Congress: The Legislative Branch

I. Bicameral Legislature A)House of Representatives- Representation based on population of each state. (435 members total) B) Senate- Two Senators from each state (100 Total)

II. The House of Representatives A. The House was designed to be the part of the federal government closest to the American people. About 700,000 people per district

B. How is it close to people? 1. 2 year terms (Short) 2. Small districts (live near your constituents) Only have to be 25 Only part of gov. directly elected

C. Powers given exclusively to the House: Raise Revenue (taxes) Impeachment Charges Elect President in case of an Electoral College tie.

D. Characteristics of the House The large size of the House makes it necessary to follow strict debate rules a. This makes members of the House Rules Committee very powerful. 2. Legislation can be passed with a majority vote Minority party has little power in the House. 3. House members tend to be more ideological than senators because many represent homogenous districts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSttN2unU48

E. Leadership 1) Speaker of the House 2) Majority/Minority Leader Voted on by the entire House Also serves as majority party leader Follows VP in presidential Succession 2) Majority/Minority Leader A) Leads their party 3) Majority/Minority Whip A) In charge of getting voters to vote w/ leadership.

III. The Senate The Senate was designed to be removed form public opinion. B) How Originally not directly elected 6 years terms (long) Only 1/3 of Senate elected every two years Older age and citizenship requirements.

C. Powers given to Senate because of separation from public opinion Power to hold impeach hearings and remove officials from office. Power to confirm judges, ambassadors and cabinet members. Power to ratify treaties.

D. Characteristics of the Senate Senators tend to be more moderate because they are elected by whole states. Looser debate rules give more power to the minority party which can make it harder to pass bills.

E. The Filibuster The Senate requires two votes before a bill can pass. Cloture (End debate on a bill) requires 2/3 (60) votes Pass a bill requires a majority 51 votes. The Filibuster was intended to allow the Senate to work on multiple bills at the same time but has become away for the minority to stymie the majority.

IV. Joint Powers of Congress Enumerated or delegated powers of the constitution are specifically listen in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. Congress also has the power to “make all laws necessary and proper” known as the necessary and proper or elastic clause.

1) How does Congress provide oversight of the Executive Branch V) Oversight: 1) How does Congress provide oversight of the Executive Branch Oversight hearings- Congress has the power to subpoena executive department heads to testify before Congress. Congress controls the budget of executive departments. (They can decrease the budgets of departments) -Censure, impeachment, removal from office.

VI. Committee System A) The majority of Law writing and other work is done in the committees. B) Powerful committees in the House include Appropriations (money), Ways and Means (taxes) and Rules. C) Powerful Senate committees include judiciary (judges and constitutional issues) and budget.

VII. Mayhew’s Three Behaviors Advertising- disseminate one’s name among constituents to create a favorable with little or no issue content 1. Congress members use their franking privileges and attend local events

1. Earmarks and Pork Spending B. Credit Claiming -take credit for things they did for people in their district or state. 1. Earmarks and Pork Spending -Money that goes to projects in a member’s district or state. 2. Casework Examples: Helping constituents enroll in Obamacare, finding a lost social security check, and providing help in dealing with government agencies, writing letters of recommendation.

Position Taking- Congress members make calculated decisions about the positions they take in order to establish a desired public image