1.
Why is our Constitution considered a “Living
Document”?
2.
What compromise created the Legislative Branch?
 Legislative
 Congress
 Bicameral
 Census
 Constituents
 Gerrymander
 Standing committees
 Seniority
 Impeachment
 President Pro Tempore
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Expressed Powers
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Implied powers
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Elastic clause
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Bills of attainder
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Commerce
•
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•
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Writ of Habeas Corpus
Ex Posto Facto Laws
Franking privilege
Lobbyists
Casework
Pork-barrel projects
Joint resolutions
Special-interest groups
Riders
Filibuster
Cloture
Voice vote
Roll-call vote
Veto
Pocket veto
Article I
 Our Congress is Bicameral…meaning:
 It is divided into 2 houses: Senate and House of
Representatives
 What is their main job?
 Make and change laws for the nation.
Senate
House of Rep.
Size
100 members
435
Term
6 yrs.
2 yrs.
Leader
VP and/or President Pro
Tempore
Speaker of the House
Based on
Equal Representation
Population
Each representative comes
from a district in a state
NC has 13 districts
According to the
representative we are his/her
constituent
Apportionment-all
districts must have
equal representation…1
man=1 vote
How frequently do the numbers for the
House of Representatives change?
Every 10 years the Census Bureau
conducts a census, or population count,
which might adjust the number of
representatives given to each state.
Each states is divided into one or more congressional
districts, or areas, with one representative elected from
each district. State legislatures must draw the boundaries
so that the districts include roughly the same number of
constituents, or people represented.
Sometimes states abuse this process by gerrymandering.
A gerrymander is an oddly shaped district designed to
increase the voting strength of a particular group.
For example, if most of a state’s representatives are
Republican, they might draw the lines so that as many
districts as possible have more Republican than
Democratic voters.
Each house of Congress is made up of committees. There
are 4 different kinds of committees. The permanent
committees that continue their work from session to session
are called standing committees. The Senate has 17
standing committees and the House has 19 standing
committees covering areas such as education, veterans
affairs and commerce.
In addition to standing committees, both houses of
Congress also have select committees that are created
to do a specific job for a limited period. For example, in
1976 a committee was created to investigate the
assassination of JFK.
The House and Senate have also formed four joint committees, which
included members of both houses. For example, the Joint Economic
Committee reviews economic conditions and recommends
improvements in economic policy. The other 3 joint committees are the
Joint Committee on Taxation, Joint Committee on the Library of
Congress and the Joint Committee on Printing.
A fourth type of committee is a temporary committee, the conference
committee, which helps the House and Senate agree on details of a
proposed law.
 Expressed Powers: These
are listed in the
Constitution.
1. Declare War
2. Create and maintain
military
3. Borrow and spend $
4. Collect Taxes
5. Regulate CommerceInterstate and Foreign
Trade
 Implied Powers: Powers not
1.
2.
3.
4.
listed in the Constitution
(necessary & proper/elastic
clause) “stretches”
Power to impeach. (House
of Rep: charges you, Senate:
jury
Approve/Reject presidential
nominations
Chooses Prez. If Electoral
College doesn’t produce
victor
Proposes Amendments
(2/3rds Congress)
 According to Article 1 of the Constitution,
Congress may not favor one state over
another, tax interstate commerce or tax
exports.
Congress cannot suspend the Writ
of Habeas Corpus

Court order that requires police
to bring someone to court to
explain why they’re holding that
person
2.
Congress is prohibited from passing
Bills of attainder

Laws that punish you without
jury trial
3.
Congress may not pass Ex Posto
Facto Laws

Laws that make an act illegal
after its been committed
1.
Senate
House of Rep
Must be 30 yrs old
25 yrs old
US citizen for 9 yrs
US citizen for 7 yrs
Live in state
Live in state
Common Background
College Degree
½ Lawyers
Active in gov’t early
Held prior offices
Majority Leader

elected leader of the
majority party
2.
Minority Leader

elected leader of the
minority party
1.


Who is the man in this
picture??
John Boehner – Speaker of
the House of
Representatives
(Republican Party)
 Patrick Leahy
 President Pro-Tempore
 (Chairperson of the
Senate)
 The presiding officer of
the Senate is technically
the VP, but since he
rarely attends Senate
debates, a chairperson is
voted in.
 Pro-Tem literally means
for the time being””
Starts out as an idea and a Bill is written
2. Sent to committee
1.


The committee is lead by a committee chairperson
chosen by the seniority system
The committee can pass the bill, makes changes,
ignore it and let it die, and then recommend for
approval or kill it
Sent to the floor of house it originated for debate and
vote
4. Sent to other house for debate and vote
3.
Sent to president
5.


6.
If he signs it the bill
becomes a law
If he vetoes the bill it
is sent back to
Congress
Congress can override
veto with 2/3
majority…Bill then
becomes law.