Ch. 4 The Congress. Ch. 4 The Congress. Ch. 4 The Congress. Ch. 4 The Congress. The National Legislature

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1 The National Legislature The National Legislature is known as Congress and is made up of two chambers the House of Representatives & the Term - The length of time elected officials serve in office before their next election Session - A meeting period, Congress holds one session every year Special Session - A session called by the President or Congress to deal with an emergency situation The National Legislature Adjourn - Ending a session Prorogue - The President can end a session if Congress can t decide on an Adjournment date. (this power has never been used by a President) The House of Representatives Number of Representatives Term - 2 Years Age - 25 Years Old or Older Citizen - At least 7 Years Residency - Must Live in the State that You are Representing Representatives are elected from Single Member Districts - one The House of Representatives Elections take place in even numbered years in November every two years Seats in the House are apportioned, or distributed, based on the population... each state gets at least one Representative Every 10 years the Congress reapportions the 435 seats based on the Census

2 The House of Representatives Gerrymandering - Drawing Congressional Districts for political advantage Off Year Election - A Congressional Election that takes place when the President is not up for Election All 435 seats in the House are up for election every two years The Term - 6 Years Number of Senators Age - 30 Years Old or Older Citizen - At least 9 Years Residency - Must Live in the State that You are Representing 2 Senators are elected from each state The (cont.) Elections take place in even numbered years in November The is a continuous body as only 1/3 of the Senators are up for election at a given time Senators tend to serve a larger constituency because they represent an entire state rather than a single district Party Affiliation of the 115th Congress Party Affiliation of the 114th Democrats Democrats Republicans Republicans Vacant Independent 54% House of 2% Represtatives % 193 Democrats Independents Republicans

3 Gender of the 115th Congress Gender of the 113th Congress Men Women Men Women Men House of Represtatives House of Represtatives 18% 19% Women Men 21% 20% Women Ethnic Make Up of the 115th Congress Race of the 113th Congress White African American White White Hispanic African / Latino American African American House Hispanic of / Latino Represtatives Hispanic / Latino House of Represtatives 8% 3% 11% 9% 6% 2% 4% 3% 3% 1% 3% 2% 81% 82% 79% 80% 83% 79% 90% 94% Other Demographics of the 115th Congress Race of the 113th Congress LGBT White Members of the House - 6 / -1 White African American African American Hispanic / Latino Hispanic / Latino Non-Christian Religious Affiliation in the House Jewish - 22 House of Represtatives Hindu - 4 6% Buddhist 2% - 2 2% 3% 1% 9% Muslim - 2 Non-Christian Religious Affiliation in the Jewish % Buddhist % Duties of a Member of Congress Legislator - Make Laws Committee Member - Screen Bills, Oversee the Executive Branch Constituent Servant - Helps people navigate the government to make sure they get the services they are looking for Constituent Representative - Votes of what the people in their district want Politician - Leader with in their political party

4 The Scope of Congressional Power Since the beginning of the country people have argued about how much power Congress should have Strict Constructionist - Those who wish Congress would use only its expressed powers and few implied powers Liberal Constructionist - Those who wish Congress would use only its implied powers to make the government stronger The Big 5 Expressed Powers of Congress The Power to Tax The Borrowing Power The Commerce Power The Currency Power The Bankruptcy Power The Expressed Powers Establish & Collect Taxes Borrow Money Regulate Interstate & Foreign Trade Create Naturalization Laws Create Bankruptcy Laws Print & Coin Money & Regulate It The Expressed Powers Establish Post Offices Punish Counterfeiters Grant Copyrights & Patents Create Courts Inferior to the Supreme Court Define & Punish Sea Crimes & International Law Jurisdiction over Wash. DC & other territories Make all Laws Necessary & Proper to Execute their Expressed Powers

5 The Implied Powers The Necessary & Proper Clause gives Congress the ability to exercise its implied powers The Examples of Implied Powers Collect Taxes - Create the IRS Borrow Money - Issue Savings Bonds Establish Naturalization Laws - Set requirements for becoming a citizen The Examples of Implied Powers Raise an Army & Navy - Draft people into the Armed Forces Regulate Commerce - Create a minimum wage, regulate banking, create laws to protect consumers Establish Post Offices - Prohibit items from being mailed Non Legislative Powers Congress can propose an Amendment to the Constitution The House of Representatives can elect the President if no candidate gets a majority of electoral votes The can elect a Vice President is no candidate gets a majority of electoral votes Non Legislative Powers Impeachment The House votes to impeach or bring charges against the official The conducts the trial and votes whether the official is guilty or innocent The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over the trial

