Transcript Chapter 10 Notes

CHAPTER 5 NOTES
CONGRESS Hawksworth-2012
Congress
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The United States Congress is a
Bicameral legislature-it is made up of two houses:
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Senate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj4aMGlf6bA
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House of Representatives
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6LWHFVzjKY
Main function: make laws
Translate public will into the form of a law
Congressional term : Each term of Congress is divided into
two sessions, or meetings. A session lasts one year and
includes breaks for holidays and vacations. Congressional
session: Jan 3rd-Nov/Dec
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What is the difference between a term of
Congress and a session of Congress?
A term of Congress is two years in duration commencing on January 3rd
of each odd-numbered year. A session of Congress, however, is the
annual meeting with each term being divided into two sessions. When
Congress is actually meeting, it is said to be "in session."
Neither the House nor the Senate may adjourn for more than
three days w/o the approval of the other house.
A meeting of Congress called by the President is called a
special session.
For the test: Make sure you know the Republicans now control the HR and the
Democrats still control the Senate. (You don’t need to know the numbers, just
who has the majority.)
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House
Membership
435 Members
5 Delegates Washington D.C.,
Guam, American Samoa, U.S.
Virgin Islands.
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1 Resident
Commissioner (Puerto Rico)
Party Divisions before 2010
election:
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256 Democrats
177 Republicans
0 Independents
2 Vacancies
Party Divisions after 2010
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193 Democrats
242 Republicans
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Senate
Membership
100 Senators
(Vice President votes in case of a
tie)
Party Divisions before 2010
election:
56 Democrats
41 Republicans
2 Independents
1 Vacancies
Party Divisions after 2010
51 Democrats
47 Republicans
2 Independents
House of Representatives – Lower
House
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Min age: 25
Citizen: 7 years
Resident of state
435 (Voting)
members
2 year term
Make sure you know
the qualifications for
the test!
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Salary: $174, 000
Pension: + $150k/yr
The salary for the Speaker is
$223,500 and the salary for
the Majority and Minority
Leaders is $193,400.
Smaller constituencies
Less prestige
Lower visibility
Work done in committees
Know this for the test : **The House was granted its own exclusive powers:
the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach officials, and elect the president in
electoral college deadlocks**The House meets in the south wing of the United
States Capitol.
House of Representatives
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Presiding Officer:
Speaker of the House
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John A. Boehner
(bay-ner) serves
as Speaker of the
United States
House of
Representatives.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi was the former
Speaker of the House. She is a
Democrat.
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The Speaker of the House is
always appointed from the party
that holds the majority in the
House of Representatives.
On November 17, 2010 – his
61st birthday – Boehner was
elected by his colleagues to
serve as Speaker-designate, and
on January 5, 2011 he swore in
the 112th Congress as the 53th
Speaker of the House.
House leadership in the 112th
Congress
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The following members were selected by House Republicans to serve in the
leadership during the 112th Congress:
Speaker of the House John Boehner (Ohio)
Majority Leader Eric Cantor (Virginia)
Majority Whip Rep. Kevin McCarthy (California)
The following members were selected by House Democrats to serve in the
leadership during the 112th Congress:
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (California) is the Democratic Leader of the
U.S. House of Representatives for the 112th Congress.
Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer (Maryland)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgB6-pVzOp4
Senate – Upper House
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Min age: 30
Citizen: 9 years
Resident of state
100 members
6 year term
Make sure you know the qualifications for
the test!
17th Amendment=Direct
election of senators.
Prevented corruption that
had been occurring. State
legislatures were involved
in gerrymandering issues,
helping to get certain
senators elected.
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Salary: $174,000
Pension: + $150k/yr
Larger constituencies
More prestige
Higher visibility
Work split between committees and floor
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Senate
Presiding Officer
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VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN
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Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., was born 11-20-1942, in Scranton,
Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of Delaware and
Syracuse Law School and served on the New Castle County Council.
Then, at age 29, he became one of the youngest people ever
elected to the United States Senate
As President of the Senate, the Vice President
has two primary duties: to cast a vote in the
event of a Senate deadlock and to preside
over and certify the official vote count of the
U.S. Electoral College. For example, in the
first half of 2001, the Senators were divided
50-50 between Republicans and Democrats
and Dick Cheney's tie-breaking vote gave the
Republicans the Senate majority
President Pro Tempore
Robert C. Byrd
Make sure you know the two primary
duties for the test!
