Chapter 6The Legislative Branch

House of Representatives

Size: 435 members based on

population Each state guaranteed at

least 1 member

Term: All members serve a 2 year

term All members are up for

reelection in every even numbered year

House of Representatives

Qualifications:1. Must be at least 25 years old2. Must be a citizen of the United

States for at least 7 years3. Must live in the district you

represent

House of Representatives

Leader: Speaker of the

House Always chosen from

the majority party Steers legislation

through the House, leads floor debates

Third in line for the Presidency

John BoehnerSpeaker of the House

House of Representatives

Majority leader of the House: Controls all the members of the majority

party (party with the most seats) Tries to keep the party together on all

issues

Minority Leader of the House: Controls all the members of the minority

party (party with the least seats) Tries to keep the party together on all

issues

House of Representatives

Privileges and benefits: $174,000 a year salary free office space/parking free health care free trips home discounted video production franking privilege immunity in certain cases free haircuts/restaurants/gym

Senate

Size: 100 members 2 from each state

Term 1/3 of its members are elected

every 2 years Term = 6 years

Senate

Qualifications:1. Must be at least 302. Must be a U.S. citizen for 9 years3. Must live in the state they

represent

Senate

Official leader as per the Constitution is the Vice President only votes if there is a tie vote is almost never there

Senate

Unofficial leader is the President Pro Tempore Serves as the leader when the Vice

President is not present Usually the most senior member of the

majority party

Daniel InouyePresident Pro Tempore

Senate

Majority leader of the Senate: Controls all the members of the majority

party (party with the most seats) Tries to keep the party together on all

issues

Minority Leader of the Senate: Controls all the members of the minority

party (party with the least seats) Tries to keep the party together on all

issues

Senate

Privileges and benefits: $174,000 a year salary free office space/parking free health care free trips home discounted video production franking privilege immunity in certain cases free haircuts/restaurants/gym

Congressional Sessions

Starts on January 3rd of odd numbered years

2 sessions in each Congress that meet from January until November

Each new Congress gets a number (currently the 112th Congress)

May meet in times of crisis if not already in session

Congressional Districts

Each state is divided into one or more House congressional districts based on the census taken every ten years

State legislatures are required to divide their state into districts that contain roughly equal numbers of constituents (Reynolds v. Simms)

This is to prevent gerrymandering-creating oddly shaped districts to ensure a particular parties control of the area

Congressional Committees

Standing Committee Permanent committees in Congress 19 in the House, 17 in the Senate Cover areas that will always be

needed (education, foreign affairs, agriculture)

May be divided into sub-committees to divide work even more

Congressional Committees

Select Committee Created to do a specific job that

does not fit the other committees Only meet for a specific time period Disbanded when done with their

work

Congressional Committees

Joint Committee Any committee that has members from

both the House and the Senate Economic, Printing, Taxation, and Library

committees are examples

Conference Committee A special form of a joint committee Used to help members from both the

House and the Senate to agree on all issues on a proposed law

Congressional Committees

Seniority system: Party leaders make

committee assignments They consider members’

preferences, expertise, and loyalty to the party

Biggest factor is the members seniority, how long have they been in Congress

Those who have served the longest get the best assignments

Legislative Powers of Congress

1) Taxing and Spending

All bills that concern money must start in the House

Authorization Bills -creates projects and caps the spending on them

Appropriation Bills -provides the money for government projects

Legislative Powers of Congress

2) Regulate foreign and interstate commerce

3) Declare War4) Maintain Army and Navy5) Approve Treaties (Senate)6) Borrow money7) Coin, print, and regulate money8) Establish Courts9) Create Postal Service

Non-Legislative Powers of Congress

1) Propose amendments2) Count Electoral votes If no one wins a majority, the House

picks the President and The Senate picks a Vice President

3) Settle Presidential succession issues

Non-Legislative Powers of Congress

4) Approve or reject Presidential appointments (Senate)

5) Impeach government officials House-brings charges Senate-serves as Jury and decides

guilt or innocence6) Oversees all government actions

(special investigations)

Limits to Congressional Power

1) Can’t suspend writ of habeas corpus (can’t hold a person in jail without issuing formal charges)

2) Can’t favor one state over another

3) Can’t pass bills of attainder (laws that punish a person without a trial)

Limits to Congressional Power

4) President can veto bills

5) Laws can be declared unconstitutional

6) Can’t pass ex post facto laws (laws that punish a person for an action that was not illegal at the time it was committed)

