congress

• bicameral: a legislature made up of two houses
• term: the two-year period during which the U.S. Congress meets, starting at noon on January 3 of each odd-numbered year
• session: for the U.S. Congress, the period of time during which Congress assembles and conducts business, there are two sessions in each term
• adjourn: to suspend operations until the start of the next Congressional session
• recess: to temporarily suspend business (session of Congress)

  • neither house can officially end in a session without the approval of the other house
• prorogue: President can end a session of Congress (rarely used)

  • only if both houses cannot agree on a date to adjourn
• special session: a Congressional meeting called to deal with some emergency situation
• The National Legislature

  • Congress turns the will of the people into public policy by passing laws (legislate)
  • framers believed that Congress would be the most powerful branch of the federal government
  • articles I, II, and III: the Constitution spends more space detailing the powers and structure of Congress than any other branch
  • Congress has been less admired by the people
• Congressional Terms

  • beginning in 1789, Congress has met for two-year terms
  • originally, congressional terms began and ended in March
  • the start date was changed to January 3rd of every odd-numbered year by the 20th Amendment
• Structure of the House of Representatives

  • 435 members
  • 25 years old and a citizen for 7 years
  • 2 year terms
• Structure of Senate

  • 100 members
  • 30 years old and a citizen for 9 years
  • 6 year term
• Speaker of the House

  • third in line for the presidency
  • chooses majority leader
  • sets legislative calendar
  • makes committee assignments
• House of Reps -- Majority Leader

  • helps speaker with duties
  • corals the majority party
• Majority Whip

  • the connection between the majority leader and members
  • rounds up votes and puts pressure on individuals
• House of Reps -- Minority Leader

  • helps speaker with duties
  • corals the minority party
• Minority Whip

  • the connection between the minority leader and members
  • rounds up votes and puts pressure on individuals
• President of the Senate

  • always the Vice President
  • mostly ceremonial role, no real powers (except tiebreaker)
• President Pro Tempore

  • fourth in line for the presidency
  • handles the Senate meetings sometimes
  • longest-serving member of the Majority Party
• (Senate) Majority Leader

  • most powerful person in the Senate
  • schedules the activities of the floor
  • makes committee assignments
  • corals the majority party
  • less power than the speaker (cannot pull a bill)
• What do the Expressed Powers Imply?

  • borrow money
  • establish the Federal Reserve System
  • lay and collect taxes
  • punish tax evaders
  • regulate the sale of some commodities (alcohol + drugs)
  • regulate States to meet conditions to qualify for funds
  • raise and maintain a navy
  • drafting Americans into the military
  • regulate commerce
  • establish minimum wage
  • ban discrimination
  • pass laws for the disabled
  • regulate banking
  • establish naturalization laws
  • immigration -- number to enter a country
  • establish post offices
  • prohibit mail fraud
  • ban shipping of some items through it
• Article 1, Section 8 -- Congress has the power to:

  • lay and collect taxes
  • pay debts, provide for the common defense and general welfare
  • need to be uniform throughout the United States

  1. excise (sin) tax: extra money a government can use
  2. to borrow money on the credit of the United States
  3. regulate commerce with foreign nations, among states, and with Indian tribes
  4. establish a uniform rules of naturalization and on bankruptcies
• Non-Legislative Powers of Congress

  • impeachment -- Senate officials
  • confirming appointments and treaties
  • oversight function
• delegate: a lawmaker who acts as the representative of the people who live within their district even if it means going against personal views
• trustee: a lawmaker who acts based on their personal judgements regardless of what their constituency wants -- more independent
• partisan: a lawmaker who acts in accordance with that party platform and party leaders (very little compromise occurs)
• bipartisan: percentage of people in Congress who are voting against what their party wants
• politico: a lawmaker who tries to combine the approaches of the delegate, trustee, and partisan (very difficult)
• Additional Functions of Congress

  • overseeing the bureaucracy
  • building consensus
  • clarifying and legitimizing policy
  • representing diversity
• apportion: distribute seats in House of Representatives among States according to population
• reapportion: to redistribute the seats in the house every ten years, after each census
• (mid-term election) off-year election: a Congressional election that takes place in between presidential elections
• single-member district: an election district from which voters elect a simple state representative to the House of Representatives
• at-large: an election system in which all candidates are elected from the state as a whole, rather than from a single district
• incumbent: the person who currently holds political office
• Reapportionment Act of 1929: fixed the size of the House (425)
• Redistricting

  • redistricting: state legislatures redraw the boundaries of House congressional districts according to population changes
  • may involve:
  • splitting a district in two
  • combining two districts
• Gerrymandering: drawing the borders of districts to favor one political party 

  • tactics include:
  • dividing voters against districts (cracking)
  • isolating minorites in a district (packing)
  • not illegal -- no one can prove that politicians purposely changed lines
• Options to Reduce/Prevent Gerrymandering

  • drawing done by bi-partisan electoral committee
  • politically independent commission does it
  • use mathematics
  • pay legislators to divide the divisions equally
• The Committee System

  • most of the actual WORK of Congress happens in committees
  • two purposes: 
  • researching, writing, and debating bills
  • oversight function
• bills: proposed ideas (anyone can have an idea)