Congressional politics 129control over its procedures and the legislative programme are all decided
upon within Congress. The division between the presidential party and the
congressional party is, therefore, highly institutionalised; although the two
sets of leaders usually work tolerably well together, they retain their distinct
points of view, and occasionally come into sharp conflict. Furthermore, the
decentralised character of American politics is fully reflected in the organisa-
tion of Congress. Congressional leadership is decentralised, some might say
fragmented, with groups of leaders drawing their strength from differing
sources. The legislative procedures, especially the role of standing commit-
tees in the passage of legislation, give full opportunities for the local, sec-
tional and pluralistic forces in American politics to have their say.
The extent of the decentralisation of power in Congress is epitomised by
the very existence of the United States Senate. Here is a legislative chamber
that is at first sight an anachronism. It is composed of two representatives
of each state of the Union regardless of population. It is a second or upper
chamber that has survived in an age that has seen a decline in the power
of second chambers. Yet the Senate is the more powerful, and certainly the
more prestigious, of the two chambers of the American legislature. Its power
relative to that of the House of Representatives has increased rather than
diminished. Since it has fewer members than the House, the individual
Senator has a prestige and position that very few members of the popular
chamber can hope to attain. Senators have terms of office three times as
long as members of the House; the Senate’s procedures are less restrictive
of individual members; it has special functions in relation to foreign affairs
and nominations; and it has equal legislative powers with the other chamber.
Thus not only is political leadership in the United States divided between
president and Congress, it is also divided within Congress between Senate
and House, and the leaders of the two Houses will not always see eye to eye.
Furthermore, within each House of Congress the leadership is decentralised
and divided.
Congressional leadership
The leadership in each House of Congress is divided into two distinct but
overlapping groups. The first group consists of party leaders – the Speaker
in the House of Representatives, the majority and minority leaders in both
houses, the majority and minority whips, the chairmen of the party caucus or
conference, and party committees; the second group of congressional leaders
are the chairmen of the standing committees.
Party leaders are elected by the party caucus – or conference – consist-
ing of all the members of the party in the House or Senate. There was a
time, notably during the first administration of President Woodrow Wilson
(1913–16), when the party caucus, by a two-thirds vote of its membership,
could bind the party to support policy decisions and to vote accordingly in the
legislature. Today, however, the more fragmented nature of the parties rules