CHAPTER 10: C

ONGRESS

• Bi-cameral: 2 house congress

• A way to make sure Congress didn’t become too powerful

A BI-CAMERAL CONGRESS:

Term: each term of Congress lasts for 2 years

Congress began it’s first term on March 4, 1789.

The start of the new term is: Noon on the 3rd day of January, every odd-numbered year.

Session: a period of time where Congress assembles and conducts business

There are two sessions to each term of Congress. (One session each year.)

The second session of each two-year term frequently begins a few days or even two/three weeks after the third of January.

TERMS AND SESSIONS

• Adjourns: pauses action until the next session

• A session lasts throughout most of the year today, but in the past used to only last 5-6 months

• Prorouge: power that the president has to end a session of Congress.

• Only used if Congress can’t agree on a date to end.

TERMS AND SESSIONS

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

• Special session: congress can be called on by the president during emergency situations

TERMS AND SESSIONS

THE CAPIT

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HOUSE OF

REPRESENTAT

IVES:

TN REPRESENTATIVES:

Who are we?

SIZE AND TERMS• 435 members (not fixed by the

constitution, set by congress.)• The number of seats is determined by

their states’ population.• Each state is guaranteed at least one se

at in the house.• New members are chosen every second

year.• No limit on the number of terms any

member of Congress may serve.

Longest Serving House Member

John Dingell: 57 years

435! 435!!

NEED TO

REMEMBER

435!

REAPPORTIONMENT:• Reapportionment: Redistributing of the

seats in the house after each decennial census.

The Reapportionment Act of 1929:• The permanent size of the house is 435 members.• Each census determines the number of seats each

state is to have.• When the Census Bureau’s plan is ready, the

President must send it to Congress.• If, within 60 days of receiving it, neither house

rejects it, it becomes effective.

CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS:• Held on the same day in every state.• Held on the Tuesday following the

first Monday in November of each even-numbered year.

• Off year elections: Congressional elections that occur between presidential elections.

• Typically, the party in presidency loses seats in the off-year elections.

DISTRICTS:Single-member district arrangement:

electoral district from which one person is chosen by the voters for each elected office.

At-Large Election: election of an officeholder by the voters of an entire governmental unit (state/country) rather than by the voters of a district or subdivision

GERRYMANDERING

Gerrymandering: The drawing of electoral district lines for the advantage of a party or group.Some are S shaped, Y shaped, bear a resemblance to a dumbbell or a squiggly piece of spaghetti.

The lines are drawn to either:1. Concentrate the opposition’s voters in one or a few districts, thus leaving the other districts comfortably safe for the dominant party2. Spread the opposition as thinly as possible among several districts, limiting the opposition’s ability to win anywhere in the region.

GERRYMANDERING:

QUALIFICATIONS FOR HOUSE MEMBERS:

1. 25 years of age.

2. Must have been a citizen of the United States for at least seven years.

3. Must be an inhabitant of the State from which he or she is elected.

INFORMAL QUALIFICATIONS• Party identification• Name familiarity• Gender• Ethnic characteristics• Political experience

The “right” combination of these factors will help a

candidate win nomination and then election to the House.

THE SENATE

:

THE SENATE:• 100 members in the Senate• Two from each state• (The senate had only 22 members when it

held its first session in March of 1789.)• Framers hoped that the senate would be a a

more enlightened and responsible body than the House.

• They reinforced this by giving senators a longer term and setting the qualifications just a cut above those in they set for the house.

ELECTION OF THE SENATE• Senators are chosen by

voters in each state at the regular November elections.

• Only one senator is elected from a State in any given election unless the other seat has been vacated by death, resignation or expulsion.

TERMS OF THE SENATE:

• Senators serve for six-year terms.• The six year term is intended to make

senators less subject to the pressures of public opinion and less susceptible to the pleas of special interests than are members of the House.

• Senators may be elected to any number of terms.

