Ch 5: The Legislative branch

rider

a provision on a subject other than the one covered in the bill

censure

a vote of formal disapproval of the members actions

what has become the single most important source of federal government power?

commerce powers- congress has the power to regulate interstate and foreign commerce (one of the most significant applications of this clause has been in the area of the civil rights)

who does most of the work in congress

committees.

the ____ usually come from the house and senate committees that originally handled the bill

conferees

a ____ committee is a temporary committee set up when the house and senate have passed different versions of the same bill. their job is to resolve the differences b/t the 2 versions of the bill

conference committee

if the two versions of the bill differ at all, a ____ ____ must work out the differences b/t the versions

conference committee

a draft of the final bill, called the ____ ____, is then sent to each house of congress for final action

conference report

a majority of the conferees from each house must accept the final compromise bill, which is called a ____ ____, before it can be sent to the floor of the house and senate.

conference report

copyrights

currently cover a period of time that is the lifetime of the creator plus 50 years

strict constructionists

first known as Anti-Federalists (such as Thomas Jefferson) want to preserve powers for the states as much as possible, and believe that congress should not step beyond the boundaries of the constitution as written.

house calendar

for most other public bills

war powers act

forbids the president to commit american forces to combat for more than 60 days without congressional notification within 48 hours. Every president since has protested the act's constitutionally.

when a committee decides to act on a bill, the committee holds ____ on the bill, where the committee listens to testimony from witnesses

hearings

consent calendar

holds bills for which the house gives unanimous consent to debate out of regular order

sen. strom thurmond (sc)

holds the record for the longest filibuster

to introduce a bill in the house, the reps drop it into a ____

hopper

committee work is more important in the ____ than in the ____

house senate

gibbons vs ogden

involved a state law regulating steamship travel between new york and new jersey

terms of office for senators: elections held same day as HOR -senators begin the new term on ___ _ after the november elections, at __ noon -terms are for _ years, but only __ of the senators come up for reelection every __ years. -if a senator dies, the state legislature may authorize the ____ to appoint someone to fill the vacancy

jan 3 12 6 years 1/3 2 yrs governor

each term of congress starts ...

january 3rd of odd numbered years and lasts for 2 years

what committees do not have the authority to deal directly with bills or to propose legislation to congress?

joint committees

____ committees are made up of members from both houses of congress and may be either TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT

joint committees usually act as study groups with responsibility for reporting their findings back to the house and senate

after all the changes have been made, the committee votes to either ____ _ ____ or ____ __, which means to send it ti the house or senate for action

kill the bill report it

wars fought without declarations of war

korean war and the vietnam war

democrats sit on the

left

____ branch of government has more power than any other branch

legislative

congress has both ____ and ____ powers

legislative- power to pass laws non-legislative- power to confirm or deny presidential appointments

calendar of general orders

lists all the bills the senate will consider

the union calendar

lists bills dealing with money issues

private calendar

lists bills that deal with individual people or places

the ____ has the power to write the rules in congress

majority

the ____ party selects chairpersons for the standing committees from among its party members.

majority

speakers top assistant

majority leader

"christmas tree" bills

many unrelated riders that benefit their constituents. these sometimes pass because of the importance of the underlying bill

after the hearings, the committee meets in a ____ ____ to decide what changes, if any, they need to make in the bill

markup session

cracking

means dividing an opponent's voters into other districts, to weaken the opponent's voter base

packing

means drawing the lines so they include as many of the opposing party's voters as possible. this makes the remaining districts safe for the majority party's candidates

gerrymandering

means that the political party controlling the state gov draws a district's boundaries to gain an advantage in elections.

only a ____ __ ____ can introduce, pr propose, a bill in either house

member of congress

incumbency

members already in office

franking privilege

members get stationery, postage for official business

revenue bills

must originate in the house of representatives because putting the power to pay for the cost of government in the hands of a large, representative body helps lessen the possibility that a small group of individual would appropriate funds for a use not beneficial to the nation as a whole

the government has a ____ ____ because it must borrow money to meet its operating expenses.

