Civics_Ch4_info

=**Chapter 4: Legislative Branch Background Information**= Be sure to take key notes where you're told on the chapter.

**Senate and House of Representatives:**
The __//NOTE//__: U.S. Congress is bicameral, or two chambers with a House of Representatives and Senate. The House of Representatives is based on population and serve two year terms and is therefore meant to be more concerned about the will of the people. The Senate has two senators from each state and serve for six years and is therefore meant to be more concerned with the will of the states. The separation of the Congress into two chambers was intended by the Founding Fathers to serve as another check and balance against each other to be certain that laws that were passed were laws that were good for the people as well as good for the states. __//NOTE//__: The job of the legislative branch is to make laws. The number of representatives each satte can elect in the House is based on population and the Senate has 2 from each state. In summary, __//NOTE//__: the House has 435 members based on population and the Senate has 100, or 2 from each state. The number of U.S. Senators will stay the same since there are 2 from each state. However, the number of representatives from each state can change every 10 years. The reason is that population in each state changes as some states gain and some lose numbers. A census is taken every 10 years and based on that census, states can gain or lose representatives in what is called __//NOTE//__: reapportionment, or re-distributing the number of representatives from each state after a census. When a state gains or loses representatives due to population gains or losses, the state's congressional district boundaries have to be redrawn. This redrawing of boundaries has to be fair. __//NOTE//__: Gerrymandering is the practice of redrawing boudnaries to advantage one political party or group. Elections are held in November of even number years for the entire House of Representatives and 1/3 of the Senate. If there is ever a vacancy in the House or Senate, the governor of that state calls a special election to elect a new member to serve.

There are certain requirements and qualifications for the members of Congress. __//NOTE//__: To be a representative in the House, the minimum age is 25 and must be a citizen for at least 7 years, and be a legal resident of the state elected from. __//NOTE//__: To be a senator, the minimum age is 30 and must be a citizen for at least 9 years, and be a legal resident of the state elected from. Members of Congress have offices in the Capitol Building, receive an allowance to pay staff members, receive free trips to their home state, have an allowance for local district offices, and have the franking privilege - free mail service. If members of Congress violate codes of conduct, members can face __//NOTE//__: expulsion, that the Congressman must give up his/her seat or face censure, or formal disapproval (but stay in office).

**How Congress is Organized:**
A term of Congress begins at noon on January 3rd and each term is divided into sessions. __//NOTE//__: Two years of a Congress is a term 2011-2013 is the 112th Congress. Each political party in Congress holds private meetings called caucuses, which members of each party choose their party leaders. __//NOTE//__: The Vice President is officially the President of the Senate. The President Pro-Tempore of the Senate is the next in command and is usually the longest serving member of the political party with the majority of the members of the Senate. The majority party has a majority leader and the minority party has the minority leader. Each leader has an assistant called a whip. __//NOTE//__: The Speaker of the House is in control of the House of Representatives. The House has majority and minority leaders and whips like the Senate.

**Powers of Congress:**
There are various types of powers in Congress. __//NOTE//__: Delegated powers of those listed in the Constitution such as taxing, regulate trade, declare war, create courts, and regulate immigration. There are numerous powers of Congress listed in the Constitution not listed above. The Congress has the power and authority to finance the government to pay for government programs by collecting taxes, borrowing money, and coining money. __NOTE__: The implied powers are those that come from the "Necessary and Proper Clause" or the Elastic Clause. It comes from the part of the Constitution that says Congress has the power "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers (other powers). This gives Congress a lot of flexibility on the extent of its power. That's why it's called the Elastic Clause. Congress also holds the power of impeachment if the President, Supreme Court justice, or any government position abuses power or violates the law. __//NOTE//__: Impeachment is officially accusing an official of a crime with the House impeaching by majority vote, then a trial in the Senate with a 2/3 Senate vote to remove the official. Congress also holds some special powers. The House of Representatives must start all bills that raise revenue (deal with spending), the House starts the impeachment process, and also elects the President if no candidate for President gets a majority of the electoral votes. The Senate holds the trail in impeachment, chooses the Vice President if there's no majority in the electoral votes, and must approve of treaties as well as presidential appointments.

There are also limits on the powers of Congress. Some powers are reserved to the states such as the power to conduct elections, administer schools, and establish marriage laws. The Constitution also says what Congress cannot do. __//NOTE//__: Congress can't pass ex post facto laws, or laws that apply to actions before the law was passed. __//NOTE//__: Congress can't pass bills of attainder, or laws the sentence people for a crime without a trial. __//NOTE//__: Congress can't suspend the writ of habeas corpus, or they can't remove the right of a person to be brought before a judge and told what crime he/she is accused of committing. Congress also can't tax exports, can't violate the Bill of Rights, can't favor trade for one state over another, can't grant titles of nobility, and can't withdraw money without law.

**How a Bill Becomes a Law:**
__//NOTE//__: A bill is a proposed law. Congress holds the power to pass laws. A bill can be introduced in either chamber of Congress (House or Senate), but bills that deal with __//NOTE//__: appropriation, or spending, must start in the House. __//NOTE//__: Ideas for bills can come from citizens, organized groups, congressional committees, members of Congress, or the President a.k.a. anyone. Only a member of either the House or the Senate can officially propose/introduce a bill. Once a bill is introduced, it's given a number. __//NOTE//__: A bill is proposed and then sent to a committee. The committee may refer the bill to a subcommittee. Sometimes the bill is set aside, which kills the bill. If not set aside, the committee holds hearings and decides whether or not to pass the bill out of committee. __//NOTE//__: The bill then has to go through both chambers. If it's pass out of the committee, the bill goes to the full chamber in which it was introduced in order for that full chamber to debate and vote on the bill. If it's passed, it goes to the other chamber and goes through the same process. The House has rules on debating a bill, but in the Senate there are no rules. It's possible in the Senate for a senator to keep on talking about whatever they want until the bill is stalled and doesn't pass. This is called a __//NOTE//__: filibuster, or unlimited debate time to stop the passage of a bill, but it can be stopped with a 3/5 vote called cloture. __//NOTE//__: Once the bill passes both chambers of Congress, it goes to the President. __//NOTE//__: The president can sign the bill into law or veto (reject) the bill - Congress can override the veto with a 2/3 vote. There is also the possibility for the President to do nothing with the bill. If the President lets the bill sit and Congress stays in session, the bill becomes a law. If the Congress adjournes, or is no longer in session, then the bill dies by what is called a pocket veto.


 * Draw the chart below on the back of your guide:**

Back to Chapter 4 main page