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Chapter 5: Congress: The Legislative Branch

Overture

Section-1 Congress

Section-2 The Powers of Congress

Section-3 The House of Representatives

Section-4 The Senate

Section-5 Congress at Work

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Members of Congress strive to represent the interests of their constituents while keeping in mind the needs of the country as a whole.
Congress is a bicameral legislature with a House of Representatives and a Senate.
Congress plays a vital role in the system of checks and balances.

Section 1 at a Glance

Congress

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Identifying the Main Idea

What groups do members of Congress represent?

Reading Check

Answer(s): individual constituents, groups of constituents, the nation as a whole

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118th United States Congress

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ALABAMA CONGRESS MEMBERS – 119th CONGRESS

▌1. Barry Moore (R)

▌2. Shomari Figures (D)

▌3. Mike Rogers (R)

▌4. Robert Aderholt (R)

▌5. Dale Strong (R)

▌6. Gary Palmer (R)

▌7. Terri Sewell (D)

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FOR THE 119th CONGRESS

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The Two-House Structure

Bicameral legislature proposed at the 1787 Constitutional Convention
Great Compromise combined elements of two previously proposed plans, Virginia Plan and New Jersey Plan
Bicameral system adopted parts of both plans: states would have equal representation in Senate, but proportional representation based on population in House of Representatives

The Structure of Congress {continued}

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Summarizing

What are the key features and purposes of the bicameral structure?

Answer(s): possible answer—two houses with representation in one based on population, the other with equal representation; to balance democratic representation with political stability

Reading Check

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Congress and Checks and Balances

The Power of Advice and Consent

Senate must approve treaties negotiated by president
Senate has power to reject presidential appointees

The Power of the Purse

Only Congress can deny funding requests from executive branch
Through appropriation, Congress can prevent president from carrying out policies

Other Checks and Balances

Begins process of amending Constitution
Can override presidential veto of bill
Congressional oversight: broad powers of executive review

The Impeachment Power

Impeachment power rarely used
Congress can charge officials with wrongdoing, bring them to trial
Process only in cases involving treason, bribery, “high crimes and misdemeanors”

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Congress has extensive expressed, inherent, and implied powers.
The extent of Congress’s implied powers is a subject of debate.
The powers of Congress have expanded over time with the growth of government.

Section 2 at a Glance

The Powers of Congress

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Main Idea

The Constitution gives Congress many expressed powers, and it implies some others. The Constitution also places limits on the powers of Congress.

Congress

Reading Focus

What types of powers does Congress have?
What are the expressed powers of Congress?
What are the implied powers of Congress?
What are some of Congress’s nonlegislative powers?
What are some of the limits on the powers of Congress?
How has the power of Congress changed during U.S. history?

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Defining the Powers of Congress

Three types of powers held by Congress

—Expressed: spelled out in Constitution

—Implied: suggested Constitution in the necessary and proper clause

—Inherent: powers a government maintains simply because it is a government

In addition to granting powers to Congress, the Constitution explicitly denies powers to the legislative branch.

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Contrasting

What is the difference between an expressed power and an implied power?

Reading Check

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Contrasting

What is the difference between an expressed power and an implied power?

Answer(s): An expressed power is specifically granted by the Constitution, whereas an implied power is merely suggested by the Constitution.

Reading Check

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Loose and Strict Constructionists

Founders disagreed about how necessary and proper clause should be defined
Strict constructionists

—Congress should only exercise powers explicitly granted in Constitution

—Known as Antifederalists

Loose constructionists

—Congress should have more freedom to interpret Constitution

—Known as Federalists

Implied Powers of Congress

The Necessary and Proper Clause Today

Has led to expanded federal authority over time

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Powers Common to Both Houses

Conduct investigations
Ability to issue subpoenas and documents that require person to testify

Nonlegislative Powers

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Making Inferences

Why do you think the subpoena power is important for Congress?

Reading Check

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Answer(s): To conduct its investigations honestly and effectively, Congress needs to be able to call people to testify.

Reading Check

Making Inferences

Why do you think the subpoena power is important for Congress?

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Identifying Supporting Details

What are some of the limitations on the powers of Congress?

