The Legislative Branch

17th Amendment

Passed in 1913, this amendment to the Constitution calls for the direct election of senators by the voters instead of their election by state legislatures. It replaced Article I, Section 3, Clause 1 which gave state legislatures the power to elect Senators. This amnedment was designed to make the choice of senators more democratic.

Implied Powers

Congress has powers beyond those expressed in Article I, Section 8, clauses 1-17. Clause 18 , the "necessary and proper" clause gives Congress the power to carry out the expressed powers as it sees fit. This has allowed Congress to expand its role to meet the needs of a growing and cahnging nation.

Standing Committes

Congress set up permanent groups within itself to oversee bills that deal with certain kinds of issues.These permanent committes continue to work session to session.

select committees

Congressional committees appointed for a limited time and purpose, such as the Watergate investigation.

Senate term

Elections for the Senate are held in November of even numbered years, the term starts on Jan. 3 of the following year. Senators serve 6 year terms. Only one-third of the Senate runs for reelection every 2 years.

27th Amendment

First proposed in 1789, this amendment passed in 1992 prohibits Congress from raising their own pay. Pay raises may not take affect until the beginning of the next term.

Congressional term

Members of the House are elected in November of even numbered years their term starts on Jan. 3 of the following year and lasts for 2 years.

president pro tempore

Officer of the Senate selected by the majority party to act as chair in the absence of the vice president

gerrymandering

Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power.

Wesberry v. Sanders

The 1964 case in which the Supreme Court invalidated unequal congressional districts, saying that all legislative districts must contain about equal numbers of people. The ruling is popularly known as the principle of one person, one vote., 1964. In Georgia, the 5th district had 3 to 4 times more people than did the other districts.

Congress

The legislative branch of government, as described in Article I of the US Constitution, consisting of the House of Representatives and Senate. Primarily responsible for making laws.

Minority Leader

The legislative leader elected by party members holding a minority of seats in the House or the Senate

Expressed Powers

Those powers of the Congress that are spelled out, expressly, in the Constitution; also called the "enumerated powers" because they are numbered. They appear in Article I, Section 8, Clauses 1-18 of the Constitution.

Legislature

a group of people who have the power to make laws

joint committees

committees made up of memebers of both houses of congress to deal with matters of mutual concern.

House of Representatives

lower house of congress based on state population

Article I of the Constitution

of the United States Constitution describes the powers of Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government. The Article provides that Congress consists of a House of Representatives and the Senate, establishes the manner of election and qualifications of members of each House, and outlines legislative procedure and enumerates the powers vested in the legislative branch. Finally, it establishes limits on the powers of both Congress and the states. The legislative branch is established under Article One.

Majority leader

the Speaker's top assistant whose job is to help plan the majority party's legislative program and to steer important bills through the House. In the Senate the legislative leader selected by the majority party who helps plan party strategy, confers with other party leaders, and tries to keep members of the party in line.

impeach

to bring charges of misconduct against a public official to remove him or her from office. The House brings formal charges of impeachment...the Senate acts as a jury in the trial.

constituents

The people a member of Congress represents

Senate

upper house of congress, each state elects two

cloture

A filibuster can be stopped when three-fifths of the Senate (60 memebers) votes for cloture. This is a procedure that allows each senator to speak only one hour on a bill under debate

subcommittees

A group within a standing committee that specializes in a sub category of its standing committee's responsibility

Bicameral Legislature

A law making body made of two houses (bi means 2). Example: Congress (our legislature) is made of two house - The House of Representatives and The Senate.

filibuster

A practice in the Senate whereby a senator refuses to relinquish the floor and thereby delays proceedings and prevents a vote on a controversial issue., Talk a bill to death, A strategy unique to the Senate whereby opponents of a piece of legislation try to talk it to death, based on the tradition of unlimited debate. Today, 60 members present and voting can halt a filibuster.

Bill

A proposed law presented to a legislative body for consideration

Congressional Session

A session of congress lasts for one year starting Jan. 3

McCulloch vs. Maryland

Supreme Court ruling: states had no right to interfere with federal institutions within their borders; strengthened federal power, Court ruled that congress did have authority to charter bank, citing the necessary and proper clause. The state of Maryland taxed banknotes produced by the Bank of the United States, claiming that the Bank was unconstitutional. Using implied powers, Marshall countered that the Bank was constitutional and ruled that Maryland was forbidden from taxing the Bank.

conference committees

a joint committee appointed to resolve differences in the senate and house versions of the same bill.

Census

An official population count, A valuable tool for understanding demographic changes. The Constitution requires that the government conduct an "actual enumeration" of the population every 10 years.

Redistricting

The drawing of a new electoral district boundary lines in response to population changes. The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.

Speaker of the House

The leader of the majority party who serves as the presiding officer of the House of Representatives. An office mandated by the Constitution. The Speaker is chosen in practice by the majority party, has both formal and informal powers, and is second in line to succeed to the presidency should that office become vacant.,

inherent powers

The powers of the national government in foreign affairs that the Supreme Court has declared do not depend on constitutional grants but rather grow out of the very existence of the national government. Powers the Constitution is presumed to have delegated to the National Government because it is the government of a sovereign state within the world community,

Necessary and Proper Clause

This clause of the Constitution (Article I, Section 8, Clause 18) setting forth the implied powers of Congress. It states that Congress, in addition to its expressed powers, has the right to make all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out all powers the Constitution vests in the national government, this is often called the "elastic clause" because it stretches the power of Congress

The Legislative Branch

This is the most basic part of a democratic, constitutional government. This branch creates the laws.

partisan

one-sided; partial to a party or cause; supporter of an idea or person..."partisan politics is why nothing gets done in Washington" "That Senator is a strict partisan, she always votes with her party