1. The Legislative Branch
Article I
Congress

2. Basics of Congress Bicameral – Two Houses House of Representatives
Lower Chamber
435 members
Divided among states based on population
Senate
Upper Chamber
100 members elected
2 per state

3. Bicameral Congress

4. Basics of Congress Congressional Terms Begin in January of odd years
January 2017  115th Congress
Each term has two sessions
President can call “special sessions”

5. Basics of Congress Must keep a Journal:
The Congressional Record
Must have a quorum to do business:
51% of members present on the floor

6. Basics of 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

7. House of Representatives
Term: 2 years
Qualifications
25 years old
7 years as a U.S. citizen
Resident of represented state

8. House of Representatives
Head of House of Representatives
Speaker of the House
From majority party-members vote
Decides the committees each member will serve on
Decides the order in which bills will be heard

9. 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

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

11. Senate President 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.

12. 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

13. Characteristics of Congress
Common Characteristics
White middle-aged males – 80%
Mostly Christian – 92%
Lawyer is most common background – 43%

14. By Gender

15. By Race

16. By Religion

17. Privileges and Compensation
Salary $174,000 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

18. Privileges and Compensation
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

19. Types of Powers Delegated or Enumerated or Expressed
Elastic Clause or Necessary & Proper Clause
Denied Powers to Federal Government
Denied Powers to State Governments
Reserved Powers belong to states
Concurrent Powers - shared

20. Powers of Congress 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

21. 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

22. 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.

23. Powers denied Congress
No direct tax- the 16th 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

24. Powers denied the States
Cannot coin money
Cannot have a state militia, troops, or navy
Cannot make treaties
No ex post facto law
Cannot suspend the Writ of Habeas Corpus
No import or export tax
No titles of nobility
Cannot pass any law that the Federal government is not allowed to pass

25. House Representation - Districts
States earn representatives based on population
called Congressional Districts
One person/One vote in each district
Congressional districts- 1 rep per 700,000
Supreme Court case Wesberry v. Sanders (1964) – said districts must be constructed by geography and population

26. House Representation-Reapportionment
Reassigns # of reps to states based on changes in the population
Based on Census held every 10 years
# set at 435 by Reapportionment Act of 1929

27. House Redistricting
Redistricting – the process of redrawing district boundaries when a state has more representatives than districts.
Follows reapportionment
State legislatures set up districts
Gerrymandering – party in control of state legislature sets up districts to gain seats in the House

28. Election & Re-election
“All members of Congress have one primary interest – to be re-elected.”
Federal Elections
Every 2 years (even # years)
Elects all 435 House members
Elects 1/3 of Senators

29. Election & Re-election
Power of Incumbents
Those already in office seeking re-election
85-90% are re-elected…why?
Role of Interest Groups and Lobbyists?

30. Is Gerrymandering Illegal?
Wesberry v. Sanders (1964)
Case started in Georgia - required for each district to have equal populations
Gomillion v. Lightfoot (1960)
Case started in Alabama – Gerrymandering based on race violates the 15th Amendment

31. Committee Categories
Standing Committees – continue from one Congress to the next
Select Committees – temporary & formed for one specific issue
Joint Committees – both houses work to study/handle issues common to both
Conference Committee – formed when there are differences in bills

32. Standing Committees Most important-
Propose legislation by reporting a bill out to the full house or senate
House has 19 Committees
Members serve on two committees
Senate has 16 Committees
Members may serve on two major and one minor committee

33. House Exclusive Committees
Appropriations
Rules
Ways and Means

34. Party in Committee
The majority party maintains the majority of the seats in each committee
The majority party determines the chair of the committee ( HR-6 year limit)
Ratio is roughly the same as the total congressional house

35. The Legislative Process
It is a slow & deliberate process
Follow the flow chart
Most work done in committees
Importance of debate and discussion
Must be agreement between House and Senate

36. Members of Congress think about
FOUR FACTORS
when deciding whether to vote for a law.

37. FACTOR #1
Does the Constitution give Congress the power to pass the law?

38. FACTOR #2
What is my personal opinion?

39. FACTOR #2 PERSONAL OPINION
Members of Congress are human beings, just like you!
Love it!
Sometimes they agree with a bill…
No way!
…and sometimes they are totally against a bill.

40. FACTOR #3 POLITICAL PARTY VIEWS
People in a political party share similar values.
They work for laws that reflect those values.

41. FACTOR #3 POLITICAL PARTY VIEWS
For a member of Congress, being in a political party is like being on a team.
Members of the team support each other and try to create bills that reflect their values.

42. FACTOR #3 POLITICAL PARTY VIEWS
Usually members of Congress agree with their political party about bills.
But sometimes they don’t.

43. FACTOR #4 WHAT THE VOTERS THINK Voters send people to Congress . . .
. . . and voters can kick people out!

44. The President in the Legislative Process
Congress NEEDS the President to help advance their legislative agenda
President’s Veto Power impacts the bill sent to him

45. President’s Options President has 3 choices:
Sign the bill – it becomes law
Veto the bill
Do nothing…
Failure to sign within 10 days – bill becomes law without his signature
“Pocket Veto”- bill will automatically killed if it is sent to him during last 10 days of Congress’ session