CONGRESS

Ch.10-12

CONGRESS

Terms and Sessions of Congress

• A term of Congress is 2 years long– First term was March 1789-March 1791

• A session of Congress is when they meet during a term (there is 1 session a year)– Sessions begin after Jan. 3rd --> last most

of the year

• Adjourn - Congress will dismiss at the end of a session until the next year

• Recess - Congress takes a break for a set # of days/weeks to go home

• Special session - Congress can be called by the President during emergency situations

The House of Representatives

• Made up of 435 members

• The seats in the House are apportioned (distributed) based on state populations – The more people your state has, the more

representatives you get in the House

Reapportionment• Seats in the House must be

redistributed every 10 years (after the census)

• Reapportionment Act of 1929: – House “permanently” has 435 seats– Census Bureau decides on the # of seats

each state should get

Congressional Elections

• Occur on the 1st Tuesday of November on even-numbered years (2004, 2008, 2012, etc.)

• Off-Year Elections: occur between presidential elections (2006, 2010, 2014, etc.)

Districts• States are divided up into districts, or

sections, and each district votes for ONE member to go to the House – (ex: TN has 9 districts that each vote for

one representative = 9 representatives)

– Each district must have about the same number of people (about 730,000 people each)

• U.S. Congressional District Map• Directory of Representatives

TN Congressional Districts (9)

• We live in District 1 of TN (includes 12 counties)

• Our U.S. Representative is Dr. Phil Roe

Gerrymandering• Drawing new districts to give an

advantage to the political party in power in the State legislature– Districts can be drawn to contain a larger

amount of one party so they win a majority in the district

– or districts can be drawn to spread out the opposition so they don’t win the majority in any district

• Constituents – the people a Congressperson represents back home– Remember, members of Congress work for

YOU.

Qualifications for House Members

• Must be at least 25 years old• Must have been a U.S. citizen for at

least 7 years• Must live in the state (and district) they

are representing• Representatives have a 2-year term

Capitol Virtual Tour

• http://www.aoc.gov/virtual-tours/capitolbldg/tourfiles/index.html

The Senate

• 100 members (2 for every state)• Framers believed the smaller Senate

would be more responsible than the House (who could easily be influenced by events)

• Given a 6 year term and more qualifications than the House

Electing Senators

• Elected by the people during the November elections

• Each senator is elected from the whole state (NOT a district)

A Senator’s Term

• Senators serve 3x longer than members of the House of Representatives

• Continuous body - not all the seats of the Senate are up for grabs every election (only one Senator is elected in each election)

• Senators are more focused on the “big picture” of government, while the House is more personal with the people

• Many presidential candidates come from the Senate

Qualifications for Senators

• Have higher standards than House members:– Must be at least 30 years old– Must be a U.S. citizen for 9 years– Must live in the state that they are

representing• Senators can be expelled for bad behavior

by a 2/3 vote by the Senate

Classwork/Homework

• Write a half-page letter to me expressing to me whether you want to be in the Class House of Representatives or the Class Senate.– What qualifications do you have for this

position?– Why should I put you in this chamber?

Congress as a Job

Members of Congress are:1.) lawmakers2.) representatives3.) committee members4.) servants of their constituents5.) politicians

How Do Members of Congress Represent the People When

They Vote?• 4 ways they can vote:1.) Trustee: vote according to their own

judgment and conscience on an issue2.) Delegate: they vote the way the people from

their state would want them to3.) Partisan: they vote according to what their

political parties want4.) Politico: tries to balance the trustee,

delegate, and partisan options.

Congress and Political Parties

• Each chamber is controlled by political parties– Party with the most seats = majority

party– Party with less seats = minority party

--House currently has a Republican majority (234 R / 201 D)

--Senate currently has a Democrat majority(53 D / 45 R / 2 Independent)

Speaker of the House• Leader of the House

and majority party• Presides over and

keeps order in the House

<---Today’s Speaker: John Boehner

Speaker of the House (continued)

• Applies the rules of the House• Sends bills to various committees• Rules on questions of procedure• Puts motions to a vote• Decides the outcome of votes

Speaker is 3rd in line to the presidency

President of the Senate

• The Vice-President is the president of the Senate (but is not a member)– He controls questions, voting, etc.– Cannot speak or debate on the floor; can

only vote to break a tie

President Pro Tempore• Serves as President of the

Senate when the VP is absent

• Elected by the Senate and majority party

• 4th in line to the presidency

Today’s Pres. PT: Patrick Leahy ----->

Party Officers• Party caucus (conference) - meeting of the political

parties in each chamber of Congress to choose leaders

• Floor Leaders - Most important leaders chosen by their political parties– try to direct floor activities to their political party’s benefit– Two types: majority leader and minority leader (which

political party has the most members and the least in Congress)

House Floor Leaders• House majority

leader (R-VA): Eric Cantor --->

• House minorityleader (D-CA): Nancy Pelosi --->

Senate Floor Leaders• Senate majority leader

(D-NV): Harry Reid ---->

• Senate minorityleader (R-KY):

Mitch McConnell --->• an implied power of

Congress to know what the Executive branch is doing

Whips

• Floor leaders are helped by party whips (majority and minority whips)

• Are a connection between floor leaders and Congress members

• Makes sure members are present to vote; also poll opinions of party

House Whips• Majority Whip:

Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) --->

• Minority Whip:Steny Hoyer (D-MD)

------>

Senate Whips• Majority Whip (D-IL): Dick Durbin ------>

• Minority Whip (R-TX):John Cornyn -------->

Seniority Rule

• the people who have been in Congress the longest will hold the most important positions

Expressed Powers of Congress

Money Powers:• Tax – money people pay the gov’t to

fund public projects and gov’t expenses– Can’t tax for personal benefit (only public

good)– Can’t tax exports (only imports)

The Borrowing Power

• Congress can borrow money to help pay for gov’t needs

• No limits on how much money they can borrow or what it’s for

The Commerce Power• Commerce = trade• The power of Congress to regulate (or

control) foreign trade and trade between the states

The Currency Power• The power of Congress to print and regulate $$

MONEY $$• Legal tender - money that someone must accept as

payment (currency that is worth something)• The federal gov’t can’t spend any money without a

law by Congress (CONGRESS SPENDS THE GOV’T’S MONEY)

• Appropriate - to assign something for a specific use (ex: to appropriate funds for schools, etc.)

