Powers of Congress
Where does Congress gain authority for it's enumerated powers?
Article I of the U.S. Constitution
How many members are in each house of Congress?
House of Representatives: 435
Senate: 100 (2 from each state)
How old does someone have to be to run for the House or Representatives?
25 years-old
What is the first step in the law making process?
Introduce a bill
Define: Bicameral
Made up of two chambers
(example: Congress is bicameral because it is made up of the House of Representatives & the Senate)
Implied powers are found in the _________ clause of the U.S. Constitution, which states "to make all laws that shall be _______________ & ____________ for carrying into execution the foregoing powers..."
Elastic Clause; Necessary & Proper.
1. “All legislative powers. . .shall be vested in a ________ of the United States”
— U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 1
2. What is the job of this legislative body?
To _______________ the laws.
“All legislative powers. . .shall be vested in a Congress of the United States”
Where do Senators and members of the House of Representatives have to live to meet the qualifications of running for Congress?
Bonus: What is a District?
House of Representatives: Must live in the state & the district they want to represent.
Senate: Must live in the state they want to represent.
A district is a portion of a state that is determined based on population. A district has a single representative.
After the first three steps are completed in the law making process, who is the bill turned over to?
Bonus: Does a bill have to start in a specific house of Congress?
Turned over to the other house of Congress so the process can be repeated.
Bonus: No, a bill can start in either house unless it is a tax or spending bill which must be started in the House of Representatives.
Define Majority Leader & Minority Leader
Majority Leader: Manages the interests of the majority party in either the Senate or House of Representatives.
Minority Leader: Manages the interests of the minority party in either the Senate or House of Representatives.
Example: In the House of Representatives, the Democratic party has a 53% majority in the number of members they have in the house while the Republican party has a 45% minority in the number of members they have in the house. Therefore, the leader of the Democratic party in the house is the majority leader and the leader of the Republican party in the house is the minority leader.
Name three powers Congress has to check other branches of government
Regulating trade between states, immigration laws, and naturalization laws are examples of what type of power that Congress possesses.
Enumerated/Delegated powers - Powers specifically listed in Article I of the Constitution (also known as Enumerated powers)
What are the citizenship requirements of running for Congress?
House of Representatives: has to be a citizen for at least 7 years
Senate: has to be a citizen for at least 9 years
What is the difference between a committee and a conference committee? Which one occurs first in the law making process?
A committee is used to gain knowledge on a proposed bill and discuss the details in a bill before it is debated and voted on. A conference committee is used to work out the differences between the proposals of both houses of congress. Both houses work together to approve a bill they can both agree on.
The Committee stage occurs in each house before a Conference Committee can take place.
Define: Speaker of the House & President Pro Tempore
President pro tempore: Presides over Senate proceedings when the Vice President of the United States, who usually presides over the Senate, is absent.
Speaker of the House: Presides over proceedings in the House of Representatives
The Venn diagram below compares two types of powers under the U.S. Constitution
Which description completes the Venn diagram?
Powers needed to carry out the enumerated powers - The Venn Diagram illustrates the powers of Congress (enumerated and implied). Enumerated powers are written in the constitution while implied powers are necessary and proper to carry out their powers already written in the Constitution.
Which official chairs the proceedings in the U.S. House of representatives and Which official chairs the proceedings in the Senate?
Who leads the Senate when this person is absent?
Speaker of House chairs the proceeding in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Vice-President chairs proceedings in the Senate. The President pro Tempore chairs proceedings in the Senate when the Vice-President is absent.
Mr. Swan was born in Nowhere, Colorado to Bangladeshi parents in 1965. He moved to Timbuktu, Mali, at the age of 7 and moved to New York City at the age of 18 to study Engineering at NYU. At 26, Mr. Swan decides to run for the open Senate seat for New York State when Senator Marty Finklebatten Jr. suddenly resigns after a tax evasion scandal.
Does Mr. Swan qualify to run for Senate and why?
No. Although Mr. Swan was born a US citizen and lives in New York but, he is not yet 30 years old and cannot run for Senate.
What step is missing in the law-making process
Sent back to both chambers for review and approval – after both houses agree on a bill, the bill is sent back to both houses and each house will vote on the bill one last time.
Define Committee and provide examples of types of committees.
Committee: Working groups of members from both political parties in Congress who consider the details of proposed legislation. They research and gain knowledge on a proposed bill and may make changes.
Standing Committee: Permanent Committee that handles the issues that are the focus of our government
Special (or select) Committee: A temporary committee set-up to deal with an issue that is outside the usual subject covered by the standing committees
Conference Committee: Temporary group of House & Senate members formed for working out differences in a bill that has passed both chambers
Name 5 enumerated/delegated powers of congress
Joe Schmo was born in Canada and is 26 years old. He moved to Miami, Florida, when he was six.
What actions would Joe have to had take in order to run as a candidate for the House of Representatives?
Joe would have to had become a citizen at least 7 years prior to running for a seat in the House of Representatives.
What are all of the actions that Congress takes in the law-making process and what are the actions that the president can take when a bill is passed in both houses?
Both Houses must:
- introduce the bill
- assign committee(s) to the bill
- debate and vote on the bill
- discuss compromises and approve a bill that both houses can agree on
- review and approve
When given a proposed bill, the President can:
-Sign (pass) the bill into law
-Veto (reject) the bill (can be overturned with a 2/3rds vote in congress)
- Do nothing; after 10 days, if congress is still in session then the bill will automatically be passed but if congress is not in session it will automatically be rejected (pocket veto)
Define: Special interest groups & Lobbyists
How may one of these help the other?
Special Interest Groups: People who are concerned with a particular issue and who try to influence lawmakers to act in their favor.
Lobbyist: Hired to help persuade legislators to vote for or against a bill.
Special interest groups typically hire lobbyists to influence lawmakers for them since many interest groups do not have the resources or influence they may need to affect the changes that they want.