The Legislative BranchBinder page 7

1. What are the qualifications for being a representative?

at least 25 years old, a citizen for at least 7 years, live in the district you represent.

2. How many years make up a term for representative?

2 years

3. What are the qualifications for being a senator? -at least 30 years old, -a citizen for at least 9 years, -resident of the state you represent.

4. How many years make up a term for senator? 6 years

5. What happens if the House and Senate pass different versions of a bill?

A joint committee works to blend the two versions into one.

6. Who must sign the bill before it goes to the President?

Speaker of the House (in charge of the House)

the Vice President (in charge of the Senate)

7. What choices does a president have when a bill reaches his desk? A bill becomes law if the president signs it. He may say "no" by vetoing it. Decide not to do anything to the bill.

If Congress is in session, the bill becomes law after ten days without the president's signature. Otherwise, the bill suffers a pocket veto and does not become law.

8. How many members in the House of Representatives? 435

This number is based on what? Census count of the population every 10 years

9. How many members in the Senate? 100

This number is based on what? Based on 2 for each state.

10. How many members TOTAL in Congress? 435 + 100 = 535

How do we decide if the number needs to change? By using population numbers from the census.

The President’s JobPage 9

1. What is the name of the speech the president gives at the beginning of each session of Congress?

The State of the Union AddressWhat is the purpose of this speech?

The president gives his opinion of how the country is doing and presents his ideas about what needs to be done in the coming year.

2. What kinds of things does the president do as Head of State?He travels to other countries to meet with heads of foreign governments. Works out treaties with other nations. He appoints ambassadors to represent the United States in foreign countries.

3. What do we call the people in charge of each of the departments in the Cabinet?

Secretary

4. What departments did George Washington have in his cabinet?

Secretary of War (Defense)Secretary of the TreasurySecretary of Foreign Affairs (State)The Attorney General

5. How many departments does President Obama have in his cabinet?

The Cabinet includes the Vice President and the heads of 15 executive

departments — the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, the Attorney General, Housing and Urban Development,.

5. Why do you think we have so many more now?

Running the country has become more complicated, so we added more departments to help the president manage more issues.

6. How is the president involved in law making?

He can SUGGEST laws/bills to Congress.He may sign the bill into law, or veto the bill.

THE PRESIDENT DOES NOT MAKE LAWS

7. How does Congress go about impeaching a president?

The House of Representatives brings up the charges of misconduct.Then the Senate runs the impeachment trial. Two-thirds of the senators (66/100) must vote for conviction. The president may be removed from office and never allowed to hold a government position again if he is found guilty.

7. How many of our presidents have been impeached?Our 17th president, Andrew Johnson, was impeached. Thirty-five senators found him guilty -- just one vote short of the two-thirds vote necessary to convict him.President Bill Clinton became the second president to be impeached by the House in 1998. Later, the Senate found him not guilty.

8. What other things does the president get to do as part of his job?lighting the White House Christmas tree, throwing the first ball to open the baseball season, rolling eggs on the lawn at Easter, and entertaining at the White House.