The national government

THE NATIONAL

GOVERNMENT

Unit Two

CONGRESS

Chapter 6

HOW CONGRESS IS ORGANIZED

Terms of Congress

Congress, “First Branch of Government”

Article One of Constitution provides Congress powers

Every year 535 members of Congress meet in Washington,

D.C.

A term of Congress starts every other year on odd numbered

years, lasts for two years total

Each term divided into two sessions, a typical session of

Congress lasts from January until November

Special sessions may meet in times of crisis

joint session occurs when the House and Senate meet

together, i.e. the State of the Union address


A Bicameral Legislature

The House of Representatives

435 voting members based on population of states,

Every 10 years a census taken by the Census Bureau to

adjust the representatives from each state

States divided into one or more congressional districts, one

representative elected from each district

State legislatures design the districts to include the same

number of constituents, or people represented

States sometimes abuse this by gerrymandering, designing a

district to increase voting strength of a particular group

Representatives serve two year terms, focus mainly on

concerns of individual district while senators focus largely on

the state as a whole

ARKANSAS DISTRICTS, REPRESENTATION BY

STATE


The Senate

100 members, 2 from

each state

Serve 6 year terms

Elections are staggered

throughout the country so

that no more than 1/3 of

the senators are up for

election at any one time


Congressional Leaders

Majority party- political party of more than half the members of the House and Senate

Speaker of the House most powerful leader IN the House of Representatives, in charge of guiding legislation, moderating floor debates, third in line for the presidency

Senate’s leader vice president, rarely attends sessions unless to vote in case of a tie

The chairperson of the Senate is president pro tem,position is more ceremonial rather than influential

Floor leaders have most power; make sure that Congress passes laws that are in the best interest of their own political parties, try to sway votes

Party whips keep track of where party members stand on the issues


Types of CommitteesStanding Committees continue

their work from session to session The Senate-16, House-19Select committees created to do

a specific task for a limited timeJoint committees include

members from House and the Senate

Conference committees helps the House and Senate agree on the details of a proposed law

To get on a committee, the congressman must have seniority

Longest serving members serve as chairs, most powerful members of Congress

Criticism talented people can be overlooked

The Powers of Congress

Expressed Powers- written powers of Congress -first 17 clauses of Article I, Section 8

Section 8, Clause 18 gives Congress the authority to do whatever is “necessary and proper” to carry out the expressed powers, the powers of clause 18 are called implied powers

Clause 18 is called the elastic clause because it allows Congress to stretch its powers to meet new needs

Primary jobs of Congress: create laws, spend and budget money


Taxing and Spending

To pay for the gov’t and the services it provides,

Congress collects taxes

All tax bills must start in the House of

Representatives, Senate must approve and the

president must sign off on it

Two step process

1. Authorization bills create projects, establish how

much money can be spent on them

2. Appropriation bills provide the money for each

program or activity

o Government agencies can’t spend money without

congressional approval


Regulating Commerce

Article I, Section 8, Clause 3, gives

Congress the power to regulate trade

among the states as well as make

laws dealing with air traffic, radio,

railroads, T.V., etc.

It also gives them the power to

regulate foreign trade

Foreign Relations and Treaties

Congress can declare war and has the

power to create, maintain, and

oversee an army and navy

The Senate must approve any treaties

made with other countries


Nonlegislative Powers

Power of Approval and Removal

A. Propose constitutional amendments

B. Counts electoral votes and checks other branches of government

C. Senate approve/ reject presidential nominations (Supreme Court, Cabinet)

D. Congress can remove any federal official who has committed serious wrongdoing

E. House has authority to impeach: accuse officials of misconduct in office,

If a majority of the House votes to impeach an official then Senate acts as jury and decides by a 2/3 vote whether to convict and remove the person from office

Only two presidents have been impeached, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, both were tried and acquitted by the Senate

Oversight and Investigation

Congress can conduct investigations and monitor the effectiveness of programs, i.e. agricultural programs, investigations on scandals, etc


Limits on Power

1. Congress may not pass laws that violate the Bill of Rights

2. Congress may not suspend the writ of habeas corpus, requires police to bring person in front of judge and explain why they are being charged

