Outline of the Constitution
Articles
**U.S. Constitution is the Supreme Law of the
Land. **If a Federal and State law conflict,
the Federal law is followed.
Parts of the Constitution
1. *Preamble
2. Articles that give precise details about how the
government will operate
a. Article I (1) – Legislative Branch
Elastic Clause OR Necessary and Proper
Clause– Section VIII
Jefferson’s decision to purchase the Louisiana
Territory
b. Article II (2) – Executive
Branch
c. Article III (3) – Judicial Branch
e. Article V (5) – Provisions
for Amending (changing)
the Constitution
Amendments:
1. Additions/changes to the
Constitution give it
flexibility
2. 27
f. Article VI (6) – National Debts, Supremacy of
the National Law and Oaths of Office
g. Article VII (7) – Ratification of the Constitution –
9 states are needed to ratify the Constitution
Bill of Rights
*First 10 Amendments
Legislative Branch – Article 1
 **Legislative Branch
(Congress) Makes the
Laws
**Two Houses – the House of Representatives (lower house) and the Senate
(upper house)
Men and Women in the 112th Congress
 While the partisan composition of the
Congress is fairly close to that of the
electorate, there are larger disparities
between the Congress and the general
citizenry in term of sex and race. In the
House, there are currently 362 men and 76
women. In the Senate, there are 17 women
and 83 men.
House
Senate
White
361
96
Black
44
0
Hispanic
25
2
Asian
7
2
What does Congress do?
 Make laws!
 Both the House and Senate meet in the same
building
 Each year they hear around 10,000 bills
 Only about 650 become laws
 Committees that are organized by topic
decide which bills will be voted on by the
entire group.
Other Stuff
 Congressional Pay -Currently - $174,000
They can give themselves raises, but not until
the next election – see 27th Amendment
 Session – 110 days to about 160 days
 Decides how we spend our money
 Deals with foreign affairs
House of Representatives
 Based on Population
after a census
Qualifications
1. *25 years of age
2. Live/reside in the state being elected from
(states set their own residency
requirements)
3. Citizen of the U.S - 7 years
4. 2 year terms – the length of time that officials
serve after an election year
5. No term limits
Speaker of the House – John Boehner
– Republican from Ohio
1. Most powerful leader in
the House
2. Member of the majority
party
3. Presides and keeps
order
4. Assigns bills to the
proper committees
Apportioned (distributed) based on population per
state determined every 10 years
*435 Members
Important Stuff about the House
 All revenue bills start in the House
 Have the power to impeach officials
 Decide who is president if there is no majority
in the electoral college
 Called the lower house
 Arizona now has nine representatives
Senate
 Equal Representation *2 Per State
A. Senate terms are staggered – only 1/3rd of
them expire every two years. This ensures that
the Senate is not left empty while Senators are
campaigning for another term
SO, a term in Congress is EVERY TWO YEARS
Qualifications
1. 30 years of age
2. Citizen of U.S. – 9 years
3. Resident of state elected from
4. *6 year term
5. no term limits
6. framers believed a six year term would make
senators less subject to pressure by public
opinion or special interest groups
B. Prior (before) the 17th Amendment, Senators
were appointed by state legislatures. The 17th
Amendment lets citizens vote for their own
Congressional Senators
C. *PRESIDENT OF THE
SENATE is the Vice
President – He votes
ONLY in case of a tie
D. President Pro Tempore
(pro tem for short) –
Patrick Leheay
1. Typically filled by the
majority party leader
2. Sits in for the VP
 3. Usually acts as the
chairperson since the
VP rarely attends
Senate debates
Important Stuff about the Senate
 Ratifies treaties
 Impeachment trials are held in the Senate
 Approves presidential appointments
 Called the Upper House
How a Bill Becomes a
Law
The Journey of a Bill
Congress Makes Federal Laws
Follow
the bill as
it moves
through
Congress
Introduction of the Bill
 The bill can come
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from a variety of
sources:
Individual citizens,
Special interest
groups
Corporations,
Non-governmental
organizations (NGOs)
Only a member of
Congress can
introduce the bill
A bill can start in
either House.
