The New California Republic Senate is the unicameral legislature of the New California Republic. Originally established as the New California Republic Congress, the Senate is responsible for passing laws and selecting the president and the council who govern the NCR. All members of the Senate are elected directly by NCR citizens.
Unlike the federal legislature of the United States of America, it is unicameral. Members of the Senate meet in the Hall of Congress in Shady Sands, the capital of the NCR, and operates in legislative sessions in accordance with strict scheduling.[5] The Congress' primary role is legislation, passing laws for the NCR.[6] It is also responsible for selecting the president of the NCR and their council, who serve with the Congress' consent[7][Non-game 2] and may be removed from power through a motion of no confidence.[Non-game 1]
The executive branch is advised by the Senate[7] and must obtain the Senate's consent for major policies, such as troop deployments; while President Wendell Peterson saw little resistance in 2253, President Kimball was limited by the Senate as to the amount of troops he was permitted to send into the Mojave to occupy New Vegas and Hoover Dam.[8] The Senate also had to approve the redeployment of heavy troopers to the front line from the NCR interior.[9]
The Senate also has approves military honors, such as the Star of Sierra Madre.[10]
While the Senate selects the president and the council, a charismatic president can greatly influence the course of legislation and determine the course of the nation. President Tandi, unanimously selected for each of her eleven terms, ruled for a total of 52 years, bulling the then-Congress into supporting her policies[11] and blocking legislation that would deregulate agriculture and remove limits on the acreage and number of cattle head a single person could own, despite constant lobbying from pressure groups like the Stockmen's Association and Republican Farmer's Committee. Following her death, the limits were gradually loosened, until completely disappearing under President Kimball.[Non-game 3]
Elections[]
NCR has universal suffrage and senators are elected directly by the citizens of the New California Republic in public elections. Originally, each of the five states would elect two congressmen to sit in the Hall of Congress,[7] for a total of ten representatives in 2241.[12]
The number is not fixed and grows as the NCR expands. Towns joining the NCR may negotiate to be granted a seat in the Hall of Congress as one of the conditions for joining, as was the case with Redding.[2][4] Representation may also be granted to annexed territories.[13]
Election cycles have a significant influence on NCR politics, with upcoming election typically rendering the Senate far more reluctant to approve expenditures not directly related to senators' political bases.[14][15] These bases dictate the platforms senators run on, which may include opposing "squatting" and anti-mutant sentiments[3] (despite the NCR Congress passing laws formally protecting mutants from persecution and discrimination in 2205),[Non-game 4] and even anti-imperialism, especially if the Mojave Campaign ends in defeat and disgrace.[4]
Terminology[]
By 2281, the Congress was renamed and became the Senate, with all members referred to as senators. However, in the past, members of the NCR Congress were referred to by a variety of names, including "councilor," "counselor," "councilman," "representative" and "senator." In particular, the Hub prefers to call its representatives "governors." Outside the Hall of Congress, the names were frequently used interchangeably, but could be used as insults and spark fierce, but pointless debates while the Congress was in session (typically petty displays of independence by each state).[Non-game 2]
Criticism[]
As the legislative body of the NCR, the Senate is often criticized on all levels of society. Despite the NCR being a virtually unmatched example of prosperity and recovery in the post-nuclear era, the various growing pains it suffers lead to some citizens declaring their nation is falling apart due to incompetence, with the government, including the Senate, frequently blamed for the state of affairs.[Non-game 5] Some of this criticism is valid, as the Senate passed and maintains a blank ban on gambling within NCR territories, sometimes interpreted as a deliberate action to keep the common man poor.[16]
This contrasts with the significant amount of lobbying carried out by the rich. These include the Stockmen's Association and Republican Farmer's Committee, pressure groups uniting wealthy brahmin ranchers and farm owners,[Non-game 3] and merchant houses, trying to pass legislation to gain the upper hand in various markets, such as the Crimson Caravan pushing for a tariff on Gun Runners merchandise. While merchant house bills die in the Senate due to even influence on each side,[17] the Senate has been much more amenable after the passing of President Tandi to abolishing her regulations,[Non-game 3] leading to the unchecked expansion of agricultural and brahmin barons like Heck Gunderson. Through harassment, intimidation and bribery, they have created a population of disenfranchised, dispossessed homesteaders like Walter Phebus. Their actions undermined trust in the Senate, as money granted the barons significant influence, including the ability to buy off senators and secure immunity for themselves.[18][19][20]
