CONGRESS
ARTICLE I, SECTION 8
Expressed (formal) powers are granted to
Congress in the direct language of the
Constitution:
levy taxes
pay debts
borrow money
regulate interstate commerce
regulate commerce with foreign nations
ARTICLE 8, SECTION 8
Expressed (formal) power
pass laws
create appellate courts
raise and support armies
declare war
NECESSARY AND
PROPER CLAUSE
The elastic clause authorizes Congress to pass
laws necessary and proper for carrying out its
enumerated powers.
Implied (informal) powers are not directly given in
the Constitution.
In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), the Supreme
Court ruled that Congress has the right to
establish a national bank.
The War Powers Resolution (1973) was passed
using implied powers.
SAMPLE MULTIPLE
CHOICE
Which of the following constitutional provisions broadened
the power of Congress?
a. The necessary and proper clause
b. The equal protection clause
c. The Tenth Amendment
d. The Ninth Amendment
e. The eminent domain provision in the Fifth Amendment
CHECKS ON OTHER
BRANCHES
Checks on the president:
 Override a veto with a 2/3 vote of both houses
 Congress holds the purse strings and must
approve the budget.
 The Senate confirms judicial and cabinet
appointments.
 The Senate ratifies treaties.
 Impeachment (majority vote in House to hold
trial, Senate must convict with 2/3 vote)
SAMPLE FRQ
Members of Congress are charged with three primary
duties—writing laws, overseeing the implementation of laws,
and serving the needs of their constituents.
(a) Describe the role of each of the following in lawmaking.
Senate filibuster
House Rules Committee
Conference committee
(b) Describe one method by which Congress exercises
oversight of the federal bureaucracy.
(c) Explain how casework affects members’ attention to
legislation.
WAR POWERS
RESOLUTION OF 1973
President must, whenever possible, consult with Congress
before deploying troops.
President must notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying
troops.
Troops must be withdrawn within 60 days unless Congress
grants an extension.
WAR POWERS
BUDGET IMPOUNDMENT
AND CONTROL ACT
Creates the Congressional Budget
Office.
The president must submit a
budget to Congress.
Sets a budget calendar.
The budget is adopted in a
concurrent (both houses)
resolution, not signed by the
president.
The president must spend the
money appropriated by Congress.
LIMITS OF
CONGRESSIONAL POWER
Presidents have ways of influencing/limiting the power of
Congress:
Issue an executive order
Sign an executive agreement
Use the “bully pulpit” to rally public support for a
policy
Veto legislation
Claim an electoral mandate
Honeymoon period
Commander-in-chief, ignore War Powers Resolution
LIMITS ON
CONGRESSIONAL POWER
CHECKS ON OTHER
BRANCHES
Checks on the bureaucracy:
The Senate confirms agency heads.
Congress can cut the budget.
Congress can eliminate the agency.
Congress can write clarifying legislation.
Congress can limit the agency’s authority.
Congress can hold oversight hearings in
which a member of the bureaucracy is called to
testify.
SAMPLE MULTIPLE
CHOICE
Congressional oversight refers to the power of Congress to
a. override presidential vetoes.
b. hold public hearing before confirming judicial
appointees.
c. exercise some control over executive agencies.
d. allow nongovernmental agencies to defend or refute
pending legislation publicly.
e. seek judicial opinion on the constitutionality of pending
legislation.
LIMITS OF
CONGRESSIONAL POWER
The bureaucracy has ways of
limiting the influence of
Congress:
The bureaucracy writes
regulations (administrative law).
Bureaucrats have
administrative discretion.
The bureaucracy is large
and difficult to manage.
CHECKS ON OTHER
BRANCHES
Checks on the Courts:
The Senate must
approve all federal
judges.
Congress can change
the courts’ jurisdiction.
Congress can change
the number of judges.
Congress can rewrite
legislation.
SAMPLE MULTIPLE
CHOICE
Which of the following is a way Congress can influence the
federal judiciary?
a. It can prohibit judicial activism.
b. It can filibuster decisions made by courts.
c. It can change appellate jurisdiction of federal courts.
d. It can review federal judges for reappointment every ten
years.
e. It can exercise oversight authority over rulings of
individual justices.
LIMITS OF
CONGRESSIONAL POWER
The Courts can limit the
influence of Congress.
Judicial review is used to
overturn an act of
Congress (or the states or
an executive action that is
unconstitutional).
ELECTIONS
The House:
Elected every 2 years
Represents congressional districts
The Senate:
Election every 6 years (1/3 is up for election every two
years)
2 per state
Selected by state legislatures until the 17th
Amendment provided for direct election
GERRYMANDERING
Gerrymandering is when congressional district boundaries
are drawn to benefit a political party.