Robert Byrd: Served over

50 years

Longest Serving Senator

CONTINUOUS BODY• Only 1/3 of

senators (33 or 34 senators) expire every two years

• A governing unit whose seats are never all up for election at the same time.

CONSTITUENCIES:Constituencies: The people and interests that an

elected official represents.

[Senators are supposed to be less concerned with the interests of a specific small locality and more focused on the “Big picture” of a national interest.]

REPR

ESEN

T M

E!

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE SENATE

• 30 years of age• Citizen of the United

States for at least 9 years

• Must be an inhabitant of the State from which he or she is elected.

LEAVING THE SENATE• The senate can punish its members for

disorderly behavior by majority vote

• The senate can expel a member with 2/3 vote.

• Fifteen members of the Senate have been expelled. Fourteen of them were expelled for supporting the Confederacy.

ALFRED O.P. NICHOLSON

A Confederate sympathizer from

Tennessee

MEMBERS OF

CONGRESS:

THE MEMBERS OF CONGRESSPersonal and Political BackgroundsReligion:60% Protestant, 25% Roman Catholic, 8% Jewish, 7% other

Gender:House: 472 Males, 63 Females; Senate: 86 Males 14 Females

Ethnicity: 39 African Americans, 23 Hispanics, 5 Asian Americans, 2 Native Americans

CONT. • Over 1/3 of the House and over ½ of the

Senate are lawyers.• Near all have college degrees• Many House members come from state

legislatures • Many Senators are former House

representatives• Not an accurate cross section of the

population; Congress is mainly made up of upper-middle class society.

THE JOB: 5 Major Roles 1. Legislators 2. Representatives of their constituents 3. Committee members 4. Servants of their constituents 5. Politicians

Committee MembersCommittee’s are formed to research bills and screen there proposals

ServantsHouse and Senate members are both politcians and servants of their constituents.

All these elements make up a politician

MEMBERSHIP PRIVILEGES • If anything is said on the

floor, it cannot be held against them in a court of law. Protects from suits of slander and libel

• They cannot deframe a member in a public speech, an article , conversation or otherwise.

• Paycheck: $174,000 per year

COMPENSATION • It is stated in the Constitution that all

members of Congress shall receive a Compensation.

• Today, the salaries of Senate and House members are 158,000 dollars each year.

• The Speaker make 196,300 a year and the floor leaders make, 172,900 a year

NON-SALARY COMPENSATION• Special tax deductions • Travel allowances • Excellent pension plan, up to 150,000

retirement pay. • Funds for staff and operating cost. • The Franking Privilege, gives Congressmen to

mail letters and packages, postage free.• Free parking • They set their own salary

CHAPTER 11: PO

WERS OF

CONGRESS

THE SCOPE OF CONGRESSIONAL POWERS

Congress only has powers granted/given by the Constitution

Congress cannot: • create a national public school system• require people to vote/attend church• set a minimum age for marriage/drivers’ licenses• confiscate all handguns• censor the content of newspaper/radio/television

THE SCOPE OF CONGRESSIONAL POWERSCongress can- do many things in three

different ways-• Expressed Powers- in the specific

wording of the Constitution• Implied Powers- by reasonable

deduction from the expressed powers• Inherent Powers- by creating a national

government for the United States

The Framers:Strict Constructionists:

Led by Thomas JeffersonInsisted Congress should only be able to exercise its expressed powers and those implied powers absolutely necessary to carry out those expressed powers

Liberal Constructionists:Led by Alexander HamiltonBelieved in a broad interpretation of the Constitution, has prevailed throughout history

THE EXPRESSED POWERS OF MONEY AND COMMERCE

The Constitution gives Congress the power to tax, this was not included in the Articles of Confederation

Tax- a charge levied by the government on persons or property to raise money to meet public needs