Reading Check

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Answer(s): possible answer—judicial review, executive veto, constitutional bans against passing bills of attainder and ex post facto laws.

Reading Check

Identifying Supporting Details

What are some of the limitations on the powers of Congress?

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In the twentieth-century Congress expanded its power to meet the needs of the growing nation.

Responded to severe economic crisis in 1930s: provided Social Security and help to unemployed
Post–World War II, responded to new status of nation as dominant world power: created new U.S. Air Force, CIA, NASA
Delegated some powers to federal agencies it created

The Changing Power of Congress

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Membership in the House of Representatives is apportioned to each state on the basis of its population. After each census, seats in the House are reapportioned among the states and new district boundaries are drawn.
The Speaker of the House is one of the most powerful leaders in government.
The House relies on a committee system to conduct much of its business.

Section 3 at a Glance

The House of Representatives

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Main Idea

The House of Representatives, with its frequent elections and regular reapportionment, is the more representative chamber of Congress. Its members carry out much of their work in committees.

The House of Representatives

Reading Focus

What are the key features of the House of Representatives and its membership?
What are some of the challenges that reapportionment and redistricting raise?
How is the leadership of the House organized?
What is the role of committees in the operation of the House?

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Membership in the House

Informal Qualifications

Candidates with military backgrounds, celebrities often popular choices for House membership
Ability to raise significant funds for campaigning is important informal qualification for House membership

Formal Qualifications

House members chosen by direct popular vote
According to Constitution, House is responsible for “Elections, Returns, and Qualifications of its own Members”
Representative must be at least 25 years old and resident of state he or she represents.
Members must also have been U.S. citizen at least 7 years

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Identifying Supporting Details

What are the formal and informal qualifications for membership in the House?

Reading Check

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Answer(s): at least 25 years old, U.S. citizen for seven years, resident of state represented, high voter appeal, ability to raise money

Reading Check

Identifying Supporting Details

What are the formal and informal qualifications for membership in the House?

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One Person, One Vote

According to Constitution, each person’s vote must have same basic value
Gerrymandering has been used to disenfranchise racial minorities
Supreme Court has restricted use of gerrymandering

Reapportionment and Redistricting

Gerrymandering

State governments responsible for creating voting districts within state
Gerrymandering: redrawing district boundaries for political gain

Changes in Population

Each state must have at least one representative
Constitution requires that House redistribute number of seats available to each state every 10 years
Reapportionment based on most current census figures

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Sequencing

What are the steps by which House seats are assigned to different states?

Reading Check

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Answer(s): A census is held; Congress reapportions seats to the states based on the changes in population

Reading Check

Sequencing

What are the steps by which House seats are assigned to different states?

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The Speaker of the House

The presiding officer of the House is called the Speaker of the House.

—Elected by his or her peers

— Member of majority party

The Speaker has authority over much of the business of the House.

— Presides over debates

— Rules on points of order

— Assigns bills to committees

The Speaker is behind the vice president in the line of succession to the presidency.

Leadership in the House

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Making Inferences

What role does the leadership play in running the House?

Reading Check

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Answer(s): possible answer—Leadership sets committee assignments, shapes the House’s agenda and debates, and enforces party discipline.

Reading Check

Making Inferences

What role does the leadership play in running the House?

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The Role of Committees

Other Committees

Select committees: meant to carry out specific task
Joint committees include both House and Senate members; address issues that affect both chambers

Standing Committees

Standing committees: permanent committees that address broad topics
Subcommittees: specialize in areas within a broader topic

Committee Membership

House members usually serve on two standing committees, four subcommittees at a time
Members request assignments based on personal interest, concerns of constituents

Committee Chairs

Position of committee chair very powerful
Chairs chosen by majority party
Position usually goes to most senior member on committee”

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Identifying the Main Idea

What is the advantage of having committees in the House?

Reading Check

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Answer(s): possible answer—Committees divide the workload and allow members to specialize on specific areas of public policy.

Reading Check

Identifying the Main Idea

What is the advantage of having committees in the House?

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Each state has two senators, regardless of population. Like the House, the Senate relies on a system of committees.
Senate traditions, such as open debate, make it a distinctive body.