national debt

loose constructionists

originally known as federalists (such as Alexander Hamilton) believe that the constitution should serve as a guide, but believe that congress needs to have the freedom to act as needed.

congress can ____ a presidents veto with a 2/3 majority vote in both houses, and the bill will then become law

override

the taxing and spending power is sometimes called the

power of the purse- the power to levy taxes and provide for the general welfare of the U.S. is one of the most important powers of congress.

new ideas for bills come from

private citizens, interest groups, the president, or officials in the executive branch

the senate usually allows unlimited debate on ____ ____

proposed legislation

to introduce a bill in the senate, the presiding officer must first

recognize the sponsoring senator, who then formally presents the bill

the most important votes are usually ____ ____, also called ____-____ votes

record votes- everyone responds "aye" or "no" as each member is called in alphabetical order. roll-call

after a bill becomes a law, it is ...

registered with the national archives and records service

introducing a bill in the house

rep drops the bill into a hopper

republicans sit on the

right

executive calendar

schedules treaties and nominations

the bill receives its ____ ____ during the floor debates, where a clerk will read the bill, section by section. amendments may be offered after each section is read, and can be proposed by any lawmaker.

second reading

temporary committees called ____ have been created

select committees- they usually study one specific issue and report their findings to the senate or the house.

the ____ chooses the V.P. from the 2 candidates with the most electoral votes. (president and vp can be from different political parties)

senate

standing committees

senate has 16.

whips

serve as assistant floor leaders in the house.

majority leader (the most powerful position in the senate)

this person is a major national political figure. elects leaders and whips. spokes person for majority party

joint session

to count the electoral college votes

the house rules committee serves

to direct the flow of major legislation. IT IS THE MOST POWERFUL

pigeonholing

to reject a bill, committee members can ignore it and simply let it die. they can also kill the bill by majority vote

majority leader's main job

to steer the party's bill through the senate, by planning the senate's work schedule and agenda in consultation with the minority leader

the senate brings most bills to the floor by ____ ____

unanimous consent- a motion by all members present set aside formal rules and consider a bill from the calendar. (most of the senate business is conducted through the unanimous consent agreements)

the seniority system

unwritten rule, traditionally has given the member of the majority party with the longest uninterrupted service on a particular committee the leadership of that committee.

discharge calendar

used for petitions to discharge a bill from committee

how a filibuster can be stopped

when 3/5 of the senate members (60) votes for cloture- a procedure that allows each senator to speak only 1 hr on a bill under debate

along with the revised bill, the committee sends a ____ ____ that the committee staff has prepared

written report

members are entitled to an income tax reduction for maintaining 2 homes, and they may be eligible for pensions of $____ or more for life when they retire

$150,000

the salary for rank-and-file members of congress is ____ congressional leaders make ____

$174,000 $193,400

heart of atlanta motel inc. vs U.S.

(congress has also used the commerce power to outlaw segregation in public establishments) the court expanded congress's powers to regulate interstate commerce by ruling that the availability of motel rooms affected interstate travel truckers

president of the senate

- main job- vote in case of a tie -preside over debate in the senate

the constitution says that congress has the power to raise money through levying taxes and borrowing money. - originally, most of the tax revenue was generated through ____ - another source was ____ -most of the governments revenue now comes from _____ - the power to borrow money allows congress to borrow money to allow the government to function when there is not enough expected revenue to cover expenses, resulting in a ____

- tariffs - indirect taxes- a tax levied on one person but passed on to another for payment to the government - direct taxes- a tax an individual pays directly to the government, specifically the income tax - budget deficit

term of office for hor: elected for __ year terms -elections are held -term begins - every __ years, all __ members must run for reelection

-2 -on the first tuesday after the first monday in november of even- numbered years -on jan 3rd following the election in november, at 12 noon -2 -435

concurrent resolutions

-cover matters requiring the action of the house and senate, but on which a law is not needed -both houses pass these - they do not require a presidential signature and they do not have a force of law

key committees in senate

-foreign relations -finance -appropriations

expressed powers ( 3 broad categories)

-government finance and revenue -regulation of commerce -national defense (some additional powers, such as creation of the postal service and coining money.)

