The Legislative Branch Of the United States Government

“Though the President is Commander-in-Chief, Congress is his commander.” This is “a government of the people and Congress is the people.”

-Thaddeus StevensSpeech in House of

Representatives, January 3, 1867

The Legislative Branch

GOALS FOR LEARNING

To identify the legislative branch as one of the three main branches of the federal government

To explain who can be elected to the Senate and House of Representatives

To describe the work of the Senate and House of Representatives

To describe how a bill becomes a law

To identify the powers given to Congress by the Constitution

Congress

• The writers of the Constitution did not want one group of officials to become too strong, so they made two parts to Congress

• Voters in each state elect the people who work in these two houses of Congress.

• Every new law for the nation must be passed by a majority, or more than half, of votes in both houses of Congress

Houses of CongressSenate

• Each state elects two senators to serve in the Senate.• 100 senators serve in the Senate today.• The Vice President is the leader of the Senate• The Vice President cannot debate questions or vote

unless there is a tie• A candidate for the Senate must be at least 30 years old,

a US citizen for 9 years, and a resident of the state he or she wants to represent.

• A senator serves a 6 year term.

• Has 435 elected officials• Representatives from each state are based on the

population size; states with more people have more representatives

• The Speaker of the House is the leader of the House of Representatives

• The Speaker leads sessions, decides who may speak, calls for votes, and sees that rules are followed.

• A candidate for the House must be at least 25 years old, a US citizen for 7 years, and a resident of the state and district he or she wants to represent.

• Serves a 2 year term.

Houses of CongressHouse of Representatives

Vocabulary Checkpoint

• Representative: a member of the House of Representatives; a person who is given the power to act for others

• Serve: to spend a period of time carrying out a duty

• Citizen: a person given certain rights, duties, and privileges because he or she was born in or chooses to live in a certain place

• Resident: a person who lives in a place

• Term: a period of time something lasts

• Each term of Congress has two sessions.

• The sessions begin in early January each year, alternating every other year.

• Sessions last until the work is complete.

• When the work is complete, Congress adjourns.

How Congress Does Its Work

• Sometimes, Congress may have to come back to hold a special session after they have adjourned.

• For example, in 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt called a special session.

• The country was in an economic depression. He wanted Congress to pass laws that would help end the depression

Special Sessions

What are the duties of Congress?

• Most important duty is to make laws

• Also to collect taxes, maintain armed forces, regulate trade, and punish certain crimes

• Can also check on other two branches of government

• House of Representatives can accuse a public official with crime or misconduct.

• Senate conducts a trial and convicts or acquits the official.

• If convicted, the official is removed from office.

-In 1973, the Senate formed a committee to investigate activities of the executive branch of government.-White House staff was being investigated because of a break-in in the Watergate Apartments.-Investigators asked for tape recordings from President Nixon’s talks with staff about the break-in but Nixon refused.-Supreme Court ordered for tapes to be released and the House set to debate Nixon’s impeachment.-Nixon resigned in 1974 and charges were later dropped.

Watergate

Vocabulary Checkpoint

• Session: the period of time each year when Congress meets.

• Adjourn: to bring a meeting to an end

• economic depression: a time of low business activity and high unemployment

Vocabulary Checkpoint

• Regulate: to control or direct

• Impeachment: a charge of wrongful conduct of a public official

• Resign: to announce that a person is leaving a job

• Acquit: to drop the charges of a crime