The Senate has also been criticized, chiefly by Chief Hanlon, for favoring brahmin barons through troop deployments[21] and passing conscription laws that simply send soldiers into the Mojave to die each month to maintain the occupation,[22] and the campaign which will make or break the Kimball administration and the Senate.[23]
Some senators don't help the image of a corrupt Senate and actively engage in illegal actions to win support from brahmin barons, such as using mercenaries to escalate situations and demonstrate to their political base that they're committed to taking action. For example, Senator Morales used mercenaries to harass "squatters" and mutants to secure reelection; by driving them off or provoking an attack, he hoped to secure votes by showing a strong stance against "squatting" or mutants.[3] This and other incidents have resulted in enemies of the NCR to condemn it as completely corrupt. Caesar, a former NCR citizen, is particularly fierce in his criticism, considering the NCR to have all the problems of the Roman Republic (extreme bureaucracy, corruption and senatorial infighting), and the Senate to be emblematic of the rot that only his Legion can eradicate.[24]
Appearances[]
The New California Republic Congress appears in Fallout 2, and is mentioned in the Fallout Bible and Fallout: New Vegas.
Behind the scenes[]
A decapitation strike wiping out the NCR Congress was a significant part of the backstory for the canceled Fallout 3 project Van Buren. Organized by Victor Presper, the attack would significantly weaken the NCR, causing a breakaway of its eastern territories, reforming around Hoover Dam, and blamed on the Brotherhood of Steel.[Non-canon 1][Non-canon 2]
References[]
↑The Chosen One: "{477}{}{No, he's something MORE. Or else we wouldn't be having this conversation.}" John Bishop: "{485}{}{(Glares at you.) He's also a councilor in the NCR congress. That SCARE you, tribal? It shouldn't. Do your job, and you got nothing to worry about. Fuck it up, and Westin'll be the least of your worries.}" (John Bishop's dialogue)
↑ 2.02.1Fallout 2 endings: "Several years after buying the Excavator Chip from the Chosen One, Marge LeBarge is able to purchase and control both the Morningstar and the newly opened Kokoweef mines. Marge is an easy choice for Mayor, and using her new political power, she makes Redding join the growing New California Republic in return for a seat in the NCR's Hall of Congress."
↑ 4.04.14.2Fallout: New Vegas endings, NCR Rangers: "Despite distinguishing themselves during the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, the rangers' victory was short-lived due to the Courier's interference. Chief Hanlon personally directed the evacuation of the rangers to Mojave Outpost as they fell back into NCR territory. Bitter over the waste of life in the Mojave, Hanlon stepped down from his post. After a campaign in which he denounced Oliver's and Kimball's hawkish, imperialist ways, Hanlon was elected as the senator of Redding."
↑The Courier: "If you can promise it gets where it needs to go." Jackson: "I can promise that, what happens after... not even God himself could move the Congress in or out of session. And this... this is a tricky matter." (Jackson's dialogue)
↑The Chosen One: "{116}{}{What is this place?}" Feargus: "{131}{}{This is the Congress House, law-making body for NCR.}" (Feargus' dialogue)
↑The Courier: "How will the NCR react to Kimball's death? Won't it just anger them?" Caesar: "It'll frighten them. If I can reach out and kill whomever I choose, then they know the only reason they're alive is I haven't tried yet. You have to understand that Kimball is a symbol. Without him, there would be no NCR occupation of the Mojave. He mustered the troops - as many as his senate would allow - and sent them in. All the right reasons, done all the wrong ways. Any invasion by a democracy is a half-measure. When Kimball dies, the NCR will recoil from the Mojave, and from his legacy. By the time they recover and try to strike back, I'll be invading them." (Caesar's dialogue)
↑The Courier: "Why are funds tied up at the Boneyard?" Hanlon: "Senate elections are coming up. Local representatives don't want to push any more funding to the Mojave campaign because it's unpopular. Most of the folks around the Boneyard haven't been to New Vegas and probably never will. All they know is that their money gets sucked away to this desert and their brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters die here." (Hanlon's dialogue)
↑The Chosen One: "{292}{}{I've handled this already. The squatters want a deal. You help them become self sufficient and they'll give you the vault. Also, here are the parts.}" Tandi: "{255}{tand33}{So, they finally got reasonable. I can bull the Congress into sending supplies and techs. You sure we can get into the vault?}" The Chosen One: "{257}{}{Quite sure. There were some lowlifes there but I kicked their ass.}" (Tandi's dialogue)
↑Hall of Congress seats ten members of Congress in the main assembly hall.
