Congress

• Congress - legislative branch with bicameral structure
• Upper chamber - Senate
• Lower chamber - House of Representatives
• Congress = 535 members total

  Senate = 100 members

  HOR - 435
• Connecticut Compromise 1787 = provided bicameral legislature using a dual system of representation -> Senate + HOR
• Congress possess enumerated powers (explicit powers) granted to the federal government by US constitution
• House of Representatives:

  • 435 members from congressional districts
  • no. of representatives allocated to each state is proportional to its population, so the more populous states receive more representatives
  • each state is divided into areas called congressional districts + each member represents their districts
  • members serve 2-year term before being re-elected + when elections occur, the entire house is up for re-election
  • HOR is led by Speaker of House + Majority + Minority leaders
• Senate:

  • consists of 100 members, 2 from each state
  • Senators serve 6-year terms
  • every election cycle, 1/3 of Senators are re-elected
  • senate is led by Vice President aka President of the Senate
  • in practice, Senate is led by the Majority Leader
  • power of unlimited debate -> delay legislation of disrupt passage of legislation through filibuster
• Filibuster - if no other Senator is speaking, a senator who seeks recognition can speak for as long as they wish to kill off a bill

  example - 1957, Senate of South Carolina, Strom Thurmond filibustered a Civil Rights Act for 24 hr 18mins
• Cloture Motion - if 3/5 of Senators vote to end a filibuster, they can
• Congressional committees:

  • Congress has standing committees which shadow departments of Federal Government + select committees are used for special investigations
• Powers of Congress:

  • Concurrent Powers
  • Powers of House
  • Powers of Senate
• Concurrent powers:

  • equal legislative power
  • override presidential veto
  • initiate constitutional amendments
  • declarations of war
  • confirm appointed Vice Presidents
• Powers of the House:

  • initiate money bills
  • vote on impeachment
  • elect a president should the electoral college deadlock
• Powers of the Senate:

  • confirm presidential appointments
  • ratify treaties
  • try the accused in cases of impeachment
  • elect the vice president in the case of electoral college deadlock
• Caucus system - method of choosing the nominees for President from political parties in the states.
• Congressional caucuses - refers to the smaller groups that exist within the wider party groupings
• Gridlock - situation where there is difficulty passing laws that satisfy the needs of the people
• Incumbent - an individual who currently holds an elected office or position.
• Partisanship - used to describe the support that a party gets from its supporters in opposition to the parties political opponents
• Unanimous consent - a situation where no member present objects to a proposal