1. Unit 4: Lecture 1: Chapter 14 The Organizational Structure of Congress
Ms. Boden
Edgren High School
12th Government
October 18, 2007

2. Who is the Current Speaker of the House?

3. Nancy Pelosi

4. I. Congress?
The legislature (law making body) of the federal government
It is bicameral:
House of Representatives
Senate

5. II. House of Representatives
435 voting members
House seats are apportioned among the states on the basis of population
Serve a two-year term

7. II. House of Representatives
Speaker of the House:
Mandated by the Constitution
Majority vote at the start of a congressional term
Usually long-time member of the majority party
Next in line for the presidency after the President and Vice President

8. II. House of Representatives
What does the Speaker of the House do?
Presides over the House
Recognizes Members who wish to speak
Makes important rulings and decisions in the House
Votes in the case of a tie (This is usually the only time the Speaker will vote)
The Speaker and the majority leader determine the legislative agenda (calendar) for the House and often confer with the President and with the Senate

10. II. House of Representatives
Majority Leader and Minority Leader:
The House became so large by the 19th century that Majority and Minority leaders were elected
Help manage and organize the political parties and their activities
Majority leader heads the political party with the more Members in the House
Minority leader heads the other political party in the House

11. II. House of Representatives
What are the duties of party leaders?
- Represent the party on the Floor
- Serve as spokespersons
- Advocate their parties' policies and viewpoints
- Promote issues of national concern
- Coordinate their parties' legislative efforts
- Keep their parties united
- Help determine the schedule of legislative business and support actions favored by their parties for solving national problems

13. II. House of Representatives
Majority Whip and Minority Whip:
- Keep track of party members
- Make sure party members are present to vote on crucial issues
- Assist party leaders with their duties
- Distribute information to party members
- Track important legislation
- Estimate the number of votes for a bill

14. III. Senate Senate has 100 members Serving staggered six-year terms
Each state has two senators

16. III. Senate Vice President of the United States:
President of the Senate
Presiding officer of the Senate
Does not vote except to break ties
Calls on members to speak
Does not take part in debate because he is not a member of the Senate
Rarely acts as President of the Senate unless casting a tie-breaking vote or during ceremonial occasions

17. III. Senate President pro tempore (pro tem):
Presides over the Senate when the Vice President is absent
By tradition it is the most senior senator of the majority party
Delegates the daily tasks of the Senate to junior senators from his party

19. IV. Congressional Committees
Committees are like teams that study national problems
Organize workload, report progress, and suggest solutions to the challenges of national issues
Propose laws that are debated and voted by all of Congress

20. IV. Congressional Committees
What are standing committees?
- Permanent committees
- Panels made up of Members of the House or Senate that make and debate laws for different areas of public policy
- Each committee has jurisdiction over a certain area, for example, health, education, the environment, or foreign affairs

21. IV. Congressional Committees
What is a select committee?
Select committees established by the House or the Senate for limited periods and purposes
After completing its assigned task it dissolves
In most cases, select committees do not send, or report bills to the full House or Senate

22. IV. Congressional Committees
What are joint committees ?
- Joint committees have Members from both the House and Senate
-Permanent
- In general, joint committees do not have the authority to consider legislation or report legislation to the House or the Senate
- The joint committees are the Joint Economic Committee, the Joint Committee on the Library, the Joint Committee on Printing, and the Joint Committee on Taxation

23. IV. Congressional Committees
What is the Committee of the Whole?
Now only used in the House of Representatives
The Senate stopped using the Committee of the Whole for debate in 1986
Committee on which all of the representatives serve
It was created to move legislation quickly to the House Floor for debate by eliminating some transitional steps
Most bills are debated in the House by the Committee of the Whole