Review1. Why is our Constitution considered a

“Living Document”?

2. What compromise created the Legislative Branch?

Legislative Congress Bicameral Census Constituents Gerrymander Standing committees Seniority Impeachment President Pro Tempore• Expressed Powers• Implied powers• Elastic clause• Bills of attainder• Commerce

Ch. 6 Vocab• Writ of Habeas

Corpus• Ex Posto Facto Laws• Franking privilege• Lobbyists • Casework• Pork-barrel projects • Joint resolutions• Special-interest

groups• Riders• Filibuster• Cloture• Voice vote• Roll-call vote• Veto• Pocket veto

Article I

Legislative Branch

Our Congress is Bicameral…meaning:It is divided into 2 houses: Senate and House of

RepresentativesWhat is their main job?

Make and change laws for the nation.

Congress

Senate House of Rep.

Size 100 members 435

Term 6 yrs. 2 yrs.

Leader VP and/or President Pro Tempore

Speaker of the House

Based on Equal Representation Population Each representative comes from a district in a stateNC has 13 districtsAccording to the representative we are his/her constituent

Apportionment-all districts must have equal representation…1 man=1 vote

How frequently do the numbers for the House of Representatives change?

Every 10 years the Census Bureau conducts a census, or population count, which might adjust the number of representatives given to each state.

Each states is divided into one or more congressional districts, or areas, with one representative elected from each district. State legislatures must draw the boundaries so that the districts include roughly the same number of constituents, or people represented.

Sometimes states abuse this process by gerrymandering. A gerrymander is an oddly shaped district designed to increase the voting strength of a particular group.

For example, if most of a state’s representatives are Republican, they might draw the lines so that as many districts as possible have more Republican than Democratic voters.

Each house of Congress is made up of committees. There are 4 different kinds of committees. The permanent committees that continue their work from session to session are called standing committees. The Senate has 17 standing committees and the House has 19 standing committees covering areas such as education, veterans affairs and commerce.

In addition to standing committees, both houses of Congress also have select committees that are created to do a specific job for a limited period. For example, in 1976 a committee was created to investigate the assassination of JFK.

The House and Senate have also formed four joint committees, which included members of both houses. For example, the Joint Economic Committee reviews economic conditions and recommends improvements in economic policy. The other 3 joint committees are the Joint Committee on Taxation, Joint Committee on the Library of Congress and the Joint Committee on Printing.

A fourth type of committee is a temporary committee, the conference committee, which helps the House and Senate agree on details of a proposed law.

Powers of CongressExpressed Powers:

These are listed in the Constitution.

1. Declare War2. Create and maintain

military3. Borrow and spend $4. Collect Taxes 5. Regulate Commerce-

Interstate and Foreign Trade

Implied Powers: Powers not listed in the Constitution (necessary & proper/elastic clause) “stretches”

1. Power to impeach. (House of Rep: charges you, Senate: jury

2. Approve/Reject presidential nominations

3. Chooses Prez. If Electoral College doesn’t produce victor

4. Proposes Amendments (2/3rds Congress)

There are many things Congress CANNOT do … According to Article 1 of the

Constitution, Congress may not favor one state over another, tax interstate commerce or tax exports.

Other restrictions:1. Congress cannot suspend the

Writ of Habeas Corpus Court order that requires

police to bring someone to court to explain why they’re holding that person

2. Congress is prohibited from passing Bills of attainder

Laws that punish you without jury trial

3. Congress may not pass Ex Posto Facto Laws

Laws that make an act illegal after its been committed

Senate House of Rep

Must be 30 yrs old 25 yrs old

US citizen for 9 yrs US citizen for 7 yrs

Live in state Live in state

Requirements

Common Background

College Degree

½ Lawyers

Active in gov’t early

Held prior offices

People who influence Congress

1. Majority Leader elected leader of the

majority party

2. Minority Leader elected leader of the

minority party

Who is the man in this picture??

John Boehner – Speaker of the House of Representatives (Republican Party)

Who is this??Patrick LeahyPresident Pro-

Tempore (Chairperson of the

Senate) The presiding officer

of the Senate is technically the VP, but since he rarely attends Senate debates, a chairperson is voted in.

Pro-Tem literally means for the time being””

1. Starts out as an idea and a Bill is written2. Sent to committee

The committee is lead by a committee chairperson chosen by the seniority system

The committee can pass the bill, makes changes, ignore it and let it die, and then recommend for approval or kill it

3. Sent to the floor of house it originated for debate and vote

4. Sent to other house for debate and vote

How does a Bill becomes a Law?

5. Sent to president If he signs it the

bill becomes a law If he vetoes the bill

it is sent back to Congress

6. Congress can override veto with 2/3 majority…Bill then becomes law.