1. Government: The Legislative Branch By Kevin Lo, Dustin Perez, Peter Phong, and Jeremy Siocon

2. The Congress Legislative branch of government Purpose: pass laws and balance power of judicial and executive Made up of House of Representatives and Senate Act as counters and countered by Executive and Judicial Branches

3. Balance of Power Judicial Balance: Congress approves all Federal Justice nominations by president Executive Balance: pass impeachment bill and vote on impeachment of president Judicial Counter: Justices can render laws void if Unconstitutional Executive Counter: President nominates Justices; President can veto bills passed by Congress

4. House of Representatives 435 representatives (based on state populace) Leaders are Majority, Minority, and Speaker of the House All leaders are elected by the representatives Each individual member holds little power; generally obey party whips and vote on party lines More specialized; more influential on budget

5. Senate 100 senators (2 per state) Leaders are Majority, Minority, and Vice President V.P. only oversees – holds little clout in Senate Individual members generally do not follow party whips – do what they think benefits their constituents the best More general; focus on foreign affairs

6. Congressional Elections Incumbents generally win elections Higher incumbent wins percentage in Senate than in House Incumbents have more money and public awareness than Challengers Challengers have a higher chance of winning if there is a scandal or if the Incumbent retires 6 year Senate terms; 2 year House terms

7. Bill Overview Bills either drafted by members of Congress or submitted by public via petition Go over bills in congressional committees To make bills more appealing, add:  Pork Barrel Spending  Christmas Tree Bills Bills only enter Congress for voting after being approved by committees

8. Bill Overview (cont.) After debating bill in both House and Senate, two new bills created from original if bill passed If bill rejected or if not passed before Congressional recess, bill is dead Senate and House reconcile differences in Joint Committee Bill then sent to president for approval or veto Congress can override presidential veto with 2/3 vote

9. The Filibuster Exclusive tactic to Senate Used by Senators in opposition of bill to block passage by wasting enough time until voting period passes and Recess is called Senator must continue talking and may not sit, leave the room, lean, etc. for the duration Senators may pass the Filibuster onto allies if they do so during the Filibuster

10. Linkage Institutions Interest Groups: Fund Congressmen campaigns with money in exchange for support on issues Media: More money = more advertising = more recognition among voters; Incumbents generally do better due to having more money Sub-national Government: Consist of constituents that Congressmen try to please in order to gain votes

11. Constituents Include sub-national governments, groups, and citizens in the congressional district Congressmen try to gain support by:  Pork Barrel Spending (indirect: based on bills)  Casework (direct: getting past red tape) Generally support incumbent unless retiring or involved in scandal