The Legislative Branch

Structure & Power

Bicameral Legislature◦ Bicameral=2 Part

House of Representatives◦ 435 members (Representatives)

Senate◦ 100 members (Senators)

Why is there such a difference in the #’s?

What is the Legislative Branch?

Representatives Senators

Age:

Citizenship (years):

State of Residence (years):

Term length:

How many representatives much each state have?

What is each state’s # of seats based on?

Age:

Citizenship (years):

State of Residence (years):

Term length:

How many senators much each state have?

What is each state’s # of seats based on?

Qualifications of Congress

Turn to pg. 5 in Interactive Notebook, Complete- Use MD General Assembly article on back to complete page

Why bicameral?◦ H.of R.= Representation based on population

Ex- New York vs. Delaware◦ Senate= Equal representation

Everyone gets 2 Enumerated Powers

◦ War Powers, Levy Taxes, etc Implied Powers

Powers of Congress

Elastic Clause◦ Necessary & Proper clause

Effects on functioning of government◦ Increase in size & scope◦ Regulation of finance, health care

Implied Powers of Congress

Create a foldable that explains the powers of the legislative branch Cover: Create a title & picture Green= Expressed Powers

◦ Inside Left 2 Examples from each

Yellow= Implied Powers◦ Inside Middle

2 Examples from each Red= Denied Powers

Inside Right 2 examples from each

Effects of Necessary & Proper Clause◦ 3 Effects (Outside left)

Bicameral: House & Senate Facts (5 qualifications each)◦ EX- # of representatives; citizenship; age; basis of # of seats

Middle Outside*You may use books, notes, or Interactive notebook pgs. 2-3

Traffic Light Activity

What is this cartoon saying?

Filibuster (Senate)◦ Historical method to delay vote or block debate◦ Increase visibility of issue; lead to compromise◦ 60 votes to stop it (longest ever 24+ hours)

Cloture Video Clip

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6297689n

◦ Should the filibuster be eliminated?◦ Do you agree or disagree with the speaker

? Why/why not?

Legislative Tools

Conference Committees◦ Set up by House & Senate to settle disagreement

on a bill Remember, a bill must pass thru House and Senate

before becoming law!!! Overriding a Presidential Veto

◦ 2/3 vote by Senate

Legislative Tools

The Legislative Branch

Lawmaking Process

Census is taken every 10 yrs Reapportionment

◦ Change in the # of representatives each state has Based on population size # of House of Reps members

Pg. 10-13 in interactive notebook◦ Complete pg. 10, 11 & 13◦ Discuss

Representation & Reapportionment

Re-Districting

State Legislators draw boundaries for Congressional districts◦ Power is sometimes abused

Unequal districts drawn◦ Gerrymandering◦ Should be base on pop. (1 person=1 vote)

Many times, increase in racial/ethnic representation◦ No guidelines in Constitution

Re-districting

Re-Districting

Drawing state lines to give one party an electoral advantage

“Packing & Cracking”◦ Funky shaped districts use to:

Pack one party/group into one district Crack one party/ethnic group into many districts

Both reduce influence

Irregular shapes drawn for political reasons Pg. 126 Gerrymandering map

Gerrymandering

Gerrymandering in MD

Recall◦ Voters kick an elected official out of office

Referendum◦ Special election used to recall official

Referendum & Recall

Citizens propose a constitutional amendment or law

Initiative

The Legislative Branch

External Factors

Media Lobbyists Political Action Committees Interest Groups Citizens Public Opinion

External Factors that influence lawmaking

The media can have a major influence on public policy◦ Coverage of events on

TV/News Amount of time certain topics

get in spotlight More TV exposure means

more people form opinions about a certain issue

◦ Social media Citizens get instant news and

info.

Media

Interest Groups◦ A group with common goals who organize to

influence government Public Interest Groups

◦ A group that seeks policy goals that it believes will benefit the nation

Many interest groups have ties to business, labor, or agriculture

Interest Group Spending:◦ http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/index.php

Interest Groups

Many voices with the same message have a greater impact than 1 voice!

Why Form Interest Groups?

What is the idea behind this political cartoon?

Interest Groups

Free Rider◦ An individual who does

not join a group representing his or her interests yet receives the benefit of the group's influence.

Are you a free-rider?

Turn to pg. 30 in Interactive Notebook◦ Use graphic organizer to categorize interest

groups◦ Read Summaries of the different kinds of interest

groups Read pgs. 31-33

Highlight key points and ideas Answer questions at the end of each section

Interest Groups

Lobbyist:◦ An interest group representative◦ Lobbying:

Direct contact made by a lobbyist in order to persuade government officials to support the policies their interest group favors

Political Action Committees◦ Interest groups that raise & spend large sums of

money to influence election campaigns Free Rider

◦ An individual who does not join a group representing his or her interests yet receives the benefit of the group's influence.

Lobbyists & PAC’s

Turn to pg. 35 in Interactive Notebook Read Study Guide 18.2

◦ Mark text to pick out important points◦ Answer the question at the end of each section

Lobbyists & PAC’s

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7387331n

Think about some social issues that are important to you

Brainstorm at least 5 issues that America faces Select the one issue that you care about the most &

come up with a name for your interest group◦ You may either:

Create a 30 second commercial script Write a newspaper article (2 paragraphs) to express your

viewpoint Write a rap/song/poem to express you viewpoints Create a print ad (like from a newspaper or magazine)

You will share your work with class mates at the end of the period

Start up an interest group

Public Opinion◦ Polls/surveys are taken

to find the opinions of a representative group of Americans on many issues

Government officials take poll numbers into account when making policy decisions◦ Iraq War------------->

Public Opinion

You have the power to make changes!◦ Contact local legislators

City Council State Legislators Representatives

◦ Testify at Congressional Hearings◦ Join an interest group◦ Organize a PAC◦ Use the news media to your advantage

Call the local paper or TV station about your concerns

Citizen Influence on Policy

As a class, read:◦ The Public Choices of Senator Aspyer Tu More◦ Volunteer for a role or read along◦ Pg. 38-45 in Interactive Notebook◦ Answer Bulleted Questions on pg. 47 of

Interactive Notebeook 4 groups:

Chamber of Commerce The Locals The Fishermen Retired People

Discuss Roles & Answer questions

Activity