take five which branch of the government was envisioned as being the most powerful?
TRANSCRIPT
• In this chapter we will cover…• Roots of the Legislative Branch• The Constitution and the Legislative Branch• Apportionment and Redistricting• Powers of Congress• Members of Congress• Organization of Congress• Lawmaking• How Members Make Decisions• Congress and the President
Unit Four – Institutions of National Government (CR 4: 35-
45% of course/exam)Unit #4 comprises the following: Expressed and Implied
powers of the three branches of government, the influence and power of the bureaucracy, the relationships between the four organizations. In this Unit, students will be exposed to the structure and workings of the three branches of government and the bureaucracy. The importance of checks and balances and the separation of powers will be emphasized. Conflicts between these institutions and other groups previously studied will be analyzed in historic and current contexts. Students will address questions such as: How does the President deal with the media? How is Congress limited by the Courts? How are states affected by federal decisions?
Take Five
What were the major differences
between the VA and NJ plans during
the Constitutional Convention?
Founders’ Intentions
1. Strongest branch
2. Separation of lawmaking power from executive
3. Bicameralism balances large/small states• House – more connected to people (2 yr term)• Senate – allows for independent thinking (6 yr term)
In Class Assignment
• Work in groups of no more than 4 to complete the worksheet provided…I know, I know---a worksheet (GASP)…BUT, it’s not mindless—this will actually help you to keep the branches straight!
Important Differences
House• 435 members (Public
Law 62-5)• 2 year term• 7 year citizen
• Initiate impeachment• Revenue bills
• Strict debate rules
Senate• 100 members• 6 year term• 9 year citizen
• Tries impeachment• Approve presidential
appointments• Approve treaties’• Loose debate rules
Constitutional Powers
Article I, Section 8• To lay and collect taxes, duties, imports• To borrow money• To regulate commerce (states and foreign)• To establish rules for naturalization• To coin money• To create courts (except Supreme Court)• To declare war• To raise and support an army and navy
Evolution of Powers
Elastic clause has extended Congress powers
• Oversight of budget – can restrict the fed. budget prepared by executive branch
• Appropriations – set amount of money made available for various activity in a fiscal year
• Investigation – Congress can launch investigations (Watergate, Clinton-Lewinski hearings, Steroids in baseball)
Senate Leadership
PRES. PRO TEMPORE
MINORITY LEADER
MINORITY WHIP
MAJORITY LEADER
(MOST POWERFUL)
MAJORITY WHIP
PRESIDENT of the SENATE
(VICE PRESIDENT)
Leadership
• Majority party controls the most significant leadership positions
• House - Speaker of the House• Allows people to speak on floor• Assigns bills to committees• Influences which bills are brought to a vote• Appoints members of special and select committees
• Senate – Majority Leader• Schedules Senate business• Prioritizes bills
Who’s in Congress?
110th Congress (2007-2008)• 85% male• 85% White• 40% Lawyers109th Congress (2005-2006)• 29 accused of spousal abuse• 7 have been arrested for fraud• 19 arrested for writing bad checks• 117 have bankrupted at least 2 businesses• 8 have been arrested for shoplifting
• In 1998 alone, 84 were stopped for drunk driving
Elections
• House members directly elected
• Senators directly elected after 17th Amend
• House Incumbent advantage – Why?– Name recognition– Proven track record– Franking privileges – free mailing
Representation
• Malapportionment – unequal population in districts– Wesberry v. Sanders (1963) – found unequal
district pop. unconstitutional – 14th amend
• Gerrymandering – district boundaries are redrawn in strange ways to make it easy for candidate of one party to win– Easley v. Cromartie (2001) – redistricting for
political ideology was constitutional, led to increase in minority reps
How A Bill Becomes a Law
• Create legislation, make laws
• Founders believed in a SLOW process
• Founders believed efficiency was a trait of an oppressive government
Step 1 – Introduce Bill
• Introduced in Senate or House (except tax)
• Single or multiple reps can introduce bill
Step 2 - Committee
1. Bill is assigned to a particular committee in its category (Ex. Tax bill – Ways and Means Committee, Farm bill – Agriculture Committee)
2. Bill is then placed in sub-committee
3. Bills are debated and “marked up”
4. Most bills die in committee, committee can vote to “report out” a bill
Step 3–Rules Committee
• Before bill can go to floor in House, it must first set time limits and amendment regulations.– Closed rule – sets time limits, restricts
amendments– Open rule – permits amendments– Restrictive rule – permits some amendments
Step 4 – Floor Debate
Senate Debate
• Less formal, no speaking limit
• Filibuster – practice of stalling a bill w/ debate
• Cloture – 3/5 of the Senate vote to stop debate
House Debate
• More formal, no filibuster, strict rules
Step 5 - Voting
• Majority passes• If the bill passes, it must go through the
same process in the opposite chamber with a sponsor
• If the bill passes one house and fails the other, it must start over
• If the Senate and House cannot come to agreement over two versions, it goes to Conference Committee to fix it and resubmit the bill
Presidential Action
• Sign – bill becomes law
• Veto – bill returns to origin
• Override – 2/3 vote in both houses can override veto
• Pocket Veto – President has 10 days to act on a piece of legislation. If he receives the bill within 10 days of the end of the Congressional session, and doesn’t sign, it dies
Committees and Subcommittees
• Most real work happens here
• Bills are passed, changed, ignored, or killed
Types of Committees
• Standing committee – handle bills in different policy areas – (ex. Appropriations, Agriculture, Armed
Services, Science, etc.) – most important and have been “standing”
(existing) for a long time
• Select committee – formed for specific purposes and usually
temporary – run investigations (ex. Aging, Intelligence)
Types of Committees
• Joint committee – consist of both House and Senate members– similar in purpose to Select committee – Meant to draw attention to issues
• Conference committee – consist of both House reps and Senators– formed to hammer out differences between
House and Senate versions of similar bills
• Congressional Committees and Subcommittees
Committee Membership
• Controlled by majority party, committee membership divided proportionally
• Committee Chairman– Senior member of committee– Controls membership and debate
Work of Committees
• 11,000 bills introduced yearly, most die
• Committees can…– Report out favorably/unfavorably– Pigeonholed/table (do not discuss)– Amend / “mark up” (change or rewrite)
Congressional Caucuses
• Groupings of members pushing for similar interests
• Ex. – Sunbelt, Northeast-Midwest, Congressional Black, Women’s, Democratic Study Group, Big Automotive, Steel, etc…
Criticisms of Congress
• “Pork” – aka “pork-barrel legislation” – bills to benefit constituents in hope of gaining their votes
• Logrolling – Congress members exchange votes, bills might pass for frivolous reasons
• Christmas-tree bill –bill with • many riders (pork)
– in Senate, no limit exists on – amendments, so Senators try – to attach riders that will benefit – their home state
Term-limits Debate
• No current limit on how many terms members of Congress can serve
1. Some argue this has weakened popular control of Congress, reps might be unresponsive to their constituents
2. Some argue most experienced reps have the expertise to bring home more benefits (pork, riders, etc.)
Congressional oversights…checks and balances
• Congress has the authority to – Over ride a veto w/ 2/3 majority vote– Release funding for executive projects
(appropriations)– Approve or deny foreign treaties– Approve or deny Executive appointments– Hold hearings for review of executive
agency’s activities