Word: chairmens
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...effect of the seniority system on the Federal Government can be explained by three facts: 1) most of the real work in Congress is done in and by committees; 2) the chairmen of these committees have vast, often dictatorial influence over the legislation that falls within their realms; 3) with almost no exceptions, these chairmen have gained their exalted positions for the simple reason that they have been on their committees longer than anyone else in the majority party, which, of course, always controls the committees. The seniority rule thus gives the U.S. the peculiar distinction of having the only...
...Greater Degree. Consider the results: twelve of the 16 Senate committee chairmen are 65 and over; five of these are in their 70s, and one is 80. Fourteen of the 21 chairmen in the House of Representatives are 65 and over, seven in their 70s, two in their 80s. The figures are comparable for the Republicans and will be about the same in the new Congress, despite the death, retirement, or defeat in the recent elections of several powerful patriarchs...
Despite some restraints instituted in recent years, chairmen on many committees still control the agenda and can bring up a bill at their own convenience. In some committees a chairman can refuse to bring up a bill altogether. Mississippi's James Eastland, 66, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and one of the most notorious racists in the upper body, has often ignored and sometimes killed civil rights bills by that method. Through similar control of procedures, Wilbur Mills, the Representative of a rural Arkansas constituency, has as much as or more power than the President in determining changes...
There are, to be sure, significant arguments in favor of seniority. It provides stability and expertness, it eliminates the possibility that outside pressure groups or cliques could elect compliant chairmen, and it guarantees access to power to representatives of minority groups-if they will only wait their turns. Without the seniority system, for example, it is doubtful that Harlem's flamboyant Adam Clayton Powell could ever have become head of the powerful House Education and Labor Committee. Moreover, it is by no means true that senior Congressmen are all incompetent or senile. One case in point is Carl Hayden...
...second proposal would give the Speaker of the House authority to choose chairmen from the entire membership of the majority. Since he is chosen by all members of his party, the theory goes, the Speaker would be sensitive to their needs and demands. Instead of the system of divided responsibility that now prevails, one man could be charged with leadership. In fact, this was the system used by the House until 1910, when Congressmen revolted against the autocratic rule of Speaker Joseph Cannon. Better 21 dukes than one monarch, opponents might well argue...