Reapportionment vs. Redistricting
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Reapportionment – Every10 years (after each census)
is the process of dividing the 435 memberships, or
seats, in the House of Representatives among the 50
states based on the population figures collected during
the census. The number of seats in the House has grown
with the country
The U.S. resident population includes the total number
of people in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
The resident population of the United States on April 1,
2010, was 308,745,538 an increase of 9.7 percent
over the 281,421,906 counted during the 2000 Census.
Reapportionment
10 years (after each census)
 Each state is guaranteed 1 seat regardless
of population
 Reapportionment Act of 1929
Set the permanent size at 435 members
Seats are based on population of each
state
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
6AYGgk-ygKs
2010 Results for the
th
112
Congress
Redistricting
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After seats are reapportioned district boundary
lines are drawn
Each district should have approximately the same
number of constituents
Gerrymandering
Party
controlling the state government
draws lines.
Lines
are drawn to gain advantage in
elections.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
House @ work….(know red items for
test!)
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Rules: More complex than Senate
Ex.-Rules such as limiting representatives to speaking for
five minutes or less during a debate.
Committees: Most of the work is carried out here. Most Bills
die in committee, and never make it to the floor for a vote.
Representatives tend to specialize in a few issues that are
important to their constituents-the people in the districts
they represent.
Party membership: Majority party in the house organizes
the committees, appoints committee heads, and controls the
flow of bills through the House
House @ work
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Calendars
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Lists bills up for consideration – House- 5 Calendars
Quorum
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Minimum number of members to permit a legislative body to take
official action – 218 members
How
do Representatives obtain permission
to speak?
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In the House, Members stand, address the presiding officer and do not
proceed until recognized to speak. The presiding officer (the Speaker
of the House, Speaker pro tempore or the chairman in the Committee of
the Whole) has the authority to ask Members for what purpose they
seek recognition. The presiding officer may then recognize or not
recognize the Member, depending upon the purpose for which
recognition was requested.
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What is a quorum? A quorum in the House of
Representatives is when a majority of the Members are
present. When there are no vacancies in the
membership, a quorum is 218. When one or more seats
are vacant, because of deaths or resignations, the
quorum is reduced accordingly. Because of Members'
other duties, a quorum often is not present on the
House floor. But any Member may insist that a quorum
must participate in any vote that takes place in the
House. If a member makes a point of order that a
quorum is not present, and the Speaker agrees, a
series of bells ring on the House side of the Capitol
and in the House office buildings to alert Members to
come to the Chamber and record their presence.
Responsibilities of Leaders
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Speaker of the House
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recognize or ignore those who wish to
speak
 Appoints members to committees
 Schedules bills for action
 Follows the V.P. in line of succession to the
Presidency
Responsibilities of Leaders
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Majority Leader
Steers
important bills through the House
Makes sure committee chairpersons
finish work on bills important to the
party
Helps plan the party’s legislative
program
Responsibilities of Leaders
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Minority Leader
Helps
plan the party’s legislative
program
Makes sure committee chairpersons
finish work on bills important to the
party
Responsibilities of Leaders
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Whips
Assist the floor leaders in each house
Chosen by party @ recommendation by the floor
leader
Check with party members and tell floor leader
which members and how many votes can be counted
on
Makes sure that members are present for important
votes/issues
House Member’s Bill
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Member drops bill into hopper
Speaker sends bill to appropriate committee for study
(Most bills die in committee.)
Bill is put onto appropriate House calendar
Bill is put onto Discharge Calendar to force it out of
committee
Bill goes through House Rules Committee-which is like a
“traffic officer” helping to direct the flow and
communication of major legislation.
Bill goes to floor of House for debate, amending, and
vote
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Are there time limitations on debate on the House floor?
In the House, a matter may undergo one hour of debate,
usually equally divided between the majority and the
minority without unanimous consent. Moreover, the majority
can call for the "previous question," and bring the pending
matter to an immediate vote. Non-legislative debate is
limited to one-minute per Member at the beginning of the
day and up to one hour per Member at the end of the
day. In the Committee of the Whole, the period of time
spent in general debate is determined and apportioned in
advance. Amendments are subject to the five-minute per
side rule, but can extend beyond 10 minutes of debate
per amendment. A non-debatable motion to close debate
is in order to end debate on any specific amendment and
bring it to a vote.
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When does a bill become "dead" or no longer
open to consideration?
