Unit 7: The Legislative Branch & Congress Learning Goals: After this Unit you will be able to: 1. Compare and contrast the two houses of Congress, to include qualifications, rules of conduct, and apportionment 2. Explain the structure of how each hose of Congress is organized. 3. Differentiate between delegated and implied powers. 4. Explain the process of impeachment.

REVIEW B. NO SINGLE “BRANCH” IS MORE POWERFUL AS POWERS ARE SEPARATE! A. The 3 “branches” of government are: (LEJ) Legislative Branch – make the laws Executive Branch – enforce the laws Judicial Branch – interpret the laws. B. NO SINGLE “BRANCH” IS MORE POWERFUL AS POWERS ARE SEPARATE! C. Separation of Powers limits the power of the government.

D. Checks and Balances = Each “branch” can check (or restrain) the powers of the others. E. Checks & Balances limits the power of the government.

I. The Legislative Branch A. Outlined in Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution B. Article 1 explains the responsibilities of the L- Branch C. LB = Congress

II. Congress A. Two house system: 1. The House of Representatives 2. The Senate B. 535 total members: 1. THOR = 435 2. Senate = 100 C. #1 responsibility = MAKE the laws

F. Currently, we are in the “114th Congress, 1st Session”. D. Congressional Term: 2 years long, begins on January 3rd E. A Congressional Term is made of two sessions (each a year long) F. Currently, we are in the “114th Congress, 1st Session”.

III. Why TWO Houses? A. Congress = bicameral legislature = a lawmaking body divided into two houses B. THOR = based on population = the bigger the population the more representatives it gets VIRGINIA PLAN C. Senate = two representatives per state NJ PLAN

IV. The House of Representatives A. “The Lower House” = Closer to the people B. 435 members with 2 year long terms C. Each state receives a specific number of members based on the state population

D. State population is counted every ten years by the “census” E. Leader of THOR = Speaker of the House (2nd in line for presidency) Paul Ryan

The House of Representatives

F. Each state is divided into Congressional Districts, each district is designed to have an equal population G. Each district is assigned ONE person from THOR to represent their local area Florida = 27 members in THOR So…that means Florida is broken up into 27 districts of equal population. Each district gets one person

H. Gerrymandering: the process of creating oddly shaped districts to increase the voting strength of a particular group. EX: Creating a district that more registered democrats live. This ensures during election time the Democrat candidate will win and be that districts representative in THOR

I. Tallahassee & Leon County are in the 2nd Congressional District of Florida J. Our district representative in THOR = Neal Dunn (R)

V. Senate A. “The Upper House” = smaller and more elite B. 100 members with 6 year long terms C. Only 1/3 of the senate is up for re-election at a time D. Leader = Vice President Leader #2 = President Pro Tempore (3rd in line for presidency) Orrin Hatch

E. In the U.S. Senate, Florida is represented by Bill Nelson (D) and Marco Rubio (R)

VI. Congressional Leadership A. In Congress Political Parties control each house B. The political party with more than ½ is called the majority party C. The political party with fewest number of representatives is called the minority party D. The current majority party of both houses is the Republican Party

E. Each majority party has a majority leader F. Each majority leader has an assistant known as the “majority whip” : helps enforce rules, prepares everyone for voting G. The minority party also has a minority leader and a “minority whip”

Majority and Minority Leaders in THOR Majority Leader Majority Whip Minority Leader Minority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R) Steve Scalise (R) Nancy Pelosi (D) Steny Hoyer (D)

Majority and Minority Leaders in The Senate Majority Leader Majority Whip Minority Leader Minority Whip Mitch McConnell (R) John Cornyn (R) Chuck Schumer (D) Richard Durbin (D)