Legislative Branch

1. Congress

• Every two years all of the members of the House of Representatives and 1/3 of the Senators are elected.

• This two year period between elections is called a “Congress.”

2. Sessions

• Two sessions per term/Congress• Begin in January• Joint Session: House of Representatives and

the Senate meet together.• Special Session: The President may call a

special joint session of Congress even if they have adjourned (ended) for the year.

3. Parties (Democrats and Republicans)

• The political party that has the most members in each house is known as the majority party.

• The political party that has fewer members is called the minority party.

4. Bicameral

Two HousesSenate and the House of Representatives

• Two house system allows each house to ‘check’ the actions of the other and helps prevent Congress from passing laws in a hurry.

Why a Bicameral Legislature?

• “Great Compromise”, also known as “Connecticut Compromise”.

• Allowed small states to have equal say as the large states (Senate)

• Allowed large states to have more of a voice due to their population (House)

5. House of Representatives

Membership• The number of Representatives each state can

elect is based on the size of that state’s population.

• Each state has at least 1 Representative.• 435 total Representatives.• Every 10 years, after the census is taken,

Congress determines how the seats in the House are to be apportioned, or distributed.

Daniel Webster: (R) Winter Garden

10th Congressional District in Florida.

10th District Map

6. Requirements to be a Representative

Representatives must be:a) At least 25 years oldb) A U.S. citizen for at least 7 yearsc) A legal resident of the state they represent

Serve 2 terms Elections are held in November of each even-

numbered year.

Gerrymandering.• Defined: The practice of drawing district lines that favor a

particular political party, politician, or group of people.

• “Leaving the Fox in charge of the hen house.”

• Gerrymandering based solely on race has been ruled unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court, under the Fourteenth Amendment first by Shaw v. Reno (1993) and by subsequent cases, including Miller v. Johnson (1995) and Hunt v. Cromartie (1999).

Gerrymandering

Illinois 4th District

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D)

Not Gerrymandering.

Georgia 5th Congressional District

Gerrymandering

Florida 5th District

Rep. Corrine Brown (D)

Not Gerrymandering.

Colorado 5th Congressional District Massachusetts 5th Congressional District

7. Leader

Speaker of the House• Elected from the majority party.• Presiding officer of the house.• No representative may speak until called on,

or recognized, by the Speaker.• Second in line of Presidential Succession.

John Boehner: (R) Ohio

Speaker of the House

8. Special Powers of the House of Representatives

Powers that only the House of Representatives has:

a) Begin impeachment proceedingsb) Initiate bills to raise money (appropriation

bills)c) Select president when no candidate receives

sufficient electoral votes

9. Senate

Membership• Each state is represented equally.• 2 members per state.• 100 senators total.• Members are called senators.

Bill Nelson (D) and Marco Rubio (R): Florida Senators

10. Requirements to be a Senator

Senators must be:a) At least 30 years old.b) A U.S. Citizen for at least 9 years.c) A legal resident of the state they represent.

Serve 6 year terms One third (1/3) of the Senate’s membership

comes up for election every two years in November.

11. Senate Leaders

Vice President According to the Constitution presides over the

Senate. Only votes to break a tie.

President Pro Tempore Fills in for the Vice President when necessary. Third

in line of presidential succession. Customarily the most senior senator in the majority party

Vice President Joseph Biden (D)Senator Orrin Hatch(R) Utah

12. Senate Powers

Powers that only the Senate has:• Hold impeachment trials.• Select the vice president when no candidate

has sufficient votes. • Approve treaties.• Approve high officials. (Cabinet Members,

Supreme Court Justices, and Ambassadors).

13. Congressional Misconduct

Senators and Representatives sometimes get in trouble. Depending on what they did, they may be punished one of two ways:

Censure or Expulsion.

Section II

Powers of Congress

Strict vs. Liberal ConstructionStrict Constructionists

•Strict constructionists argued that Congress should only be able to exercise (1) its expressed powers and (2) those implied powers absolutely necessary to carry out those expressed powers.

Liberal Constructionists

•Liberal constructionists favored a liberal interpretation of the Constitution, a broad interpretation of the powers given to Congress. (wanted to allow for more implied powers to national government).

Thomas Jefferson was a strict constructionist

Alexander Hamilton was a liberal constructionist

1. Overview

Congress obtains its powers from three different sources of law:

1. Expressed Powers2. Implied Powers3. Inherent Powers

1. Expressed Powers

Expressed Powers:

Powers provided to Congress by The Constitution. Article: ???

Article 1, Section 8.

1. Expressed Powers

2. Implied Powers

“To make all laws necessary and proper to the execution of any of the other powers”, Article 1, Section 18.

This phrase is known by two terms:1) The Necessary and Proper Clause2) The Elastic Clause

2. Implied Powers

These exist because the Framers knew they could not anticipate everything which the Congress might need to do to carry out the duties of the Expressed Powers.

Examples:Creating a National Bank (Federal Reserve)Selective Service (Draft)Minimum Wage

3. Inherent Powers

These exist because they are normal duties which are inherent to a sovereign nation.

Examples:Immigration ControlsSecuring the Borders