Limitations of Taxing Power Only for public purposes, not for private benefit May not tax exports Direct Taxes, paid directly to the government by whom they

are imposed, must be apportioned among the States according to their populations

All indirect taxes must be levied at the same rate in every part of the country

The Constitution gives Congress the power to borrow on the credit of the United States, there are no limits to the amount and no restriction on the purpose

Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Congress and President Clinton, vowed to eliminate deficit financing by 2002 Did so by 1998, continued in ’99,’00,’01

Three Factors eliminated this progress Sharp downturn in the nation’s economy Major tax cut by President Bush and enacted in Congress

in ’01,’02,’03 The onset of war in Afghanistan and Iraq

Congress has the power to regulate interstate and foreign trade

Commerce Clause- gives Congress the power to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes

Gibbons v. Ogden, 1824 Gibbons claimed the New York grant conflicted with the

power of congress to regulate commerce, the Court agreedLimits of the Commerce power Cannot tax exports Cannot favor the ports of one State of those of any other in

the regulation of trade Cannot require that “Vessels bout to, or from, one State, be

obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another Could not interfere with the slave trade (until 1808)

Constitution gives Congress the power to coin money and regulate the values thereof

Also gives Congress the power to establish uniform laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States

OTHER EXPRESS POWERSCongress has the inherent power to act on matters

affecting the security of the nationWar Power Resolution of 1973- claimed the power to

restrict the use of American forces in combat areas where a state of war does not exist

Congress has the power to establish an uniform rule of naturalization

Has the power to establish Post Offices and post Roads Established crimes based on this power- to obstruct the mail, use to

commit fraud, or committing any other crime Prohibits mail of many items- i.e.-firecrackers, knives

Copyright: The power to promote the progress by giving authors and inventors the exclusive right to their writings and discoveries

Congress also has the power to fix the standard of weights and measures- reflects the absolute need for accurate uniform gauges of time, distance, area, weight, volume

1838-set English System as standard

Emnent domain-the inherent power to take private property for public use

Judicial Powers- to create federal courts below the Supreme Court and to structure the federal judiciary, to define federal crime and set punishments for violators

EXPRESSED POWERS:

IMPLIED POWERSThe necessary and proper clause: gives

the power to make all laws that are necessary and proper for carrying into execution the other powers • Often called “elastic clause”

McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819 A Maryland Law required federally chartered banks to

use only a special paper to print paper money, which amounted to a tax. James McCulloch refused to use the paper claiming the States could not take the Federal Government. The court declared the Maryland law unconstitutional

TO PROPOSE AN AMENDMENT:

Congress may propose amendments by a two-thirds vote in each house

Congress may call a national convention of delegate from each of the States to propose an amendment

T0 ELECT A NEW LEADER:The House can be called to

elect a President, if no candidate wins the majority of electoral votes:• Thomas Jefferson 1801

and John Quincy Adams 1825

The Senate must choose a Vice President under the same circumstance-Richard M. Johnson 1837

Congress must also confirm a successor by a majority vote in each house if necessary- Gerald Ford in 1973 and Nelson Rockefeller in 1974 as Vice Presidents

FANCY LAW TERMS:In 1998 Bill Clinton was accused of having “s

exual relations” with his intern Monica Lewinsky.

Impeach: to accuse or bring chargesAcquit: to find not guiltyPerjury: lying under oath

The Constitution provides that the President, Vice President, and all civil officers of the United States may be removed from Office On Impeachment for and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors The House impeaches, or bring charges and the Senate

sits as the court in impeachment cases

The Constitution gives two executive powers to the Senate

All major appointments made by the president must be confirmed by a Senate majority vote

The President makes treaties by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate provide two thirds of the Senators present concur

Congress has the power to investigate any matter that falls within the score of its legislative powers.

It may do so to gather information useful to Congress in the making of Legislation, oversee the operation of executive branch agencies, focus public attention on a particular subject, expose questionable activities of public officials, and promote particular interests of some members of Congress