How Congress is Organized
This legislative body has equal representation for each state.
What is: Senate?
Most states have this kind of legislature.
What is: bicameral?
These powers are explicitly listed in the Constitution.
What is:
- expressed powers?
When a bill is first introduced in Congress, it is sent here.
What is:
- the appropriate committee
This term refers to a legislature made of two houses.
What is:
- bicameral?
This is how many members are in the House of Representatives.
What are: 435 members?
This U.S. state has a unicameral legislature.
What is: Nebraska?
This lets Congress stretch their powers to meet new needs.
What is:
- the Elastic Clause?
This is one action a committee can take when considering a bill.
What is:
- Pass
- Suggest pass with changes
- replace it
- Kill it
- Let it expire
This term refers to the Senate procedure to end debate & stop a filibuster.
What is:
- Cloture
This is the length of a U.S. senator's term, with 1 / 3rd of the entire Senate up for grabs every two years.
What is: 6 years?
These are two duties state legislatures perform that are similar to the U.S. Congress.
What are:
- Pass laws
- Refer bills to committees
This chamber has the power to impeach, while the other chamber holds the actual trial for impeachment.
What is:
- House, Senate?
This term refers to an extended debate to delay a vote by talking a lot.
- a filibuster
This term refers to a court order that requires authorities to bring a prisoner before the court to justify their holding.
What is:
- Writ of Habeas Corpus
This is the overall leader of the House chosen by the majority party.
Who is: Speaker of the House?
This term refers to the inequality of districts' population & was handled in the 1960s by the Supreme Court.
What is:
- Malapportionment
These are two non-legislative powers held by Congress or the Senate.
What are:
- Confirming / rejecting presidential nominees
- Propose Constitutional Amendments
If a bill passes one house WITH amendments, this happens next.
What is:
- Referred back to the OG house to be confirmed
This term refers to a law that punishes a person without a judicial trial, which is prohibited.
What is:
- Bill of attainder
This was the original Founding Fathers' goal for the legislative branch.
What is:
- They wanted to make the legislative branch the strongest of the three branches?
After a member introduces a state bill, these 3 - 4 steps follow.
What is:
- Gets sent to the appropriate committee
- Sent to the first house to vote
- Sent to the other house to discuss & vote
- Governor signs or vetoes
These are two limits tucked within the Legislative Branch.
What is:
- Writ of Habeas Corpus
- Bills of Attainder
What is:
- Sign into law
- Veto
- Ignore for 10 days & become law
- Pocket veto
This term refers to the accusation of a federal official of misconduct.
What is:
- impeachment