1. National Government

2. Federalism State and National Government share power
THERE ARE THREE LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT
NATIONAL
STATE
LOCAL

3. State vs. National Government

4. National Government 3 branches of government Legislative- makes laws
Executive-enforces laws
Judicial- interprets laws
Congress: legislative
President: executive
Supreme Court: judicial

5. Congress

6. Quick Question:
Which Article of the Constitution deals with the Congress (legislative branch)?

8. How Congress is Organized

9. Bicameral Legislature 2 Houses
House of
Representatives

10. House of Representatives
2 year terms
Organized by state
According to population- so the more populous the state is, the more representatives)
Census- every 10 years we take a population count.

11. House of Representatives Census
Each state is divided into congressional districts
Each district must have the same number of constituents.
Constituents= people represented

12. Gerrymandering
Oddly shaped district designed to increase voting strength of a particular district.

13. The original Gerrymander
In 1812 Governor Eldbridge GERRY of Massachusetts had district lines drawn to benefit his political party in elections.
One of the districts was said to resemble a salamander.
Hence the name “GERRYMANDER”.

14. How many districts are there in the US?
There are 435 districts in the US. (435 US House of Representative seats).
Each state has a certain number of districts.
Each district has about 700,00 constituents in it.
Since FL is very populated, we have 27 districts.
Some unpopulated states only have 1 district, like Wyoming and Alaska.
The state with the most districts is California- they have 53 districts.

15. Districts in FL

16. Bicameral Legislature 2 Houses
Senate

17. Senate 100 members 2 per state (regardless of population)
Six year terms
These are the 2 US Senators who represent Florida. Bill Nelson, a Democrat (left) & Marco Rubio, a Republican (right).

18. Who gets to be in charge?
Majority Party- The political party with the most members in Congress
Minority Party- The party with less members in Congress

19. House of Representatives
Speaker of the House:
Leader of the House of Reps.
Article I, Section 2 of the US Constitution says "The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker..."
Paul Ryan
Republican
Republicans are the
majority party in the House

20. Senate Vice President of the US President Pro tempore:
President of the Senate
Joe Biden-Democrat
Only votes in the case of a tie
President Pro tempore:
Chairperson
Not really a leader
Orrin Hatch-Republican
Republicans are the
majority party in the Senate

21. Committees: Little Legislatures
In a congressional term (2 years) about 10,000 bills are proposed in Congress! That is a lot of work!!!
Committees help to break up the work

22. Different kinds of committees
Standing Committee- permanent committees
-The House of Representatives has 19
-The Senate has 16
Select Committee- set up for a special reason and limited time
-The 9/11 Commission was a committee that was established to investigate 9/11 attacks.

23. Different kinds of committees
3. Joint Committees - Has members both the House and Senate

24. What are the powers of Congress?

25. Powers specifically listed in the Constitution
Article 1, Section 8: lists specific powers Congress has. These are called EXPRESSED POWERS.
EXPRESSED POWERS=Specific powers given by the Constitution
IMPLIED POWERS= Powers not expressly given in the Constitution.
Elastic Clause(Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18)-Allows Congress to “stretch” its powers when necessary.

26. Elastic Clause(Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18)-Allows Congress to “stretch” its powers when necessary.

27. Powers of Congress Legislative power- power to make laws
Non-Legislative- duties other than lawmaking

28. Powers of Congress Legislative Powers- power to make laws
Taxing and Spending
Regulating Commerce
Foreign Relations and Treaties

29. 1. Taxing and Spending
All taxes start in the House of Representatives.
There are 2 steps:
Authorization Bills:
-create projects to spend money on
Appropriations Bills:
- provide the money for each program

30. 2. Regulating Commerce
Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3- gives Congress power to regulate commerce.
Commerce: trade
Air traffic, railroads, trucking, radio, TV, air pollution, stock market.

31. 3. Foreign Relations and Treaties
Declaring War
Senate approves treaties made by President

32. Powers of Congress Non-Legislative Powers- duties other than lawmaking
Adding Amendments
Power of Approval and Removal
Oversight and Investigation

33. 1. Adding Amendments Congress has the power to change the Constitution
Amendment proposal requires 2/3 vote in both houses of Congress (House of Rep & Senate).

34. 2. Approval and Removal
Power to approve or reject presidential appointments (checks and balances)
Power to remove any official from office.
Impeach: to accuse a public official of misconduct

36. 3. Oversight and Investigation
Power to watch what the other branches (executive, judicial) are doing.

37. Limits on Power

38. Writ of Habeas Corpus Cannot suspend Habeas Corpus
Latin for “you should have the body”.
Requires the government to produce a prisoner before a court and justify his or her imprisonment.

39. Bills of Attainder Not allowed
Laws that punish a person without a trial
“Ms. Potts is guilty”
(That’s the law)

40. Ex Post Facto Laws Not allowed Ex Post Facto= “Before the Fact”
Laws that make an act a crime after the act has been committed.

41. Requirements of Congress
Senate
30 years old
Live in state
US citizen for 9 years
House of Representatives
25 years old
US citizen for 7 years

42. Congress Pay Congress sets their own salary
Right now Congress gets paid $174,000/year
Their salary has been the same since 2009.
What does Amendment 27 say? It’s about Congress’ salary!
Look it up!

43. Personal Staff Helpers of all Congress members
Secretaries, researchers, etc.

44. Lobbyists
Lobbyists: people hired by private groups to influence government

45. Casework People requesting help from the government
Congress gets about 80,000 s each day!!!

46. What’s going on here?
What do you see that makes you say that?

47. How a bill becomes a law