Congressional district boundaries are drawn by state
legislatures.
Reapportionment is when a state gains or loses seats in the
House after the census.
Redistricting is the changing of district boundaries to make
them roughly equal in population.
“Cracking” is breaking up a district to weaken a group’s
political power.
“Packing” is drawing a district in which one predominant
group resides.
INCUMBENCY
ADVANTAGE
Incumbents (those already in office) usually win.
House members run in “safe” districts.
Challengers receive less media coverage.
Congressional staff conduct casework in which they
provide services to constituents.
Members bring projects to their states through pork
barrel spending.
Franking privilege allows members of Congress to
send mail to constituents for free.
Incumbents hold “town halls.”
Can claim credit for legislation.
INCUMBENCY
ADVANTAGE
Members of the House are reelected at greater rates than
members of the Senate.
Shorter terms, always running for reelection, name
recognition
Live in safe districts
Smaller constituency
Easier to make personal contact
Easier to provide casework
INCUMBENCY
ADVANTAGE
BICAMERALISM
Congress is a two-house legislature.
This provides an intra-branch check.
This makes Congress deliberative.
The Senate is the upper house, representing states
(the elite).
The House is the lower house directly representing
the population.
HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES
435 members
More hierarchical and
centralized
Seniority more important
Party-line voting more
common
Led by the Speaker of the
House
House Rules Committee can
limit debate
SPECIAL POWERS OF
THE HOUSE
Initiate revenue
bills (taxes)
Pass Articles of
Impeachment
THE SENATE
100 members
The upper house, more prestigious
More influential in foreign affairs
Less specialized
Seniority is less important
Filibuster allows a senator to talk a bill to death (not
mentioned in the Constitution)
A motion for cloture (to end a filibuster) requires 60 votes.
SPECIAL POWERS OF
THE SENATE
Confirm all federal judges
Confirm cabinet level appointments
Ratify treaties
Hold impeachment trial (makes the final decision of whether
to convict and remove the president)
TREATY
CONFIRMATION
SAMPLE MULTIPLE
CHOICE
Which of the following powers is shared by the House of
Representatives and the Senate?
a. Holding trials of impeachment
b. Establishing federal courts
c. Approving treaties
d. Holding confirmation hearings
e. Approving major presidential appointments
LEADERSHIP
POSITIONS
Speaker of the House:
Presides over the House
Makes committee assignments
Selects committee chairs
Assigns bills to committees
Spokesperson for the party (when different from the
president’s party)
Provided for in the Constitution
Second in line for presidential secession.
LEADERSHIP
POSITIONS
The real leader of the Senate is the majority leader, not
president pro tempore.
Although the Constitution says the vice-president leads the
Senate, his only position is to break a tie vote. Therefore, the
vice-president is NOT a leadership position in Congress.
The majority leader schedules bills, influences committee
assignments and rounds up votes.
The minority leader heads the minority party in the House or
Senate.
Whips work with the leaders to count votes beforehand and
lean on waverers.
COMMITTEES
Where most of the work of
Congress is done
Party membership on
committees reflects party
membership in the body as
a whole.
Allow members to develop
expertise in policy areas.
Members are chosen by the
Speaker of the House and
Senate Majority Leader.
COMMITTEES
Committee chairs are usually chosen by seniority: the
member from the majority party who has served on the
committee the longest usually becomes chair.
Committee chairs set the agenda.
Committee members manage bills when they are sent to the
floor and give cues to the members of their party.
A discharge petition is a way of bypassing leadership by a
vote of the committee to send a bill to the floor.
Logrolling is trading votes for favors (I’ll vote for your bill if
you’ll vote for mine).
TYPES OF
COMMITTEES
Standing—the most common type. Permanent, handle bills in
different policy areas. This is where most of the work of
Congress occurs. Senate Finance Committee.
Joint—contain members from both the House and the
Senate. Joint Budget Committee.
Select—appointed for a specific purpose, like investigating
intelligence agencies after 9/11
Conference—iron out differences in language when the
House and the Senate pass different versions of a bill.
STANDING
COMMITTEE
IMPORTANT
COMMITTEES
House Rules Committee—reviews bills, schedules bills on
the calendar, sets rules for debate, specifies the kind of
amendments, assigns bills to committees.
Senate Finance Committee—determines how to pay for
government programs.
House Ways and Means Committee—reviews revenue bills.
Appropriations Committee—allocates funds for particular
programs.
SAMPLE MULTIPLE
CHOICE
Which of the following committees plays a major role in the
House in shaping tax policy?
a. Finance
b. Ways and Means
c. Commerce
d. Appropriations
e. Governmental Affairs