NEED TO KNOW: Unit 4
INSTITUTIONS OF GOVERNMENT
Chapter 13
CONGRESS
Congressmen
 Mostly older, white, males (but trends are changing)
 Roles
 Legislator
 Representative
 Servant (Case Work)
 Committee Member
 Politician
 Voting Philosophy
 Trustee/Attitudinal
 Delegate/Representative
 Partisan/Organizational
 Politico
Powers of Congress
 Money & Commerce
 War Powers
 Declare War, Raise & Regulate Military, Power of the Purse
 Non-Legislative Powers
 Electoral duties, impeachment, investigation, propose
amendments
 Executive Powers (held by Senate)
 Approve Treaties and Appointments
 Congressional Oversight
Organization
 Leadership



In HoR, Speaker most powerful
In Senate, MAJORITY Leader most powerful
Seniority very important
 Majority Party has all real power



Choose leaders
Set agenda
Committee Chairs
 Caucuses – growing rival to parties

Groups of Congressmen who represent similar interests
 Staff Agencies – Help Congress

CBO, GAO
Committees
 Where most work in Congress is done
 Divide up workload, Job Specialization
 Types of Committees
 Standing, Select, Joint, Conference
 Some Committees more important
 HoR – Ways and Means, Rules, Appropriations
 Sen – Appropriations, Judiciary, Armed Services
 House Rules Committee
 Sets limit for debate and decides what types of amendments
can be added (if any) – VERY POWERFUL
 Open Rule, Restrictive Rule, Closed Rule
House of Representatives
Senate
435 Members
SIZE
100 Members
Population
Representation
Based on…
Equality
(2 per state)
Small –
People of District
Constituency
Big –
People of State
Less Prestigious
2House
years
Less Media
25Attention
years old
7 years citizen
PRESTIGE
More Prestigious
6House
years
More Media
30Attention
years old
9 years citizen
Speaker of the
House
Leaders
Senate President
Pro-Tempore
Impeachment:
Bring Charges
Role During
Impeachments
Try Impeachments:
Serve as Jury
Unique Powers
Approve Treaties
and Presidential
Appointments
Revenue Bills
Term of Office
Requirements
House of Representatives
1 Major – Policy
Specialists
Committee
Assignments
Senate
Multiple Major –
Policy Generalists
Done by Speaker
& Rules
Committee
Scheduling of Bills
Done by Majority
& Minority
Leaders
Rules Committee
limits Debate
Floor Debate
No Limit Filibusters
How a Bill Becomes a Law
 Can start in either house (except revenue bills)
 Assigned to committee
 Hearings, and possible amendments (riders)
 Reported out of committee
 Debated by entire house (different rules for each house)
 Senate – Filibuster and Cloture, Double-Tracking
 If passed (majority), goes to other house – same process
 Voice Vote, Teller Vote, Roll-Call Vote
 If passed, Conference Committee
 Final Version to Prez
 4 Options




Sign = law
Veto = back to original house, 2/3 of both houses can override
Wait 10 days if Congress is in session = law
Wait 10 days if Congress is adjourned = pocket veto (no override)
Chapter 14
PRESIDENT
Presidency
 Requirements – 35 years old, 14 years resident, natural
born citizen
 Term of Office – 4 year term, 2 terms max
 Succession


Outlined by 25th Amendment
VP, Speaker of HoR, Sen Prez Pro-Tem, Cabinet Positions by date of
creation
 Presidential Power grows in times of Crisis
 Popularity important and hard to maintain
 Access to Media can help Prez push agenda
 The 3 Audiences – Politicians in DC, Activists, Public
Roles of President
 Commander-in-Chief
 Chief Diplomat
 Chief of State
 Chief of Party
 Chief Legislator
 Chief Administrator
 Chief Executive
 Chief Citizen
Powers of President
 Executive Powers
 Executive Orders
 Military/Foreign Powers
 Commander-in-Chief, Treaties, Recognition
 Legislative Powers
 Propose Legislation (SOTU), veto power
 Judicial Powers
 Pardons and Reprieves
 Formal Powers vs. Informal Powers
 Informal Powers often come from President’s access to media
Executive Branch
 White House Staff (helps Prez day-to-day)
 Chief of Staff
 EOP (Exec. Office of Prez)
 OMB
 Cabinet
 Headed by Secretary
 Job Specialization
 Independent Agencies
 Independent Executive Agencies (NASA, EPA)
 Independent Regulatory Commissions (Fed, SEC, FCC)
 Government Corporations (Amtrak, Post Office)
Chapter 15
THE BUREAUCRACY
The Bureaucracy
 Large, Complex structure that runs day-to-day




business of an organization
Appointed, not elected
Hierarchy
Today’s Bureaucracy is huge and growing.
Carry out Congressional Laws

Discretionary Authority
 Iron Triangles & Issue Networks
Appointment of Bureaucracy
 Competitive Service
 Based on Merit
 Must take test
 Replaces Spoils System
 Pendleton Act (After assassination of James Garfield)
 Demographics
 Largely representative of America as a whole
 At top levels, very unrepresentative
 Bureaucrats hard to fire
Checking the Bureaucracy
 Problems of Bureaucracy
 Red Tape, Waste, Conflict
 Legal Constraints
 Congressional Control
 Oversight, Authorization, Appropriation, Investigation,
Committee Clearance
 Presidential Control
 Firing (sometimes), Reorganization
Chapter 16
JUDICIAL BRANCH
Federal Court System
 Dual Court System – Fed & States
 Supreme Court, Constitutional Courts, Special
Courts

94 District Courts; 12 Circuit Courts of Appeals
 Jurisdiction
 District = original, Appeals = appellate, SC = both
 Prez appoints Judges; Senate Confirms
 Senatorial Courtesy for lower courts
 Litmus Test
 Life Term – free from political pressure
The Court in Action
 Getting to Court
 Fee-Shifting, In Forma Pauperis, Class-Action Suits
 Which cases to hear
 Rule of 4 – Writ of Certiorari (SC will hear case from lower
court)
 Very few cases heard each year
 Trial Process
 Briefs



Amicus Curiae
Oral Arguments
Conference
Court Decisions
 Opinion of the Court
 Concurring Opinion
 Dissenting Opinion
 Philosophy
 Stare Decisis – Let the decision stand
 Judicial Restraint vs. Judicial Activism
 Precedent
 Recent Courts
 Warren Court (60s) – Very Liberal
 Berger/Rehnquist Courts (70s, 80s, 90s) – Conservative
 Roberts Court (200os) – Back and Forth
Court Cases to Know
 INS v. Chadha
 US v. Nixon