Legislative Branch
By
Sean Shtofman
Congress
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This presentation about the U.S.
Congress has three main topics:
The Sections of Congress
The Powers of Congress
How Congress Works
Sections of Congress
The National Congress
House of
Representatives
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Senate
The National Congress
The Legislative Branch, or Congress,
is also known as the “Law-Making
Branch”.
 This Branch is made up of people
who create laws and make sure that
they coincide with the rights of the
people.
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Bicameralism
 The
United States Congress is
bicameral, which means that it
consists of two houses, the House of
Representatives and the Senate.
 The Senate is set up to reflect the
importance of the states, and the
House reflects the different
populations of each state.
Terms of Congress
Each term of Congress lasts for two years
and each term is numbered consecutively.
Currently we are in the 110th Congress.
 There are two sessions in each term of
Congress, one per year.
 Congress can also meet in special
sessions; that is, meetings called by the
President in order to discuss pressing
issues.
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House of Representatives
 The
total number of seats in the
House is apportioned and distributed
among the States based on their
populations. This is re-assessed after
each decennial census.
 The number of members has held
constant at 435 since 1929 due to the
Reapportionment Act.
House of Reps. Cont…
 The
Reapportionment Act was a
combined census and
reapportionment bill passed by
the United States Congress which
established a permanent method
for apportioning U.S. House of
Representatives seats according
to each census.
The House continued…
 Following
each census, the Census
Bureau is to determine the number of
seats each state should have.
Mo’ House
 When
the Bureau’s Plan is ready,
the President sends the census
document to Congress.
 Within sixty days of receiving it,
the House can reject the plan, but
if they do not, it becomes
effective immediately.
Congressional Elections
 The
Congressional elections are
held on the same day in every state
except for Alaska, which may hold
them in October.
 These elections are held every two
years between presidential
elections.
Congressional Elections
 The
435 members of the House
are chosen by the voters of 435
different congressional districts.
 Congress allows each state to
decide whether to elect its
members by a general ticket
system or on a single member
district basis.
Congressional Elections
Cont..
 Single-member
districts are where the
voters in each district elect one of the
state’s representatives from among a
field of candidates running for the
seat in the House for their district. At
this point all districts are singlemember districts.
Gerrymandering
 Gerrymandering
is the drawing of
electoral district lines to the
advantage of a party or group.
Wesberry v. Sanders
This was a case involving Congressional
districts in the state of Georgia, brought
before the Supreme Court of the United
States. The Court issued a ruling on
February 17, 1964 that districts have to be
approximately equal in population, roughly
geometric in shape, and must reflect the
diversity of the state’s population.
 Only the diversity part has been enforced.

Qualifications for a House Member
• They must be twenty-five years old.
• They have to have been a U.S. citizen
for at least seven years.
• They have to live in the state from
which they are elected.
The Senate
The Senate is made up of two
Senators from each state.
 The Senators are voted for by the
people of the state during the
November elections every evennumbered year.
 They serve six year terms and may be
re-elected to any number of terms.

Qualifications for Senators
•They must be at least thirty years old.
•They must have been a citizen of the
U.S. for nine years.
•They must live in the state from which
they are elected.
Members of Congress
The average member in the Senate is a
white male in his mid fifties.
 In the House, the average age is just over
52 with the same criteria as above.
 There are more women now, who are
starting to become more known in
Congress.
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The Jobs and Responsibilities
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Members of Congress have five major
jobs. They can think of themselves as:
Legislators
Committee Members
Reps. for theirs states or districts
Servants of their constituents
Politicians
Really, they are all of these things.
The “Con” in Congressmen
Congressmen have the power to set the
pay for members, albeit the 27th
Amendment restricts pay increases.
 Each member also receives a number of
fringe benefits.
 Arguably, the most important fringe
benefit is the allowance for a staff,
amounting to several times one’s actual
pay. A generous pension is also provided.

More Congressmen, More “Cons”
Fringe benefits also include cars, medical
insurance paid for by the taxpayer, and
cheap or free loans.
 Some fringe benefits will not be taxed for
members of Congress.
 Then there are those speeches, books and
appearances for which lobbyists pay
handsomely.
 Restrictions exist on what lobbyists can
contribute, but even if they’re not totally
ignored, the law is often bent.
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Powers of Congress
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There are three major types of
Congressional powers.
Expressed powers
Implied powers
Non-legislative Powers
Expressed Powers
These include the power to tax.
 There are two types of taxes. Congress
can impose either one:
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Direct Tax- A tax that must be paid by the
person on whom it is enforced, like on
ownership of a building.
Indirect Tax- A tax levied on one party but
passed to another for payment, like when you
are renting and the landlord includes his real
estate tax in your rent.
The Borrowers

Congress has the ability to borrow
money on the credit of The United
States of America.
Commerce
 The
Commerce Power is the
power of Congress to regulate
interstate and foreign trade.
 The Currency Power is the ability
for Congress to coin money and
regulate the value of it.
Bankruptcy
 Congress
has the power to
release a person or corporation
from any unpaid debts if they
feel it is necessary, as long as
the bankruptcy court agrees.
Foreign Relations and War
Powers
 Congress
has the inherent
power to act on matters
affecting the security of the
nation.
 War Powers- Congress has the
sole ability to declare war.
War Powers
 If
the President starts something on
his own, The War Powers Act
requires him to get Congress’
approval within 60 days (in some
cases, 90 days).
 Congress also has the ability to
raise and support armies, provide
and maintain a navy, and to call
forth a militia.
Implied Powers
 The
Necessary and Proper Clause is
the part of the Constitution that gives
Congress the power to make all laws,
“necessary and proper” for executing
its expressed powers. This is also, for
obvious reasons, often called the
“Elastic Clause”.
Non-Legislative Powers
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Congress may propose an amendment
to the Constitution by a two-thirds vote
in each house.
Congress also has the ability to
impeach, not just the President but
judges as well.
Congress has two executive powers:
Confirm appointments.
Ratify treaties made by the President.
How Congress Works
Major Players In Congress
 Speaker of The House of
Representatives
 President of the Senate
 President Pro Tempore (in absence of
The President of the Senate)
 Committee Chairmen
 Majority and Minority leaders and
Whips.
Floor Leaders and Party Officers
Floor Leaders are members of the House
and Senate picked to carry out party
decisions and steer legislative action to
meet party goals.
 Whips are assistants to the floor leaders,
responsible for monitoring and
marshalling votes.
 The party caucus is a meeting of party
leaders or members to conduct business.
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Committee Chairmen
 They
are the members who head
the standing committees in
Congress.
 Rank
plays a big role in Congress.
 They
go by the seniority rule.
Committees in Congress
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There are four main types of
committees in Congress:
Standing Committees
Select Committees
Joint Committees
Conference Committees
Standing Committee
 The
Standing Committee is a
permanent committee in
Congress to which bills are
referred.
Select Committee
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The Select Committee is a legislative
committee created for a limited time
and for specific purposes.
Joint Committee
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A Joint Committee is the committee
formed when a legislative measure
must be passed by both houses and
approved by the chief executive to
become effective.
Conference Committee
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A Conference Committee is a
temporary joint committee created to
reconcile any differences between the
two houses’ versions of a bill.
Don’t Watch the Cook
(Just Eat the Food)
 As
you know, the process of
passing a bill is complicated.
I’ll end with a chart that may
help you understand it.
President