Article 1: The Legislative Branch

Two Great Tastes The Legislature is responsible for making laws Longest text in the Constitution Has the most responsibilities of any branch of government The “Great Compromise” set up a bicameral legislature Bicameral means “two houses” House of Representatives—based on population Senate—2 per state House and Senate work together and separately Some shared responsibilities Some separate responsibilities

The House of Representatives Representation based on population Originally number of free individuals + 3/5 of all others (slaves) Called the 3/5 compromise Elections every 2 years Must be 25, a citizen for 7 years, and live in the state that elects them No more than 435 total representatives in the House Census every 10 years to determine how many reps. a state gets House is led by the Speaker of the House Nowadays chosen by the majority party (most representatives) Currently John Boehner from Ohio—but he’s resigning at the end of the month! Other leadership include party leaders and Whips Whips help count votes on bills and “whip up” support

House Responsibilities Solely responsible for creating all budget bills Bills that define how much money the government can spend Still have to have House and Senate approval to become law Responsible for investigating wrongdoings in impeachment hearings Impeachment—a motion to investigate and possible remove a politician from office for illegal, immoral, or otherwise bad actions Only serve as investigators in such cases

The Senate Two Senators from each state Currently 100 total (50 x 2) Elections every 6 years, in cycles Roughly 1/3 of Senators up for election in each election Example: Michigan elected Debbie Stabenow in 2012 and Gary Peters in 2014. No Senate election will happen in 2016. Stabenow’s seat will be up for election again in 2018. Must be 30, a citizen for 9 years, and live in the state they represent Originally chosen by state gov’t, now directly elected (17th Amendment, 1913) The Vice-President serves as “President of the Senate” Has no real power, except to cast the deciding vote in the case of a tie Majority party leader dictates the schedule Longest-serving Senator from the majority party is chosen as president pro- tempore, third in line for the Presidency if the others are unable to serve Currently Orrin Hatch, from Utah

Senate Responsibilities Serve as the “jury” in an impeachment case The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court oversees the proceedings 2/3 of Senators required to find someone unfit in impeachment hearings Can only find someone unfit to hold office, not a criminal court Confirm candidates for federal positions President’s cabinet heads Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Attorney General, etc. Federal judges Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Federal District and Circuit Courts Responsible for approving all treaties with foreign nations

Making a Law A bill is introduced into the House or the Senate Bill has sponsors and co-sponsors who support and help write it Bill goes into Committee Based on the type of bill it is Committee then discusses whether it is worth putting to a vote If it comes out of Committee, the chamber discusses it Can add amendments to change the bill Vote! If it passes the vote, the bill goes to the other chamber Starts the process over there Eventually, if both the House and Senate agree on the same wording, it gets sent to the President President can sign—IT BECOMES A LAW! President can veto—Not a law Veto can be overridden by 2/3 vote of both chambers

Other Joint Responsibilities Congress (House + Senate) can gather information on issues Called “Hearings” Hearings can be on almost any subject Experts come to the House/Senate/Both (Joint) and testify on the issue at hand Can regulate most aspects of running a nation Some big ones are: Printing money Taxing and spending tax money Running a post office Maintaining a military Regulate trade between states (this is a big deal!)

What can’t they do? Anything that the other branches do Executive (President) carries out the laws Judicial (Courts) interpret the laws Can’t pass laws that affect only one specific person/group of people Called “bills of attainder” Can’t pass laws that punish people for prior actions Called ex post facto (after the fact) laws Can’t spend money that isn’t budgeted Can’t give titles of nobility No kings, queens, dukes, counts, barons, marquises, etc.