1. Food for thought…..
If a pro is the opposite of a con, then what is the opposite for progress?

2. -House – based on population of states (Section 2 – Clause 3)
Organization
-Great Compromise of 1787 formed a bicameral legislature – having two parts with different powers
-House – based on population of states (Section 2 – Clause 3)
-Senate – every state gets two senators (Section 3, Clause 1)

3. House of Representatives
-representation based on each state’s population
-3 requirements
-25 Years old
-US Citizen for past 7 years
-Live in the state you represent
(Section 2, Clause 2)

4. should there be term limitations??
House Terms
-Representatives are elected to serve 2 year terms(Section 2, 1st Clause)
-may serve unlimited terms, (nothing in the Constitution limits this)meaning they may serve as many times as they can get elected.
should there be term limitations??
-435 total members (fixed total, not in the US Constitution)

5. House Membership
-census determines the number of representatives from each state (Section 2, Page 2 in pocket Constitution)
-apportionment – dividing up districts so there is equal representation
-redistricting – every 10 years, new districts are made based on the census
-gerrymandering – making district lines in a way to increase power of some groups and decrease others
- -represent constituents – the people a Congressman represents

6. - Have been a US Citizen for past 9 years
Senate
-based on every state being equal
-3 requirements
- 30 Years Old
- Have been a US Citizen for past 9 years
-live in the state you represent
(Section 3, Clause 3)

7. -6 year terms (Section 3, Paragraph 2)
Senate Terms
-6 year terms (Section 3, Paragraph 2)
-may serve unlimited terms (not limited by Constitution)
Whereas the whole US House is up for election every 2 years, 1/3rd of the Senate is eligible for re-election every 2 years. Section 3 Clause 2)
should there be term limitations???
-100 members (do the math)

8. Senate Membership
-100 members
-2 from each state
-each Senator represents the whole state and is voted for by the whole state

9. Congressional Benefits
-salary ($174,000)
-budgets for their staff
-office space at Capital
-franking privileges – ability to use mail without a stamp
-limited immunity from the law while Congress is in session (Section 6 explains most of this)
-Limitations
-expulsion – can be removed by a vote of 2/3rd of your own house
-censure – senate condemns something you do
(section 5, 2nd clause)

10. The Three Jobs of Congress Members
1. Lawmaking
2. Casework: help constituents deal with the Federal government
3. Helping the district/state: get Federal money for projects at home. These are called “pork-barrel” projects.

11. Congressional Sessions
-each Congress serves two years and is given a number
-Congress meets from Jan. to Nov/Dec, with a “recess” in August and early September
-Congress can be called into special sessions by President

13. -Congress is given certain powers,.
Limited Government
-Congress is given certain powers,.
-defined in Section 8 of the Constitution
-Congress is denied certain powers, like no ex post facto laws
-defined in Section 9
-States are denied certain powers (section 10)

14. -Examples: declaring war, coining money, military, etc
Expressed Powers
-Expressed, Delegated, Enumerated, Exclusive are all the same. They are powers given to Congress
-Powers given to Congress in Article One, Section 8
-Examples: declaring war, coining money, military, etc

15. Implied Powers
-Powers given to Congress by the Necessary and Proper Clause (the last clause in Article 1 Section 8)
-Interpretation of the Constitution
Examples: national bank, TV and radio regulations, environmental protection….
Concurrent Powers – used by both state and national government (like taxes)

16. Additional Powers -Power to Investigate -Power to Propose Amendments
-Power to Impeach (the house starts the process, the Senate holds a trial

17. Powers of the House -”power of the purse”
-Must start all Appropriation Bills (money bills)
-”power of the purse”
-Picks President if no winner in Electoral College
-Begins the Impeachment Process

18. Powers of the Senate
-Approves Presidential Appointments, like judges, cabinet members, etc.
-Approves all Treaties
-Acts as jury in Impeachment cases

19. Other Limits -10th Amendment reserves powers for the states
-Checks and Balances System – their laws can be vetoed or declared unconstitutional
-Two Party System acts as a “watchdog” of what Congress does.

