iCivics: Voting in Congress

You already know the legislative branch of the U.S. government is the branch that makes laws. You’ve seen the diagrams showing that Congress has two parts—the Senate and the House of Representatives. You’ve learned about bills and the long process they have to go through before they become laws.

Both the Senate and the House have to vote to pass a bill, and then the bill gets sent to the President for a signature… But wait. Back up. It’s easy to pass over the word “vote” in the larger process of how bills become laws. It’s a very small word, and we all know what it means. But voting in Congress is about a lot more than just saying “yea” or “nay.” Each member of Congress has a power that nobody in the other branches of government has: the power to vote on proposed laws. Each member must make a decision about each bill, and it’s a lot of work. So how do members of Congress decide whether to vote yes or no on a bill? It isn’t a matter of flipping a coin, that’s for sure! Members of Congress face pressure from all kinds of people and groups who have a stake in any particular bill, so there are a lot of factors to consider. Let’s look at four big questions members of Congress think about when they’re making this decision.

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It All Comes Down to a Vote

Multiple Choice

How many parts does Congress have?

• Four

• Two

• Three

• One

Multiple Choice

What must happen for a bill to be sent to the President?

• It must be approved by the Senate only

• It must be approved by both the Senate and the House

• It must be approved by the House only

• It must be approved by the Supreme Court

​Can We Do That?

The U.S. Constitution lists all the powers that Congress has. Congress is limited by what the Constitution says, and it cannot do anything that isn’t on the list. So the first factor members of Congress consider is whether they have the power to pass a particular law. Here’s a summary of the powers Congress has:

-Make laws about immigration -Collect taxes to raise money to pay debts, defend the country,
-Make laws about bankruptcy and provide for the general welfare of the U.S.
-Establish post offices - Pass laws about business that happens in more than one state, with
- Declare war foreign countries, and with Indian tribes
-Raise and support armies

And that’s not all. On top of this, Congress has the power to make all laws that are “necessary and proper” for executing the powers on the list. This means Congress can do things that are not specifically on the list as long as they are related to something that is on the list.

Multiple Choice

What is the first question members of Congress consider when deciding on a bill?

• Can We Do That?

• What Do My Constituents Want?

• What Position Does My Political Party Take?

• What Do I Think?

Dropdown

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Select answer

is NOT a power of Congress listed in the text.

​What Do My Constituents Want?

People don’t just wake up one day and decide to go be a member of Congress. The only way to serve in Congress is to be elected by voters. If you’re a Senator, then a majority of voters in your state voted for you. If you’re a Representative, then you were elected by a majority of voters in a district within your state. Either way, members have one job when they get to Congress: Represent the people who sent them there. This doesn’t mean just the people who showed up at the polls on Election Day. It means everyone who lives in their state or district! The people who are being represented are called constituents (con-STIH-chew-ents).

Multiple Choice

How are Senators elected?

• By the Supreme Court

• By the President

• By a majority of voters in a district within their state

• By a majority of voters in their state

Multiple Choice

What is the main job of members of Congress according to the text?

• To follow their personal beliefs

• To support their political party

• To represent the people who sent them there

• To represent the interests of the President

​What DO my Constituents Want??

So how do members of Congress figure out what their constituents want them to do? First, everyone expects their elected representatives to work in the people’s best interest. This means working to pass laws that will help the people in the state or district, such as by creating jobs or protecting resources that are found there. Members of Congress also pay attention to the kind of people they are representing. Are there large populations of elderly people there, or a particular ethnic group, or a lot of people who are wealthy or poor or in-between? Members will work to pass laws that are favored by large groups of their constituents. On some hot-button issues, members get lots of calls, letters, and emails from constituents either supporting or opposing a bill. Members of Congress pay attention to these communications. Most members of Congress hope to get re-elected, so they want to please as many constituents as possible.

Multiple Choice

What influences a member of Congress's decision on a bill the most when there is a conflict between party and constituents?

• The Supreme Court's decision

• Their constituents' opinion

• Their personal opinion

• The President's opinion

​What Position Does My Political Party Take?

Like it or not, American politics is driven by political parties. Each political party has a platform, which is a written document describing where the party stands on almost every issue facing America. Each member of Congress belongs to a political party (except for Independents, who belong to no party). While members are free to make their own decisions about voting for or against any bill, there is a lot of pressure within the political parties for members to vote a certain way. When members vote against their party leaders’ wishes, it’s usually because they have a lot of constituents who disagree with the party on that issue. In a showdown between party and constituents, the constituents are likely to win. Why? Because those are the people with the power to re-elect members of Congress or throw them out!

Dropdown

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Select answer

is a platform in the context of political parties.

Multiple Choice

Why might a member of Congress vote against their party's wishes?

• If the President advises them to

• If the Supreme Court rules against the party

• If they have a lot of constituents who disagree with the party

• If they personally disagree with the party

What Do I Think?

There’s no point at which someone stops being a person and starts being a member of Congress. People who are elected to serve in Congress are human just like the rest of us, and they share something all humans have in common: opinions. Everyone has them, right? Usually, people elected to Congress share the views of most of the voters. That’s why they got elected. And often, a member’s views will be similar to his or her political party anyway, which is probably the party that most of the voters belong to. Members of Congress aren’t supposed to just vote according to their personal views and ignore everything else. But members’ personal opinions are always a factor when deciding whether to vote yes or no.

Putting It All Together

When it comes time to vote, a member of Congress will consider all of the above factors—and probably more. They also consider what they’ve learned from groups and business industries that have lobbied the member to take a particular view about an issue. All that’s left is to make a decision and cast a vote!

Multiple Choice

What do members of Congress consider before voting on a bill?

• Their constituents' needs, their party's position, and their personal views

• Their personal views only

• The President's recommendation

• The Supreme Court's advice