Tuesday, October 13, 2015

United States Government

Which of the following correctly describes the structure of the U.S. Congress?A) It is unicameralB) It is bicameralC) It is tricameral

How is the number of a state’s representatives in the House determined?

How many U.S. Senators does each state have?

Warm-Up: Review Questions

Structure and Powers of Congress

Term: 2 yearsQualifications:

25 years old7 years as a U.S. citizenResident of represented state

Number of representatives: 435Head of House of Representatives

Speaker of the HouseDecides the committees each member will

serve onDecides the order in which bills will be heard

The House of Representatives

Powers:All money (appropriations) bills start hereSelects the President in the absence of an Electoral

College majorityWrite the articles of impeachment against high

ranking officialsProcedures:

The majority party has more power in the House than in the Senate, due mainly to the lower chamber’s procedures:

Rules are more formalRules set by the Rules Committee (controlled by the

majority party; does not exist in the Senate)Absence of the filibuster (more on this later)

House of Rep’s: Special Powers & Procedures

Term of office: 6 yearsQualifications:

30 years old9 years a citizen of the U.S.Resident of the represented state

Number of Senators: 100Head of the Senate: U.S. Vice PresidentDay to day head of Senate: President Pro Tempore

Powers: Officially decides committee members and order bills are debated.

Majority Leader: Most powerful member of the SenateBegins debate on legislation; influences committee

membership

The Senate

Special Powers:Approves all treatiesApproves all Presidential appointeesChooses the Vice President in the absence of an Electoral

College majorityActs as the jury in all trials of Impeachment

Special Procedure: The FilibusterSenate has a reputation as “the world’s greatest deliberative

body”Debate on legislation may go on indefinitely In order to force an end to debate, Senate may vote for

cloture—which requires 60 votesFilibusters used to require Senators objecting to legislation to

actualy speak (“debate”) continuously on the Senate floorToday, the filibuster has become proceduralEffect: Senate essentially requires a super-majority (60 votes)

to pass any major legislation

Senate: Special Powers & Procedures

Both houses make their own rules for behavior and punishments

Censure: formally reprimand, written in the record

Fines and penalties may be set for some offenses

Expulsion: members with gross misconduct may be thrown out of office

Congress

Salary : $147,000 per year, plus:Medical and dental benefitsFree office, parking, and trips to home stateStaff budgetTax break on second homeFranking privilege: free postage on all mail to

constituentsImmunity or legal protection:

Cannot be sued of anything they say or write while carrying out their duties

Cannot be arrested for minor offenses while Congress is in session

May not hold other political office at the same time

Congress: Privileges and Compensation

Powers of CongressRaise and collect taxesBorrow moneyRegulate commerceSet laws for

Naturalization and Bankruptcy

Coin MoneyPunish counterfeitingPost officeCopyrights and patentsEstablish lower federal

courts

Declare warEstablish the military

and National guardMake rules and allot

funds for the military and National guard

Punish piratesRun Washington D.C.

and all federal property**Elastic clause-

implied power

The “necessary and proper clause” gives Congress the power to make laws “necessary and proper” to carry out the enumerated powers

Also known as the ‘elastic clause’ it stretches the power given Congress

Implied Powers

Congress could not make laws concerning the slave trade until 1808

Cannot suspend the writ of Habeas Corpus: government must show cause for holding a suspect except in wartime

No ex post facto law- cannot punish a person for an act committed before there was a law against it.

No direct tax (changed by the 16th Amendment)No tax on exportsAll states must be treated the sameCongress must approve all expenditures of the President

through lawsNo titles of nobility

Powers Denied to Congress

1) Describe one change that you would make to the qualifications and/or terms of Representatives or Senators and explain your reasoning.

2) Should representation in the Senate be based on population?

3) Should the filibuster be eliminated?

Discussion Questions