limits on powers of congress

-no suspension of a writ of habeas corpus ( prevents a gov from holding a person in secret without a charge) -cannot pass a bill of attainder (punishes a person without a trial) - ex post facto laws ( after the fact)

key committees in house

-rules -ways and means -appropriations

after both houses have passed the bill in identical form, it is then sent the the president. 4 things occur

-sign the bill -wait -veto -pocket veto

whips can:

-watch how majority party members intend to vote on bills -persuade them to vote as party wishes -see that party members are present to vote

incumbents are often reelected because (5)

1. they find it easier to raise campaign funds. 2. many districts are gerrymandered in the incumbents favor. 3. they are better known to the voters 4. they use their position to help solve voters' problems. 5. they win because the majority of voters believe that their incumbent best represents their views.

membership of the senate: each state has __ senators for a total of __ the senator must be __ years old and a citizen of the U.S. for at least __ years

2, 100 30 9

membership in the hor: hor has ____ members reps must be at least __ years old citizen for at least __ years and be a resident of the state they represent -reps usually also live in the district they represent

435 25 7

members in congress ____ members ____ reps and ____ senators. there are ____ delegates in the house

535 435 and 100 4

each congressional district now contains about ____ people

650,000

if no candidate had a majority of votes, the ____ chooses the ____ from the 3 candidates with the most electoral votes. each state's house delegation has _ vote

House of representatives president 1

an online information resource called ____ provides access to current info about all legislation being considered by congress

THOMAS

after bill becomes a law, it is then added to the __ ____ __ ____ ____ ____

U.S. code of current federal laws

patents

are currently for 17 years, after which time the patent may be renewed

whips and assistant whips

assist the majority and minority leaders of the senate by making sure that legislators are present for key votes.

congress's money powers also include the authority to make laws concerning ____, and ____ cases are heard in federal courts today.

bankruptcy

the legislature is ____, made up of two houses, the ____ and the ____

bicameral senate and hor

all laws start as ____

bills ( a proposed law)

first reading

bills introduced in congress, which are each given a title and number, are printed and distributed to the lawmakers. -senate S. 1 and S.2 -in the house, the first bill is the H.R.1

joint resolution

both houses pass this. the president's signature gives it the force of law

a ____ of the majority party chooses the ____ at the start of each session of congress, and the entire house membership approves the choice of speaker

caucus house speaker

the census bureau takes a new census every 10 years in order to

determine the number of reps each state receives in the hor (each census determines how the 435 seats will be divided among the 50 states)

minority leader

develops criticisms of the majority party's bills and tries to keep senators in the minority party working together.

the most significant expansion of congressional legislative power is over the ____

economy- taxing, spending, and regulating commerce

the constitution give congress ____ or ____ powers. It also gives congress the power to to do "whatever is necessary and proper" or ____ ____ to carry out its other powers.

expressed enumerated elastic clause

standing committees

some of the earliest committees set up. they are called this because they are permanent groups set up to oversee bills involving certain kinds of issues, and they continue from one congress to another .

filibuster

stalls the legislative process and prevent vote.

nearly all standing committees have ____ which specialize is a subcategory of its standing committee's responsibility

subcommittees

party in power in the house will often have a ____ ____ on the most important committees

super majority

almost all important work on ____ ____ occurs in the house ____ __ ____ ____

tax laws ways and means committee

naturalization

the admittance of a foreigner to the citizenship of a country

reynolds vs sims

the court held that equal protection clause in the 14th amend. required that seats in both houses of the alabama state legislature be apportioned on the basis of population.

baker vs carr

the court held that federal courts could decide conflicts over drawing district boundaries

wesberry vs sanders

the court ruled that the const. clearly intended that a vote in one congressional district was to be worth as much as a vote in another, this has become known as the "one-person, one-vote" rule

reapportionment

the new number of reps a state gets

constituents

the people living within that representatives area

president pro-tempore (for the time being)

the person who presides in the absence of the president of the senate. this position goes to the longest serving senator from the majority party. 3rd in line for presidency

redistricting

the process of setting up new district lines after reapportionment