↑The Courier: "What's your opinion on the current situation?" Arcade Gannon: "Helping the NCR is better than helping Mr. House, but I don't think it's the best solution for the people in New Vegas. If the NCR can take full control of Freeside and the Strip, it's going to get worse before it gets better. Besides, even if New Vegas eventually gets representation in the NCR senate, it's not like the NCR runs efficiently." (Arcade Gannon's dialogue)
↑The Courier: "How is NCR doing?" Hanlon: "It's no secret that we've had better campaigns. Holding this whole length of river isn't easy. We're stretched thin and the Long 15 just keeps getting longer. Slow to get supplies. Slower to get reinforcements. NCR's senate has got funds tied up at the Boneyard and President Kimball ordered our most experienced rangers to chase ghosts down in Baja." (Hanlon's dialogue)
↑The Courier: "How is NCR doing?" Hanlon: "Even Caesar knows that General Oliver's coming back to Hoover. Colonel Moore's doing a fine job of running things over at the dam. In her own way, of course, when she's not trying to wrangle my rangers into helping her. But just keeping that dam secure and operational day to day is enough work for one person, never mind building a defense against the Legion." (Hanlon's dialogue)
↑vNCRCivilianDialogueFaction: "You know it's illegal for us to gamble back home? The government wants to keep us poor." (Generic NCR civilian dialogue) Note: This greeting line is spoken by all characters that are a part of "vNCRCivilianDialogueFaction".
↑The Courier: "What else can you tell me about Heck Gunderson?" Walter Phebus: "What more you want? He's a slithering snake, what he is. One of the biggest landowners this side of the Colorado and it's all stolen, I tell you. All that money buys him any NCR senators he wants - scoundrels, like Heck. There's just no way for us small folks to get by, much less prosper, kid." (Walter Phebus' dialogue)
↑The Courier: "Why was Heck such a threat to other ranchers?" Walter Phebus: "People like Heck are rotten, kid, plenty of them in the Wasteland. They'll shoot you, kidnap your family, or drive NCR troops through your lands. Whatever it takes to step over us honest folk is good enough in their book. Heck has bought NCR senators left and right, and then is even worse." (Walter Phebus' dialogue)
↑The Courier: "What's life like as a Bighorn rancher?" Ethel Phebus: "A good life if you don't mind hard work. The only real fuss is the constant bother with varmints. Fail to catch Molerats early in their breeding, and you'll have three or four head breaking their ankles in Molerat holes every day. Of course, the worst varmint at all is a Brahmin Baron with his hands in the pockets of a Republic senator. That's a problem you can't solve with a Varmint Rifle, though I fear my husband's apt to try. He's got Heck Gunderson in his sights right now." (Ethel Phebus' dialogue)
↑The Courier: "What about the troopers?" Hanlon: "You've seen it yourself. Some of them don't even have proper service rifles or armor. Our heavy infantry, power armor units, they're back in NCR territory protecting the interests of Brahmin barons against small-time raiders. Brahmin barons only have one vote at the ballot box, but they have a lot of money to throw around." (Hanlon's dialogue)
↑The Courier: "How does spreading false intel help anything?" Hanlon: "People back home don't listen. They don't care. Senators, Brahmin barons, folks who are just trying to make it from day to day. It's been so many years that people forget about it. Conscription brings in fresh troops to die here every month. Like it's routine. And even if we hold this dam, what then? Are we going to send the NCR's men and women to die here for another five years? Ten? Patrol the whole length of the Colorado for hundreds of miles? Holding this dam. It'll be the death of us." (Hanlon's dialogue)
↑The Courier: "What will you do if I don't turn you in?" Hanlon: "Oliver can't stand that rangers got credit for victory at Hoover. Whatever I recommend, he does the opposite. I said I wanted them on the ridge. He put them right on the western part of the dam itself. We don't have enough firepower to hold that spot. If the troopers fall back, and they will, the rangers will advance to cover Oliver's retreat. We lose the dam, Oliver and the senate are ruined." (Hanlon's dialogue)
↑The Courier: "So what's "dialectic" about you and the NCR?" Caesar: "The bombs wiped the slate clean. Human civilization descended to a level of ignorance that effectively set our cultural progress back to zero. The NCR has all of the problems of the ancient Roman Republic - extreme bureaucracy, corruption, extensive senatorial infighting. Just as with the ancient Republic, it is natural that a military force should conquer and transform the NCR into a military dictatorship. Thesis and antithesis. The Colorado River is my Rubicon. The NCR council will be eradicated, but the new synthesis will change the Legion as well... ...from a basically nomadic army to a standing military force that protects its citizens, and the power of its dictator." (Caesar's dialogue)
