Chapter 5

Pork barrel- GOV spending that benefits a narrow constituency in return for electoral support or some
other kind of political support, including campaign donations.

Political scientists often believe that congressional lawmakers place the interests of their district and
their own prospects for winning re-election ahead of the welfare of the country as a whole.

Congress is very important institution in America, also they face some problems

1. collective action problem- some of the members want to be free riders and only working on bills
which benefit their own district, even though these bills may not be good for their party or for the
country as a whole. The collective-action problem spring from this disconnect between individual and
group interests: each individual legislator would prefer that his/her colleagues do the hard and
sometimes unpopular work of crafting legislation for the good of the entire country. At the same time,
each is tempted to produce good for their own district.

2. coordination problem- they must find the way to coordinate their behavior in order to accomplish
anything. Coordination can include voting for one another’s pork-barrel bills, but it can also include
coordinating efforts on a compromise bill that no one is perfectly happy with.

3. coalition riding-if there were no one to control the agenda and prevent repeated introductions of
competing bills, than coalition riding could continue indefinitely as members presented alternative
version of bills in an effort to attract support for their favored version

4. principal agent problem- voters-principals, agents-members of congress. Principals cannot adequately

observe the actions of agents, because of this agents sometimes have incentives to act contrary
(საწინააღდეგოდ) to their interests of their districts.

4 prominent models to help us gain a deeper understanding of Congress

1. The pork barrel model- the view that the internal institutions of the congressional chambers are
designed primarily to help members of congress secure economic benefits for their constituents.
Although valuable legislation that support the general public is occasionally passed, congressional
lawmakers devote (დათმობა) much of their energy to securing programs that benefit their narrow
constituencies. Bills of broad national interests are frequently loaded with (დატვირთული) pork, and
this is key to understanding the working of congress. The mechanism used to pass pork-barrel legislation
is called logrolling-an instance of two or more legislators agreeing to vote in favor of one another’s
proposed bills or amendments (next time he/she vote for his favor and…)

2. the expertise model- of congress that members of Congress are mostly interested in gathering the
best information possible to help them choose effective public policies that make voters happy and help
incumbents win re-election. Acc. To this view, the institutions are designed to help congress make more
informed decisions (about to fund defense bill, they have to rely on members with some expertise in
international aid and foreign affairs…)
3. the partisan model- the view that majority-party leaders dominate the working of Congress and
ensure that most legislative benefits come to majority-party members.

4. the elitist model- the view that the workings of congress are strongly biased toward serving the
interests of wealthy, privileged people in society (because they give donations in times of elections)

Bicameralism

Congress (with two legislative (bicameral legislature (consisting of two chambers or houses)) chambers:
House of Representatives and the Senate) not only making laws, it also plays the critical role of
representing the people ant the states in the national government.

Compare house to the Senate

House (designed to represent PEOPLE) - seats are appointed acc. To the size of their population, they
have 2 years term in office, all members stand for re-election every 2 years, to ensure that they remain
responsive to the people (if they don’t work acc. To this, they will change! )

The Senate (designed to represent STATES)- each state has 2 senators, appointed by the state GOV. for 6
years-term.

Making law

Under the constitution, both chambers of congress (majority of them) must approve a piece of
legislation, which must then be signed by the president to become law. President can veto the
legislation and Congress can “override” a presidential veto by a vote of two-thirds of the members in
each chamber. (Presidential powers has become stronger for example, for federal budget planning and
foreign policy decision making, but nonetheless congress still bears ( ატარებს) ultimate responsibility
for lawmaking).

Congressional elections

Representatives must be at least 25 yrs old and senators at least 30. (in most other democracies
candidates for national legislatures are more closely linked do the reputations of their political parties,
there is more individualism in U.S. congress)

Causes of individualism in congress

Single member district- an electoral district which a single person is elected to a given office, each
electoral district or state chooses one representative.

Plurality rule- a method for determining an election’s winner in which the candidate who receives the
most votes wins (distinct from a majority-rule, where if no candidate receives at least 50 percent of the
total vote, then there is a runoff between top, under plurality there is no run-off)

Same system about senators, until the early 20 th century, senators were not elected by popular vote, but
were appointed by their state GOV.
Proportional representation (for ex. France)- a method for allocating seats in a legislature in which the
number of seats a party receives in a district or nationwide is proportional to the votes it receives in
elections.

Primary elections- party leaders in the states controlled which candidates got on the ballot and who was
nominated to serve in the Senate. Beginning in the first half of the 20 th century, however, voters began
to select which congressional candidates would appear on ballots through the primary election process.
Primary elections allow voters to choose who will appear under the party label on general-election
ballots. As long as someone can win a primary election, he or she can run for Congress under that party
label without having to please the party leadership.

