1. THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

2. CAPITOL IMAGES Visit the Capitol

3. WHAT IS THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH? Established in Article I of the Constitution The Legislative branch is also known as Congress! House of Representatives + Senate= Congress

4. WHAT POWERS DO THEY HAVE? Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution states that Congress has the power to: Enact legislation (sole authority) Declare war Confirm or reject Presidential appointments Impeach the President Coin money Lay and collect taxes Establish post offices Provide and maintain a Navy And much more!

5. Impeachment:to accuse or bring charges against The HoR has the sole power to impeach civil officers The Senate has the sole power to try-judge, sit as a court- in impeachment cases Impeachment requires a majority vote in the HoR; conviction requires a 2/3 vote in the Senate- the penalty for conviction is removal from office NON-LEGISLATIVE POWERS

6. Appointments: all appointments made by the President must be approved by the Senate by majority vote Treaties: the President makes treaties with the advice and consent of the Senate through a 2/3 vote *The President most often consults members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and other senators from both parties when forming/creating treaties EXECUTIVE POWERS

7. WHERE DO THEY GET THESE POWERS? Enumerated powers: (Article 1, Section 8). Implied powers: “Necessary and Proper Clause” aka Elastic Clause Example: The Bank-the Constitution doesn't say that Congress has the right to make a bank, claims that one was necessary and proper to carry out the Congress' power to collect taxes.

8. SO WHAT IS CONGRESS? Congress makes the public’s wants and needs into public policy (laws) through the law making process. This is the most primary and sole purpose of Congress To solve problems, members of Congress introduce legislative proposals called bills or resolutions. After considering these proposals, members of Congress choose to adopt or reject them Congress is the best example of a representative democracy!

9. STRICT V. LIBERAL CONSTRUCTION Strict Constructionists Led by Jefferson Limit the power of the Federal Government Wanted Congress to be able to exercise limited power Wanted States to have as much individual freedom/power as possible Liberal Constructionists Led by Hamilton Let the Federal Government be strong and powerful Wanted Congress to be able to exercise broad power

10. A BICAMERAL CONGRESS Definition- Bicameral legislature : A lawmaking body with two houses The two houses that make up the U.S. Congress are the House of Representatives and the Senate. 435 members of HoR + 100 members in Senate= 535 total members of Congress

11. 3 REASONS FOR A BICAMERAL LEG. Historical: the British parliament and most colonial legislatures were bicameral Practical: promotes Federalism through representation- all States are represented equally in the Senate and proportionally in the HoR (based on population) Theoretical: promotes checks and balances within Congress and diffuses its power over the other two branches of government

12. THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Duty: to introduce and pass laws Size: 435 members Qualifications: 25 years old A citizen of the United States for at least 7 years At the time of election, be a resident of the state he/she is representing Term Length: 2 years Date of Election: Tuesday after the 1 st Monday in November of every even year

13. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONT. The number of seats in the HoR is apportioned (distributed) among the States based on their respective populations Apportioned: distributed seats in Congress Each State is guaranteed 1 representative, regardless of its population: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming each only have 1 rep California has 53 reps Reapportionment: when seats are redistributed in the House of Representatives after each census (every 10 years) The next census will be in 2020

14. THE SENATE Duty: to introduce and pass laws Size: 100 members Qualifications: 30 years old A citizen of the United States for at least 9 years At the time of election, be a resident of the state he/she is representing Term Length: 6 years Date of Election: Tuesday after the 1 st Monday in November of every even year Staggered Terms: Senators terms are staggered- only 1/3 of the Senate is up for election every two years- all of the seats are never up for election at the same time

15. THE 114TH CONGRESS Lets look at our 114th Congress!

16. THE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS 1. LegislatorMakes laws 2. Committee Member Evaluates bills, performs oversight 3. TrusteeDecides issues on merit alone, regardless of the views of the constituents or other groups 4. DelegateActs as the constituents’ agents, regardless of personal beliefs 5. PartisanVotes in line with wishes of party platform and leaders 6. PoliticoCombines role of trustee, delegate, and partisan - acts as a “practical” politician

17. SESSIONS OF CONGRESS Session: Period of the year when Congress gathers to conduct business There are two sessions for each term of Congress (one per year) Sessions begin at noon on the 3rd day of January Adjourn: to suspend a session until the next session Today Congress stays in session throughout most of the year with short recesses in between

18. SPECIAL SESSIONS Special Sessions: meetings the President calls with Congress to deal with a pressing situation/emergency issue Only 26 special sessions of Congress have ever been held Most recent: Truman called Congress into a special session in 1948 to consider anti-inflation and welfare measures in the aftermath of WWII Because Congress now meets almost all year round, special sessions are unlikely

19. Gerrymandering: drawing district lines to the advantage of the political party that controls the State’s legislature What does it do? Concentrates the opposition’s voters in one or a few districts, thus leaving the other districts safe for the dominant party Spread the opposition as thin as possible among several districts to limit the opposition’s chance of winning in the region What is its goal? To create as many“safe” districts as possible for the dominant party GERRYMANDERING

20. ARIZONA CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS <<<<<--------------------------- California Congressional Districts -------------------->>>>>

21.  The current compensation for senators and representatives is $174,000 per year  Leaders of the House and Senate are paid a higher salary:  Senate Leadership  Majority Leader - $193,400  Minority Leader - $193,400  House Leadership  Speaker of the House - $223,500  Majority Leader - $193,400  Minority Leader - $193,400 COMPENSATION

22. Special tax deductions Travel allowances Low health/life insurance Retirement plan/pension Social Security/Medicare Office space Funds to hire staff/operation costs Printing services When in D.C.: restaurants, gyms, library, parking FRINGE BENEFITS