unit 2: the legislative branch

Organization and Leadership

Leadership differs slightly in the two houses of Congress. The leader of the house is known as the Speaker. The vice president of the United States serves as the president of the senate.

What is the practice that allows for unlimited debate on the Senate floor?

The filibuster is a rare parliamentary procedure that is intended to continue debate on a topic by refusing to yield the floor.

President of the Senate

The vice president of the United States serves as president of the Senate. This role is one of the few specific responsibilities that the Constitution gives the vice president. The vice president may not participate in Senate debates and can vote only in the event of a tie.

legislative branch

- create or pass or makes laws - house of representatives and senate - ratify treaties - impeachment

judicial branch

- decides wheather laws have been broken or not supreme court and other federal courts

executive branch

- enforces laws - president, vice president, cabinet members, and other departments

Redistricting

All of the election districts in a state must contain roughly the same number of people, so after each census, the state legislatures meet to redraw district lines. The process of redrawing district lines is known as redistricting.

The Party System

Both houses of Congress use the party system primarily to shape their organization, especially in the House of Representatives. Because the House is so large, it must operate according to strict rules and structure to avoid chaos. An individual representative has almost no influence outside of the party system. The House behaves more hierarchically and rigidly than the smaller Senate, where an individual senator can wield substantial influence. In both houses of Congress, however, members who do not belong to a major party usually choose to align themselves with one or the other. The two-party system dominates US politics in part because it is so ingrained in congressional structures.

the rule of law

Congress governs the United States according to the rule of law, an idea passed down to the Founding Fathers from philosophers such as John Locke and historical documents such as the Magna Carta. Rule of law means that the government must act in accordance with established laws, not the momentary whims of government officials. Several parts of the Constitution, particularly the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment, guarantee the rule of law. The due process clause states that "no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property . . . without the due process of the law." In short, the government has no right to punish a person, even a person guilty of a crime, without following the exact course of the laws that govern the nation. Given the centrality of the rule of law to the US system of government, it is not surprising that Article I of the Constitution deals with the authority to pass laws. The article assigns the legislative (law making) powers of the federal government to "a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives." This passage marks the creation of the US Congress.

Bicameral Structure and Relations

Congress is bicameral for several reasons. One reason is that the British Parliament, on which Congress is largely patterned, also has two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Founding Fathers wanted Congress to mirror the structure of Parliament with its upper and lower houses. They intended each house to have a different character and role. The bicameral structure of Congress also solved the Founding Fathers' argument over the representation of the states in the legislature. Some delegates argued that all states should be represented equally, while others thought that the seats in the legislature should be distributed among the states according to their populations. The eventual structure of Congress combined both ideas, with representation in the House based on population and each state having equal representation in the Senate. The House of Representatives had 65 seats when it was first created. It expanded as the country expanded, until the Reapportionment Act of 1929 capped the number of representatives at 435. The Senate has always been much smaller than the House. With two seats for every state, it now contains 100 senators, but there is no cap on the total number.

Non-Legislative Functions of Congress

Congress possesses several powers that do not fall under its legislative authority. Many of these powers involve oversight of the other branches. For example, the president must obtain congressional approval for appointments to the Supreme Court and other courts, appointments to cabinet-level positions, and appointments to independent regulatory agencies. Another part of Congress's oversight function involves investigating abuse of power or other behavior contrary to the public interest. Congress often employs investigations to provide a forum for educating the public about important issues. Congress plays a key role in formally amending the Constitution. Any proposed change must pass both houses by a two-thirds vote before being sent to the states for approval. Alternatively, Congress could call a national constitutional convention at the request of the state legislatures to amend the Constitution, though this method has never been used.

Powers of Congress

Congressional powers are enumerated, meaning they are specifically named in Article I, Section 8, of the US Constitution. Or they are implied, which means they are reasonably justifiable as necessary to carry out the enumerated powers. The enumerated powers of Congress include the power to pass laws. Congress can also set federal tax rates and regulate interstate commerce. It can authorize the spending of public money, and it can also borrow money. Congress regulates bankruptcy, oversees the postal system, controls the patent and copyright system, makes laws for the territories of the United States, establishes federal courts, declares war, and shares with the president the conduct of foreign affairs. Some of Congress's authority is implied, meaning it is not specifically mentioned by the Constitution. Most of Congress's implied powers are based on the Constitution's necessary and proper clause. This clause authorizes Congress to pass laws that are "necessary and proper" for carrying out its expressed powers. The necessary and proper clause is sometimes called the elastic clause because it has been used to expand the powers of Congress. The 1819 Supreme Court case McCulloch v. Maryland firmly established the broad scope of the elastic clause. The court decided that congressional actions are constitutional as long as they are based on one of the expressed powers and are "consistent with the letter and spirit of the Constitution." The elastic clause does not give Congress unlimited power. Clear restrictions on legislative authority are contained in Article I, Section 9, and elsewhere in the Constitution. The Bill of Rights also imposes limits on congressional power. The Tenth Amendment states that "the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

