CHAPTER 5A

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CHAPTER 5ATHE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH(SECTIONS 1
2)
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SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

• 1. The government is divided into three
• branches.
• a. Legislative
• b. Executive
• c. Judicial
• 2. Each branch has a different function.
• 3. The members of each branch are chosen
• in different ways.
• 4. Each branch has the same amount of
• power.

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• 5. Congress is the legislative branch.
• a. Established by Article 1 of the
• Constitution.
• 6. Law MAKING branch of government.
• 7. Congress is bicameral - made up of
• two houses.
• 8. Bicameral legislature
• a. Provides a system of checks and
• balances. (Slows law making)
• b. Compromise between large and
• small states.

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IN YOUR SMALL GROUPS DISCUSS WHY IT WAS IMPORTANT
FOR SMALL AND LARGE STATES TO COMPROMISE. WHAT
WOULD YOU HAVE DONE DIFFERENT?

• LIST SOME ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES HAVING
  A BICAMERAL LEGISLATURE.

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• B. House of Representatives (435 members)
• 1. Elections are held first Tuesday after
• the first Monday in November, even
• numbered years.
• 2. Number of Representatives is based
• on state population.
• a. Based on census - official
  counting
• of the people every 10 years.
• b. Each state must have at least one
• representative. (Minnesota has
  8)

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• c. Congressional Districts - each
• Representative is elected by the people
  
• in a separate geographical location.
• d. Greenbush-Middle River is located in
• District 7. (Collin Peterson
• representative)
• e. Reapportionment - rearranging of
• congressional districts to allow for
• changes in population.

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• f. This can often lead to fighting
• between the two parties.
• g. Gerrymandering - process of drawing
• district lines to favor a certain
  party.
• - Is legal but very hard to do.

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• C. Senate (100 members)
• 1. Each state chooses two Senators.
• a. Senators were chosen by the state
• legislature until the 17th
• amendment.
• b. Hold office for six years.
• c. Terms are staggered - terms of
• office do not begin at the same
  time.
• d. Elections are held every two years.
  
• - Same date as the House.
• -1/3 of the seats are up for
  reelection.

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• e. Are chosen by the whole state.
• f. Minnesotas two Senators are Al
• Franken and Amy Klobucher.
• 2. Incumbents are hard to beat in any
• election.
• a. Incumbent - person who currently
• holds office and is up for
  reelection.

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• D. Qualifications of Members
• 1. Representatives - 25 years old, U.S.
• citizen for 7 years, legal resident in
• state he/she represents.
• 2. Senators - 30 years old, U.S. citizen
• for 9 years, legal resident in state
• he/she represents.

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• E. Salary and Benefits
• 1. Salary (141,300/ year) for both
• House and Senate members.
• a. Can Congress set its own salary?
• - 27 amendment says that no
• increase in congressional pay
  can
• take effect until after the next
  
• congressional election.

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• 2. Benefits - retirement plan, low-cost
• insurance policies, free office space,
  
• free use of postal service to send mail
  
• to people they represent (franking
• privilege), funds to travel home to
• meet with people they represent.
• 3. Members can not be arrested when
• they are in Congress or are on their
• way to or from a meeting.
• 4. Can not be sued for anything they say
• while speaking in Congress.

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• F. Rules of Conduct
• 1. Code of Ethics - Set of guidelines for
• the behavior of members of Congress.
• 2. 3 types of punishment for members of
• Congress who are accused of breaking
• the Code of Ethics.
• a. Reprimand - scolding (mildest form)
• b. Censure - condemnation of the
• members behavior. (Newt
• Gingrich)

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• c. Expel or remove from membership.
• - Most extreme case
• - 2/3 vote needed
• - Limited to serious crimes such as
  
• treason and murder.
• 3. It is not easy for any group of people to
  
• punish one of its own members.
• a. Most wrongdoing takes place
• because of money.

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• 4. List and Describe Abscam a.
  Early 1980s arrest of six
  representatives and 1 Senator.
• FBI agents pretended to be Arab
  businessmen and offered bribes to
  certain members of Congress.
  b. Bribe - an illegal payment in
• order to obtain a special favor.

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• IN YOUR SMALL GROUPS DISCUSS 4 WAYS IN WHICH
  CONGRESS HAS TRIED TO LIMIT THE MONEY RECEIVED MY
  A MEMBER OF CONGRESS.LIST 4 WAYS IN WHICH YOU
  WOULD HANDLE THE PROBLEM(YOU HAVE 5 MIN.)

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HOW CONGRESS IS ORGANIZED

• 1. Beginning with the first Congress in
• 1789, each Congress has been
• identified by number.
• a. Congress that began in 2011 was
• called the 112th Congress.
• A. Terms and Sessions
• 1. Each term of Congress there are two
• regular terms or sessions.

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• a. The first session begins on January
• 3 in the odd-numbered year
• following the congressional
• election.
• b. The second session begins on
• January 3 of that following year.
• c. Sessions usually last from January
• to September.
• - President can call a special
  session
• of Congress at any time.
• - Joint session - House and Senate
• meet together.