Section 4 at a Glance

The Senate

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Main Idea

Senators represent entire states, have longer terms, and follow different rules of debate. These features help give the Senate its reputation as a more weighty and careful body than the House.

The Senate

Reading Focus

What are the major features of the Senate and its membership?
What are the Senate’s leadership posts?
What is the role of committees in the Senate?
What are some of the distinctive rules and traditions of the Senate?

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The Power of the Speaker

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Election of Senators

State legislatures originally chose senators
Since 1913, 17th Amendment, elected by direct popular vote

The Senate and Its Membership

Informal Qualifications

Tend to be older and wealthier than House members
Senate does not reflect diversity of U.S. population
Less diverse body than House

Formal Qualifications

Must be at least 30 years old
Must reside in state he or she represents
Must be U.S. citizen at least nine years
Serve six-year terms

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Contrasting

How do requirements for a senator’s seat differ from those for a House member?

Reading Check

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Answer(s): senator, at least 30 years old, instead of 25, must have been a U.S. citizen for at least nine years instead of seven

Reading Check

Contrasting

How do requirements for a senator’s seat differ from those for a House member?

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Senate Leadership

Constitutional Positions

Senate’s presiding officer

—Vice president of the United States is president of the Senate

—Largely ceremonial; votes only in circumstance of tie, casts deciding vote

When presiding officer absent

—President pro tempore presides in absence of president of the Senate, traditionally longest-serving senator of majority party

—Third in line in presidential succession behind Speaker of the House

Party Leaders

Leading the majority

—Senate majority leader most powerful position in Senate

—Chosen by party caucus, works to fulfill party’s agenda in Senate

Minority leader guides work of minority party in Senate

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Identifying the Main Idea and Details

What is the Senate leadership structure?

Reading Check

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Answer(s): President of the Senate presides; president pro tempore presides in the absence of the president of the Senate; Senate majority and minority leaders head their respective parties.

Reading Check

Identifying the Main Idea and Details

What is the Senate leadership structure?

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Committees in the Senate

Membership in Committees

Usually serve on three committees and five subcommittees
Members seek assignments that align with constituents’ concerns and personal interests.

Types of Senate Committees

16 standing committees and dozens of subcommittees
Assignments allow senators to become familiar with specific issues of public policy

Senate Committee Power

Top nominees of president reviewed by relevant Senate committee
Debate and vote on treaties, need two-thirds majority to become law

Committee Chairs

No senator can chair more than one committee
Committee chairmanships generally chosen by seniority rule

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Contrasting

How do committee assignments differ in the House and Senate?

Reading Check

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Answer(s): Senate committee assignments are made by the party caucus rather than by party leaders.

Reading Check

Contrasting

How do committee assignments differ in the House and Senate?

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The Filibuster

Senate places fewer limits on debate than House
Senators may use stalling tactics like filibuster

—Opponents of measure refuse to stop talking hoping to prevent measure from coming to vote

—Cloture can limit filibuster, requires two-thirds vote to end debate

Rules and Traditions

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Rules and Traditions

Discipline in the Senate

Constitution states Senate should judge conduct of own members
Senators can be expelled or censured

Filling Vacancies

Vacancy occurs if senator dies in office or retires during term
State’s governor appoints temporary replacement

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Summarizing

What are some of the unique traditions of the Senate?

Reading Check

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Answer(s): filibuster, cloture, governor-appointed replacements

Reading Check

Summarizing

What are some of the unique traditions of the Senate?

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Should seniority be a determining factor for committee chairs in the House of Representatives and the Senate?

For most of the twentieth century, committee chairs were chosen strictly according to the seniority system, which reserved these posts for the long-serving committee members of the majority party. A series of reforms in the 1970s and 1990s empowered party conferences to elect their committee chairs through secret ballots and set term limits on a chair’s service. Still, committee chairs and ranking minority party members are almost always the longest-serving members of their respective parties on a committee.

Debating the Issue: The Seniority System

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Bills may be introduced in either house and usually get assigned to committees for analysis and revision.
Floor debates differ in the House and Senate.
Differences between House and Senate versions of a bill are resolved in a conference committee.
The president needs to sign a bill for it to become law.

Section 5 at a Glance

Congress at Work

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Main Idea

The main job of Congress is to make laws. The process of making laws is well established and orderly.

