The Legislative Branch

Senate

-100 members, 6-yr terms, 2 seats per state despite population -requirements: 30 yrs old, citizen for 9 yrs, live in state (A1, S3) -tries those impeached, approves president appointments to federal posts, Supreme Court, and ambassadors -approves treaties initiated by executive -can filibuster on bills

House of Representatives

-435 members (Reapportionment Act of 1929), 2-yr terms, seats distributed based on population -requirements: 25 yrs old, citizen for 7 yrs, live in state (A1, S2) -initiates revenue bills, initiates impeachment -House Rules Committee controls debate limits -selects the president if electoral college can't

Powers and Duties in the Constitution

-Article I: focuses on legislative branch -Article I, Section 8: Expressed/enumerated/delegated powers -Article I, Section 8, Clause 18: Elastic/Necessary and Proper Clause: implied powers -Article I, Section 9: denied powers: cannot suspend writs of habeas corpus unless emergencies require it, no bills of attainder, no ex post facto laws, no taxing exports, no granting titles of nobility -Article II: set up up times and workings of electoral college -Article III: create federal courts, declare punishment for treason, set court salaries -Article IV: admit new states, control federal territories -Article V: help propose amendments -Article VI: swear to uphold Constitution

Civil Rights Legislation

-Civil Rights Act (1957)- effort to secure voting rights for African Americans -Civil Rights Act (1964)- racial discrimination outlawed -Voting Rights Act (1965)- voting discrimination outlawed -Fair Housing Act (1968)- housing discrimination outlawed -Title IX, Educational Amendments (1972)- equal funding for women's athletics -Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)- civil rights for disabled

Environmental Legislation

-Clean Air Act (1963)- anti-smog efforts start -Endangered Species Act (1973)- protects threatened species from extinction -Superfund Act (1980)- federal authority to clean up hazardous waste sites -Energy Dependence and Security Act (2007)- focuses on developing renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, and lowering energy costs for consumers

Campaign Legislation

-Federal Election Campaign Act (1971)- first limits on campaign contributions -McCain-Feingold Act (2002)- tried to limit "soft money" contributions

Federal Employee Legislation

-Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act (1883)- federal jobs through merit, not patronage -Hatch Act (1939)- civil servant restrictions on partisan politics

Leaders of Senate

-President of the Senate: required by Constitution, vice president has this role (can monitor debates, count electoral votes, and break a tie) -President Pro Tempore: required by Constitution, serves when VP is unavailable, majority party senator with the longest tenure has this role -Majority Leader: elected by majority party ---Majority Assistant: (Senatorial whip), assists majority leader -Minority Party Leader: elected by minority party ---Minority Assistant: (Senatorial whip), assists minority leader -Committee Chairpersons: from majority party, assigned through seniority -Conference Caucus: (Republican/Democratic), sets agendas of parties

Other Major Legislation

-Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)- control over food manufacturing and processing -Taft-Hartley Act (1947)- restrictions on union rules and powers -Freedom of Information Act (1966)- partial or full disclosure of previously unreleased gov records -Family and Medical Leave Act (1993)- maternity and sick leave protection -No Child Left Behind Act (2001)- federal education standards and rules

Economy-related Legislation

-Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)- first attempt to limit monopolies and trusts -Clayton Antitrust Act (1914)- bolstered the Sherman Act -Glass-Steagall Act (1933)- major banking reforms and regulations -Employment Act (1946)- gov responsible for stabilizing the economy -Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act (1985)- effort at balancing budget, debt limits

National Security Legislation

-Smith Act (1940)- can't advocate overthrow of government -National Security Act (1947)- created department of defense, CIA, NSC -Organized Crime Control Act (1970)- aimed at eliminating organized crime -Patriot Act (2001)- reduced restrictions on law enforcement agencies' ability to search peoples' personal records and eased restrictions on intelligence gathering -

Leaders of House

-Speaker of the House: required by Constitution, elected by majority vote (so tends to be from majority party) -Majority Leader: chosen by majority party ---Majority Whip: assistant to majority leader, pressures members to support goals -Minority Leader: chosen by minority party ---Minority Whip: assistant to minority leader, liaison to minority party -Committee Chairpersons: from majority party, establish legislative calendar and schedule committee hearings -House Rules Committee: restricts or loosens time limits for legislation -House Republican Conference: guides republican agenda -House Democratic Caucus: guides democratic agenda

Key Committees (House)

-appropriations: controls federal expenditures -budget: oversees gov spending -rules: sets debate rules, bill sequences, and time limits -ways and means: taxation legislation, social security

Key Committees (Senate)

-appropriations: sets federal discretionary spending programs -budget: oversees gov agencies and spends -finance: similar to HR Ways and Means Committee -foreign relations: policy debates and treaty votes -judiciary: judges/justices are questioned and possibly confirmed

Policy Making

-complex, deliberate, slow, fragmented process: requires compromise -revenue bill must originate in House, most others can be debated simultaneously -anyone can write a bill, but only a member of Congress can introduce one by dropping it into the "hopper": most bills originate in executive branch -Basics Steps of Creating Laws: -1. bills are assigned numbers -2. sent to committees -3. referred to subcommittees for hearings, study, revision, approval ("markup" procedure): most bills die in committee by being "pigeonholed" or "buried" -4. if a majority of the House wants to consider a pigeon-holed bill, it can be blasted from committee by a discharge petition -5. bills sent to full committee if they survive, then the House/Senate floor (House Rules Committee puts it on schedule and sets time limits/rules) (Senators can filibuster unless it is ended by cloture and can stop a bill from coming to the floor until the "hold" is removed) -6. if different versions are passed in each chamber, Conference Committees are necessary -7. chambers vote on the bills, if approved they are sent to president: president can sign it, let it sit for 10 days (it become law), let it sit for 10 days at the end of Congressional session (pocket veto), or veto -8. if president vetoes, House and Senate can override with 2/3 vote

