatively modest compensation enjoyed by the nation's lawmakers.
While it is true that millions of Americans would view $174,000 as a hefty salary, the fact is that
many of the men and women who serve in Congress are at the top of their professions and
actually take a pay cut to serve. Several are also already millionaires. The work entails long
hours and intense public scrutiny. Additionally, running for office can be expensive and
exhausting and can sometimes draw a candidate's family into the fray. So why does anyone serve
in Congress?
Jeff Anderson (right) campaigned for Minnesota's 8th U.S. Congressional seat in 2012, though
few people think the compensation for being in Congress is adequate for the work and scrutiny.

Many members of Congress are anxious to make a difference—to bring about changes they care
about and to help their communities. In addition, the prestige of office is also an appealing part
of the job. Congress, as an institution, is sometimes held in low regard, but individual members
are well respected. Not everyone in office cares about being a "big shot," but many do. In fact,
some speculate that Congress is filled with a disproportionately large number of folks who care
about prestige. But that might not be a bad thing. Even the Framers knew that the desire to be
held in high regard by constituents can serve to keep legislators, as they say, "on task."
The Politics of Pay
There are only two real limits on the level of congressional pay. One is the President’s veto
power. The other and more potent limit is the fear of voter backlash, an angry reaction by
constituents at the ballot box. That fear of election-day fallout has always made most members
reluctant to vote to raise their own salaries.
Congress has often tried to skirt the politically sensitive pay question. It has done so by
providing for such fringe benefits as a special tax break for those who must maintain two
residences, a liberal pension plan, more office and travel funds, and other perquisites, or
“perks”—items of value that are much less apparent to “the folks back home.”

1. IDENTIFY CENTRAL ISSUES The Constitution specifies that Congress has the power
to fix its own pay. Why was it important to modify this authority with the 27th
Amendment?
Assessment
1. Identify Central Issues A poll showed voters prefer that members of Congress act as
delegates. How might we expect the effect of this to differ between senators and
representatives?
2. Make Generalizations What is the most likely reason that the Constitution placed limits
on the President's power to convene and dismiss Congress?
3. Interpret In what way does Congress's oversight function provide a process of checks
and balances?
4. Support Ideas with Examples What aspects of the National Government exemplify the
Framers' plan to have representatives focused on national, rather than personal, interests?
5. Identify Cause and Effect Lawmakers often view membership in Congress today
differently than during the nation's early history. How and why might this be reflected in
the way today's members of Congress vote?