Party caucuses and conferences in the United States Congress The largest
caucuses are the
party caucuses comprising all members of one house from one party (either the
Democrats or the
Republicans) in addition to any
independent members who may caucus with either party. These are the
House Democratic Caucus,
House Republican Conference,
Senate Democratic Caucus and
Senate Republican Conference. The caucuses meet regularly in
closed sessions for both the
House of Representatives and the
Senate to set legislative agendas, select
committee members and chairs and hold elections to choose various
floor leaders. They also oversee the four
Hill committees,
political party committees that work to elect members of their own
party to Congress.
Ideological conferences ()'''
Vacant () Republican Conference () Ideological congressional caucuses represent factions within a political party. These congressional caucuses help congregate and advance the ideals of more focused ideologies within the two major
big-tent political parties. Some caucuses are organized
political factions with a common ideological orientation. Most ideological caucuses are confined to the House of Representatives. The rosters of large caucuses are usually listed publicly. Members of Congress are not restricted to a single ideological caucus, creating overlaps between the organizations. Some ideological caucuses exercise influence akin to that of
whips.
Racial and ethnic caucuses Among the most visible caucuses are those composed of members sharing the same
race or
ethnic group. The most high profile of these represent
people of color. The Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus also form the Congressional Tri Caucus when they sit together. • The
Congressional Black Caucus for
African-Americans • The two
Hispanic caucuses: • The
Congressional Hispanic Caucus for Hispanic Democrats only (Hispanic Republicans are barred from membership per 2000s rule change) • The
Congressional Hispanic Conference for Hispanic Republicans, who formerly belonged to the Hispanic Caucus but later formed their own caucus due to being barred • The
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus represents members who are
Asian Americans and
Pacific Islanders but are open to other members as well
ERA Caucus The ERA Caucus (Equal Rights Amendment Caucus) was formed March 28, 2023, by representatives
Ayanna Pressley and
Cori Bush to affirm the
Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th amendment of the U.S. Constitution, having met all requirements of Article V in 2020 with the ratification by the 38th state, Virginia. The Caucus has quickly grown to be one of the largest in the U.S. House of Representatives, standing at 69 members in May 2023. The ERA Caucus quickly showed their support of the ERA, marching on April 28, 2023 to the Senate in support of S.J. Res 4, the bill to affirm the ERA.
Southern Caucus The
Southern Caucus was a
Senate caucus of
Southern Democrats chaired by
Richard Russell, which opposed
civil rights legislation and formed a vital part of the
conservative coalition that dominated the Senate into the 1960s. The tone of the Southern Caucus was to be more moderate and reasonable than the explicit white supremacism of some Southern Senators. The caucus was where the
Southern Manifesto was written which supported the reversal of the landmark Supreme Court 1954 ruling
Brown v. Board of Education and was signed by 19 Senators and 82 Representatives.
Equality The formation of the
Congressional Equality Caucus (formerly the Congressional LGBTQIA+ Equality Caucus) was announced on June 4, 2008, by
openly gay members of congress
Tammy Baldwin and
Barney Frank. The mission of the caucus is to work for
LGBTQ rights, the repeal of laws discriminatory against LGBTQ persons, the elimination of
hate-motivated violence, and improved health and well-being for all persons, regardless of
sexual orientation,
gender identity, or
gender expression. The caucus serves as a resource for
Members of Congress, their staffs, and the public on LGBTQ issues. The LGBT Equality Caucus admits any member who is willing to advance LGBTQ rights, regardless of their sexual identity or orientation; it has historically been co-chaired by every openly-LGBTQ member of the House. The caucus had 194 members, all of them
Democrats, in the
118th United States Congress.
Interest group caucuses The most common caucuses consist of members united as an
interest group. These are often
bi-partisan (comprising both Democrats and Republicans) and
bi-cameral (comprising both Representatives and Senators). Examples like the
Congressional Bike Caucus works to promote
cycling, and the
Senate Taiwan Caucus promotes strong relationships with Taiwan. == Rules ==