The Legislative Branch UNIT 2

Transcription

1 The Legislative Branch UNIT 2

2 I. Congress

3 A. The House of Representatives 1. Size and Terms members - 2- yr terms - Qualifications: 25 yrs old, citizen for 7 yrs, resident of state

4 A. The House of Representatives 2. Congressional Elections - Every 2 years single- member districts - Districts reapportioned after census

5 A. The House of Representatives 3. Gerrymandering - Drawing district lines to help party in charge - Could concentrate opposition s voters to a few district - Could spread opposition as thinly as possible

6 B. The Senate 1. Size, Terms, Elections - 2 per state 100 total - 6- yr terms continuous body - 17 th Amendment direct election of senators - Qualifications: 30 yrs old, citizen for 9 yrs, resident of state

7 C. The Members of Congress 1. The Job - Legislators lawmakers - Reps of their constituents - Committee members - Politicians

8 C. The Members of Congress 2. Compensation - Salary average of $174,000/yr - Non- Salary: tax deductions, travel allowances, offices in Capitol and hometown, franking privilege (mail letters postage- free), free printing, etc.

9 II. Powers of Congress

10 A. Congressional Powers 1. Expressed, implied, inherent 2. Strict Construction: use expressed powers and implied powers only when absolutely necessary (Jefferson) 3. Liberal Construction: broad interpretation of Congressional powers (Hamilton)

11 B. Expressed Powers 1. Power to Tax - Purpose: raise money for public needs - Limits on power: taxes based on state population, can t tax exports, only tax for public purposes

12 B. Expressed Powers 2. Borrowing Power - Public debt = money borrowed by gov t owed - Deficit financing = spending more than gov t takes in 3. Currency Power - Coin money

13 B. Expressed Powers 4. Commerce Power - Regulate interstate and foreign trade - Gibbons v. Ogden states that Congress can regulate interstate commerce

14 B. Expressed Powers 5. War Powers - Declare War - Raise army/navy - Make rules about governing land/naval forces

15 B. Expressed Powers 6. Naturalization 7. Postal Power 8. Copyrights and Patents 9. Weights and Measures 10. Powers over territories 11. Foreign Relations Power 12. Judicial Powers

16 C. Implied Powers 1. Necessary and Proper (Elastic) Clause - Gives congress implied powers 2. McCulloch v. Maryland was about the use of implied powers

17 D. Non-Legislative Powers 1. Electoral Duties - 12th Amendment = HR can choose president if no majority of electoral vote - 25 th Amendment = if no VP, president s successor can be chosen by majority of Congress

18 D. Non-Legislative Powers 2. Congress can propose amendments to the Constitution.

19 D. Non-Legislative Powers 3. Impeachment - HR has power to impeach (accuse or bring charges) - Andrew Johnson & Clinton were both impeached and acquitted. - Nixon resigned to avoid impeachment.

20 D. Non-Legislative Powers 4. Executive Powers - Senate confirms all presidential appts - Pres. makes treaties with 2/3 of Senate s consent

21 III. Congress in Action: Leadership & Committees

22 A. Presiding Officers 1. Speaker of the House - Chosen by HR - Presides over sessions, signs all bills - Most powerful person in Congress - 2 nd in line of presidential succession

23 A. Presiding Officers 2. President of the Senate - VP - Cannot speak on the floor or debate - Only votes to break a tie - 1 st in line of presidential succession

24 A. Presiding Officers 3. President Pro Tem - Serves in VP s absence - Elected by Senate - Leading member of majority party - 3 rd in line for presidential succession

25 B. Party Officers 1. Party Caucus closed mtg of members of each party in which party s floor leaders are selected 2. Floor leaders most important officers after Speaker, carry out decisions of party caucus, majority leader > minority leader 3. Whips asst. floor leaders, serve as a liaison between party s leaders and reg. members

26 C. Committee Chairmen 1. Committee Chairmen Lead committees in each chamber - Chosen by majority party s caucus, usually based on seniority

27 D. Standing Committees 1. Permanent committee (20 HR, 17 Senate) 2. Majority party holds a majority of seats in the committee 3. House Rules Committee has the most power

28 E. Joint & Conference Committees 1. Joint Committee committee members of both houses 2. Conference Committee temporary joint committee used for dealing w/bill issues before bill goes to pres.

29 IV. Congress in Action: The Lawmaking Process

30 A. The Bill in the House 1. A bill starts as a proposed law - Can start in either house - A rider is something unrelated that s added to a bill since it won t pass on its own

31 A. The Bill in the House 2. Next, bills go to committees - Most bills are pigeonholed, or die in committees - Chairpersondecides what bill to look at - Subcommittees do most of the work - Committees make changes to the bills and decide if it ll move on

32 A. The Bill in the House 3. Then, the bill goes to the floor - House Rules Committee decides if bill will be read - Bill gets read by committee of the whole - Bill is debated time limits on speaking - If a quorum (majority of HR) is present, voting takes place - If it passes, the bill is printed in the final form, voted on again, and then carried to the Senate

33 B. The Bill in the Senate 1. The bill is read on the floor at the discretion of the majority floor leader

34 B. The Bill in the Senate 2. The bill is debated - More unrestrained in the Senate two- speech rule - Senators can filibuster or talk a bill to death to delay or prevent Senate action - Clotures limit the debate requires 16 senators to file a petition and must get 60 senators approval

35 C. Conference Committees 1. If the House or Senate doesn t like the other s version of the bill, they join a joint Conference Committee to make a compromise bill to be voted on

36 D. The President Acts 1. Pres. signs the bill, and it becomes law 2. Pres. allows bill to become law w/o signing it by not acting on it in 10 days when Congress is in session

37 D. The President Acts 3. Pres. may veto the bill, but Congress can override veto w/2/3 majority. 4. Pocket veto can happen if Pres. doesn t act in 10 days and Congress is adjourned.