THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH ARTICLE I CONGRESS

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Term: 2 years Qualifications  25 years old  7 years as a U.S. citizen  Resident of represented state

Richard Hudson (District 8)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Number of representatives: 435 Head of House of Representatives  Speaker of the House Decides the committees each member will serve on Decides the order in which bills will be heard John Boehner – Speaker

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Special Powers of the House of Representatives  All money (appropriations) bills start here  Select the President in an Electoral College tie  Write the article of impeachment against high ranking officials

DIVIDING POWER EQUALLY Apportionment—The division of states into districts to determine how many representatives a state will get in the House of Representatives. Based on the population. Gerrymander -- an irregular district designed to increase the voting strength of a certain group.

SENATE Term of office: 6 years Qualifications:  30 years old  9 years a citizen of the U.S.  Resident of the represented state

Richard Burr (Rep.)Kay Hagan (Dem.) North Carolina Senators

SENATE Number of Senators: 100 Head of the Senate: U.S. Vice President Day to day head of Senate: President Pro Tempore Power: Decides committee members and order bill are debated.

SENATE Special Powers  Approves all treaties  Approves all appointments  Chooses the Vice President in an Electoral College tie  Acts as the jury in all trials of impeachment

CONGRESS Both houses: Must keep a Journal:  The Congressional Record Must hold sessions at the same time:  Sessions begin January 3 rd each year Must have a quorum to do business:  51% of members present on the floor

CONGRESS Both houses make their own rules for behavior and punishments  Censure: formally reprimand, written in the record  Fines and penalties may be set for some offenses  Expulsion: members with gross misconduct may be thrown out of office

COMMITTEES The Committee System—The Senate and the House of Representatives are divided into different committees that work on issues. Standing Committees—Permanent committees that meet year round. Select Committees—Committees created to do a specific job for a limited period of time. Joint Committees—A committee that has members from both the House of Rep. and the Senate. Conference Committee—A committee made up of members from both houses that helps the House and Senate to agree on the details of a bill.

Standing Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Appropriations Armed Services Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Budget Commerce, Science, and Transportation Energy and Natural Resources Environment and Public Works Finance Foreign Relations Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Judiciary Rules and Administration Small Business and Entrepreneurship Veterans' Affairs Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Appropriations Armed Services Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Budget Commerce, Science, and Transportation Energy and Natural Resources Environment and Public Works Finance Foreign Relations Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Judiciary Rules and Administration Small Business and Entrepreneurship Veterans' Affairs Joint Joint Committee on Printing Joint Committee on Taxation Joint Committee on the Library Joint Economic Committee Joint Committee on Printing Joint Committee on Taxation Joint Committee on the Library Joint Economic Committee Special, Select, and Other Indian Affairs Select Committee on Ethics Select Committee on Intelligence Special Committee on Aging Indian Affairs Select Committee on Ethics Select Committee on Intelligence Special Committee on Aging

MAKING DECISIONS Filibuster—A Senator who is given the opportunity to speak to the Senate talks and doesn’t give up the floor until the bill he/she is talking about is removed from voting. “talk the bill to death“ Cloture—3/5 of the can Senate vote to end a filibuster; call for a vote.

LONGEST FILIBUSTER EVER The record for the longest filibuster goes to U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, who spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957, according to U.S. Senate records.Strom ThurmondSouth CarolinaCivil Rights Act of 1957 Thurmond began speaking at 8:54 p.m. on Aug. 28 and continued until 9:12 p.m. the following evening, reciting the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, President George Washington's farewell address and other historical documents along the way. Declaration of IndependenceBill of RightsPresident George Washington's farewell address Thurmond was not the only lawmaker to filibuster on the issue, however. According to Senate records, teams of senators consumed 57 days filibustering between March 26 and June 19, the day the Civil Rights Act of 1957 passed.

PRIVILEGES AND COMPENSATION OF CONGRESS MEMBERS: Salary $147,000 per year Medical and dental benefits Free office, parking, and trips to home state Staff budget Tax break on second home Franking privilege- free postage on all mail to constituents

PRIVILEGES AND COMPENSATION OF CONGRESS MEMBERS: Immunity or legal protection: Cannot be sued of anything they say or write while carrying out their duties Cannot be arrested for minor offenses while Congress is in session May not hold in other political office at the same time

Raise and collect taxes Borrow money Regulate commerce Set laws for Naturalization and Bankruptcy Coin Money Punish counterfeiting Post office Copyrights and patents Set up courts Declare war Establish the military and National guard Make rules and allot funds for the military and National guard Punish pirates Run Washington D.C. and all federal property Elastic clause- implied power POWERS OF CONGRESS

ELASTIC CLAUSE The necessary and proper clause gives Congress the power to make laws “necessary and proper” to carry out the delegated duties Also known as the ‘elastic clause’ it stretches the power given Congress

POWERS DENIED CONGRESS Congress cannot make laws concerning slave trade until 1808 Cannot suspend the writ of Habeas Corpus- must show cause for holding a suspect except in wartime No ex post facto law- cannot punish a person for an act committed before there was a law against it.

POWERS DENIED CONGRESS No direct tax- the 16 th amendment allows income tax No tax on exports All states must be treated the same Congress must approve all expenditures of the President through laws No titles of nobility