20. Limits on Congressional Power
First Amendment freedoms
Cannot suspend the Writ of Habeas Corpus: cannot put people in jail without a charge
Cannot pass a Bill of Attainder: cannot put someone in prison unless convicted in a trial
No Ex Post Facto Laws: cannot charge someone with a crime if they committed the act before it was a crime

22. -Rules are developed to help Congress operate
Congressional Rules
-Rules are developed to help Congress operate
-House has more rules than Senate because there are more of them!
In the US Constitution, each house is responsible for making its own rules of conduct.
-Parliamentary Procedures
both Houses of Congress use a formal system of debate which keeps the debate orderly
Notably – the House puts time limits on debates, while the Senate doesn’t. This leads to filibusters in the senate

23. Congressional Leadership
-Majority Leader
-each House chooses a leader of the majority party to be floor leader
-Minority Leader
-each House picks a minority party member to its floor leader
-Party Whip (Majority and minority have one)
-each party in each House has a Party Whip to keep track of voting for important issues

24. -basically runs the House of Representatives
House Leaders
-Speaker of the House
-basically runs the House of Representatives
-sets up the calendar and schedules bills for debate
Senate Leaders
-Vice President
-official leader but only votes in a tie and is rarely present
-President Pro-Tempore
-day to day ceremonial leader of the Senate

25. -General Accounting Office investigates and reports on gov’t spending
Staff Support
-personal staff of each member of Congress help Congressman
-Congressman have committee staff who function as experts in the committees area
-Library of Congress
-General Accounting Office
investigates and reports on gov’t spending
-Government Budget Office
-predicts the costs of gov’t programs

26. -developed committees to divide the work load of Congress
Committee Government
-developed committees to divide the work load of Congress
Thousands of bills are considered by Congress every year, so Congress divides up the workload
-standing committees – permanent committees to handle a single issue (environment, education, military, etc.)
-select committees –smaller committees to handle a special issue (like the 9/11 commission)
-joint committees – both sides of Congress meet to discuss issues, usually temporary

27. Committee Membership
-Membership based on seniority in Congress (the longer you’ve been there, the more likely you can get the committee you want.
-Party leaders make committee assignments
-majority party of each house appoints the chairperson of each committee

29. -All bills, amendments, etc., start out as an idea in someone’s head?
How a Bill becomes a Law
-starts as an idea
-All bills, amendments, etc., start out as an idea in someone’s head?
-Who has the idea?
-many ideas start with petitions, someone writing their congressman, or come from the minds of the congressman themselves

30. Both the Senate and the House have to agree on the bill and pass it
Split Process
-a new bill must pass both parts of Congress
Both the Senate and the House have to agree on the bill and pass it
-the bill must also pass both parts in exactly the same form
-every article, every section, down to every last word, must be the same

31. Becoming a Bill
-each bill must be sponsored by a member of Congress
-put in a draft form, or written down
-introduced into Congress and is assigned a unique number. (Example: S 754, HR 3281)

32. Committee -send bill to next stage (voted on by Congress)
-the bill is assigned to a committee
-committee has 3 options
-send bill to next stage (voted on by Congress)
-kill the bill (end the bill)
-pigeonhole the bill (bill is ignored forever)
Most bills are killed or pigeonholed

33. Sub-Committee
Some committees have committees within the committees.
-studies the bill in-depth
-holds public hearings to get citizen input
-same 3 options as the committee

34. Committee
-bill goes back to full committee
-committee votes to send bill to full House or Senate or end it

35. House or Senate
-Bill is then read to the Full House or Senate for the first time
-Party Leaders try to schedule debate time for bill
-Members research the merits of the bill

36. Debate
-members get to voice their opinions on the bill and discuss it
-time is often limited in debates in the House
-Senate has no time limits on their debate filibuster/ cloture vote
-each party is given equal opportunity to speak about the bill

37. Voting -after debate a vote is scheduled -3 types of votes
voice – aye’s and no’s
standing – stand up and be counted
roll-call – go down the roll and take the votes

38. -both parts of Congress must pass the same bill
Same Bill Must Pass
-both parts of Congress must pass the same bill
-if bill is not the same a conference committee will work out a compromise bill
-bill must be voted on in new form

39. Sent to President
-finally, it’s sent to President for approval
-President has 4 options, outlined in Article 1 Section 7 of the Constitution
-sign it into law
-pocket veto – if Congress is not in session, and the President does not sign the bill within 10 days
-veto the bill – send it back to Congress with his objections
-not sign the bill
becomes law in 10 days if Congress is in session (Sunday’s excepted, also in the Constitution)

40. -if vetoed, Congress can override the veto
Over-Riding a Veto
-if vetoed, Congress can override the veto
-2/3 vote required in each house to override
-very difficult to achieve