6 Non Legislative Powers The standard for impeachment and conviction is... Treason Bribery or Other High Crimes and Misdemeanors Non Legislative Powers must approve all Treaties and Presidential Appointments Congress can also hold hearings and conduct investigation into government related matters Organizing Congress House of Representatives Presiding Officer of the House: Speaker of the House Party Officials: Majority Leader Majority Whip Minority Leader Minority Whip Leadership of the 115th Congress House of Representatives Leadership House of Representatives Leadership House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R) Lousiana Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R, Louisiana Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Speaker Ryan of (R) the Wisconsin House Paul Ryan - R, Wisconsin Majority House Majority Leader Leader House Minority Minority Leader Leader Kevin Kevin McCarthy McCarthy - R, (R) CaliforniaNancy Nancy Pelosi Pelosi - D, (D) California House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D) Maryland Minority Whip Steny Hoyer - D, Maryland

7 Ch. 12 Congress In Action (Article I) Organizing Congress Presiding Officer of the : President of the (also the VP) or the President of the Pro Tempore Party Officials: Majority Leader Majority Whip Minority Leader Minority Whip Leadership of the 115th Congress Leadership Leadership President of the President of the Mike Pence (R) Indiana Pro Tempore President of the Orin Hatch Pro (R) Tempore Utah Majority President Leader of the Orin Hatch, R Utah Mitch McConnell Joseph (R) Biden Kentucky - D, Delaware Minority Leader Majority Leader Harry Reid - Minority D, Nevada Leader Mitch McConnell - R, Kentucky Majority Whip Charles Schumer (D) New York Minority Whip John Cornyn Minority (R) Whip Texas Richard Durbin (D) Illinois Majority Whip Richard Durbin - D, Illinois John Cornyn - R, Texas Ch. 12 Congress In Action (Article I) Representation Organizing Congress in the 115th Congress Member s of Congress that Represent Southeast High School Congressional Representation for Southeast High School Sr. Senator - Richard Durbin (D) Jr. Senator - Mark Kirk (R) Representative - Rodney Davis (R) Senior US Senator Richard Durbin (D) Junior US Senator Tammy Duckworth (D) US Representative 13th District Rodney Davis (R) How a Bill becomes a Law Introducing a Bill in Congress Anyone may draft a bill; however, only members of Congress can introduce legislation and by doing so become the sponsor(s). There are four basic types of legislation: bills, joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions, and simple resolutions. The official legislative process begins when a bill or resolution is numbered H.R. signifies a House bill and S. a bill.

8 How a Bill becomes a Law Step 1. Referral to Committee: With few exceptions, bills are referred to standing committees in the House by the Speaker or in the by the Majority Leader. How a Bill becomes a Law Step 2 - Committee Action Both - Bills are assigned to specific committees that review each Bill Both - Committees can request input from govt. agencies, call hearings, or make changes to a Bill with the sponsor s approval Both - Committees must vote on whether the Bill can go to the floor for full vote How a Bill becomes a Law Step 3 - Floor Action House - Debate is limited on the floor, amendments must be germane. - Debate is unlimited unless cloture is approved, Filibuster is when a Senator tries to kill a bill by talking non stop about a bill until its sponsor removes it Once a Bill is voted on and approved it goes to the other chamber to be voted on How a Bill becomes a Law Step 4 - Conference Committee Members from both the House & form a group to review the Bill passed by both the House & and make any changes needed to make the passed Bill one uniform Bill Once all the details are hammered out the House & must vote again on the Bill

9 How a Bill becomes a Law Step 5 - The President If the President signs the Bill it becomes Law If the President Vetoes the Bill it is sent back to the House & and must get a 2/3 vote in each to become law. If it does not get the needed vote the Bill is dead If the President doesn t sign the Bill and Congress is adjourned it does not become law this is called a Pocket Veto