Congress at Work

Reading Focus

How are bills introduced in Congress?
What happens to a bill in committee?
What happens to a bill on the floor of the House and Senate?
What is a conference committee?
What actions can a president take on a bill?

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Purpose of Laws

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Bills in Congress

Introducing Bills

Both houses of Congress introduce bills

— Most bills are public and affect entire country

— Private bills affect only one individual or small group of people

Rider: provision added to a bill that has little or no relationship to bill’s main intent

— Usually unpopular provisions unlikely to pass on their own

Other Types of Action

Joint resolution: similar to a bill

— Used for certain circumstances

— Must be signed by president, carries force of law

Concurrent resolutions: address operations in both chambers, do not carry force of law

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Summarizing

What are some of the legislative actions that Congress takes?

Reading Check

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Answer(s): passing bills, passing joint resolutions, passing concurrent resolutions

Reading Check

Summarizing

What are some of the legislative actions that Congress takes?

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Most bills submitted to Congress do not become law.

Bills in Committee

The Subcommittee’s Report

Subcommittee issues report on bill to full committee following hearing
Subcommittee’s report based on majority of committee members’ recommendation
Report can be favorable, unfavorable, neutr

Referral

Bills first referred to particular committee in House or Senate
Bill may later be assigned to subcommittee

Committee and Subcommittee Hearings

Public hearings get input on bills under consideration

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Bills in Committee {continued}

The Markup Process

Full committee further debates bill, considers any amendments
If committee decides to take no further action, bill is virtually killed
Rarely, discharge petition used by House to force bill out of committee

House Rules

House Rules Committee sets rules to govern how bills debated or amended
Some major budget or appropriations bills bypass Rules Committee
Three main types of rules: open, closed, modified

—Open rules allow amendments

—Closed rules forbid amendments� —Modified rules limit amendments

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Summarizing

What are the steps a bill follows while it is in committees?

Reading Check

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Answer(s): assigned to subcommittee, hearings held, subcommittee report, markup process, committee votes on how to report bill to full chamber or takes no action on bill, if approved by committee, bill passes to Rules Committee

Reading Check

Summarizing

What are the steps a bill follows while it is in committees?

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After a bill leaves committee, it moves on for the full consideration by the House or Senate.

The Bill on the Floor

The Bill in the Senate

Requests for debate limits and amendment restrictions require unanimous consent of Senate.
Important bills subject to roll-call votes, as in House

The Bill in the House

House votes to accept rules
Committee of the Whole is formed by all members
Debates bill, recommends amendments
Quorum for Committee of the Whole is only 100
Members must publicly state votes in roll-call vote

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Comparing and Contrasting

How does floor debate on a bill differ in the House and Senate?

Reading Check

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Answer(s): possible answer—The House limits time allowed for debate and the right to offer amendments; the Senate usually does not place such limitations.

Reading Check

Comparing and Contrasting

How does floor debate on a bill differ in the House and Senate?

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Resolving differences between House and Senate versions of a bill is the responsibility of a conference committee.

No formal rules for dual-chamber committee meetings
If conference committee does not reach agreement, bill may die
If conference committee does reach agreement, issues report to both houses
If both House and Senate accept, bill moves on for president’s approval

The Conference Committee

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Comparing and Contrasting

What is the purpose of a conference committee?

Reading Check

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Answer(s): to resolve differences between House and Senate versions of a bill; create a common bill acceptable to both

Reading Check

Comparing and Contrasting

What is the purpose of a conference committee?

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President can sign bill into law
President can choose not to sign bill.

—After 10 days if Congress still in session, bill becomes law

—If Congress adjourns during 10-day period, bill does not become law; known as a pocket veto

President may outright veto bill
Congress can override veto with two-thirds majority vote in both houses

Presidential Action on a Bill

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Summarizing

What are the different ways a president has to reject a bill?

Reading Check

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Answer(s): pocket veto and veto

Reading Check

Summarizing

What are the different ways a president has to reject a bill?

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The Sources of Laws

Where do members of Congress get ideas for legislation and information in deciding which bills to introduce or support? As the people’s representatives, they must be open to ideas from a number of sources.

The executive branch
Constituents
Interest groups

We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution

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