Legislative Branch

1
Legislative Branch
2
Legislative Branch

• Make Laws
• Bicameralism? Two Houses of Congress
• House of Representatives
• Senate

3
House of Representatives

• 435 Seats
• Seats are distributed by population
• Each state is guaranteed 1 seat
• Qualifications
• 25 years old
• Citizen for 7 years
• Live in their district

4
House of Representatives

• Term 2 years
• Leaders of the House
• Speaker of the House (selected by majority party)
• Majority Leader (selected by the majority party)
• Party Whip
• Minority Leader (selected by the minority party)
• Party Whip

5
Senate

• 100 seats
• 2 seats per state
• Qualifications
• 30 years old
• Citizen for 9 years
• Live in state

6
Senate

• Term 6 years
• Leaders of the Senate
• Vice President
• President Pro Tempore (selected by majority
  party)
• Majority Leader (selected by the majority party)
• Majority Whip
• Minority Leader (selected by the minority party)
• Minority Whip

7
Committees in Congress

• Types of Committees
• Standing Committees ? Permanently established
  legislative committees that consider and are
  responsible for legislation within a certain
  subject area. Examples are the House Ways and
  Means Committee and the Senate Judiciary
  Committee.
• Select Committees ? groups appointed for a
  limited purpose and usually lasting for only a
  few congresses
• Joint Committees ? those on which both
  representatives and senators serve
• Conference Committees ? made up of
  representatives and senators appointed to resolve
  differences in the Senate and House versions of
  the same piece of legislation before final
  passage.

8
Easy Definitions of Committees

• Committees? They do most of the work in Congress
• Standing Committee? Permanent committee
• Sub Committee? Division of a standing committee
• Select Committee? Temporary Committee (Handle
  Specific Issues)
• Joint Committee? Made up of members of both
  Houses
• Conference Committee? They make a compromised
  version of a bill
• Voice Vote? Yea or Nay
• Standing Vote? To count those that stand in for
  or against a bill.
• Roll Call Vote? To say yea or nay for public
  record

9
Committees in Congress

• The best committee jobs are given to those that
  have been in Congress the longest. (Seniority
  System)
• A chairperson is the most powerful person on a
  committee and is selected by the party.

10
Definitions

• Immunity? Congressmen cannot be arrested
• Censure? Formal Disapproval
• Impeachment? To bring formal charges against a
  public official
• Expulsion? Forcing a Congressmen to leave
• Session? Meeting of Congress (Joint, Regular,
  Special)
• Special Powers to the Senate? The Senate can
  approve or Reject Presidential Appointment.
• Special Powers to the House? The House starts
  appropriations bills and the house picks the
  President in case of an emergency
• Appropriations Bill? A legislative grant of
  money to finance a government program.

11
Definitions

• Pocket Veto? One of two ways for a president to
  disapprove a bill sent to him by Congress. If
  the President does not sign the bill within ten
  days of his receiving it and Congress has
  adjourned within that time, the bill dies and
  does not become a law.
• Pigeonhole? Killing a bill in committee by
  setting it aside.
• Filibuster? Talking a bill to death.
• Cloture? Procedure that may be used to limit or
  end floor debate in a legislative body.
• Franking privilege? Benefit allowing members of
  Congress to mail letters and other materials
  postage-free.
• Constituent? The people and interests that an
  elected official represents.
• Gerrymandering? The drawing of electoral
  district lines to the advantage of a party or
  group.

12
How a Bill becomes a Law
13
How a Bill becomes a Law
Congress can override Presidents veto with a
2/3 majority from both houses.
14
Sessions of Congress

• Three types of sessions
• Regular? meet once a year.
• Special? meet to deal with some emergency
  situation.
• Joint? both houses meet together.

15
Powers of Congress

• Borrow Money
• Declare War
• Collect Tax
• Regulate Immigration
• Regulate Commerce
• Postal Service
• Maintain Armed Services

16
Powers Denied to Congress

• Illegal Punishment
• Direct Taxes
• Export Taxes
• No Favorites
• Public Money
• Titles of Nobility

17
More Terms

• Elastic clause
• Authorization bills
• Ex post facto
• Bills of attainder
• Expressed powers
• Pork-barrel projects
• Casework

• Lobbyists
• Riders
• Resolutions
• Special-interest group

18
Terms Defined

• Elastic clause? Allows future generations to
  expand the meaning of the Constitution. Congress
  can take action on issues not spelled out in the
  Constitution.
• Authorization bills? create projects like the
  space shuttle program and establish how much
  money can be spent.
• Ex post facto? a law that would allow a person to
  be punished for an action that was not against
  the law when it was committed.
• Bills of attainder? a law that punishes a person
  accused of a crime without a trial or a fair
  hearing in court.

19
Terms Defined

• Expressed powers? powers that Congress has that
  are specifically listed in the Constitution.
• Pork-barrel projects? government projects and
  grants that primarily benefit the home district
  or state.
• Casework? the work that a lawmaker does to help
  constituents with a problem.
• Lobbyists? representative of an interest group
  who contacts lawmakers or other government
  officials directly to influence their policy
  making.
• Riders? a completely unrelated amendment tacked
  on to a bill.

20
Terms Defined

• Special-interest group? an organization of
  people with some common interest who try to
  influence government decisions.