Drawing district boundaries

Congressional district boundaries determine the actual constituencies for representatives to the House
(no state can have fewer than 1 representative).

The total number of representatives was fixed at 435 in 1911 and the number of representatives
allocated to each state and the boundaries of congressional districts are set after the national census
(მოსახლეობის აღწერა) is taken every 10 years. State can gain or loose seats acc. To population size,
if a state gains or loses seats it must redraw its district boundaries. For much of American history, states
could draw their boundaries as they wished, but in 1960s, it changed, (there is even a commission who
evaluate change boundaries).

Gerrymandering- the process of drawing strangely shaped districts boundaries in order to gain political
advantage. The supreme court has generally allowed gerrymandering by state governments, but only
within limits.

Other electoral factors- a lot of money is need for win an election, advertising in TVs, ბროშურები,
აფიშები.... candidates need to rise money from individual donors, interest groups, corporations and
political party found-raising organizations. They argue that members of Congress rely on wealthy donors
to win and retain their seats, and therefore the legislation they pass mostly benefits contributors to
campaigns. The growth of the national government’s power has also contributed to making elections
more candidate-centered.

Representing district or state

A representative or senator is essentially an agent of the voters (the principals), if he or she will be out
of step with their constituents, they will likely lose their jobs. Representatives of a constituency
sometimes act like trustees and at other times like delegates. Trustees- representatives who make
decisions using their own judgments about what is best for their constituents (agents with more
discretion (შეხედულებისაებრ) to make their own decisions). Delegates- representatives who listen
carefully to what their constituents want and make decisions based on feedback from constituents (who
need to obey (დაქვემდებარება) principals closely).
The incumbency advantage- the advantage current officeholders have in an election, in particular as it
relates to the high rates at which congressional legislators win re-election.

Minority representation- although incumbents win at high rates, changes since the mid-20 th century
have also increased the rates of election of minorities and women.

Internal institutions of congress- there is a strong incentive for members to do the most popular thing in
the eyes of their constituents, rather than to support legislation that is seen within the party as best for
the country as a whole (free-riding problem).

An increasingly institutionalized congress- today there are 435 representatives and 100 senators, two
from each of the 50 states. Congress manages, in an average year, to deal with approximately 9,000
proposed bills and pass 400 to 500 in law. Its professional, well-paid legislators are assisted
(დახმარება) by some 11,000 staff members and large number of congressional bureaus that conduct
research and provide other services. Roughly 250 committees and subcommittees work in both
chambers. More than 10000 officially registered lobbyists try to influence congressional policy making.
(Party leaders orchestrate while the committees specialize).

Party Leaders

The majority and the minority parties in congress each elect their leaders within the house and Senate.
Leaders are elected in their party’s caucus, which typically occurs at the beginning of each 2-year
congressional session. By orchestrating the conduct of members, party leaders can be seen as
repeatedly solving coordination problems. They do this partly by enforcing party discipline (the tendency
for legislators that belong to the same party to vote the same way on a given bill) on important votes,
but they also help organize congressional business in other ways. If different committees or fractions in
Congress fail to coordinate, then nothing can get done and all members of the parties will be worse
(უუარესი) off. The party leaders make their members better off by getting them coordinate on common
action.

The speaker of the house- chosen by majority party, he/she is the most important legislator in the
chamber and in the country. He/she is second in line behind the vice president in the presidential
succession, should the P and Vice P both die or otherwise become unable to serve out the term, the
speaker automatically becomes president.

Reed’s Rules- procedural guidelines used by the majority-party leadership for determining who sits on
which committees, how the order of business should be decided, and how the majority party should
limit the powers of the minority party.

Majority leader- the head of the party holding a majority of seats and in the Senate, the leader of the
Senate. In the House, the majority leader is second to the Speaker of the house. They choose (leaders)
they choose which proposed bills will be considered and when, and which bills will be ignored. Both the
majority and minority leaders appoint committee members and select who will be allowed to speak
from the floor and in what order).
Whip- a member of the House or Senate who is elected by his or her party to help party leaders
coordinate party members’ actions, including enforcing party discipline. (For minorities it is the same)

Proponents of the partisan model of Congress emphasize that the party leaders stand at the center of
congressional politics. In this view, the winners in the legislature are those currently represented by the
majority party. Minority-party members routinely lose in their efforts to pass legislation or gain pork for
their district.

As a result political parties in Congress are relatively weak in contrast to their parliamentary
counterparts in other countries.

Committees

While leadership orchestrates business, much of the detailed legislative work in Congress occurs in
committees. Committees have jurisdiction which means they have discretion over some policy areas (for
ex. some farm-related bills go to the agricultural committees).