Non-game
↑ 1.01.1Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition p. 458: "Important Dates 2253: President Tibbett is removed from office by a vote of no confidence following her 'timid' response to the massacre of 38 NCR citizens at the hands of Mojave raiders. Her replacement, President Wendell Peterson, orders three battalions of NCR infantry into the Mojave. 2273 Aaron Kimball retires from the NCR military and runs for office as one of Hub's political representatives (or 'governors,' as Hub idiosyncratically calls them). Less than two months into his term, Wendell Peterson is voted out of office and Aaron Kimball becomes the NCR's next President." (Behind the Bright Lights & Big City)
↑ 2.02.1Fallout Bible 6: "Government: The government of NCR is much like the Pre-War United States, with a House of Congress staffed by elected representatives (Congressmen elected by their states). These representatives decide upon the President and Vice-President to head the council and govern the republic - under advice from the representatives, of course (NCR, at the time, has no existing term limits - Tandi was currently serving her tenth year at the beginning of Fallout 2). The titles for these representatives have ranged from 'Councilor,' 'Counselor,' 'Councilman,' 'Representative,' 'Senator,' and in particular, the Hub (in its own obstinate way) prefers to call their representatives 'Governors.' (There is a lot of friction between the Hub and Shady for a variety of reasons, usually related to trade rights and caravan routes.) In any event, all titles are recognized and accepted outside of the council chambers, but within the chambers, the titles are occasionally used as insults and spark furious debates - nothing more than petty displays of each state trying to exert its independence."
↑ 3.03.13.2Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition p.456: "Controversy over Economic Development The NCR's economy is based on two resources: its great Brahmin herds, and swaths of land that have been restored to arable condition. These provide the nation with meat, leather, and starchy vegetables. During President Tandi's presidency, regulations limited the number of cattle head and the acreage of fields that could be owned by a single person. Despite constant pressure from the Stockmen's Association and Republican Farmer's Committee, such regulations loosened only a little so long as Tandi was in office. Following her death, however, they eroded until President Kimball overturned them completely. As a result, the past 12 years have seen the rise of the Brahmin Barons and Agri-Barons: captains of industry who are, by post-apocalyptic standards, spectacularly wealthy. This has given birth to a number of cottage industries, from the rebirth of luxury goods production to 'journalism' that reports on the latest purchases, commissions, and 'life lessons' of the newly rich and famous. The past 12 years has also seen a change in attitudes towards collective welfare. Citizens of the NCR rarely face significant dangers on a daily basis, and survival is an assumption rather than an aspiration. Citizens are far more reluctant to share food and other resources, and the person who provides services free of charge, whether it's something as quotidian as sewing or as rarefied as surgical expertise, are now the exception rather than the rule. An added economic strain is the scarcity of salvageable goods. Sixty-five years of scavenging has done a good job of picking clean the wastes of what was once Southern California. Rare are those individuals who can make a living by scavenging and hunting what they need. A consequence of these economic and cultural transformations has been the rebirth of wage labor. Whereas one's labor was until recently seen as benefitting and belonging to a collective (whether a family or small town), it has now become a commodity. To earn their keep, many citizens must seek an employer and trade the sweat of their brow for Caps. Citizens of the NCR hold a variety of opinions about these developments. Many boast of their nation's economic strength; others decry what they feel has been lost. Many curse the selfishness of their fellow citizens, usually while pursuing aims that will benefit only themselves or their families. Here in the Vegas wastes, however, nearly all citizens will agree on one matter: opportunity has dried up back home, and to earn a fortune, one must come East." (Behind the Bright Lights & Big City) Note: The cited excerpt was written when Fallout: New Vegas was still set in 2253. Dates were updated to match the current date, 2281.
