Legislative Branch

1
Legislative Branch
The First branch of the Federal Government set up
by Article I of the Constitution
More commonly referred to as the Congress
2
The Legislative Branch makes the nations laws,
and its members are the human connection between
the citizens and the government
This branch insures that we will forever be a
Representative Democracy
3
The Legislative Branch is bicameral or split into
2 houses the Senate and House of Representatives
The House of representatives is the larger of the
2 houses, often referred to as the lower house,
it currently has 435 members
The Senate is the smaller with only 100 members
and is referred to as the upper house
4
The House of Representatives
Number of Reps. Is determined by population
Must be a U.S. citizen for 7 years
Must be 25 years old
Must live within the state where they are elected
Are elected by voters of their district
2 year terms
5
The Senate
Each state gets 2 Senators
Must be 30 years old
Must be a U.S. citizen 9 years
Must live in state elected
Elected to a 6 year term
Elected by voters of their state
6
Organization
Congress hold regular sessions every year
beginning on Jan. 3, During a time of Emergency
the President can call them back earlier
The political party with the most members is
called the majority party and the one with fewer
members is the minority party
The leader of the House is called the Speaker of
the House and is usually a member of the majority
party
The Vice President presides over the Senate and
only has a vote in the case of a tie
7
Committees
Most work of the Legislative Branch takes place
in committees here bills are proposed and debated
before they are finally voted on
8
Legislative Branch