Types of committees

Standing committees- which remain in existence permanently unless they are formally abolished.
კომიტეტები შედგება ისეთი წვრებისგან რომელთა ამომრჩეველსაც უფრო ადარდებს ის
კონკრეტული საკითხი.

Special (select) committees- appointed to consider a special issue or serve a special function that
disbands (დათხოვნა) once it has completed its duties.

Joint committees- made up of members of both the House and Senate.

Conference committees- a meeting of legislators from the house and Senate to reconcile two bills
passed on the same topic.

The house rules committee (majority party holds 9/13 seats and the speaker tightly controls which
majority party members sit on the committee) - the traditional vehicle used by the majority party
leadership to control House business, deserves special note. It determines which bills get considered for
votes, under which amendment rules, and in which order (ruled by majority-party members with close
ties to the party leadership). The rules committee can prevent a bill from being voted on by the
chamber.

Committee membership- each committee has a chair who oversee its work. Chairs of the major
committees are powerful people in the American political system. They can defeat a bill by slowing it
down in the committee, ignoring it, or encouraging colleagues to amend it to death by watering it down
to such an extent that is no longer accomplishes its original purpose. Chairs can also insert (ჩადეთ)
items into bills with dramatic consequences ( სქესის მიხ. დისკრიმინაცია რომ რასის მიხედვით
დისკრიმინაცია უტლოდება მაგას რო მისცა სმიტმა ხმა იმ იმედით რო სხვები
დაარეჯექთებდნენ). Furthermore, most standing committees have subcommittees to address specific
topics. Members of subcommittee have considerable power over legislation in their jurisdiction.

Members of all committees are assigned by their party leaders, and the majority of seats on each
committee are held by majority-party members. ( პარტიის ლიდერები ეხმარებიან მათ მიმართ
ლოიალურად განწყობილ ტიპებს და პირიქით ვინცაა იმათ ...)

Consequences of the committee system- goals: creating better public policy and assisting members in
their re-election efforts. (კონგრესის წევრებმა შეიძლება სულ არ იცოდნენ არაფერი
თავდაცვაზე, სასოფლო სამეურნეო რაღაცეებზე და ა.შ. მარა ეს კომიტეტები ეხმარება მათ
სწორი გადაწყვეტილება მიიღონ). The basic function of committees-to provide better knowledge-
is the centerpiece of the expertise model.

Second the committee system is well suited to members’ individualism. The system fragments political
power and redirects (გადამისამართება) the limelight (საჯარო ყურადღების ცენტრი), enabling
members to play a role in crafting legislation and earn credit from constituents. Members of Committees
also help their district or state.

Other internal features- besides parties and committees there are other elements that make up
institutional machinery inside congress:

1. Caucuses- in a legislature a group of legislators that unites to promote an agenda not pursued
(დევნა) within the parties or the legislative committees.

2. Staff- hired by representatives and senators who have many competing demands on their time,
staffers are indispensable (აუცილებელი, სავალდებულო). 11 000 members.

3. Research services- congress has created its own internal bureaucracy to help its members conduct
research and carry out other duties. The expertise provided by staffers and researcher agencies is part of
what makes it possible for members to make knowledgeable decisions.

In comparison: Legislative institutions

In most other democracies, legislators succeed or fail based on how loyal they are to party leaders (in
America individual reputation is more important), inside of Congress much of the action in crafting
policy occurs within committees. The details of legislating happen in negotiations ( მოლაპარაკება)
among committee leaders, party leaders, and some people in the white House, including President. In
most other democracies, legislation is crafted by executive and then simply voted on by the parliament.

Unlike in Congress where the work of legislating happens inside the chambers, in France the work of
legislating happens inside the prime minister’s GOV.

The process of lawmaking

Proposals- passing a law in Congress begins with at least one member of either the house or the senate
submitting (დამორჩილება) a bill. Only legislators themselves can formally submit a bill NO ONE ELSE.
The bill can be written somewhere else (president executive agencies, or interest groups) but they must
always be submitted by surrogates in Congress. Bills can have multiple sponsors (it brings kudos
(პოპულარობა) from constituents.

Referrals- which committee receives a given bill is usually determined by its topic, but the speaker if the
house and Senate majority-party leaders can use the process of referral strategically. სპიკერს თუარ
მოექონება რაღაცა კანონპროექტიო შეუძლია არასწორ კომიტეტს გაუგზავნოსო რათა
იმან დააიგნოროსო.

Bills that involve many different policy issues, such as omnibus budget bills, can have multiple referrals
(an act of referring smn or smth. For consulation review or further action), meaning that the same bill
can go to the multiple committees in the same chamber. Split referral- a rule (since 1975) that permits
the speaker to split a bill into sections and give sections to specific committees.

