Unit 4 Legislative Branch
Role of Congress - 5 roles?
1 Legislature
2 Representative to their constitution
3. Committee members
4. Servants to their constitution
5.Politicians
# of seats in each Chamber
The house of Reps has - 435 seats based and state pop
Senate has- 100 seats 2 seats per state
Qualifications for each
House
At least 25 years old
US citizen for 7 years
Be in habitant of state where they’re elected
Senate
At least 30 years old
US citizen for 9 years
Inhabitant of state they represent; no period of time to live in State
bills vs resolutions help
bill = proposed law; requires Presidential signature required = rule of law
-most brought to table by 3 ways:
Roles of POTUS
Chief of State
Chief Executive
Chief Administrator
Chief Diplomat
Chief Legislator
Commander in Chief
Chief Economists
Chief of Party
Chief Citizen
Chief of State
Chief Executive
Chief Administrator
Chief Diplomat
Chief Legislator
Commander in Chief
Chief Economists
Chief of Party
Chief Citizen
4 types of Politicians
1 Delegates
2 Trustees
3 Partisans
4 Politicos
census what, why, when
Does a population count every 10 years helps determine the number of seats a state gets in house
Delegated powers (3)
Expressed, Implied, and Inherent
7 steps bill to law
Introduction
In Committee
Scheduling
To the Floor
Debating
Voting
Final Steps
Qualifications of POTUS
Citizenship – Natural Born Citizen; Naturalized citizen cannot be POTUS
Age – “have attained the age of 35”
Residency – “any” 14 years of US citizenship
Term lengths & limits for both Chambers
House of Reps- 2 yrs & no term limit
Senate- 6 yrs & no term limit
- Redistricting/Gerrymandering
Redistricting
State legislative branch tasked with drawing congressional districts
-every district should be similar in size of inhabitants not voters
Gerrymandering
Gerrymandering - the drawing of legislative districts for partisan
advantage = advantage for political party
-weird shapes; leads to over representation of rural areas
currency
-given to Congress to make trade easier among States all using same
currency
Legal tender = coins; no paper $ til 1862 = greenbacks = gold/silver
to coin = stamp metal not print paper money; changed mind 1884
Veto
Chief executive power to reject a bill passed by a legislature
Order of Succession
Vice President
Speaker of house
President pro tempore of the Senate
secretary of state
secretary of treasury
Session Lengths
2 sessions per year=1 session a year
Election dates
Elections for Congress on the same day in each State – Tuesday
following the 1st Monday in November of each even-numbered year
eminent domain
government's power to take private property for public use, provided the owner receives "just compensation," which is typically the fair market value
limited by the 5th amendment the taking property must be for public benefit
filibuster
A stalling tactic in which senators monopolize the Senate floor with talking and other delays so a bill cannot be brought to vote
talk the bill to death
Transfer of Power
25th amendment
If POTUS needs Surgeries, medical issues, worries of inability to rule power is transferred to next in line VICE
Benefits and Pay
174k
fringe benefits= tax reduction 2 homes
travel allowance
medical insurances
retirement
Franking privilege
incumbents
person who currently holds office helps- 90% of House
incumbents are reelected
impeachment
the house accuses bring charges the Senate tries to judge the president to be overthrown
House’s sole power to accuse not Senate to accuse but bring charges
-Impeachment requires majority vote in house 50% +1
-Conviction requires 2/3 (66%) vote in Senate
Why is the necessary Clause and proper referred to as the elastic clause
It allows government to stretch its power to cover everything not written in the constitution in todays time
Executive Order vs Law
Executive orders – directives, rules, or regulations that have the effect of law
Law- passed by Congress