Congressional Staffs

Personal Staff Help gather info on new

bills Arrange meetings and

calendars Write speeches Deal with media and

lobbyists Interns volunteer time Pages run errands

Congressional Staffs

Committee Staff People with expert knowledge in

that field Work for the committee, not an

individual Draft bills, organize meetings, and

negotiate with lobbyists

Congressional Staffs

Support Services Library of Congress-largest library

in country, has 1 copy of all books published in this country

Congressional Research Service (CRS)-Looks up facts for Congress

General Accounting Office (GAO)-reviews the spending of all government agencies

Congressional Budget Office (CBO)-Analyzes and predicts budget costs for the federal budget

Congress At Work

Lawmaking Most important role All Congressmen try to provide for

the needs of their home district Try to carry out the needs of their

constituents

Congress At Work

Casework Help constituents deal with the

federal government They get over 80,000 e-mails a day They get 10,000 formal requests for

help each year (per office) Usually this work is handled by their

staffs

Congress At Work

Helping The Home District Try to get as much government $ into home district as

possible Includes things like post offices, dams, military bases,

veteran’s hospitals, and mass transit systems Try to build and protect local industries (ex: tobacco in NC or

the automotive industry in Michigan) Also try to get government contracts to local state businesses

(ex: a contract to make army uniforms at a plant in Burlington)

These programs are called pork-barrel projects

Bill to Law

1) Bill starts in the House of Representatives (as long as it is not a bill involving $, it may also start in the Senate)

2) Bill is given to the clerk or put in the hopper

3) Clerk numbers the bill (HB001)4) Bill is then sent to the appropriate

standing committee

Bill to Law

5) Committee then makes 1 of 3 choices:-may vote on the bill as is-may kill bill right here-may send it to subcommittee for more debate and research

6) Subcommittee then may do the one of the following:-vote on bill and send it back to full committee-vote to kill the bill-will research more into the bill and hold public hearings on it-may pigeonhole the bill (set it aside and forget about it)

Bill to Law

7) Subcommittee votes to send the bill back to the standing committee

8) Standing committee votes on the bill-if a yes vote, bill goes to full House-if no, the bill is killed

9) Bill is then sent to full House for debate-set rules on who can speak at debate-time limits are put in place to hold debate to a set time frame

Bill to Law

10) Full House then votes on the bill using 1 of 3 methods:-a voice vote (simple yea or nay), used for bills that are clearly popular or unpopular-a standing vote, members simply stand if they are either for or against the bill-a roll-call vote, each member is called on personally to give vote which then becomes a matter of public record

Bill to Law

11) If the vote is yea, Speaker then signs the bill and sends it to the Senate, if nay, the bill is killed

12) Bill is then formally read in the Senate

13) Bill is given a new number(SB001)14) Bill is sent to the appropriate

committee

Bill to Law

15) Committee then makes 1 of 3 choices:-may vote on the bill as is-may kill bill right here-may send it to subcommittee for more debate and research

Bill to Law

16) Subcommittee then may do the one of the following:-vote on bill and send it back to full committee-vote to kill the bill-will research more into the bill and hold public hearings on it-may pigeonhole the bill (set it aside and forget about it)

Bill to Law

17) Subcommittee votes to send the bill back to the standing committee

18) Standing committee votes on the bill-if a yes vote, bill goes to full House-if no, the bill is killed

Bill to Law

19) Bill is then sent to the full senate for debate-no formal rules of debate as in the House-Senators opposed to the bill may lead a filibuster to kill the bill (talking until the Senator who proposed the bill pulls it from debate) -A filibuster can be ended when 3/5ths of the Senators vote for cloture

Bill to Law

20) Full Senate votes on the bill, if nay the bill is killed

21) If Senate approves of the bill and it differs even by one word it is sent to a conference committee to work out a compromise version

22) New version is then sent each house for one more vote-if nay in either house, the bill is killed-if yea in both houses, bill goes to the President

Bill to Law

23) President has several options:-may sign bill into law ending process-may veto bill-may pocket veto the bill-if the President does nothing to the bill for 10 days and congress is not in session, the bill is killed-if President does nothing for 10 days and congress is in session, bill becomes a law

Bill to Law

24) If the President vetoes the bill, it goes back to Congress for a new vote-if 2/3rds of both houses vote yea, bill is a

law

-if less than 2/3rds, the bill is killed

How a Bill Becomes a LAW

From a Visual Perspective