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Necessary and Proper Clause
What is it? why is it good? why could it be bad?
1. it lets congress make laws that are needed to carry out its expressed powers; called the elastic clause because it lets congress stretch its powers if its necessary
2. it lets congress to adapt to new problems that the constitution didn’t specifically mention
3. People worry that it could give congress too much power. It could be to do things the constitution doesn’t allow.
Term Limits
Rules that set how many terms a person can serve in an elected office; Can only serve two terms.
How are senators and representatives distributed among states? Total in each house?
in the House of Representatives, each state gets a number of representatives based on how many people live there. Bigger states get more representatives, and smaller states get fewer. The total number of representatives is 435, and it is updated every 10 years after the census. In the senate, every state gets 2 senators, no matter the population , so all states have equal power. There are 100 senators in total.
Expressed/Enumerated Powers
powers that are written down clearly in the constitution
List several examples of major expressed, implied, and inherent powers of Congress
Expressed: written down
Implied: “common since” powers to help do the written ones
Inherent: powers every country naturally has
Lobbyist
A person who tries to influence lawmakers to support or oppose certain laws; push laws by giving reasons why a law should or shouldn’t happen
What kind of representation do citizens of Washington DC and U.S. territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, etc.) have?
Citizens of D.C. and U.S. territories can send delegates to congress who speak and work in committee but cannot vote on final laws. They also do not have senators like the states.
Single-member District
A voting area that elects only one person to represent it.
which has term limits? President, House members, Senators, Federal Judges
Only the president has term limits (2 terms max)
Continuous Body
A group in government that never completely stops working because only part of it changes at a time; U.S. Senate is a continuous body because ⅓ of senators are up for elections every 2 years, not all of them at once
3 requirements to be a Senator
The Constitution says a person must meet three requirements: they must be at least 30 years old, they must have been a U.S. citizen for at least nine years, and they must live in the state they want to represent when they’re elected.
At-Large Elections
when officials are chosen by all the voters in a whole area (like a city or state) instead of by specific smaller districts.
Why do we have a bicameral legislature?
We have two houses to make laws fair by balancing the power of big and small states and to check each other.
Filibuster
when a senator talks a lot to delay or stop a vote on a law
3 requirements to be a Representative
Have to at least be 25 years old, have to be a U.S. citizen for at least 7 years, and have to be an inhabitant of the state that they represent
who only has 6 terms?
senate
Limited Government
A government that can only do what the law or constitution says it can do.
Deficit spending
what is it? through what expressed power? and its good and bads
1. When the government spends more money than it collects in taxes
2. the government uses it to borrow money on the credit of the United states
Good: It helps the government pay for important programs or emergencies even if there isn’t a lot of money.
Bad: Can lead to more national debt if done too much, which will hurt the economy later on in life.
Implied Powers
powers that the government has that are not written word for word in the constitution, but are needed to do its job.
As a citizen that has an idea for a potential law, who should you contact?
The member of congress, (representative or Senate)
who only has two terms?
the house only serves two terms.
Standing Committee
a permanent committee in congress that focuses on a specific topic or area.