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• Speaker of the House


  Most powerful person in the House of Representatives, always from the majority party, has agenda powers to decide which bills Congress deals with
• House majority leader


  Also from the majority party, advises the Speaker on big decisions, often handles day-to-day activities
• House minority leader


  Always from the minority party, works with the Speaker and Majority Leader on scheduling, main voice criticizing the majority party
• Senate majority leader


  Always from the majority party, determines majority party strategy, has some agenda powers but not as strong as the Speaker
• Senate minority leader


  Always from the minority party, works with the Majority Leader on scheduling, main voice criticizing the majority party in the Senate
• House Committee Chair


  • Controls committee agenda, can decide to do nothing on a bill (killing it), can amend or rewrite the bill, has strong agenda powers to decide which bills will be acted on
• House Subcommittee Chair


  • Mostly controls subcommittee agenda, can do nothing (killing the bill), can also amend and rewrite the bill, subcommittee votes determine if the bill moves to the full committee
• House rules


  Determines rules of debate, how long debate lasts, what amendments are allowed, the rules committee can make it easier or harder for a bill to pass
• House floor


  All 435 members debate, vote on amendments, vote on final passage, majority (218) required to pass
• Cloture


  60 or more senators cut off debate, there are no rules in the Senate, debate continues until cloture is invoked
• Filibuster


  Senators delay or prevent action on a bill by engaging in unlimited debate, 41 senators can kill a bill during debate
• Senate floor


  All 100 senators debate and amend, cloture required (60 votes), final passage requires 51 votes
• Conference committee


  Members from House and Senate draft a common bill, requires majority vote in both chambers to pass
• Veto override


  Bill becomes law even though the president vetoed it, requires 2/3 vote in both the House and Senate
• Many small groups can kill a bill, many people must approve the bill, committee chairs are very powerful (especially in the House), the president is very powerful, only 5% of bills introduced become law
• Committees


  • Groups of members of Congress that handle specific duties, allow for division of labor and specialization, monitor ongoing governmental operations, hold hearings, propose and revise legislation, recommend courses of action
• Rules committee


  Powerful committee that determines when a bill will be subject to debate and vote on the House floor, how long the debate will last, and whether amendments will be allowed, can make it harder for a bill to pass
• Congressional leaders


  • Speaker of the House: Mike Johnson (R-CA)
  • House Majority Leader: Steve Scalise (R-LA)
  • House Minority Leader: Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
  • Senate Majority Leader: Charles Schumer (D-NY)
  • Senate Minority Leader: Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
• Reapportionment


  After each census (every 10 years), the number of members of the House is reallocated to reflect population movement
• Malapportionment


  If district populations are unequal, the Senate is the most malapportioned legislative body in the world
• Redistricting


  Redrawing House district lines so there is an equal number of people in each district (about 70,000), done by state legislators or non-partisan committees, can result in gerrymandering
• Gerrymandering


  Drawing districts to maximize the influence of a group or political party
• The one person, one vote rule means the vote of one citizen should not be worth more or less than the vote of another
• Congressional district


  A select district of a state that is represented by a House member
• 3 jobs of Congress

  • Legislate (create laws)
  • Represent the public
  • Oversee the executive branch
• Descriptive representation


  A representative shares some characteristic (race, gender, ethnicity) with their constituents
• Substantive representation


  A representative shares opinions with their constituents
• We hate Congress because it moves slowly (to protect districts), members fight each other so Congress looks petty and inefficient, and members tell us how bad Congress is (while being the only ones who can protect us from it). We like our individual member of Congress because they say they will do everything to protect our district, and if they don't keep their constituents happy they can get kicked out of office.
• In the 2020 census, California lost 1 House seat and Texas gained 2 House seats. Both states now have roughly 750,000 constituents in each district. Republicans control the redistricting process in more districts than Democrats.
• In the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder Supreme Court decision, Southern states no longer need federal approval before redistricting to ensure civil rights protections.
• Sources of US federal law

  • Constitution
  • Statutory law (via legislative process)
  • Regulatory process (executive branch)
• Bureaucracy


  A large, complex, hierarchically structured administrative organization that carries out specific functions
• Federal bureaucracy


  Organizations & suborganizations within the executive branch that are tasked w/ putting the laws of the nation into effect 
• Rulemaking process


  Announce proposed set of rules

  2. Allow interested parties to comment

  3. Sometimes required to notify Congress and president of proposal's impacts

  4. If adopted, new rules printed in Federal Register and have the force of law
• Executive branch departments


  • President, Vice President

  White House Staff (political staff like press secretary)

  Executive Office of the President (policy staff)

  Executive departments (15)

  Independent executive agencies (CIA, EPA)

  Independent regulatory agencies (FTC, FCC, FEC)

  Government corporations
• Public expectations for presidents include better financial aid for students, depolarizing Congress, achieving peace in global conflicts, decreasing inflation and unemployment, improving foreign relations, and avoiding impeachment.
• Formal/Constitutional powers of the president

  • Veto (2/3 can overturn)

  Head of administration

  Commander in Chief (but Congress declares war)

  Pardon

  Make treaties (Senate ratifies)

  Appoint judges/executive officials (Senate confirms)

  Report on State of the Union
• Veto


  The president can vote to block a decision
• Executive order


  A presidential proclamation that has the force of law and doesn't need congressional support, but can be reversed by the next president or overturned by Congress
• Presidential appointments to judicial and executive branches

  Judicial: President nominates, Senate confirms

  Executive: Appointed by president, confirmed by Senate