A bill may be introduced at any point during a two-year Congress. It will
remain eligible for consideration throughout the duration of that Congress
until the Congress ends or adjourns sine die.
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What happens to a bill after it becomes a
law?
The provisions of the law take effect immediately unless the law itself
provides for another date. The law will also specify which executive
departments or agencies are empowered to carry it out or enforce it. The
actual written document is sent to the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA). At the end of each session of Congress, these are
consolidated in a bound volume called U.S. Statutes at Large.
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I'm just a bill,
Yes, I'm only a bill,
And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill.
Well, it's a long, long journey
To the capital city,
It's a long, long wait
While I'm sitting in committee, *most bills die here*
But I know I'll be a law someday...
At least I hope and pray that I will,
But today I'm still just a bill
- Schoolhouse Rock
SENATE
Senate @ work
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Rules: More flexible because of membership
Atmosphere: Informal. Maximum freedom to
express ideas.
Calendars: 2. B/C work is done on the floor
instead of in committees
Senate @ work
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Filibuster: Unlimited debate on a bill in order to
defeat it. Can be ended by a 3/5 vote (60
members)
Filibuster means they are allowed to speak for as
long as they like on the Senate Chamber floor as
long as they stay standing in the Senate Chamber.
The longest filibuster in Texas was in 1977 by a
state Senator who talked for 44 hours! That's
almost two days of non-stop talking. (Senate Kids)
Here are three reasons why a Senator may
filibuster.
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Cloture: Allows each senator to speak only 1 hour
on a bill under debate.
Filibuster videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVc2kMXF_8c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQIG-kfT9bI
Responsibilities of Senate Leaders
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Vice President
 Decides
which members speak first
 Puts questions to a vote
 Influences Senate through personal contacts
What
happens when a Senate vote
is tied?
 The
Vice President of the United States votes
to break ties in the Senate.
Responsibilities of Senate Leaders
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Majority Leader
Plans Senate work schedule and
agenda
Make sure party members attend
important sessions
Organizes party support on key
bills
Responsibilities of Senate Leaders
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Minority Leaders
Develops criticisms of majority
party’s bills
Tries to make their own senators
work together
Responsibilities of Senate Leaders
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Whips
Make sure legislators are present
for key votes
Continuous Body
Senator’s terms are staggered
All seats are never up for election at the same time
33 or 34 seats are up for re-election every 2 years
Purpose of Committees
1.
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4.
Allows members of Congress to divide the
workload among many smaller groups
Select bills that are to receive further review
Help the public learn about key problems facing
our nation. Congressional committees have called
the public’s attention to such issues as organized
crime, the safety of prescription drugs, hunger in
America, airline safety and many other issues.
***Think Toyota Cars***
Standing Committees
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These continue from one chamber of Congress to
another (HS or SH)
Deals with large issues that affect the nation
They continue from one Congress to the next.
Examples: Agriculture, Armed Services, Budget,
Energy and Commerce, Rules, and Appropriations are
some of the standing committees.
Subcommittees
Each of these specializes in a
subcategory of its standing
committees responsibility
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Select Committees (Temporary)
They usually study one specific
issue and report their findings
to the House or Senate
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Joint Committees
Made up of members of both
Houses.
 They act as study groups with the
responsibility for reporting their
findings back to both Houses
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Conference Committees
Set
up when the House and
Senate passed different
versions of the same bill.
Their job is to resolve the
differences between the two
versions
Legislative Reorganization Act
of 1970
Limited the committees
chairpersons and gave other
committee members more
authority
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Seniority System
A member of the majority party with the
longest uninterrupted service on a
particular committee is traditionally
selected as the chairperson
 Changes in the in Seniority System:
 Secret ballots
 1995 – Committee chairpersons placed
on 3-term limit
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What organizations are included in the legislative branch?
In addition to the U.S. Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, the
legislative branch includes the Architect of the Capitol, the Government Printing Office (GPO), the
Library of Congress, and the legislative support agencies. The Architect's principal duties involve the
construction, maintenance, and renovation of the Capitol Building as well as the congressional office
buildings and other structures in the Capitol complex. The GPO publishes the Congressional Record,
congressional committee hearings and reports, and other congressional documents.
The Library of Congress, in addition to providing library
services, research and analysis to the Congress, is also
viewed as a national library but is not officially the
national library.
****Make sure you know what the Library of Congress is for the test.