3. Prohibited from passing bills of attainder, laws that strip a person of civil rights or property

4. Congress may not pass ex post facto laws (laws that make an act a crime after the act has been committed)

5. Cannot interfere with powers reserved for states

Supreme Court has the power to check Congress by declaring laws established by Congress unconstitutional

President can veto bills passed by Congress, they can override it with 2/3 vote

Representing the People

Requirements and Benefits of Congress

Senator

30 yrs old, 9 yrs citizenship, & live in state

Representative

25 yrs old, 7 yrs citizenship, live in state

Not required, but traditionally live in their district

About ½ lawyers

Almost all have college degrees, active in community, past political experience


Members of Congress receive an

annual salary of $ 174,000

Receive free office space, parking,

and trips home

Franking privileges- sending job

related mail w/out paying postage

Congress also grants its members

immunity, or legal protection, in certain

situations


Personal Staff

Run DC & home offices

Gather info, arrange mtgs, write speeches, handle voter requests, deal with reporters & lobbyists, work for reelection

Interns – research & office duties

Pages – errands

Committee Staff

For all committees & subcommittees

Most have expert knowledge

View job as working for committee

Draft bills, gather info, organize hearings, negotiate w/lobbyists

Basically, they keep the process moving.


Support Services

Congress has several agencies to support its work

Library of Congress as a source of info, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) looks up arguments for and against proposed bills

The General Accounting Office(GAO) reviews spending activities of federal agencies, studies federal programs, recommends ways to improve financial performance

Congressional Budget Office(CBO) provides Congress with info for making budget decisions; it estimates costs and economic effects of programs


Lawmaking

Making Laws

Casework

Working on the problems of their constituents; requests are usually about 10,000 per year

Anything from legal trouble to financial problems usually handled by the staff

Helping the District or State

Members work to give constituents a share of the trillion of dollars spent by the gov’t each year

Public projects, etc. that could bring money for the congress member’s state or district

Gov’t projects and grants that primarily benefit the home district or state are known as pork-barrel projects

HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW

Types of Bills

10,000 Bills introduced during

Congress, only a few hundred pass

become laws

2 categories of bills:

Private- concern individual people

or places

Public- bills apply to the entire

nation like taxation, civil rights, or

terrorism

Congress also considers

resolutions (formal statements

expressing lawmakers’ opinions),

joint resolutions- passed by both

houses of Congress, can become

law


From Bill to Law

Introduction of Bills

o Bills often recommended by

lobbyists, special interest groups,

and constituents

o Bills can only be introduced by

Senators or Representatives, the

bill is then given a title and a

number (S- Senate, HR-House of

Reps.)

o The bill is then sent to the

standing committee that is

qualified to handle it


Committee Action

Committee chairperson decides which bills are given

consideration, which ones are ignored

If chosen committee can do the following:

1) Pass bill without changes

2) Edit bill with changes, suggest that it be passed

3) Replace original bill with a new alternative

4) Ignore the bill and let it die, called “pigeonholing”

5) Kill the bill by majority vote

When a committee is against a bill, its chances of

survival are slim


Floor Debate

Bills approved in committee go back to

House or Senate for consideration, put

on a calendar for debate

House has a Rules Committee controls

when bill is heard; priority to certain bills

,kill a bill by not letting it on the floor

When it gets to the floor, Congressmen

argue pros and cons of bill and may add

amendments

Unrelated amendments called riders

The House has limit on the length of the

debate, Senate does not, Senators can

discuss bill until it is dead, called

filibuster, can be ended by cloture,

which rarely happens


Voting on a Bill

After debate, the House and Senate vote

Voice Vote: members say yea or no

Standing vote: those in favor stand

Roll call vote: In senate, voice votes in turn

If the bill passes either the house or senate it then

goes to the other branch to be voted on

Has to be passed in identical form by both houses,

if not it goes to conference committee


Presidential Action

If bill passes both House

and Senate, goes to the

President for approval

He can either:

a. sign the bill to make it a

law,

b. veto the bill

c. pocket veto (waits 10

days ,hopes Congress will

adjourn so they cannot

override his veto)

OR……

Congress can override

veto by 2/3 vote of

each house

The national government

Education

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