1. House of Representatives
5.2

2. Objectives
-Discover why committees are more important in the House than in the Senate. -Understand why the Rules Committee is one of the most powerful committees in the House.

3. Rules for Lawmakers
I. Rules for Lawmakers A. Complex Rules (printed every 2 years) 1. (Rules Look-up Activity) B. Committee Work 1. Party Affiliation (Dems = Left / Republicans = Right) a. Powers: -select leaders of party -control flow of legislation -appoints committee chairs

4. The main task of each house of Congress is to
Legislate the executive branch
Write procedures
Get reelected
Make laws

5. The flow of legislative work in Congress is controlled by the:
Majority party
Minority party
Democratic Party
Republican Party

6. Many procedures in congress are organized around
A quorum
The majority leader
Constituents
Party affiliation

7. House Leadership
II. House Leadership A. 6 Purposes: 1. Organize and unify party members 2. schedule work of the house 3. ensuring party is there for voting 4. distributing & collecting information 5. keeping House in touch with President 6. influencing lawmakers to vote along party lines

8. Speaker of the House
B. Speaker of the House (Most Powerful Leader) 1. Caucus – “closed meeting” ex.) Republicans leaders voting for Kevin McCarthy 2. Powers: a. decides on which members to recognize first b. appoints members to committees c. schedules bills for action d. refers bills to proper House committee e. 3rd in line for President (succession)

9. Presiding Officer of the House:
Majority leader
Speaker
Whip
constituents

10. A closed meeting
Quorum
Caucus
Filibuster
Censure

11. House Floor Leaders
C. House Floor Leaders 1. Majority Leader a. Jobs: -Plan party’s legislative program -Steer important bills through the House of Rep’s -ensure that committees finish important work on bills 2. Majority & Minority “Whips” a. assistant floor leaders -watch how members plan to vote -persuade members to follow party

12. These individuals assist the floor leaders
Speaker
Majority leader
Minority leader
Whips

13. Lawmaking in the House
III. Lawmaking in the House A. How House Bills are Scheduled 1. Process: -Put it in the Hopper  -Speaker sends it to approval committee(10-20% approved) -Put on the Calendar (1 of 5): *Union Calendar - $ issues *House Calendar - public bills *Private Calendar – people/places issues *Consent Calendar – unanimous approval for debate *Discharge Calendar – petition to discharge a bill

14. Before Congress and the President sign it, a proposed law is a..
Quorum
Bill
Filibuster
rule

15. House Rules Committee
B. House Rules Committee “Traffic Officer” 1. Power: a. Can move Bill forward for vote b. hold a Bill back as to retard a vote c. stop a vote completely 2. Functions: a. move Bills ahead on calendars b. set time limits on debate over Bills c. set limitations on amending the Bill on House floor 3. Purposes: a. resolves disputes between committees 4. Quorum: (minimum number of rep’s required to take vote) a. House = 218 members (cannot pass a vote)

16. This is required before any official action can be taken in the House..
A censure
A calendar
A quorum
A caucus