Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Congress•Members of Congress strive to represent the interests of their constituents while keeping in mind the needs of the country as a whole.•Congress is a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives and a Senate.
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
•Represent the interests of their constituents, the voters in the district that elected them.
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
House of Rep.•Number of representatives each state can elect based on state’s population
•Apportionment: distribution of seats according to population. Representatives serve two-year terms
•Senate
•There are 100 members
•Each state represented by two senators. Senators serve six-year terms
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Congress and Checks and Balances
•Through appropriation, Congress can prevent president from carrying out policies
•Senate approves treaties, and Presidential appoints.
•Has oversight power
•Can impeach federal officials for high crimes, and misdemeanors.
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
The Powers of Congress•Congress has extensive expressed, inherent, and implied powers.•The extent of Congress’s implied powers is a subject of debate.
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Defining the Powers of Congress
• Three types of powers held by Congress–Expressed: spelled out in Constitution–Implied: suggested in Constitution in the
necessary and proper clause–Inherent: powers a government maintains
simply because it is a government
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Expressed Powers of Congress
•Uses power to “lay and collect taxes” by levying direct taxes and indirect taxes•Declare war, raise army and navy, post office, borrow money, and coin money.
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Expressed Powers of Congress (cont’d.)
To regulate foreign and interstate commerce
To establish uniform rules of citizenship
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Implied Powers of CongressLoose and Strict Constructionists
• Strict constructionists Congress should only exercise powers explicitly granted in Constitution.
• Loose constructionists –Congress should have more freedom to interpret Constitution
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Nonlegislative Powers
Ability to issue subpoenas, documents that require person to testify
House-Under Twelfth Amendment, House can choose president if no candidate receives majority of electoral votesSenate approves appointments and treaties.
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Limits on the Powers of Congress
• Congress may not suspend writ of habeas corpus.
• No bill of attainder, law that allows person to be punished without trial
• No ex post facto laws, laws that criminalize a past action
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Section 3 at a GlanceThe House of Representatives• Membership in the House of Representatives is
apportioned to each state on the basis of its population. After each census, seats in the House are reapportioned among the states and new district boundaries are drawn.
• The Speaker of the House is one of the most powerful leaders in government.
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Formal Qualifications• House members chosen by direct popular vote
• Representative must be at least 25 years old and resident of state he or she represents.
• Members must also have been U.S. citizen at least 7 years
Membership in the House
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Changes in Population
• Reapportionment based on most current census figures
• Gerrymandering: redrawing district boundaries for political gain
One Person One Vote
• According to Constitution, each person’s vote must have same basic value
Reapportionment and Redistricting
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
The Speaker of the House• The presiding officer of the House is called the Speaker
of the House. – Elected by his or her peers– Member of majority party
• The Speaker has authority over much of the business of the House.
– Presides over debates– Rules on points of order– Assigns bills to committees
Leadership in the House
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Other Leadership Posts• Party officers elected at beginning of term at party
caucus• Both Democratic and Republican Parties elect floor
leader• Both parties elect whips, function is to secure votes in
line with party leadership
Leadership in the House (cont’d.)
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Standing Committees• Standing committees: permanent committees that
address broad topics
Other Committees• Select committees: meant to carry out specific task
• Joint committees include both House and Senate members; address issues that affect
The Role of Committees
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Section 4
The Senate• Each state has two senators, regardless of population.
Like the House, the Senate relies on a system of committees.
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Debate in the Senate
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Formal Qualifications• Must be at least 30 years old
• Must reside in state he or she represents
• Must be U.S. citizen at least nine years
• Serve six-year terms
• Since 1913, 17th Amendment, elected by direct popular vote
The Senate and Its Membership
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Constitutional Positions• Senate’s presiding officer
– Vice president of the United States is president of the Senate
• When presiding officer absent – President pro tempore presides in absence of
president of the Senate.– Senate majority leader most powerful position in
Senate
Senate Leadership
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Types of Senate Committees• 16 standing committees and dozens of subcommittees
• No senator can chair more than one committee
• Committee chairmanships generally chosen by seniority rule
Committees in the Senate
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
The Filibuster• Senate places fewer limits on debate than House • Senators may use stalling tactics like filibuster
– Opponents of measure refuse to stop talking hoping to prevent measure from coming to vote
– Cloture can limit filibuster, requires two-thirds vote to end debate
Rules and Traditions
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Debating the Issue
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Section 5Congress at Work• Bills may be introduced in either house and usually get
assigned to committees for analysis and revision. • Differences between House and Senate versions of a bill
are resolved in a conference committee.• The president needs to sign a bill for it to become law.
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Introducing Bills• Both houses of Congress introduce bills Other Types of Action• Joint resolution: similar to a bill
– Used for certain circumstances– Must be signed by president, carries force of law
• Concurrent resolutions: address operations in both chambers, do not carry force of law
Bills in Congress
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Resolving differences between House and Senate versions of a bill is the responsibility of a conference committee.
• If conference committee does not reach agreement, bill may die
The Conference Committee
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
• President can sign bill into law• President can choose not to sign bill
– After 10 days if Congress still in session, bill becomes law
– pocket veto• President may outright veto bill
Presidential Action on a Bill
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch
Congress: The Legislative BranchCongress: The Legislative Branch