Consequences of the Incumbency Advantage

-congress has experienced leaders -continuity discourages radical change -existing campaign finance laws benefit incumbents and may not change

Foreign Policy

-congress has power to declare war and negotiate/ratify treaties -president is commander-in-chief -executive and legislative branches work together on foreign policy -The War Powers Resolution (1973)- response to presidential actions during Vietnam War; designed to give Congress a greater voice in presidential decisions to commit military forces to hostile situations; president must notify Congress within 48 hrs of deploying troops; president must bring troops home within 60-90 days unless Congress extends time

Intention of Founders

-create a branch mostly responsible for development of the republic -leading branch of government: Constitution spends most time delegating Congressional powers -closest federal gov branch to the citizens: House was always directly elected, Amendment 17 (1913) changed Article I, Section 3 to a direct election of Senators -Congress intended to make laws

Committee System

-divided responsibilities of members since it is impossible to be an expert on all issues -committees set legislative priorities and provide expertise -

Duties

-duties of members of Congress are numerous, so staff helps -individual members expected to: help constituents, respond to local disasters, and meet with civic groups -biggest duty of Congress: create federal budget ---Office of Management and Budget creates a budget outline, Congress prioritizes the items and approves it: new budget takes effect on October 1 and expires last day of following September (Fiscal Year) -Congress also responsible for creating the tax system

Modern Procedures

-fast tracking- no amendments, take it or leave it -slow tracking- sequential committee hearings to delay bill -multiple referrals- speed process by sending bills to multiple committees simultaneously -outside amendments- revisions made outside committee meetings -unanimous consent rules- speed process by suspending usual voting procedure if no single member objects -King of the Hill votes- when several amendment versions are voted on in order, voting continues until one fails and then the last one to win is selected -Queen of the Hill votes- when several amendment versions are voted on, the one with the biggest margin of approval wins

Major Obstacles of Bills

-leaders can assign bills to openly hostile committees -chairpersons can delay the bill's consideration: "pigeon-hole" -subcommittee/committee members can vote against -committees/subcommittees can change it so that sponsors withdraw support -lobby groups can create pressure to kill the bill -senators can filibuster and delay bills -senators can place a "hold" on the bill to keep it from coming to the floor until the hold is removed -floor votes can kill the bill -conference committees can change it so chambers change support -president can veto or pocket veto

Gerrymandering

-majority parties in state legislatures redraw district lines to ensure maximum number of seats for its candidate -methods: packing and cracking -protects incumbents, discourages challengers -strengthens majority, weakens opposition -Supreme Court Action: ---Wesberry v. Sanders (1964)- set forth the principle of "one person, one vote" in drawing congressional districts ---districts must be equally populated, compact, cannot be drawn solely on race, cannot dilute minority voting strength -supreme court decisions have not eliminated gerrymandering for partisan political purposes

Conflicting Duties of Members

-members expected to support their constituents, parties, committees, and own goals: creates inner-conflict -representative/instructed delegate model: cast votes to reflect will of majority of constituency, short-term good of constituency -trustee model: cast votes to reflect what is best for the country, use best judgement, put constituent/local wishes on the back burner, long-term good of nation -partisan model: cast votes to support party goals and ideology -politico model: acting as delegate or trustee depending on situation

Opinions of Congress

-most have negative opinions about congress -don't trust congress, impatient with policy making process -members of congress are disconnected from the average people -react favorably to individual representatives because of pork projects, local jobs, efforts to communicate, and trust in leadership

Incumbency Advantages

-name recognition: familiar names are easy to vote for -campaign costs: access to groups that fund races, many are wealthy themselves -franking: free communication with constituents through mail -pork and claims of credit: local jobs, contracts, benefits, and casework help create local support -seniority: people feel comfortable with someone, don't want to start over -party support: parties are reluctant to turn on loyal members -lobby support: groups that give money are reluctant to gamble on lesser-known outsiders -gerrymandering: may create voting blocs, which discourage challengers -higher incumbency return rate in House than in Senate

Districts

-not defined by constitution -1842- congress said that all seats in the House could be filled from single-member districts -1842- congress passed a law assigning each state legislature the responsibility to draw district lines

Traditional Procedures

-seniority: used to decide membership in committees and leadership positions -majority party influence: majority party chooses all committee chairpersons, thus guaranteeing that one party can dominate that house -campaigning: house members focus more because they need to run every 2 yrs -senate representation: each senator represents more constituents and has a greater influence than each house member -senatorial filibuster: senate has traditionally allowed uninterrupted debate/talking to stall a bill, cloture used to need a super majority (3/5= 60 votes) ---Democrats implemented the "nuclear option" in 2013 to allow cloture on federal appointments debate with only a simple majority (51 votes): Supreme Court appointments debate and regular legislation can be filibustered normally and follows normal cloture rules

Types of Committees

-standing committees: permanent committees that work on annual items -select/special committees: temporary committees set up to investigate or research specific issues, disbanded when issue is resolved -joint committees: committees with members from both chambers to gather basic info on many subjects -conference committees: committees with members from both houses, reconcile differences on a bill and present a united version

2

Congress has created a complex process for creating laws, making it extremely difficult to pass new laws or amendments to current ones.

5

Federal laws expanded the role of the national government during the 20th century.

6

Incumbent members of Congress are very difficult to remove from office.

3

One of the biggest duties of Congress is the creation of the federal budget.

4

Party leaders control the legislative process.

1

The Constitution focuses on powers and responsibilities of Congress.