Other Expressed Powers of Congress

War Powers - Only Congress can declare war and raise/maintain armed forces

Naturalization - makes rules on how people become U.S. citizens

Postal Power - can create post offices (and what you can and CANNOT mail)

• Copyrights and Patents– Copyright - the exclusive right to your own

creative work (good for the life of the author + 70 years)

– Patent - the exclusive right to manufacture and sell a new and useful invention(good for 20 years)

• Judicial Powers of Congress:– Create federal courts– Define federal crimes and punishments

• Counterfeiting, piracy and felonies on the high seas, offenses against international law, and treason

Congress’ Implied Powers

• NECESSARY AND PROPER CLAUSE– Congress can make laws that are needed

and reasonable in helping the government do its job

McCulloch v. Maryland

• Congress created the Bank of the U.S. -A Maryland bank thought it wasn’t legal and

tried to tax bank notes from the Bank of the U.S.

-Justice John Marshall upheld the Bank of the U.S., saying it was Necessary and Proper in the Constitution

Nonlegislative Powers of Congress

• 1.) Plays a part in amending the Constitution (2/3 vote…)

• 2.) Electoral Jobs:– House can choose the president if no one

wins the majority of votes (Senate chooses Vice-President)

Oh, the Scandal!• Impeach to accuse/bring charges

against (NOT remove)-gov’t officers can be taken out of office

for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors”

Process of ImpeachmentBEGINS in the House: Judiciary Committee brings the

case to the House floor– Majority vote --> the official is impeached

• Evidence then SENT to the Senate: official is put on trial

-2/3 vote is needed to convict (NO COURTS INVOLVED)

Executive Powers of Congress

• The Senate must approve some things that the executive branch does– approves presidential appointments by

majority vote (51+ votes)– approves treaties by a 2/3 vote (67+ votes)

Investigatory Powers• Congress can conduct investigations to:

– Gather information for law-making– Focus public attention on an issue– Expose wrong-doings of the Executive

Branch (known as congressional oversight)

How a Bill Becomes a Law: The House

• Bill - an written idea for a law (a proposed law)– Ideas come from members of Congress,

the Executive Branch, and constituents• Resolutions - like bills, but once

passed by Congress have the force of law

Committees in Congress• most work in Congress is done is

committees (Congress does group work!)– Here they write/edit bills, do research, hold

hearings, etc.• 3 types: standing, select, and joint

committees

Standing Committees

• Permanent committees dealing with different topics– Bills are sent here for consideration

• Reps are assigned to 1-2 committees, senators assigned to 3-4

House Rules Committee

• Most powerful standing committee in the House - the “traffic cop”

• Decides which bills make it to the floor of the House for debate (schedules them)

Select Committees

• Temporary committees formed for a specific purpose, such as investigation of the gov’t (ex: committees for impeachment)

Joint Committees• Committees that have members of

BOTH the House and the Senate• Work together in investigating,

managing, and writing bills• Ex: conference committee

The Process• 1.) The bill is introduced to the House;

numbered and titled by the clerk (ex: H.R. 34)– Printed and given to the members to read

• 2.) Speaker sends the bill to the proper committee– Ex: Committee on Agriculture would get bills about

agriculture, farming, etc.

The Process (Cont’d)

• 3.) Debate in Committee - the bill is discussed and either passes or dies in committee– Subcommittees help do research

Committee Votes on Bills• Do pass - the bill is passed/agreed to• Refuse to Report - the bill is ignored

and dies• Report as Amended - the bill is passed

with edits• Report Committee bill - committee has

written a replacement

• 4.)The Rules Committee decides if the bill will be debated on the floor and when

• 5.) Debated on the floor of the House (follows rules/time limits set by Rules Committee)

Bill Tracker

• http://dyn.realclearpolitics.com/congressional_bill_tracker/

How a Bill Becomes a Law: The Senate

• 1.) Bill is introduced to the Senate– Titled and numbered by the clerk (ex: S. 83)

• 2.) Sent to standing committee (read, debated, amended, etc.)

• 3.) Sent to floor for debate (no time limit)

A Filibuster

• Filibuster – when a senator talks a bill “to death” by holding the Senate floor and not giving it up

• Used as a way to block voting on a bill until changes are made to it or it’s dropped

Cloture Rule

• controls a filibuster by limiting Senate debate

• Only brought into play in special circumstances

• If approved by at least 60 senators, it limits debate for no more than 30 hours

Types of Votes• When debate is over, members vote on

passing the bill:– Voice votes - members say “aye” (yes) or

“no”/“nay” (HR) – Recorded vote - members vote by electronic

device (HR)– Standing vote - members stand and are counted

(HR)– Roll Call vote- members vote when roll is called

(S)

Conference Committee

• BOTH the House and the Senate must pass the SAME version of a bill

• Conference Committee – group of Reps and Senators that create ONE VERSION of a bill that both houses can agree on

The Bill and the President

• The President can:– Sign the bill into law– Veto (reject) the bill– Put the bill aside for 10 days (while

Congress is in session) and it becomes a law automatically

– put the bill aside for 10 days and if Congress adjourns, the bill dies (pocket veto)