1. Chapter 8 The Legislative Branch (Congress)

2. Section 1 The Members of Congress
Article I of the Constitution establishes the legislative branch
Congress’ main responsibility is to make laws
Each member of Congress represents his/her constituents and are their voices in Congress
Constituents: the people in their district or state

4. There are two houses in Congress
Bicameral

5. The House of Representatives
Made up of legislators who serve for two year terms
Each number of representatives is proportional to its population
There are always 435
House- 25 years, and a citizen for 7 years

6. House Apportionment
House seats are apportioned among the states every ten years, following the census.
Reapportionment—the allocation of seats in the House of Representatives to each state after each census
Redistricting—The redrawing of the boundaries of the congressional districts within each state

7. Gerrymandering
A practice of political corruption that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating geographic boundaries to create partisan, incumbent-protected, and neutral districts

11. The Senate
Each state has an equal number of representatives, regardless of population
Every state has two senators, each serving six-year terms
One third of senators are elected every two years
to make sure that there are experienced members in the Senate at all times

12. Senators and representatives must live in the state in which they are elected
Senators- must be 30, a citizen for 9 years.
Members have a few benefits, they receive on average $174,000 a year, they get free postage to their constituents- the franking privilege, and they an allowance to run both offices and paying their staff

14. Both Houses May serve as many terms as they are elected to.
Besides making laws and answering to their constituents, Congress must look at the views of members of their party, interest groups that could help finance re-elections, but their main job are as servants of the people

15. Both Houses (cont’d)
House members were meant to serve the people more closely
House members work for the people in their district, while Senators work for the people of their state

16. Thom Tillis (R)
Est. 2015
Richard Burr (R)
Est. 2005
David Rouzer (R)
Est. 2015

17. Section 2 The Powers of Congress
The major function of Congress is to introduce bills and help transfer those into laws
Congress also regulates foreign and interstate (between) commerce or trade

18. Congressional Powers Declare war- establish an army and a navy
The War Powers Act was established to limit the power of the president to send troops to battle of the non declared Vietnam conflict
The last declared war was WWII!

19. Congressional Power Approve the budget-
They may choose to not give the president the money he proposed in his budget
Congress has the power to impeach
Remove federal officials from office
The House impeaches
The Senate acts as the jury
only A. Johnson and Clinton have been impeached
To approve federal appointments by the president
The Senate

20. Cannot take away the writ of habeas corpus
Congress is limited from passing laws that interfere with citizens’ rights to due process of law.
Cannot take away the writ of habeas corpus
requires an officer to bring the prisoner to court and show why he is in custody
Forbidden from issuing bills of attainder
punished without a trial by jury
Passing ex post facto laws
laws that make a person’s act a crime after the act is committed

21. Section 3 How Congress is Organized
Each two-year term of Congress is divided into 2 sessions, one for each year

22. House Organization The Speaker of the House is the leader in the House
Is elected from the majority party
Presides over the House
Has the power to appoint heads of committees

23. Senate Organization
The vice president is the Constitutional leader of the Senate
His power is that of voting in a tie
The president pro tempore of the Senate is the Senate’s highest-ranking office
The person who has been in the Senate longest
They preside over the Senate in the vice president’s absence

24. Party Officers
Each party has officers in the legislative branch who are elected by its members to coordinate the business of the party in each chamber
Both chambers operate under a committee system and each committee has a specific focus
A seniority system based on how long a congressperson has served usually determines who heads committees

25. The minority leader is from the party with the fewest members
The majority leader is chosen by the party with the most members in that particular chamber
The minority leader is from the party with the fewest members
They are both assisted by party whips who will consult with and rally support from members of his or her party
By custom all these floor leaders have priority to speak in Congress

26. Committees There are different kinds of committees Standing- permanent
Select- - for a short time to deal with something that is not covered by a standing committee
Joint- made up of members from the House and Senate- investigations
Conference- a temporary joint committee that tries to settle differences if two different versions of a bill are passed by each house

28. Section 4 Following a Bill in Congress

29. Section 4 Following a Bill in Congress
A bill goes through almost the same process in both chambers of Congress
A bill is first introduced by a member of Congress and then assigned to a committee for review
If the committee decides the bill is not worthy it can kill it or pigeonhole it to be amended

30. If the bill passes through the committee it is sent to the full floor for debate
If the bill passes the vote in the first chamber, it is sent to the other chamber
If the other chamber passes a different bill then a joint committee must be made to come up with a compromise

31. When both chambers approve the same bill, the Speaker and vice president sign it and send it to the president
Legislators have ways to prevent a bill from coming up for a vote
A filibuster is an unlimited debate- a SENATOR can talk a bill to death as a way to get the person who proposed it to withdraw it
To defeat a filibuster, the Senate can use a cloture which requires a 3/5’s vote which will place a time limit on Senators

32. In order for a bill to become law it must pass both house and then be signed by the president
The president has veto power- rejecting a bill
If the president vetoes a bill then it can be sent back to Congress and they can override it with a 2/3s vote
The president can also pocket veto- not sign a bill into law, after 10 days, if Congress is in session