Districts and Membership

Each member of Congress represents a defined geographical area. Senators represent entire states, and every state has two senators. The states are subdivided into congressional districts of roughly equal population, with each district represented by a single member of the House of Representatives. Each member of the House represents approximately the same number of constituents, but the number of people represented by each senator ranges hugely. The state of Wyoming has a population of about 500,000 people, less than the average congressional district. Yet it has the same Senate representation as California, whose two senators represent a population that is 70 times larger.

The Capital of the United States

In 1790, Congress decided to create a federal city as the nation's capital on the banks of the Potomac River, which divides Maryland and Virginia. Both states donated land to create the District of Columbia, a 10-square-mile territory administered by the federal government. After the capital was moved to Washington, DC, construction began on the White House, where the president lives, and the Capitol, where Congress meets when it is in session. Nearly every component of the federal government locates its headquarters in Washington, DC, as do many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The District of Columbia is separate from the states that surround it. The District is governed by an elected mayor and city council, but Congress has the power to veto its budget and legislation. In 1961, the Twenty-third Amendment gave DC residents the right to vote in presidential elections, and the District was given three electoral votes. Since 1970, Washingtonians have been represented by a nonvoting member of the House of Representatives. Efforts persist to give that member an active vote.

Apportionment

In contrast to the Senate, the 435 seats in the House are apportioned, or distributed, among the states according to population. After every census, House seats are reapportioned as needed to reflect changes in state populations; California, the most populous state, has 53 members in the House, whereas the seven smallest states each have only one representative. Members of the House who are chosen by the entire population of a state are known as representatives-at-large.

The Legislative Process

In its fundamental role, the legislative branch creates the laws of the land. Congress follows a distinct process to create laws, as established in Article I, Section 7, of the Constitution. That section starts by saying "All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills." The process of changing a proposed bill into a new law is complex and requires cooperation and compromise. On the next slide, a video explains the legislative process for writing and passing a law.

Membership Requirements

In keeping with their intention that each house have a distinct personality, the Framers designated different membership requirements for the House and the Senate. Article I, Section 2, of the Constitution sets out the requirements to be elected to a two-year term in the House of Representatives. A person must be at least 25 years old and have been a US citizen for a minimum of seven years. The Constitution mandates stricter requirements for senators in Article I, Section 3. The candidate must be over 30 years old and have been a citizen for at least nine years to be elected to a six-year term as a US senator. In early US history, many states had property requirements for holding elective office, just as they did for voting. As the voting qualifications fell away, so did the requirements for senator and representative. Women and nonwhites have been eligible to be members of Congress since they were accorded the right to vote in 1920 and 1868, respectively.

Gerrymandering

State legislatures often redraw district lines in a way that benefits the party that controls the legislature. Extreme examples of partisan redistricting are referred to as gerrymandering. The term is derived from Elbridge Gerry, a Massachusetts governor who redrew the districts in his state to favor his party. One district looked like a snake stretched across the state, so a political cartoonist added claws, wings, and teeth to the district and called it a gerrymander. The 1964, Supreme Court case Wesberry v. Sanders placed limits on gerrymandering by requiring that all districts have roughly the same population. Nonetheless, gerrymandering has persisted. More recently, districts have been redrawn to ensure that racial minorities are represented in Congress. The Supreme Court prohibited racial gerrymandering in 1993, holding that the practice violated the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause.

Impeachment

The Constitution also grants Congress the power of impeachment. Impeachment is the process of removing an official from office for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." During the impeachment process, the House of Representatives must first vote by a two-thirds margin to impeach, or accuse, the official. Then the Senate must try the impeachment and decide whether to convict the official. If convicted, the official is removed from his or her position and disqualified from holding any government job. During the history of the United States, seven federal judges have been impeached and removed from office. Two presidents, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, have been impeached, although neither was convicted and removed. A third president, Richard Nixon, resigned as impeachment proceedings were beginning against him.