The Bill is Assigned to Committee
 Each House has standing

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committees that consider
their bills.
Each committee has a
chair (from the Majority)
and a ranking member
(from the minority).
They “mark-up” (edit) the
bill so it will pass on the
floor.
They can also
“pigeonhole” or kill the
bill in committee.
The bill must also pass
through the House Rules
Committee.
The Bill is Reported To the Floor
 If the bill is passed by the
committee, it is sent to
the whole House for
debate and vote.
 The committee has
“reported the bill
favorably to the floor.”
 The Speaker determines
which bills are discussed
and for how long.
 Committee chairs and
ranking members give
out time to debate to
other members.
The Bill is Debated and Voted On in the House
 Bills can be considered by
the whole House at once:
called “Committee of the
Whole”
 Votes are done
electronically in the House.
This is a role call vote.
 A tote board on the wall
shows the tally. Red =
oppose. Green = Agree
Yellow = Abstain
 Votes can be taken by
voice “yeas and nays” or a
“teller vote” where
members file past the
sergeant at arms.
The Bill Goes to the Senate
 The bill is sent to the US
Senate. A Senate version
is written with the letter
S. and a number. House
bills have HR.
 As in the House, the bill
must be referred to the
appropriate standing
committee.
 Committees hold
hearings and make
changes to the bill.
 The committee can
‘report” the bill to the
Senate floor.
The Bill is Debated and Voted On in the Senate
 The Senate Majority Leader
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
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determines which bills are
scheduled, when and for
how long.
As in the House, the bill
must be referred to the
appropriate standing
committee.
Debate in the Senate is
unlimited. Filibusters can
be used by the minority to
block bills.
3/5 (60) of the Senate must
agree to end debate (this is
called “cloture”)
The Senate Rules
committee is much weaker
than the House’s.
Both Houses Must Pass the Bill
 A simple majority in both
houses is needed to
pass the bill (51%).
 In the House: 218
needed to control the
House.
 In the Senate: 51
senators needed to pass
the bill (and control the
Senate).
Differences Between Houses Must Be Reconciled
 Each house passes its own
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bill.
Any differences must be
ironed out and made into
one bill.
The bill is considered by a
conference committee,
made up of both House and
Senate members.
They negotiate and
compromise and send the
combined bill back to both
houses.
A vote on the “conference
report” must be taken and
passed by both Houses.
The Bill is Sent to the President
 The president can sign the bill
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
if he wants it to become law.
He can include “signing
statements” that say how the
law should be enforced or if
parts will not be enforced.
The president can veto or
reject the bill. He must include
his reasons and
recommendations for
correction.
The president can choose not
to act on the bill. If Congress
is in session, the bill becomes
law after 10 days.
If Congress is not in session,
the bill dies after 10 days. This
is called a “pocket veto.”
The Bill Becomes Law
 If the president vetoes
the bill, both Houses can
reconsider the bill.
 Two-thirds (67%) of both
Houses are needed to
override the President’s
veto.
 In the House: 369
needed for override.
Senate: 67.
 If president signs the
bill, it is a federal law
that each state must
follow.
Impeachment
The President, Vice Presidency and all civil
officers of the United States may “be removed
from Office on Impeachment for and
Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high
Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
Impeach – to accuse (power of the House)
Try – to judge (power of the Senate)
Step One
 House JC debates. The
vote on whether or not
to send articles of
impeachment to the full
House.
Step Two
 House (acting like a
grand jury), hears
witnesses and gathers
evidence.
Step Three
 The House votes on
each article. If
approved by the
majority, the person is
impeached (like
indicted)
 Article of impeachment
then goes to the
Senate.
Step Four
 Senate tries the case.
 If it is the President, the
Chief Justice presides.
Step Five
 Senators hear
testimony and evidence
Step Six
 The Senate debates.
 They can drop the case
or censure the official.
 A 2/3 vote is needed for
conviction.
Nixon
What crime is at
the heart of the
scandal?
How is the
President
involved?
How is the
Congress
involved?
How is the
Supreme Court
involved?
Clinton