Government_Ch4_main

=**Legislative Branch Background Information**=

**Organization of Congress:**
The Founding Fathers intended to make this branch the most important with more power than the others. They created a bicameral Congress, or one with two houses, which will provide a check and balance between the two chambers. Each term of Congress starts on January 3rd of odd numbered years and lasts 2 years. The 115th Congress began January 3, 2017 and will last through January 2, 2019. Each term is divided into two sessions, or meetings, which are for one year. The House of Representatives has 435 members and is apportioned, or divided, among the states on the basis of population. A representative must be 25 years old, be a citizen for 7 years, and must live in the state that he or she is elected from. Representatives' terms are two years in length. The U.S. Census Bureau takes a census, or population count, every 10 years. States can gain or lose representatives if population changes, which is called reapportionment, which happens every 10 years when state legislatures set up new congressional districts if need - this is called redistricting. The Supreme Court ruled that a vote in one district must be worth as much as a vote in another district ("one person, one vote" rule). Today, districts contain about 650,000 people. Gerrymandering is the term given when a political party controlling the state government draws a district's boundaries to gain an advantage in elections. This term was coined after Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts in the 1800s. The Senate has 100 members, or two from each state. A senator must be 30 years old, be a citizen for 9 years, and must live in the state that he or she is elected from. Senators' terms are six years in length. One-third of the Senate is up for re-election every two years. There are several benefits a member of Congress gets. The franking privilege is free mail service for representatives and senators. Being a current member of Congress, or being an incumbent, makes re-election easier since it's easier to raise campaign funds, incumbents are better known to the voters they represent - their constituents, and they can use their position to solve problems of voters. The 27th amendment prohibits a sitting Congress from given itself a pay raise - any pay raise doesn't go into effect until the next term.

Article 1 Section 2 of the Constitution sets up the House of Representatives. It was developed from the Virginia Plan part of the Great Compromise, which suggested a legislature based on population. There are complex rules for the House of Representatives geared to move legislation quickly, such as limited time for each representative to debate on the House floor. Most of the legislative work is done in committees. Members of committees study and shape bills on their area of committee work, such as the education committee working on education bills, and so on. The Speaker of the House presides over the House and is chosen by a caucus (closed meeting of party leaders of the majority party). The Majority Leader is from the party with more members and helps plan and steer the bills. The Minority Leader leads the opposition party. Each leader has an assistant, which are called the whips. The Speaker of the House choses the members and the chairperson of each committee. A committee chairperson has the power to move law proposals forward and stop a proposal from moving forward. When a bill is proposed in the House, the Speaker sends it to a committee and the bill is put on the House calendar. The Union calendar lists bills dealing with money issues. The Private calendar lists bills that deal with individual people or places. A discharge calendar is used to get a bill out of committee if a committee is trying to kill a bill the majority of the House wants to pass.

Article 1 Section 3 of the Constitution sets up the Senate. It was developed from the New Jersey Plan part of the Great Compromise, which suggested a legislature with the same number from each state. The rules are more flexible than in the House, such as having unlimited debate time on legislation debates on the Senate floor. The Vice President is the President of the Senate, but only votes in case of a tie. The party leaders have more influence in the Senate than in the House. the President Pro Tempore leads the Senate in the absence of the Vice President. This position typically goes to the senator from the party with a majority with the most seniority. The Majority Leader is from the majority party and steers the legislation in the Senate like the Speaker of the House. The Minority Leader is from the minority party who leads the opposition. Like the House, each leader has assistants called whips. The Senate has committees like the House, which begin and lead the legislation process. When debating bills, the Senate has the power of a filibuster, which uses unlimited debate time to stall the legislative process to prevent the bill from coming to a vote. Cloture is the procedure to stop a filibuster, which requires 60 votes.

Congressional committees conduct the day-to-day work of considering proposed legislation. Committees have several purposes. They allow Congress to divide work into smaller groups and lawmakers can become specialists on their committees (such as members of the armed forces committee becoming experts on armed forces bills). With a large number of bills proposed, committees select the few to get further consideration. By holding public hearings and investigations, committees help the public learn about key problems and issues facing the nation. There are several kinds of committees. Standing committees are permanent and are broken into subcommittees. Select committees are temporary and are to study a specific issue (like the committee on Watergate, or the 9/11 commission). A joint committee is made up of House and Senate members. Conference committees are joint committees that are put together that are put together to compromise a bill that passed the House and Senate in two different forms. Membership on some committees can increase chances for re-election. Other committees can mean involvement in national policy making. Members can exert influence. Chairpersons of standing committees are powerful and selection is often based on the unwritten rule of seniority.

Congressmen have staff and support agencies. Personal staff works directly with senators and representatives. Personal staff includes administrative assistants (runs the office and gives advice), legislative assistants (makes sure lawmaker is informed on bills), and caseworkers (handle requests for help from people in the lawmaker's congressional district, or the constituents). The committee staff works in committees and draft bills, study issues, collect information, and take care of other committee items. Support agencies include the Library of Congress (one of the largest libraries and helps lawmakers when researching bills), the Congressional Budget Office (studies budget proposals and makes cost predictions), and the General Accounting Office (the watchdog over spending of funds).

