National Government

Federalism State and National Government share power THERE ARE THREE LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT NATIONAL STATE LOCAL

State vs. National Government

National Government 3 branches of government Legislative- makes laws Executive-enforces laws Judicial- interprets laws Congress: legislative President: executive Supreme Court: judicial

Congress

Quick Question: Which Article of the Constitution deals with the Congress (legislative branch)?

How Congress is Organized

Bicameral Legislature 2 Houses House of Representatives

House of Representatives 2 year terms Organized by state According to population- so the more populous the state is, the more representatives) Census- every 10 years we take a population count.

House of Representatives Census Each state is divided into congressional districts Each district must have the same number of constituents. Constituents= people represented

Gerrymandering Oddly shaped district designed to increase voting strength of a particular district.

The original Gerrymander In 1812 Governor Eldbridge GERRY of Massachusetts had district lines drawn to benefit his political party in elections. One of the districts was said to resemble a salamander. Hence the name “GERRYMANDER”.

How many districts are there in the US? There are 435 districts in the US. (435 US House of Representative seats). Each state has a certain number of districts. Each district has about 700,00 constituents in it. Since FL is very populated, we have 27 districts. Some unpopulated states only have 1 district, like Wyoming and Alaska. The state with the most districts is California- they have 53 districts.

Districts in FL

Bicameral Legislature 2 Houses Senate

Senate 100 members 2 per state (regardless of population) Six year terms These are the 2 US Senators who represent Florida. Bill Nelson, a Democrat (left) & Marco Rubio, a Republican (right).

Who gets to be in charge? Majority Party- The political party with the most members in Congress Minority Party- The party with less members in Congress

House of Representatives Speaker of the House: Leader of the House of Reps. Article I, Section 2 of the US Constitution says "The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker..." Paul Ryan Republican Republicans are the majority party in the House

Senate Vice President of the US President Pro tempore: President of the Senate Joe Biden-Democrat Only votes in the case of a tie President Pro tempore: Chairperson Not really a leader Orrin Hatch-Republican Republicans are the majority party in the Senate

Committees: Little Legislatures In a congressional term (2 years) about 10,000 bills are proposed in Congress! That is a lot of work!!! Committees help to break up the work

Different kinds of committees Standing Committee- permanent committees -The House of Representatives has 19 -The Senate has 16 Select Committee- set up for a special reason and limited time -The 9/11 Commission was a committee that was established to investigate 9/11 attacks.

Different kinds of committees 3. Joint Committees - Has members both the House and Senate

What are the powers of Congress?

Powers specifically listed in the Constitution Article 1, Section 8: lists specific powers Congress has. These are called EXPRESSED POWERS. EXPRESSED POWERS=Specific powers given by the Constitution IMPLIED POWERS= Powers not expressly given in the Constitution. Elastic Clause(Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18)-Allows Congress to “stretch” its powers when necessary.

Elastic Clause(Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18)-Allows Congress to “stretch” its powers when necessary.

Powers of Congress Legislative power- power to make laws Non-Legislative- duties other than lawmaking

Powers of Congress Legislative Powers- power to make laws Taxing and Spending Regulating Commerce Foreign Relations and Treaties

1. Taxing and Spending All taxes start in the House of Representatives. There are 2 steps: Authorization Bills: -create projects to spend money on Appropriations Bills: - provide the money for each program

2. Regulating Commerce Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3- gives Congress power to regulate commerce. Commerce: trade Air traffic, railroads, trucking, radio, TV, air pollution, stock market.

3. Foreign Relations and Treaties Declaring War Senate approves treaties made by President

Powers of Congress Non-Legislative Powers- duties other than lawmaking Adding Amendments Power of Approval and Removal Oversight and Investigation

1. Adding Amendments Congress has the power to change the Constitution Amendment proposal requires 2/3 vote in both houses of Congress (House of Rep & Senate).

2. Approval and Removal Power to approve or reject presidential appointments (checks and balances) Power to remove any official from office. Impeach: to accuse a public official of misconduct

3. Oversight and Investigation Power to watch what the other branches (executive, judicial) are doing.

Limits on Power

Writ of Habeas Corpus Cannot suspend Habeas Corpus Latin for “you should have the body”. Requires the government to produce a prisoner before a court and justify his or her imprisonment.

Bills of Attainder Not allowed Laws that punish a person without a trial “Ms. Potts is guilty” (That’s the law)

Ex Post Facto Laws Not allowed Ex Post Facto= “Before the Fact” Laws that make an act a crime after the act has been committed.

Requirements of Congress Senate 30 years old Live in state US citizen for 9 years House of Representatives 25 years old US citizen for 7 years

Congress Pay Congress sets their own salary Right now Congress gets paid $174,000/year Their salary has been the same since 2009. What does Amendment 27 say? It’s about Congress’ salary! Look it up!

Personal Staff Helpers of all Congress members Secretaries, researchers, etc.

Lobbyists Lobbyists: people hired by private groups to influence government

Casework People requesting help from the government Congress gets about 80,000 emails each day!!!

What’s going on here? What do you see that makes you say that?

How a bill becomes a law