THE HOUSE AND SENATE

SWBAT Identify the differences between the house of representatives in terms of membership/qualifications Understand the hierarchy of the both the House and the Senate

THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Membership is based upon the states population Population is determined by a census which is taken every 10 years. Example: California has 53 and Wyoming has 1.

REPRESENTATIVES Membership in the House is limited to 435 members after That means there are 624,000 people for every representative!

REPRESENTATIVES Members of the House are referred to as Representatives. They have always been directly elected by the people

QUALIFICATIONS What is your guess? Age: 25 Years of citizenship: 7

TERMS (HOW LONG THEY ARE IN OFFICE) How long are they in office 2 years How many terms can they serve No Limit

HIERARCHY (LEADERSHIP) The person in charge of the HOR (House of Representatives) is… The Speaker of The House The Speaker of the House is ALWAYS a member of the Majority party Majority party : Two party system, (Republicans and Democrats) the party with more elects the Speaker of the House Reelected every two years. Paul Ryan

SPEAKER The Speaker of the House has a lot of power, they are “in charge” of the house and decide which bills are heard and which are not. Precedes over debates, he or she decides who may speak during a debate.

MAJORITY/MINORITY LEADERS Majority Leader, is second to the Speaker of the House Minority Leader, The leader/spokesperson for the party holding the minority of the seats in the House.

MAJORITY/MINORITY WHIP Whips report directly to the majority and minority leaders. The main job is to get votes for their party’s bills, and to judge the number of votes they think the bill will receive.

SENATE Based on equal representation each state has 2 Senators total of 100 members

SENATE Members of the Senate are referred to as Senators Senators have not always been directly elected by the people. Originally they were chosen by state legislatures. 1913, it was changed, and now Senators are also directly elected.

QUALIFICATIONS What is your guess? Age: 30 Years of citizenship: 9

TERMS How long are they in office 6 years How many terms can they serve No Limit

HIERARCHY The Vice President is technically the leader of the Senate No real power Only votes in the case of a tie.

THE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE The President Pro Tempore is typically the most senior member of the majority party. No real power either. Orrin Hatch

MAJORITY/MINORITY LEADERS Majority Leader, is second to the President Pro Tempore Minority Leader, The leader/spokesperson for the party holding the minority of the seats in the Senate. Leadership

MAJORITY/MINORITY WHIP Whips report directly to the majority and minority leaders. The main job is to get votes for their parties bills, and to judge the number of votes they think the bill will receive.

CONGRESS Made up of the House of Representatives, and the Senate

DELEGATED POWERS Borrowing Power Power to Tax Commerce Power Currency Power Bankruptcies War Powers Issue Copyrights/Patents

IMPLIED POWERS Based upon the “Elastic Clause” or the “Necessary and Proper Clause” Congress can pass laws it deems “necessary and proper” to carry out its specified functions.

NON LEGISLATIVE POWERS Impeachment: Based upon simple majority in the House, but once tried, it is by the Senate, and must vote for removal by 2/3 vote. Andrew Johnson Bill Clinton Richard Nixon

OVERSIGHT Power of the Congress to review the policies and programs of the executive branch.

WHEN A BILL IS PASSED Congress has the ability to authorize money for the bill, or set a maximum amount that can be spent That is just an authorization they also need to appropriate the funds, which is when the money is actually given out Congress is the branch of government that can approve deficit spending. (Spending more than they bring in)