Unit 4: The Legislative Branch

The Legislative Branch: Congress  Article I gives the law-making power to Congress  Members of Congress represents the people of a particular geographic area (constituents)  Balance constituents’ needs with that of the country— find a common good

Structure of Congress  Bicameral: Two chambers  House of Representatives:  Seats are apportioned based on population; larger the state the more representatives they have  435 members (additional non-voting members)  Serve two year terms  Senate:  Two Senators from each state  Six year terms (1/3 of seats up for election every two years)

Bicameral  Britain had a two-house Parliament  Resulted from the Great Compromise  How?  Virginia Plan v. New Jersey Plan  House more reflective of the people’s will  Jefferson: “We pour legislation (from the House) into the senatorial saucer to cool it.”

Checks and Balances  Power of the Purse  Appropriation: Set aside funds for a specific purpose  Allows Congress to prevent the executive branch from carrying out policies it disagrees with  BUT cannot lower the pay of the President and judges during their time in office

Checks and Balances, cont’d…  Power of Advice and Consent  President makes treaties, appointments, etc.  Senate must approve these (2/3 vote)  Impeachment Power  Power to charge officials in executive and judicial branches with wrongdoing and bring them to trial  Begins in the House—draws up charges, majority vote approves them  Senate holds a trial, VP acts as a judge (or Chief Justice)  “High Crimes and Misdemeanors”

Checks and Balances, cont’d…  Can begin the amendment process  Can override a presidential veto (2/3 majority)  Oversight: Powers to review how the executive branch is operating and to make sure it is following the laws Congress has passed

Identify the Word…  Article I  Constituents  Apportioned  Bicameral  House of Representatives

Identify the Word…  Oversight  Veto  Appropriations  Impeachment  Senate

Powers of Congress  Expressed Powers: Specific Congressional powers granted by the Constitution (taxation, coining money, regulating commerce, raising and maintaining armed forces and declaring war)  Implied Powers: Powers only suggested by the Constitution (Necessary and Proper Clause)

Powers of Congress, cont’d…  Inherent Powers: Powers that all governments of independent nations possess, do not need to be spelled out (Control borders, make agreements with other nations)  Powers Denied Congress (No favorites or illegal punishment laws)

Expressed Powers  Three categories:  Finance and revenue:  Levying taxes, borrowing money, indirect taxes, direct taxes  Regulation and commerce  Interstate commerce, Commerce Clause  National defense  President is Commander in Chief but Congress declares war, War Powers Act

Additional Expressed Powers  Coinage power  National postal service  Copyrights and patents  Weights and measures  Bankruptcy  Naturalization  Federal courts  Congressional elections

Implied Powers  Framers couldn’t list all possible powers that future Congress would need, thus the Necessary and Proper Clause  How should it be viewed?  Loose v. Strict Constructionists  Historically, Congress has used the Necessary and Proper Clause to create a variety of laws and federal programs not expressly stated in the Constitution (Social Security, Medicare, etc.)

Nonlegislative Powers  Both houses:  Propose amendments  Conduct investigations  Impeachments  Confirming appointees  Declaring War  House:  Choosing the President (if no candidate gets the majority of votes)  Senate:  Choosing the VP (if no candidate gets the majority of votes)  Providing advice on appointments

Limits on Congress  Separation of powers  Judicial review  Presidential veto power  Executive interpretation/lax enforcement  Cannot favor one state over another  Cannot suspend habeas corpus  No bills of attainder (declaring someone guilty without a trial)  No ex post facto laws (retroactive punishment)

Can Congress Do That??!?!  License Professionals  Collect Taxes  Make Treaties  Regulate Interstate Commerce (Between 2+ states)  Declare War  Regulate Education  Coin Money  Enforce Laws  Regulate Trade within a State  Raise an Army  Grant Copyrights  Regulate Marriage  Regulate Gambling  Make Traffic Regulations  Fix Standard Weights  Punish Counterfeiters

House of Representatives  More closely in touch with the people  Formal qualifications:  25 years old  US citizen for at least seven years  Resident of the state he/she represents

Reapportioning/Redistricting  435 members of the House representing 300+ million Americans  Constitution requires reapportionment based on population shifts (via the census)  Gerrymandering: Redistricting based on population shifts is left to the state, but typically parties in power tend to shift district lines to give their party the advantage

