How Congress Is Organized Ch. 8 Sec. 3 Pp

Congress  The terms, or meeting periods, have been numbered since their 1 st meeting in 1789  Current Congress is the 110 th  Stay in session from Jan. 3 rd until they vote to end the session (usually Oct.)  Division into committees is not in the Constitution

Leadership in Congress  Presiding officer in the House of Representatives is the Speaker of the House  Presiding officer in the Senate is the Vice President, or the President Pro Tempore when the VP is absent.  The political parties make decisions about the leadership positions Joe Biden Vice President/President of Senate

Speaker of the House  Most powerful member  Presides over sessions (decides order of business and who may speak)  Appoints committee members and refers bills to committees John Boehner

Congressional Leadership  Vice president presides over Senate, but can not take part in debates and only votes when there is a tie  Chief officers of majority and minority party in House and Senate are Floor Leaders  Work with committee leaders and help guide bills through Congress

Working in Committees  Citizens, interest groups, and the president can draw up bills  Congressmen introduce them and they are given numbers  They are then sent to one of the standing committees, and they decide if they will be introduced to Congress  Committees are needed, because over 10,000 bills introduced in a term

Committees in Congress  Select committees are formed to deal with problems not covered by standing committees  Joint committees have members from both houses and usually conduct investigations  Conference committees are formed when the two houses can not agree on a bill

The President’s Role  President can sign a bill into law  2 kinds of veto – a) send it back unsigned and Congress can override it by a 2/3 vote b) pocket veto – keeps bill for 10 days, during which Congress ends their session

Questions  The most powerful member of the House of Representative is the a. Speaker b. U.S. President c. President pro tempore d. Majority floor leader

Questions  The Constitution does not tell the a. House to pick a Speaker b. Senate to pick a president c. Congress how to make laws. d. Vice President to lead the Senate.

Questions  Why is a system of committees necessary in Congress? a. too few members of Congress b. too many bills to study c. citizens demanded committees d. U.S. Constitution requires it

Questions  Only a member of Congress can a. Draw up a bill b. Veto a bill c. Introduce a bill d. All of the above

Questions  Floor leaders work to a. create an elastic clause for the Constitution. b. gain the favor of special interest groups. c. guide bills through Congress. d. assist in selecting judges.

Questions  In order to reach the President, a bill must pass through a. the state legislatures b. only the Senate c. a standing committee d. both houses of Congress

Questions  What is true of events that can occur after the President vetoes a bill? a. the bill is dead b. bill returns to committee c. The Speaker has a day to change the bill d. Congress can override by two- thirds vote