Legislative Branch

Presidential role in the Legislative Branch In the Legislative Process, the president can make drastic changes to a bill if necessary. A bill must pass both houses of Congress before it goes to the President for consideration. When receiving a bill from Congress, the President has several options. If the President agrees substantially with the bill, he or she may sign it into law, and the bill is then printed in the Statutes at Large. If the President believes the law to be bad policy, he may veto it and send it back to Congress. Congress may override the veto with a two-thirds vote of each chamber, at which point the bill becomes law and is printed.

Whats the Difference between House of Rep. and Senate? Minimum age: H-25 years S-30 years Length of term: H-2 years S-6 years Number of members: H-435 S-100 Citizenship: H-7 years S-9 years Election: H-no limit S-every 2 years Majority Leaders: H- initiate impeachment and pass articles of impeachment S- advise and consent on presidential appts Minority Leaders: H-works to protect minorities rights S-select slate of readers

Requirements to Serve in the Senate

The Organization of Congress Majority Leader -manage legislation -the majority leader is the chief spokesperson for the majority party Minority Leader -1st in command of the party -floor leader of the second largest caucus in a legislative body A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature Majority Whip -persuades reps to vote -help majority leader Minority Whip -Performs duties of whip for the minority party. Members of the minority party elect the Minority Whip

What is the purpose of a Congressional Committee? Ease workload & divide work Select worthy bills Help public learn about bills Types: Standing- permanent committees Select- temporary to study a specific issue Joint- made up of members of both chambers Conference- temporary committee to resolve issues over versions of a bill Choosing Committee Members: Membership is extremely important for congressmen Each political party assigns members of Congress to standing committees

How a Bill Becomes a Law *What power does the president have over a bill? *Where does a bill start? Steps…(condensed) Every bill starts out as an idea Every bill must be introduced by a congressman (house or senate) After each bill is introduced, they are sent to standing committees The life or death of a bill is decided. The ones who survive are sent to committee to research A committee meets in a markup session to make changes to the bill If the bill is approved by committee, it’s ready for consideration by the full house or senate When the members of congress are ready to vote, they can either have a voice vote, standing vote, roll-call, or recorded vote

how a bill becomes a law continued.. Less than 10% of bills become laws because the process is long and complicated, the sponsors of the bill have to compromise with the lawmakers and interest groups, and the members of congress support bills that never become a bill The ideas of a bill usually comes from special interest groups and people of congress Bills are given the title H.R.1 and S.1 when they are introduced When the bill reaches the floor, 2 houses argue about changing the bill The president has the power to veto, sign into law or do nothing for 10 days to the received bill