Chapter 7

Congress

By Nicole and Maydeny

The Roots of the Legislative Branch
& The Constitution
Article I of the Constitution describes the structure of Congress
Bicameral legislature
Divided into two houses
Each state sends two Senators regardless of population
Number of representatives each state sends to the
House is determined by state population
The Roots of the Legislative Branch
& The Constitution
The Constitution sets requirements for the members in the
House and Senate
Members of House
25 years of age; reside in U.S at least 7 years and serve
for 2 year terms
Members of Senate
30 years of age; reside in U.S at least 9 years and serve
for 6 years terms
The Roots of the Legislative Branch
& The Constitution
The Constitution has authority to make laws and are
shared by both branches of Congress - The Senate and
The House
No bill can become a law without the ok of both
houses
Each house also has there own special powers
Special Powers
The house - Origination of revenue bills
Impeachment authority
How Congress is Organized
New Congress is seated every two years
Electing new leaders
Political Parties
Groups of both houses of Congress closely attached to
political parties and their strength in each house.
Majority Party
Refer to Quizlet
Minority Party
The majority party controls the committee system
Party caucus or conference has many roles, but specializes
in committees
How Congress is Organized
The House
The Biggest of the two houses
Organized more tightly;
increased role for party
leadership
Speaker
Presides over House
Have an official spokesperson
Second in line of presidential
succession
House liaison with president
Great political influence within
the chamber
The Senate
The vice president is the presiding officer of
the Senate.
He only votes in case of a tie.
Official chair of the Senate is the president
pro tempore.
Most likely goes to the most senior
senator of the majority party
Presiding duties rotate among junior
members of the chamber
A true leader is in the majority leader
Don't have enough powerful as
the Speaker of the House
Senate rules give tremendous power
to individual senators
How Congress is Organized
Committees
Committee chairs
Have a lot of power and prestige.
Authorized to select all
subcommittee chairs
They call on meetings
Recommend majority members to
sit on conference committees
Can revoke a bill by not scheduling
hearings on it
The Members of Congress
Most tend to find the job exciting, but not all agree.
Relish their work
Recent impact of partisanship
Makes work more stressful, intense
Can make more money in private sector
Must work to appease two constituencies - party leaders,
colleagues, and lobbyists in
Home and Washington
How Members Make Decisions
The Party is a Divided government
Constituents
The people who live and vote in the home district or state
Always in members mind when casting a vote
Often have strong convictions on one or more issues
Colleagues and Caucuses
Logrolling (vote trading) Refer to Quizlet
Interest Groups, Lobbyists, and PACS
Staff and Support Agencies
Staff members prepare summaries of bills
Do research on and even draft bills that a member wishes to introduce
The Law-making Function of
Congress
Only members of the House or Senate, however, formally can submit a bill for
congressional consideration (although many are initially drafted by lobbyists).
Once a bill is introduced by a member of Congress, and a member who sponsors a bill
must get through every obstacle
Successful opposition means winning at only one of many stages, including;
1. The House of Committee
2. The Full House of Committee
3. The House Committee on Rules
4. The House
5. The Senate Committee
6. The Full Senate Committee
7. The Senate
8. Floor Leaders in Both Houses
9. The House-Senate conference Committee
10. The President
The Law-Making Function of Congress
Congress and the President
The Constitution envisioned that Congress and the President
would have discrete powers and that one branch would be able
to hold the other in check.
Since the 1930s, the President has had the upper hand.
But Congress can retain ultimate legislative authority to
question executive actions and to halt administration
activities by cutting off funds for programs a president
wants.
Congress can impeach and remove president from office.
Congress and the Judiciary
Congress exercises its control over the judiciary in variety of ways

Can establish the size of the Supreme Court

Apellate Jurisdiction
The Structure of the Federal Court System
And to allocate its budget