1. Why does this matter to me?!
Debt clock

2. 1. Senate 2. House of Article I: Legislative Branch (Law Making)
Creates and passes laws
Legislative branch is made up of 2
houses of Congress (bicameral legislature):
1. Senate
2. House of
Representatives

3. ? ? ? ? Senate Each state = 2 senators 100 members (50 x 2)
Senators serve
6-yr. terms (1/3 every 2 years; staggered election)
President of the Senate V.P. of the United States ?
President Pro Tempore ?
Majority
Leader ? ?
Minority Leader

4. Who are New York’s Senators?
senior senator
junior senator

5. House of Representatives
435 members (based on state population CA = 53, TX = 36, FL&NY = 27)
Each state is guaranteed at least 1 representative
Serve 2-year terms
Congressional terms are numbered (we are now in
the 115th Congress: 1/3/17-1/3/19)
Washington, DC elects a representative, but she
is not allowed to vote  (6 total non-voting members: Guam, Puerto Rico, Amer. Samoa, Northern Mariana, Virgin Islands)
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Non-voting Rep. from DC

7. House Leadership: Speaker of the House – Majority Leader –
Minority Leader –

8. Who’s this? Where is he today?

9. Western NY representatives in the House:
Oops, these were the districts in What happened to the 28th and 29th?

11. Congressional Powers
Read Article I, Section 8 and number each delegated power in a concise, bullet-point or numbered fashion; paraphrase as much as possible. (There are 18 delegated or enumerated powers)
Example:
--1. To lay and collect taxes

12. Most powerful clause? The Elastic Clause:
“[Congress may] make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers...”
Federalists wanted this asserted to expand the reach of national authority. Loose interpretations of the Constitution use this clause to expand the power of the Federal government.
Strict Interpretations of the Constitution argue that the use of this clause should be very limited.