Download The Legislative Branch Notes

Chapters 10/11
The National Legislature
The House of Representatives
The Senate
The Members of Congress
The Bicameral Congress
•  The Constitution establishes a bicameral
legislature for three reasons:
–  Historical - the British Parliament consisted of two
houses as well as the majority of the colonial
assemblies and state legislatures in the United
States
–  Practical - the Framers had to create a bicameral
systems to settle the conflict between the Virginia
and New Jersey Plans
–  Theoretical - the framers believed that this
systems would allow the houses to place a check
on one another
Terms and Sessions
•  Each TERM of Congress
lasts two years and
begins at “noon of the 3rd
day of January” of every
odd numbered year
•  SESSIONS of Congress
are periods of time during
which Congress
assembles and conducts
business - there are two
session during each term,
one each year of the term
•  Congress adjourns once
business is completed
and both houses agree on
it - Article II, Section 3
gives the President power
to end a session of
Congress if the two
houses cannot agree on a
date
•  Special sessions can be
called by the President to
deal with an emergency
situation - the President can
call the entire body, or either
house if necessary
House of Representatives
•  435 members with the number being set by Congress
and representative apportioned after each census,
each member serves two years
•  Reapportionment Act of 1929 - each seat represents
around 650,000 people, the Census Bureau
determines how many seats each state should have,
and Congress approves the changes
•  Gerrymandering - process by which congressional
districts take on odd shapes to benefit the ruling
party, took its name from Massachusetts Governor
Elbridge Gerry who did this in 1812
Qualifications for House
Members
•  At least 25 years old
•  A citizen of the United States for at least
seven years
•  An inhabitant of the state where he/she is
elected
•  Informal qualifications deal with a candidates
ability to win - party ID, name familiarity,
gender, ethnic characteristics, and political
experience
The Senate
•  100 members, two from each state
•  Originally selected by State legislatures - the 17th
Amendment provided for direct election of U.S.
Senators
•  Serve six year terms - longer terms to prevent
decisions being made based on “fickleness and
passion” and rather to allow Senators to focus on the
big picture
•  Qualifications for Senators
–  At least 30 years old
–  Be a U.S. citizen for nine years
–  Be an inhabitant of the state where he/she is being elected
Roles of Congressmen
•  Legislators – produce legislation
•  Representatives of the People
–  Trustees - base decisions on merit and independent
judgment
–  Delegates - base decisions on how their constituents would
want them to vote
–  Partisans - base decisions on party lines
–  Politicos - combine the other three
•  Committee Members
–  Screen proposed laws to determine whether to pass them
on
–  Oversight function - oversee the actions of the executive
branch to make sure things are running as they should
•  Servants of their constituents
•  Politicians
Congressional Powers
•  The Constitution gives Congress a number
of specific powers in three ways:
–  Expressed powers - explicitly outlines powers
–  Implied powers - powers granted through
reasonable deduction from the expressed
powers
–  Inherent powers - powers granted by creating
a national government for the United States
Strict and Liberal
Construction
•  Strict Constructionists
–  Led by Thomas Jefferson
to argue the AntiFederalist position
–  Believed that Congress
should be able to
exercise only expressed
powers and implied
powers absolutely
necessary to carry out
the expressed powers
•  Liberal Constructionists
–  Led by Alexander
Hamilton fighting to adopt
the Constitution
–  Believed that Congress
should have broad
powers to allow the
country to have an
“energetic government”
–  This opinion has been
the most popular
throughout American
History
Powers of Money and
Commerce
•  Tax - a charge levied by the government on
persons or property to raise money to meet
public needs
•  Limits on Taxation
–  Only for public purposes
–  No tax on exports
–  Direct taxes apportioned among the states based
on population
–  Indirect taxes but be equal throughout the country
(such as tobacco, gasoline, and alcohol)
Borrowing and
Commerce Power
•  Congress has the power to borrow money - the public debt is all
the money borrowed over the years and not yet paid back plus
accumulated interest on the money
•  Deficit financing - practice by which the government regularly
spends more than it takes in and borrows the rest to make up
the difference
•  Commerce power - power given to Congress to regulate
interstate and foreign trade
–  Gibbons v. Ogden - came about as a result of a clash between
Aaron Ogden who was given a permit by the State of New York to
navigate waters between New York City and New Jersey and
Thomas Gibbons who was given a coasting license by the federal
government
–  Ogden sued Gibbons and New York court told him he couldn’t sail
by steam in New York waters - Gibbons appealed to the Supreme
Court who agreed with him that the New York grant conflicted with
the congressional power to regulate commerce
Currency and Bankruptcy
Power
•  The Federal government has the power to create a
uniform, stable monetary system
•  Legal tender - any kind of money that a creditor must
by law accept in payment for debts
•  Congress created a national paper currency in 1863
and made it legal tender
•  Bankruptcy - legal proceeding in which the assets of
a person, company, or organization are divided up
among those whom debts are owed to and frees the
individual from responsibility for the debts
Other Expressed Powers
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Foreign Relations Powers
War Powers
Naturalization
Postal Power
Copyrights and Patents
Weights and Measures
Judicial Powers
Powers over Territories and Other Areas
–  Eminent domain - the inherent power to take private land for
public use (highways, hospitals, schools, etc.)
Nonlegislative Powers
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Constitutional Amendments
Electoral Duties
Impeachment
Executive Powers - Appointments and
Treaties
•  Investigatory Power
–  Gather information
–  Oversee executive departments
–  Focus public attention on certain
–  Expose questionable activities
–  Promote the particular interests of some members
of Congress