↑Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition p.457: "Equality By law, the NCR prohibits persecution and discrimination on the basis of gender, ethnicity, sexuality, or religious belief (so long as said religion does not advocate violence). Legal protection of Ghouls and other mutants was added in 2205, though enforcement of these rights has been spotty. For the most part, the NCR's practices live up to its ideals, but there has been some retrenchment since the death of President Tandi. Aaron Kimball's popularity was amplified by a reactionary undercurrent, especially among males, calling out a need for a 'strong man' to lead the NCR forward. In the years since Kimball took office, male military officers have been promoted disproportionately to females, and discourse arguing the differences between males and females has reappeared." (Behind the Bright Lights & Big City)
↑Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition p.455: "Blame towards... [Insert Chosen Group of Idiots Here] Though it may seem paradoxical to their claim that the NCR is the greatest nation on Earth, NCR citizens frequently proclaim that their nation is 'riding to hell on a hand grenade!' due to the incompetence or malfeasance of one or more groups of idiots. The blamed parties range from politicians (the ruling council is a 'pit of Radscorpions') to the wealthy Brahmin Barons ('they got even bigger teats than their herds, with four to five council members dangling off each one!') to Ghouls, Super Mutants, and other monsters ('you gonna tell me some mutie with horns like a brahmin's gonna sit next to my Stephie while she learns her a-b-c's? Not if you value your teeth!') to the ever popular hobby of blaming citizens from a State other than your own ('Damn Shadies!' or 'Damn Hub-Heads!' or 'Damn Glowsters!' et cetera)." (Behind the Bright Lights & Big City)
Non-canon
↑Boulder design document/1 pp. 2-3:"Four years ago, when things start to fall apart out in NCR, Presper sent out his last team of scientists and grad students. Agnes, a fellow NCR scientist and frequent diplomat from the scientific community to the government, is the leader of the expedition. Using her skills and a 'diplomatic immunity' pass she carried, she makes her way to Hoover Dam. Two days later, the NCR Congress building is destroyed, presumably in a conflict with the BOS. The destruction of the congressional building is a severe upset to NCR and travel becomes difficult. Only by circuitous routes and careful display of her pass is Agnes' expedition able to reach Hoover Dam a year later. She runs into Goddard, a former colleague (they were both scientific advisors to NCR at one point). Goddard knows Eddie Galenski, a long-haul trucker with an armored vehicle, and together the large group makes its way to Boulder Dome. The group includes Agnes and the grad students, Goddard and his military escort, Galenski, his wife Helen, and their children. Though they lose a few students along the way, they eventually reach Boulder Dome and enter using the passcodes Presper gave them. In a strange accident the scientists and grad students are infected with a form of the New Plague and are forced to quarantine themselves from Goddard's soldiers and the trucker family; after two months trying to fight the disease, the scientists realize that they're stuck with it for now and have to live in protective suits whenever they want to interact with the rest of the Dome population."
↑Boulder design document/3 p.24: "To Presper: 'How did you know it was going to happen? You knew because you did it, Presper. Don't lie to me. I heard it from Agnes – you told them to leave NCR before the Hall of Congress was destroyed. Why?' "