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• B. Organization
• 1. The Constitution provides for three
• directing officers.
• a. Speaker of the House, President
• of Senate and President Pro
• Tempore.
• 2. Shortly after a session begins
• members of the two parties have
• private meetings.
• a. Caucuses - members of each party
• choose their own leaders.

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• 3. Majority Party - party with the most
• members in each house.
• 4. Minority Party - party with fewer
• members than the majority in each house.
• 5. Majority Leader - Leader selected by the
• majority party in each house.
• 6. Minority Leader - Leader selected by the
• minority party in each house.
• 7. Whip - Assistant to the majority and
• minority leader of each party.

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• a. Responsible for seeing that members
• of his\her party are present when a
• vote takes place.
• b. Persuades members to vote one way or
• another.

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• C. Leaders in the House
• 1. Speaker of the House - Presiding
• officer of the House of
• Representatives. (171,500)
• a. He or she may vote on all matters.
• b. Is selected by majority party of
• House.

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• D. Leaders of the Senate
• 1. Vice-President of the U.S. is also
• president of the Senate.
• a. Vice President only votes in case
  of
• a tie.
• b. Vice President rarely attends
• Senate meetings.

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• 2. President Pro Tempore - Serves as
• President of the Senate if the Vice
• President is absent or becomes
• President of the U.S.
• a. Is selected by the majority party
  of
• the Senate.

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• E. The Double Personality of Congress
• 1. House has many more rules than the
• Senate.
• 2. Power in the House is more tightly
• concentrated in the hands of House
• leaders.
• 3. Senators are much more nearly equal
• in power.

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• 4. Senators are much more independent.
• a. Amount of debate time spent in the
• House is more closely monitored.
• b. In the House discussion of a
• proposal for a law must come to an
• end if a majority votes to end it.
• c. In the Senate 2/3 vote is needed in
• order to stop discussion.
• d. A minority of the Senate can stop a
• bill from going to vote by talking
  it
• to death. (filibuster)

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• 5. Reporters pay more attention to
• senators. (They are more powerful)
• a. Why??
• 6. Senators are more likely to run for
• President.

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ASSIGNMENT

• FIND THE FOLLOWING
• 1. Majority and minority parties.
• 2. Majority and minority leaders in both
• House and Senate.
• 3. Majority and minority whip leaders in
• both the House and Senate.
• 4. Speaker of the House
• 5. President of the Senate
• 6. President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
• 7. Longest standing member in the House
• or Senate.

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• F. Committees
• 1. Most Congressional work is done in
• committees.
• a. Committees - groups of senators and
  
• representatives who study bills.
• -bill - proposed law
• b. Standing committees - permanent
• committees in each house. (pg. 78)
• c. Standing committees are often
• divided into subcommittees.

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• d. Subcommittees - study particular
  details
• and problems associated with the
  various
• standing committees
• e. Joint committees - committees that
• include members from both houses of
• Congress.
• f. Select Committees - temporary
• committees set up for special purposes.
• g. Conference committees - formed from
• members of both houses in order to
  iron
• out disagreements.

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• (Disagreements arise when different
• versions of the same bill are passed)
• 2. Since 1960 the power of standing
• committee chairpersons has been
• greatly reduced by a number of events.
• a. Johnson Rule - President Lyndon
• Johnson ruled that no one could hold
  
• more than one chair of an important
• committee.

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• b. Weakening of the Seniority Rule -
• chair of each standing committee no
• longer goes to the most experienced.
• c. Increasing number of subcommittees -
• Chair people of committees have no
• power on their own.
• d. The rise of party caucuses - Congress
• people who form their own informal
• groups to try to persuade members of
• Congress to vote one way or another.

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• G. Committee Membership
• 1. Each member of the House usually
• serves on only one of the major
• standing committees.
• a. Ways and Means is the most
• prestigious.
• 2. Each Senator stands on at least two
• standing committees.
• a. Appropriations is most prestigious.

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• 3. Membership of the standing committees
• is divided in proportion to the number
• of members each party has in each
• house.
• a. Ex. 100 members in the Senate
• 60 Republican
• 40 Democrat
• 10 member committee would
• have 6 republican and
  4
• democrats.

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• H. Committee Chairpersons
• 1. Are very powerful
• 2. Since seniority system was done away
• with, majority party chooses by secret
  
• ballot.
• a. Longest service people are almost
• always chosen.
• I. Congressional Staff
• 1. Are very important because they do
• most of the grunt work.

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POSSIBLE ASSIGNMENTS

• 1. Case Study (pg. 25-27)
• 2. Find the various officers of government.
• 3. Section Review (pg. 75-79)
• 4. Building Your Portfolio (pg. 91)
• 5. Citizenship in Your Community (pg. 91)
• 6. Have Students Write a Code of Conduct
• for the School. (pg. 73 TA)
• 7. Reteaching (pg. 9-10)
• 8. American Gov. wks pg 43, 44, 45, 46, 47,
• 48,
• 9. Chapter 14 wks.
• EXTRA CREDIT (5 pts.)
• 1. Voc. Workshop, Reviewing Main Ideas,
• Thinking Critically.