National Government
Federalism
• State and National Government share power
• THERE ARE THREE LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT– NATIONAL– STATE– LOCAL
State vs. National Government
National Government
• 3 branches of government– Legislative- makes laws– Executive-enforces laws– Judicial- interprets laws– Congress: legislative– President: executive– Supreme Court: judicial
Congress
Quick Question:
Which Article of the Constitution deals with the Congress (legislative branch)?
How Congress is Organized
Bicameral Legislature2 Houses
• House of Representatives
House of Representatives
• 435 Representatives • 2 year terms• Organized by state– According to population- so the more populous
the state is, the more representatives)– Census- every 10 years we take a population
count.
House of Representatives Census
• Each state is divided into congressional districts
• Each district must have the same number of constituents.
• Constituents= people represented
Gerrymandering
• Oddly shaped district designed to increase voting strength of a particular district.
The original Gerrymander• In 1812 Governor Eldbridge GERRY of
Massachusetts had district lines drawn to benefit his political party in elections.
• One of the districts was said to resemble a salamander.
• Hence the name “GERRYMANDER”.
How many districts are there in the US?
• There are 435 districts in the US. (435 US House of Representative seats).
• Each state has a certain number of districts.• Each district has about 700,00 constituents in it.• Since FL is very populated, we have 27 districts.• Some unpopulated states only have 1 district, like
Wyoming and Alaska. • The state with the most districts is California- they
have 53 districts.
Districts in FL
Bicameral Legislature2 Houses
• Senate
Senate
• 100 members• 2 per state (regardless of population)• Six year terms
These are the 2 US Senators who represent Florida. Bill Nelson, a Democrat (left) & Marco Rubio, a Republican (right).
Who gets to be in charge?
• Majority Party- The political party with the most members in Congress
• Minority Party- The party with less members in Congress
House of Representatives • Speaker of the House:– Leader of the House of Reps.– Article I, Section 2 of the US Constitution says
"The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker..."
• Paul Ryan– Republican • Republicans are the majority party in the House
Senate
• Vice President of the US– President of the Senate– Joe Biden-Democrat– Only votes in the case of a tie
• President Pro tempore:– Chairperson– Not really a leader– Orrin Hatch-Republican
• Republicans are the majority party in the Senate
Committees: Little Legislatures
• In a congressional term (2 years) about 10,000 bills are proposed in Congress! That is a lot of work!!!
• Committees help to break up the work
Different kinds of committees
1. Standing Committee- permanent committees-The House of Representatives has 19-The Senate has 16
2. Select Committee- set up for a special reason and limited time
-The 9/11 Commission was a committee that was established to investigate 9/11 attacks.
Different kinds of committees
3. Joint Committees- Has members both the House and Senate
What are the powers of Congress?
Powers specifically listed inthe Constitution
• Article 1, Section 8: lists specific powers Congress has. These are called EXPRESSED POWERS.
• EXPRESSED POWERS=Specific powers given by the Constitution
• IMPLIED POWERS= Powers not expressly given in the Constitution.– Elastic Clause(Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18)-Allows
Congress to “stretch” its powers when necessary.
Elastic Clause(Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18)-Allows Congress to “stretch” its powers when necessary.
Powers of Congress
• Legislative power- power to make laws
• Non-Legislative- duties other than lawmaking
Powers of Congress
• Legislative Powers- power to make laws1. Taxing and Spending2. Regulating Commerce3. Foreign Relations and Treaties
1. Taxing and Spending
• All taxes start in the House of Representatives.• There are 2 steps:
• Authorization Bills:-create projects to spend money on
• Appropriations Bills:- provide the money for each program
2. Regulating Commerce
• Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3- gives Congress power to regulate commerce.
• Commerce: trade• Air traffic, railroads, trucking, radio, TV, air
pollution, stock market.
3. Foreign Relations and Treaties
• Declaring War• Senate approves treaties made by President
Powers of Congress
• Non-Legislative Powers- duties other than lawmaking
1. Adding Amendments2. Power of Approval and Removal3. Oversight and Investigation
1. Adding Amendments
• Congress has the power to change the Constitution
• Amendment proposal requires 2/3 vote in both houses of Congress (House of Rep & Senate).
2. Approval and Removal
• Power to approve or reject presidential appointments (checks and balances)
• Power to remove any official from office.• Impeach: to accuse a public official of
misconduct
3. Oversight and Investigation
• Power to watch what the other branches (executive, judicial) are doing.
Limits on Power
Writ of Habeas Corpus
• Cannot suspend Habeas Corpus• Latin for “you should have the body”.• Requires the government to produce a
prisoner before a court and justify his or her imprisonment.
Bills of Attainder• Not allowed• Laws that punish a person without a trial• “Ms. Potts is guilty”– (That’s the law)
Ex Post Facto Laws
• Not allowed • Ex Post Facto= “Before the Fact”• Laws that make an act a crime after the act
has been committed.
Requirements of Congress
• Senate– 30 years old– Live in state– US citizen for 9 years
• House of Representatives – 25 years old– Live in state– US citizen for 7 years
Congress Pay
• Congress sets their own salary• Right now Congress gets paid $174,000/year• Their salary has been the same since 2009.• What does Amendment 27 say? It’s about
Congress’ salary!– Look it up!
Personal Staff
• Helpers of all Congress members• Secretaries, researchers, etc.
Lobbyists
• Lobbyists: people hired by private groups to influence government
Casework
• People requesting help from the government• Congress gets about 80,000 emails each day!!!
What’s going on here? What do you see that makes you say that?
How a bill becomes a law
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