The House of Representatives and the Senate

The Continental Congress was unicameral, having one body that voted together. The modern Congress is bicameral, meaning it has two houses, or legislative chambers. The Senate is the upper house of Congress; the lower chamber is the House of Representatives. The Framers of the Constitution divided Congress in two because they wanted each house to serve a specific role. They intended the House of Representatives to be close to the people and responsive to their needs. Members of the House represent far fewer people than senators do. They also must run for reelection every two years. To counter a perceived threat of mob rule, the Framers envisioned the Senate as an elite and slow-moving body, filled with experienced men who would check the popular passions of the House of Representatives. The requirements for membership in the Senate are more stringent, and senatorial elections occur every six years. The state legislatures, not the people, originally elected senators. In 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment changed the Constitution to elect senators by popular vote. Each state maintains equal representation in the Senate—specifically, two senators per state. In contrast, the people elect members of the House of Representatives by proportional representation, meaning that the larger the population of a state, the more representatives that state can elect.

Checks and Balances

The Founding Fathers believed it was important to separate the functions of government so that no one person or group of people could have absolute power. They divided the US government into three branches, each with a different job: -The legislative branch, which is Congress, has the authority to write and pass laws. -The executive branch, headed by the president, enforces the laws passed by Congress. -The Supreme Court and all lower courts constitute the judicial branch, which interprets and applies laws and decides whether laws are constitutional. The system of checks and balances laid out in the Constitution gives the executive and judicial branches the ability to check the actions of the legislature. The president, for instance, has the power to veto, or reject, legislation passed by Congress. The Supreme Court also can block laws by declaring them unconstitutional. Congress, in turn, wields authority over the other two branches. Judges must be confirmed by Congress before they can assume their positions. Congress must approve treaties the president makes with other nations before they can go into effect. Congress also has the power, called impeachment, to remove members of the executive and judicial branches who have broken the law.

Speaker of the House

The House of Representatives organizes itself under the leadership of its presiding officer, the Speaker of the House. The Speaker is the only officer of the House specifically mentioned in the Constitution and is formally elected at the beginning of each new session by the membership of the entire House. The Speaker is a member of the majority party and has usually served in other leadership positions. The Speaker has the parliamentary (procedural) power to recognize or ignore members who wish to speak on the floor; to interpret House rules, which allows the Speaker to determine which legislation is assigned to each committee; to appoint members of special and conference committees; and to delay or speed up the legislative calendar.

Congressional Terms and Sessions

The group of representatives and senators who serve together in the two-year period between congressional elections is known as a Congress. A new Congress begins in January following the latest congressional election. The Twentieth Amendment set January 3 as the start date for the term. For example, the 113th Congress includes the representatives and senators elected in the November 2012 elections and those senators whose terms of office were not up in 2012. The 113th Congress began January 3, 2013, and ends January 3, 2015. Article I, Section 4, of the Constitution states that Congress must meet in session at least once a year. Usually the sessions open on or around January 3 and adjourn in mid-December.

Majority and Minority Leaders

The members of the majority and minority parties elect leaders in each chamber. These leaders do not hold official constitutional positions. Rather, they are political party leaders whose leadership abilities and powers of persuasion have been recognized by their fellow lawmakers. The role of the leaders is to supervise the handling of legislative business in the House and the Senate, especially when it comes to selecting bills for priority consideration, lining up support, and overcoming procedural obstacles. Majority and minority whips assist the majority and minority leaders. The whips sound out the voting intentions of party members and attempt to persuade or pressure their party's members to vote according to the party position. The party leaders work with the Speaker of the House and the president of the Senate to manage the goings-on in the two houses. In the Senate, the majority leader controls the agenda and schedule because the Senate president's role is primarily ceremonial until a tie vote needs to be broken.

The Structure and Powers of Congress

The modern institution of the US Congress evolved from the Continental Congress, the nation's first governing body, which met periodically from 1774 to 1789. The Continental Congress met primarily in Philadelphia, the first capital of the United States. Unlike the Continental Congress, which governed without the help of a president, the modern Congress possesses only the power to make laws, not to enforce them. Nevertheless, Congress remains the single most important institution in American democracy. Without action from Congress, the laws that US citizens live under cannot be enacted or amended.