Staff and support agencies lesson

Staff and Support Agencies

Lesson 5

Congressional Staff Role

➔

Trained staff help legislators draw up bills
◆

Must stay informed on issues and represent their
constituents

◆

Most representatives delegate work to
Congressional Staff to be more productive

Congressional Staff Role

➔

How do representatives use their staff?
◆

Ted Kennedy

●Delegated most of his work to staff

●Received all the credit, said that 95% of his
work was done by staff

◆

Lowell Weicker

●Woman wrote him complaining about the
death of her dog on a flight

●He had an investigation into the matter and
authorized the Transportation Department to
regulate air transport of animals

●Important because he relied on staff to know
which bills were important to constituents

Ted Kennedy

Senator of

Massachusetts

(Served 1962 - 2009)

Congressional Staff Growth

➔

Congress hasn’t always relied on staff
◆

For 100 years Senators did the work themselves

◆

1946 Legislative Reorganization Act - allowed for 2000
personal staff member

◆

By 2009, there were 10,600 staff members

➔

Lawmakers can’t be experts on all the issues.

➔

There are two types of staff members:
◆

Personal Staff: the people who work directly for
individual senators and representatives

◆

Committee Staff: the people who work for the House
and Senate Committees

Personal Staff

➔

Administrative Assistant: a member of a lawmaker’s personal
staff who runs the lawmaker's office, supervises the schedule,
and gives advice

➔

Legislative directors
◆

Establishes the legislative agenda

◆

Briefs the lawmakers

➔

Legislative Assistant: a member of a lawmaker’s personal staff
who makers certain that the lawmaker is well informed about
proposed legislation
◆

Conducts research, drafts bills, studies bills, writes
speeches and articles

Personal Staff (Continued)

➔

Press Secretaries
◆

Work with the media, social media, etc

◆

Shape lawmakers’ public images, publicize
their policy positions, and help citizens
follow their legislative activities

➔

Caseworkers: a member of the lawmaker’s
personal staff who handles requests for help from
constituents

Jen Psaki

Press Secretary for
President Joe Biden

Committee Staff

➔

Every committee and subcommittee has a staff and the larger
the committee, the larger the staff
◆

Members work for the committee, not the individual
congressman

◆

There are always less committee staff than personal staff

➔

Senior committee staff members experienced and are
considered experts in their area
◆

EX. Laurence Woodworth- 32 years on staff of the Joint
Committee on Internal Revenue Taxation

Committee Staff (Continued)

➔

Responsibilities of Staff Members
◆

Draft bills

◆

Study issues

◆

Collect information

◆

Plan committee hearings

◆

Write memos

◆

Prepare committee reports

◆

Negotiate work involved in making laws

Support Agencies

➔

The Library of Congress
◆

Largest library in the world

◆

Administrator of copyright law

◆

Twitter Archive

➔

CRS (Congressional Research Service)
◆

Compiles research for a wide range of topics for Congress

➔

Congressional Budget Office
◆

Budget work for Congress

◆

Proposals put forward by the president each year

Support Agencies (Continued)

➔

Government Accountability Office (1921)
◆

Watchdog over how the funds Congress appropriates are
spent.

◆

Comptroller general appointed to a 15 year term directs
the GAO

➔

Government Printing Office
◆

Maintains printing presses

◆

Promotes transparency in government by providing these
publications over the Internet at no charge

Drag and Drop

What is the role of the Legislative Director in a lawmaker's personal staff?

Placeholder

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

Establishes the legislative agenda

Works with the media

Handles requests for help from constituents

Supervises the schedule

Dropdown

Which support agency is responsible for maintaining printing presses and promoting transparency in government?

Select answer

Drag and Drop

Who is responsible for administering copyright law and maintaining the Twitter Archive?

Placeholder

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

CRS (Congressional Research Service)

Library of Congress

Government Printing Office

Congressional Budget Office

Multiple Choice

What is the responsibility of the Government Accountability Office?

• Compiles research for a wide range of topics for Congress

• Budget work for Congress

• Administrator of copyright law

• Watchdog over how the funds Congress appropriates are spent

Drag and Drop

Which type of staff members work directly for individual senators and representatives?

Placeholder

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

Press Secretaries

Legislative Assistant

Administrative Assistant

Committee Staff

Multiple Choice

What was the impact of the 1946 Legislative Reorganization Act on the number of personal staff members?

• Allowed for 2000 personal staff members

• Increased the number of committee staff members

• Limited the number of personal staff members

• Reduced the number of committee staff members

Dropdown

Who relied on staff to know which bills were important to constituents?

Select answer

Drag and Drop

What is the responsibility of the Congressional Budget Office?

Placeholder

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

Administrator of copyright law

Watchdog over how the funds Congress appropriates are spent

Compiles research for a wide range of topics for Congress

Budget work for Congress

Drag and Drop

What is the role of the Press Secretary in a lawmaker's personal staff?

Placeholder

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

Handles requests for help from constituents

Supervises the schedule

Establishes the legislative agenda

Works with the media

Dropdown

Who is considered an expert in their area and works for the committee, not the individual congressman?

Select answer