Reapportioning/Redistricting, cont’d…  One Person, One Vote: Congressional districts within a state must be roughly equal in population

House Leadership  Speaker of the House  Elected by members of the House and comes from the majority party  Paul Ryan (R-WI) is current SoH  Jobs: Presides over debates, recognizes speakers, assigns bills to committees, determines when a bill will be brought up for debate, etc.  Second in line of succession to the presidency

House Leadership, cont’d…  Floor leaders  One for each party, manages actions and strategy of the party, chief spokesmen for each party  Majority Leader (party in power)  Minority Leader  Whips  One for each party, encourages fellow party members to vote as the party leadership wants  Party Caucus  Meeting of all the House members from a particular political party, election of party officers take place here

Rules Committee  House can make whatever rules it considers necessary to carry out its business  Rules Committee: Decides when, how, and conditions of debate

Committees  Standing Committees: Permanent, deal with major areas of legislation, typically have four subcommittees  Select Committees: Carries out specific tasks like investigations  Joint Committees: Both chambers, address broad issues that affect both House and Senate

Committees, cont’d…  Committee Chairs: Great power, chosen by majority party  Members request committee assignments  House members can serve on only two standing committees and four subcommittees

Senate  Considered the upper house, more power and prestige, must win statewide elections  Formal qualifications:  30 years old  US citizen for at least nine years  Resident of the state he or she represents  Six year terms, one third of the seats come up for election every two years  Used to be selected by state legislatures (17 th Amendment)

Senate Leadership  President of the Senate=Vice President of US  Presides over debate, acknowledges speakers, but does not take part in debate, can’t vote (except to break a tie),  President Pro-Tempore  Presides over Senate when the VP isn’t there  Chosen by Senate but is typically part of majority party with most service  Third in line for Presidential succession

Party Leaders  Senate Majority Leader:  Voted on by majority party, spokesperson and strategist for the party, helps get party members desired committee assignments  Senate Minority Leader  Senate Majority/Minority Whips

Senate Committees  16 Standing committees/dozens of subcommittees  Joint committees (with the House)  Senators serve on no more than three committees and five subcommittees, assignments are determined by caucus  Committee chairs: Powerful, set committee’s schedule, decide what bills will be discussed, always members of majority party

Senate Committee Power  Provides advice and consent on certain top presidential nominees  Debates and votes on any treaties the government negotiates (2/3 majority)

Rules and Traditions  Filibuster  Cloture: An end to debate (2/3 vote)  Discipline in Senate/expulsion from Senate  Filling vacancies

Legislative Action  From politicians, the president, constituents or special interest groups  Both House and Senate introduce bills (but appropriations bills must begin in the House)  May take on a single subject or a variety of subjects  Riders  Joint Resolutions  Using military force (but not declaring war)

Legislative Action, cont’d…  Concurrent Resolutions: Deal with issues for both houses and express an opinion but are NOT signed by the president

How a Bill Becomes a Law…  First determine what committee will be assigned each bill  House: SoH  Senate: Majority Leader  Written rules govern this referral process  Can then be assigned to subcommittees

How a Bill Becomes a Law, cont’d…  Committee and Subcommittee hearings:  Subcommittees report findings to full committee  Vote by full committee  Revisions and additions  Send to floor  Written report explaining why they favor the bill  OR…kill the bill  Can result in a discharge petition (only in House)

How a Bill Becomes a Law, cont’d…  IN THE HOUSE:  SoH determines what bills will be debated  House Rules Committee  Adopts rules that will govern the procedures under which the bill will be considered by the House (because the House doesn’t have unlimited debating)  Committee of Whole/Quorum  Role Call Voting

How a Bill Becomes a Law, cont’d…  IN THE SENATE:  Majority Leader determines what bills will be debated  No rules committee, unlimited debate  Thus, a filibuster/cloture vote  Roll Call Voting

How a Bill Becomes a Law, cont’d…  Conference Committee  If House & Senate pass different bills, it is then sent to the Conference Committee  Basically formulates a compromise which is approved by both chambers  Presidential Action  Three Options  Sign the bill, making it a law  Pocket Veto  Veto the bill (can be overturned by 2/3 of both chambers)

Pork Barrel Bills  Trying to get federal money for projects that benefit the home district of a member of Congress  “Bringing home the bacon”