US Politics Update - The Congress

For A2 Politics students, here is an overview of key recent developments in The Congress.

THE CONGRESS

The past year was dominated by the government shutdown and the gridlock that was evident as the Republicans controlled the House. The impact of the Tea Party Movement is discussed in the section on political parties but the obstinacy of the Republican party has shown the real power of the Congress. The Founding Fathers wanted the chamber to be the real powerhouse of government and the president was intended to play a relatively minor role as more of a ceremonial figurehead than a political player.

The fact that Congress, especially the House has used its powers to the full has had a dramatic effect upon the ability of the government to get anything done. The outcome of this gridlock was that the last Congress was one of the least productive since the 1940s.

This blog entry will seek to highlight some of the ways in which the Congress has fulfilled that role, discuss key developments and provide examples that might be used to provide a contemporary analysis and evaluation.

THE SPEAKER:

As leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives, Speaker Boehner is one of the key power brokers in the US government. Theoretically, he could act like a Prime Minister, as that majority could ensure that his proposals are passed by the chamber. That of course is dependent upon there being strict party discipline. Unlike the British legislature, this is not evident in the USA. Speaker Gingrich from 1994-96, tried to do just that, presenting a legislative programme that posed questions about the role of the president in this regard. Indeed, President Clinton appeared relegated to a minor role to such an extent that he had to state that “The president is still relevant here” .It appeared that the role of “legislator-in-chief” had been lost to Gingrich and his manifesto programme, “The Contract with America”.

Speaker Boehner has however had problems providing effective leadership of the House Republicans. The Tea Party caucus of 20 – 30 members have ploughed their won furrow and effectively dictated the Republican strategy in the House. It was they who insisted upon the funding of Obamacare being linked to a budget compromise; a measure which seems to have backfired upon the Republican party. Some regard Boehner as a failed leader as he has had to pursue a policy which he opposed. At times he has had to rely on Democrats to pass key pieces of legislation. Like others within the Republican party, he faces challenges for his Ohio seat from a Tea Party activist in the primaries which decide the candidate for the party in May.

COMMITTEE WORK:

The Senate has the “advise and consent” powers over presidential appointments. These powers were amended so that nominations could not be stalled by the use of the filibuster. Consequently, Republicans were unable to prevent the appointment of Janet Yellen as new chair of the Federal Reserve Bank.

In fact, such was the power of the Senate Banking Committee that they were able in effect to promote their own candidate over that of the one that was initially favoured by President Obama. Leading Democrat senators, Sherrod Brown (Ohio), and Jeff Merkley (Oregon), supported by Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts), campaigned for Yellen as opposed to Larry Summers. Yellen was approved 14 – 8 on the 22 strong committee where the Democrats have 12 of the seats.

THE SENATE:

Ted Cruz (Texas) was the senator who attracted most of the headlines for leading the charge of the fiscal conservatives against Obamacare with a 21 hour filibuster which included reading from a children’s book by Dr Seuss. This might have laid the foundations for a run for the presidency in 2016. Whilst his popularity amongst Tea party activists may have increased quite dramatically and he has become a media darling, the fact of the matter is he is blamed by many for the government shutdown and so his broader appeal is limited.

THE NUCLEAR OPTION: The Constitution established the right of the president to nominate and the power of appointment was given to the Senate with a simple majority needed for confirmation.

Given the use of the filibuster however, it was possible for a minority in the Senate to effectively block an appointment. By continually speaking, an appointment could be effectively blocked. This might be a single filibuster by one senator[1] or a group filibuster.

As 60 votes are needed – a cloture vote – to end a filibuster and party discipline is weak, filibusters are hard to end. The Democrats have 53 seats at the moment with the support of two independents, consequently the lack the 60 votes needed for a cloture vote.

However, the Senate recently changed its rules so that now only 51 votes are needed to end a filibuster of lower judicial i.e. not Supreme Court and other executive nominations. This will help President Obama who has had 30 nominees blocked since he took office.

This will weaken the Congress’ ability to check the executive and it was denounced by Senator Alexander as a “raw exercise of political power”.

These powers were used to push through the appointment of Janet Yellen as Chair of the Federal Reserve.

Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) the Senate Minority Leader has played a less high profile role but showed that he was able to work with the Democrats in order to broker a compromise deal.

The more moderate nature of the chamber was evident in the Senate where more Republicans were able to take a more conciliatory line which was critical of the Tea Party driven strategy. Lindsay Graham (Florida) stated the final deal was “joke compared to what we could have gotten if we had a more reasonable approach” and John McCain (Arizona) argued that the shutdown was “one of the more shameful chapters in the Senate’s history”

[1] Senator Cruz spoke for 21 hours recently in an attempt to block a budget deal. Senator paul spoke for 13 hours on Obama’s use of drones.