overview of congress
Post on 15-Jan-2015
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Senate LeadershipPresident of the Senate
Vice President of the United StatesCannot take the floor to speak or debateCan only vote if there is a tie
President Pro TemporeLeading member of the majority party elected by the Senate
itselfActs as president in the Vice-President’s absence
Majority Leader and Minority LeaderElected by the party caucusTry to steer the legislative agenda in their parties favorNot an official positions, but a very important one
Majority Whip and Minority WhipAssistants to the leaders, chosen by the party caucusChecks with the party members to see how many votes can be
counted on for a particular matter
House LeadershipSpeaker of the House
Most important and influential House memberLeader of the majority party and chosen by the
House membersSpeaker’s responsibilities
No member may speak until recognized by the SpeakerThe Speaker interprets and applies all rules, refers all bills to
committees, puts questions to a vote, and decides the outcome of votes taken
The Speaker names the members of all committeesThe Speaker signs all bills passed by the HouseFollows the Vice-President in the line of succession to the
presidency
Party CaucusA closed meeting of the members of each
party in each houseMeets before every session and
occasionally during the sessionDecide party leadership, legislative agenda
and strategy
Congressional BillsGood bills do the following:
Address a problem facing the United States or a specific region
Provide practical solutions to this problem; solutions that can be implemented
They are clear and provide appropriate money, define crimes, make specific penalties and specify who is responsible for carrying out the provisions in the bill
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