**Development of Congressional Powers:**
The Congress has several powers. Their most important power comes from Article 1 Section 1, which says all legislative powers are in the Congress. This means that Congress, and only Congress, can make laws for the nation. Article 1 Section 8 lists the enumerated powers. These powers include taxing and spending (revenue bills are bills to raise money). Only Congress can appropriate money, or spend money. Congress also has the power to borrow money on its own credit, which in current times is becoming a major financial problem. Congress has the power to regulate commerce among the states when it's interstate commerce, which was upheld in the court case Gibbons v. Ogden. Congress has some power over foreign policy such as the Senate has the power to approve treaties, while the whole Congress has the power to declare war, raise an army and navy, and regulate foreign commerce. Congress has power over naturalization, or the process of an immigrant becoming a citizen. Congress has the power to grant a copyright (exclusive right to publish and sell literary, artistic, or musical work) and a patent (exclusive right of an inventor to manufacture, use, and sell the invention for a specific period).

A provision called the Necessary or Proper Clause is in Article 1 Section 8 Clause 18, which says Congress can do what is necessary and proper to carry out their other powers. These are the implied powers. That is why this clause is also called the Elastic Clause. The Constitution also denies certain powers to the Congress, limiting its power. The government cannot suspend the writ of habeas corpus (a person accused of a crime must be told why he/she is being held), can't pass bills of attainder (laws establishing guilt without a trial), and can't pass ex post facto laws (laws that make an action that already happened a crime).

There are also non-legislative powers of Congress. For example, if no presidential candidate gets a majority of the electoral votes, then the House votes for president with each state getting one vote and the Senate votes for vice president. This happened in 1800 when Thomas Jefferson won and again in 1824 when John Quincy Adams won. Congress has the power of impeachment. It's a two step process in which the House impeaches or indicts an official and then there is a trial in the Senate with a 2/3 Senate vote needed to remove the official. The Senate must approve of presidential appointments for cabinet positions, ambassadors, and federal judges. The Senate also must ratify a treaty that the president signs. The Congress can also start amendments to the Constitution. Congress has the power to investigate illegal activity or the need for new laws. Congress has the power of oversight, which is continuing to review how effectively laws are being carried out.

There are certain powers that the president and Congress have that impact each other. The Congress passes laws, but the president has the power to veto bills that Congress passes. Congress can override a veto with a 2/3 vote. Congress has the power to impeach. Partisan differences can affect the relationship between Congress and the presidency. The president is responsible for the budget, but the Congress must approve. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) are the financial experts to help Congress. Governors have the power of the line-item veto, or the ability to veto certain parts of a bill. Presidents do not have such power.

**Congress at Work:**
The lawmaking process is the most important function of the government. Thousands of bills get introduced, but only a few hundred become a law. There are several types of bills and resolutions. A private bill deals with individual people or places, while public bills deal with general matters and apply to the entire nation. A single resolution covers matters with one house and only needs to pass that house. A joint resolution passes both and gets a presidential signature and gives the force of law. A concurrent resolution covers matters requiring action of both houses, which a law is not needed. An example of a resolution is when the House and Senate pass a resolution to continue funding the government when there hasn't been a budget passed. Recently, a budget was never passed during President Obama's first term and even into his second term. Congress continues to pass continuing resolutions though in order to keep from a government shutdown. A rider is a provision on a subject other than the one covered in the bill, which are often projects (called earmarks) to bring money into a district; sometimes called "Christmas tree bills."

The lawmaking process works as follows:
 * 1) The bill is introduced. Ideas often come from the president, citizens, interest groups, and really anyone. Once the bill goes through the first reading, it gets a number.
 * 2) Committee action - The bill is sent to the appropriate committee. The chairperson can send it to a subcommittee. Committee members can ignore the bill and let it die ("pigeonholing") or can kill a bill by a majority vote in the committee. The bill can be rewritten and even amended, or changed.
 * 3) Committee hearings - The committee listens to testimony from witnesses who may include experts on the subject of the bill, government officials, or representatives of interest groups concerned with the bill.
 * 4) Markup session - After hearings, the committee meets to decide what changes, if any, to make in the bill. A majority vote is needed for all changes.
 * 5) Reporting a bill - A majority vote sends the bill to the full Senate or House (depends which chamber it's introduced in). The report lists all of the specifics. The report is what lawmakers often go on when deciding on the full chamber floor how they want to vote on the bill (rather than reading the entire bill).
 * 6) Debating and amending bills - The pros and cons are known from the committee report. The floor debates, which is also a time when amendments can be added to the bill.
 * 7) The bill is voted on. A quorum, or majority, must be present. If passed, it goes to the other chamber. The bill goes through the same process in the other chamber.
 * 8) Conference committee action - Members of both chambers develop a compromise if the two chambers pass different versions of the bill. Once both chambers pass the exact same bill, it goes to the president.
 * 9) Presidential action - The bill becomes a law if it's signed by the president. The president could veto the bill, which Congress can override with a 2/3 vote. If the president does nothing in 10 days, the bill dies if Congress has adjourned, which is called a pocket veto. If the Congress is still in session though, the bill goes into law.
 * 10) Registering laws - After the bill becomes a law, it's registered with the National Archives and Records Service. An online information resource called THOMAS provides access to information about all legislation.

In terms of taxing and spending bills, all revenue bills must start in the House. Congress has the power of appropriation, or approval of government spending. Many are entitlements or social programs that continue from one year to the next. Voters play one of the biggest influences on the Congress and can get messages, surveys, and polls from home. Parties can influence. The president can influence as well. Interest groups exist to try to influence policy and hire lobbyists, which are representatives of interest groups to try to persuade officials to support a view. Congress also helps constituents. When Congress handles problems, it is called casework. Congressmen also help their district (or senators help the state) through public works bills, or local projects often called pork-barrel legislation. Winning grants and contracts is often a goal of individual congressmen (such as the military-industrial complex contracts in Johnstown).

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