Unit IV: The Legislative
Branch
Purpose of legislative branch: to
write laws
2. All of the instructions for Congress
(the legislative branch) can be found in
Article 1 of the United States
Constitution; it is the longest section
of the Constitution.
1.
SENATE
HOUSE
SIZE
Two senators from each
state = 100 total
# from each state based on
population = 435
WHO QUALIFIES?
Must be at least 30, US
citizen for 9 years, and live
in state they represent
At least 25, citizen for 7,
live in state they represent
THEY REPRESENT…
Whole state
Constituents from district
SPECIAL DUTIES
Approves presidential
appointments
(ambassadors, judges, and
cabinet members); votes
on impeachment
All bills that deal with
raising money (like taxes)
must start in House; writes
articles for impeachment
CHECKS & BALANCES
Congress can impeach the president, pass bills over veto
with 2/3 vote, and create lower courts. President can
veto bills & Supreme Court can strike down a law as
unconstitutional
ROLE IN LAWMAKING
Bill can start in each chamber; APPROVED BY BOTH
BEFORE GOES TO PRESIDENT
4. Most members serve on 5 committees
5. Incumbents (politicians in office)
a. In the House, incumbents win re-election
90% of the time.
b. In Senate, incumbents win 85% of the time
6. Advantages of being an incumbent
A. Advertising = visibility = success and they
get more money from individuals (2/3) and PACs
(1/3)
B. Credit claiming/blaming: using their
congressional record to help define and enforce
their public image
Advantages of Incumbents
B. Credit Claiming/Blaming
1. Pork barrel: spending on legislative for the
state/district for certain needs and/or projects
2. Casework: helping constituents as individuals
3. Riders: additions that are irrelevant to a bill, but
the bill is too important to for anyone to object to
the addition, so it passes Congress and is signed into
law
C. Position taking: they have already defined their
position on certain issues important to constituents
7. Roles of Congressmen (How do they
vote?)
A. Delegate: vote based on constituents
opinion
B. Trustee: vote based on personal
opinion
C. Partisan: voted based on party lines
D. Politico: vote in a balanced fashion
taking all things into account
8. States have two senators, regardless of population;
however, in the House of Representatives,
population determines representation. How do we
determine this?
– Every 10 year there is a census. This tells up the
population of jurisdiction.
– Reapportionment and redistricting can occur, which can
give a state more (or less) representation.
– New boundaries drawn must be drawn to comply with
Supreme Court rulings and to make sure districts are
fairly equal in size.
• Gerrymandering: Majority party in state legislature
redraws boundaries for districts to assure that the
new district will re-elect the maximum numbers of
representatives to that house
9. Organization of Congress
– House: Members often vote along party lines,
power is usually hierarchal, they introduce
revenue bills, issue articles of impeachment,
rules committee determines which bill will be
heard by full house after coming from
committee
– Senate: Members behave more independently
of party, power is more evenly distributed,
approve presidential nominations, ratify
treaties and hold trials of impeachment,
senator can filibuster (ultimate debate on a
bill and have to vote cloture to stop)
9. Congressional Leadership
– Speaker of the House (currently John Boehner,
Republican): assigns representatives to committees;
chosen by majority party, assigns bills to committees,
recognizes speakers in debates, rule on the relevance of
motion made during debates and presides over all joint
sessions except electoral count
– President of the Senate = Vice President (Joe Biden,
Democrat)
• But, President Pro Tempore is honorary substitute for Vice
President and majority leader hold real power as the active
leader.
– Job of majority leader: schedules debates, legislative
votes, and rallies party votes
– Job of majority whip: acts as spokesperson for votes,
tries to gather/whip votes on bills