The Legislative Branch Article I Congress

Basics of Congress Bicameral – Two Houses House of Representatives Lower Chamber 435 members Divided among states based on population Senate Upper Chamber 100 members elected 2 per state

Bicameral Congress

Basics of Congress Congressional Terms Begin in January of odd years January 2017  115th Congress Each term has two sessions President can call “special sessions”

Basics of Congress Must keep a Journal: The Congressional Record Must have a quorum to do business: 51% of members present on the floor

Basics of Congress Both houses make their own rules for behavior and punishments Censure: formally reprimand, written in the record Fines and penalties may be set for some offenses Expulsion: members with gross misconduct may be thrown out of office

House of Representatives Term: 2 years Qualifications 25 years old 7 years as a U.S. citizen Resident of represented state

House of Representatives Head of House of Representatives Speaker of the House From majority party-members vote Decides the committees each member will serve on Decides the order in which bills will be heard

House of Representatives Special Powers of the House of Representatives All money (appropriations) bills start here Select the President in an Electoral College tie Write the article of impeachment against high ranking officials

Senate Term of office: 6 years Qualifications: 30 years old 9 years a citizen of the U.S. Resident of the represented state

Senate President of the Senate: U.S. Vice President Day to day head of Senate: President Pro Tempore Power: Decides committee members and order bill are debated.

Senate Special Powers Approves all treaties Approves all appointments Chooses the Vice President in an Electoral College tie Acts as the jury in all trials of impeachment

Characteristics of Congress Common Characteristics White middle-aged males – 80% Mostly Christian – 92% Lawyer is most common background – 43%

By Gender

By Race

By Religion

Privileges and Compensation Salary $174,000 per year Medical and dental benefits Free office, parking, and trips to home state Staff budget Tax break on second home Franking privilege- free postage on all mail to constituents

Privileges and Compensation Immunity or legal protection: Cannot be sued of anything they say or write while carrying out their duties Cannot be arrested for minor offenses while Congress is in session May not hold in other political office at the same time

Types of Powers Delegated or Enumerated or Expressed Elastic Clause or Necessary & Proper Clause Denied Powers to Federal Government Denied Powers to State Governments Reserved Powers belong to states Concurrent Powers - shared

Powers of Congress Raise and collect taxes Borrow money Regulate commerce Set laws for Naturalization and Bankruptcy Coin Money Punish counterfeiting Post office Copyrights and patents Set up courts Declare war Establish the military and National guard Make rules and allot funds for the military and National guard Punish pirates Run Washington D.C. and all federal property Elastic clause- implied power

ELASTIC CLAUSE The necessary and proper clause gives Congress the power to make laws “necessary and proper” to carry out the delegated duties Also known as the ‘elastic clause’ it stretches the power given Congress

Powers denied Congress Congress cannot make laws concerning slave trade until 1808 Cannot suspend the writ of Habeas Corpus- must show cause for holding a suspect except in wartime No ex post facto law- cannot punish a person for an act committed before there was a law against it.

Powers denied Congress No direct tax- the 16th amendment allows income tax No tax on exports All states must be treated the same Congress must approve all expenditures of the President through laws No titles of nobility

Powers denied the States Cannot coin money Cannot have a state militia, troops, or navy Cannot make treaties No ex post facto law Cannot suspend the Writ of Habeas Corpus No import or export tax No titles of nobility Cannot pass any law that the Federal government is not allowed to pass

House Representation - Districts States earn representatives based on population called Congressional Districts One person/One vote in each district Congressional districts- 1 rep per 700,000 Supreme Court case Wesberry v. Sanders (1964) – said districts must be constructed by geography and population

House Representation-Reapportionment Reassigns # of reps to states based on changes in the population Based on Census held every 10 years # set at 435 by Reapportionment Act of 1929

House Redistricting Redistricting – the process of redrawing district boundaries when a state has more representatives than districts. Follows reapportionment State legislatures set up districts Gerrymandering – party in control of state legislature sets up districts to gain seats in the House

Election & Re-election “All members of Congress have one primary interest – to be re-elected.” Federal Elections Every 2 years (even # years) Elects all 435 House members Elects 1/3 of Senators

Election & Re-election Power of Incumbents Those already in office seeking re-election 85-90% are re-elected…why? Role of Interest Groups and Lobbyists?

Is Gerrymandering Illegal? Wesberry v. Sanders (1964) Case started in Georgia - required for each district to have equal populations Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960) Case started in Alabama – Gerrymandering based on race violates the 15th Amendment

Committee Categories Standing Committees – continue from one Congress to the next Select Committees – temporary & formed for one specific issue Joint Committees – both houses work to study/handle issues common to both Conference Committee – formed when there are differences in bills

Standing Committees Most important- Propose legislation by reporting a bill out to the full house or senate House has 19 Committees Members serve on two committees Senate has 16 Committees Members may serve on two major and one minor committee

House Exclusive Committees Appropriations Rules Ways and Means

Party in Committee The majority party maintains the majority of the seats in each committee The majority party determines the chair of the committee ( HR-6 year limit) Ratio is roughly the same as the total congressional house

The Legislative Process It is a slow & deliberate process Follow the flow chart Most work done in committees Importance of debate and discussion Must be agreement between House and Senate

Members of Congress think about FOUR FACTORS when deciding whether to vote for a law.

FACTOR #1 Does the Constitution give Congress the power to pass the law?

FACTOR #2 What is my personal opinion?

FACTOR #2 PERSONAL OPINION Members of Congress are human beings, just like you! Love it! Sometimes they agree with a bill… No way! …and sometimes they are totally against a bill.

FACTOR #3 POLITICAL PARTY VIEWS People in a political party share similar values. They work for laws that reflect those values.

FACTOR #3 POLITICAL PARTY VIEWS For a member of Congress, being in a political party is like being on a team. Members of the team support each other and try to create bills that reflect their values.

FACTOR #3 POLITICAL PARTY VIEWS Usually members of Congress agree with their political party about bills. But sometimes they don’t.

FACTOR #4 WHAT THE VOTERS THINK Voters send people to Congress . . . . . . and voters can kick people out!

The President in the Legislative Process Congress NEEDS the President to help advance their legislative agenda President’s Veto Power impacts the bill sent to him

President’s Options President has 3 choices: Sign the bill – it becomes law Veto the bill Do nothing… Failure to sign within 10 days – bill becomes law without his signature “Pocket Veto”- bill will automatically killed if it is sent to him during last 10 days of Congress’ session