Committee action- all but a few bills are siply ignored by committee chairs. The others are usually sent to
subcommittee, which itself can ignore a bill or consider is seriously. The subcommittee can hold
hearings, where experts are called in to testify about the merits (ღირსება, ხარისხი) of the bill. If the
subcommittee decides to move forward, then the bill is scheduled for markup (a committee or
subcommittee where committee members edit amend bills), which means that the subcommittee will
edit it carefully and incorporate (შერევა) any approved amendments. The subcommittee can then
“report” the bill (meaning to pass it along with their approval and any suggested changes) to the full
committee, which can in turn conduct its own hearings and mark up the bill as well. Much of the real
politics of congress occurs in committees, especially in the house.

Moving Bills to the Floor- if the full committee wished to move forward (წადი წინ), it sends the bill to
the floor of the chamber for a possible vote, along with a written report that explains why it should be
passed. If a bill passes through the subcommittee process and gathers the support of enough full
committee members to be reported to the floor with positive report its chances of passage by the full
chamber are high. This process is where proponents ( დამცველები) of the expertise model of congress
focus their attention.

In the house, the rules committee plays a critical role at the point when other committees approve a bill
and sent it out for consideration (განხილვა, მსჯელობა) by the entire chamber floor. Scholars argue
that having smth. Like a Rules of committee is vital to the proper functioning of a large chamber like the
house.

The House Rules committee’s options for amendments allowable ( დასაშვები) on the floor, for
example, include:

 Open rule – which means any amendment can be proposed

 Closed rule – which means no amendments can be proposed
 Restricted (or modified) rules – which specifies that only certain kinds of amendments are
allowed. This typically means that only amendments pertaining ( ეკუთვნის) to the original
purpose of the bill can be proposed.
The senate’s process of moving a bill from committee to the floor is different than that of the house and
gives less control to the majority party in the chamber

Senate distinctiveness- the senate uses unanimous consent agreements – rules under which the Senate
debates, offers amendments, and votes on a given bill. All members of the chambers of the chamber
must agree to them, so any senator can object and halt (stop) progress on a bill- for relatively
uncontroversial bills.

Individual senators even have certain powers to halt the progress of a bill they do not like. As
mentioned, they can refuse to approve a unanimous consent agreement specifying a rule for debate and
amendment. Or they can filibuster (instances in which senators, once recognized to speak on the floor,
talk for an extended period in an attempt to the block the rest of the senate from voting on a bill) which
recognized to speak on the floor a senator can talk for hours (and more) to prevent any other action
from happening on the bill.

Fellow senators can stop a filibuster by voting to invoke cloture (a rule that limits debate on a bill to a
specific number of hours. Senate rules require 60 senators to support such motion to end debate and
proceed to a vote), which is a rule to limit debate on a bill to specific numbers of hours. In practice, this
rule means that any bill that is not supported by at least 60 of 100 senators will not be approved and will
therefore not become law.

Floor action-floor debate can be a dramatic event in either chamber, and some of the most memorable
moments in congressional history have occurred when members gave rousing
(აღმაფრთოვანებელი) speeches about historic pieces of legislation. But often floor debates are dull
(მოსაწყენი), especially in the House, with members taking turns to enhance ( გაზრდა) their
reputations back home in front of the television cameras.

After all the debating and amending is completed, the leadership schedules a vote, which on important
pieces of legislation occurs by roll call (სიის ამოკითხვა).

Conference committees- although both chambers start the entire process with the same text for a bill,
the bills that emerge (გამოჩენა) from each chamber may be significantly different from the original bill
and from each other. In this case the bill goes to a house-senate conference committee to be
“reconciled” (შერიგება)- that its for the differences to be ironed out. If they can’t reconcile, then the
proposed legislation dies (it is uncommon).

Presidential signature- at this point, the bill’s long journey is almost over. It now goes to the president’s
desk, whereupon (ამის შემდეგ) the president has several options. Sing a bill and it becomes a law, can
veto and send it back to Congress, where it can still become law if 2/3 of the members of both chambers
override the veto. If the president doesn’t sing the bill within 10 days it automatically becomes law if
congress is still in session. Pocket veto- a veto that occurs automatically if a president doesn’t sing a bill
for 10 days after passage in Congress has adjourned during that 10 day period. Since the outgoing
congress has no opportunity to override a pocket veto, the legislation must wait until the next session,
when the new congress can pass a similar bill and force the president to make an explicit ( აშკარა)
choice between singing and vetoing it.

Making law in a separation-of-powers System

Congress doesn’t act independently of the other 2 branches. No piece of legislation can take an effect
until the president signs a bill into law (or congress overrides a veto)