The Legislative Branch

Congress
U.S. Capitol
What is government itself?
One of the greatest
reflections on human nature.
If men were angels, no
government would be
necessary…James Madison
Article I
House of
Representatives Senate
• 435 members • 100 members
• 2 yr terms • 6 yr terms
• Reapportioned every 10 • 30 yrs old, citizen for 9,
yrs live in state
– Redistricting! See Gerry • Organized by party
• 25 yrs old, citizen for 7, – Leaders & Whips
live in state • Majority leader – Harry
• Organized by party Reid (D)
– Leaders & Whips • Minority Leader- Mitch
• Speaker of House – McConnell (R)
John Boehner (R) • Loose Rules
• Strict Rules
Congressional Sessions
• Last Two Years
• Begin Jan. 3rd of the year after the
election
• Usually end Nov. before election
– Lame Duck Sessions
Powers of Congress
• Expressed Powers
– Tax, Money, Trade, Declare War, Copyrights, etc
• Implied Powers – “Necessary & Proper”
Clause
– Paying for things
• Checks & Balances
– Amendments
– Impeachment
– Appointments
– Treaties
– Investigatory Powers
House of Representatives
• Number of representatives: 435
– Speaker of the House – John Boehner
– 3rd in line of succession
– Decides the committees each
member will serve on
– Decides the order in which bills will
be heard
House of Representatives
• Special Powers of the House of
Representatives
– All money (appropriations) bills start
here
– Select the President in an Electoral
College tie
– Write the article of impeachment
against high ranking officials
Senate
• Term of office: 6 years

• Qualifications:
– 30 years old
– 9 years a citizen of the U.S.
– Resident of the represented state
Senate
• Number of Senators: 100

• Head of the Senate: U.S. Vice

President – Joe Biden
• Power: Decides committee
members and order bill are
debated.
Senate

• Special Powers
– Approves all treaties
– Approves all appointments
– Chooses the Vice President in an
Electoral College tie
– Acts as the jury in all trials of
impeachment
WHO ARE THEY?
Demographics of the
113th Congress
Religion - House
Religion - Senate
Gender
Gender House (%) Senate (%) Society

Men 355 (81%) 80 (80%) 49%

Women 77 (17%) 20 (20%) 51%

 Race/Gender
Race House (%) Senate (%) Society*

White 354 (81%) 94 (94%) 78.1%

Black 40 (9%) 2 (2%) 13.1%

Hispanic 28 (6%) 3 (3%) 16.4%

Asian 8 (1%) 1 (1%) 5.0%

American-
1 (0.002%) 0 1.2%
Indian

Hispanics may be of any race, so also are included in applicable race categor
Returning Members
• Of the 100 Senators, 96 are returning
members (96%).
• Of the 435 Representatives, 351 are
returning members (80%).
Gerrymandered Districts
TN Congressional Districts
(Old and New)
U.S. Congress (House)
• Gibson County and
Tennessee’s Eight
Congressional
District is
Represented by
Republican Stephen
Fincher.
U.S. Senate
• Lamar Alexander
(R)- Senior Senator
U.S. Senate
• Bob Corker (R)-
Junior Senator
Action or Inaction?

An unbiased (or cynical)

look at the Logic of
Congress*

*Yes, that might be an oxymoron,

but Congress is full of oxymorons
Incumbents
• Only group of people that have to go to the
people and beg for their job year after year
• Americans view their own Congressional
Representatives favorably while overall
approval ratings are low
• Democrats or Republicans
• Average member of Congress gets a 60-65%
approval rating from his or her constituents
• Government by and for the people
Checks and Balances
• Executive Branch and Executive
Agencies
• Impeachment, Appointments,
Overrides, Judiciary…
• Appropriation
• Unique among Nations
• People are supreme
U.S. Capitol Rotunda
Differences
• Constitutional Requirements
– 25 years old, 30 years old
– 7 years citizen, 9 years citizen
• Leadership Authority
– Seldom challenged, often challenged
• Committee Responsibility
– Very important, often overlooked
– “Rules” supreme, “Rules” weak
• Open Forums
– Limited, Encouraged
Benefits
• Salary $165,200+ per year (Leadership more—
SOH- $ 212,100
• Generous retirement and benefits (health care)
• Two offices- D.C. and Home District
• Staff members
• Franking privileges—work-related mail, FREE
• Assorted perks; no petty misdemeanors
Voting
Action Happens Because…
• Desire to Do the Right Thing
• Party Control of Both Houses
• Logrolling
– 1991 “Corn for Porn”
• “ Shadow of the Future”
– Prisoner’s Dilemma…Modified
• Desire for Reelection
– Help Constituents
– Pork
Inaction Happens Because…
• Divided Congress
• Lame Duck Status
• Partisan Bickering
• Desire Reelection
– Change Vote to Get Votes
– Avoid Looking Bad
• It Was Designed That Way
State of the Union
How Does a bill becomes a law?

http://youtu.be/tyeJ55o3El0
 Steps of a Bill

1) A Member of Congress
introduces the Bill
2) The Bill goes to a Committee
3) The Bill is debated by either the
Senate or the House
4) If Bill is passed it goes to the
other Chamber – if not it DIES!
5) After Bill has been voted on in
BOTH Chambers if is is
approved…
6) The Bill is sent to the President
who can either approve – it
becomes LAW – or he can VETO
it, which then goes back and
starts all over again… Or 2/3 of
Congress can override the Pres!
Committees
Committees
• Legislation and Oversight
• Standing Committee
– Separate subject matter committees
• Joint Committee
– House and Senate share membership i.e.--taxation
• Conference Committee
– Two bills must become one/ compromise bills
• Select Committee
– Specific reason
• Assignments
– House- two committees and four subcommittees
– Senate- three committees and seven subcommittees
Committees
• Committees also perform oversight if
and when a bill ever becomes law
• Committee chairpersons—seniority
prevails but majority caucuses now can
choose chairpersons
• Caucuses vs. Party Leadership
– Legislators can ban together under an
“ideological flag”
• Black Caucus, Pro-Life, Pro-Choice, Gun
Control, etc.
The Filibuster
• A filibuster is a stalling tactic used by a
minority of senators to talk a bill to death.

• Filibusterers try to take up so much floor time

with speeches and other time-killing motions
that the Senate has to drop or modify a bill to
move forward.

• The Senate tries to beat filibusters by holding

long daily sessions and enforcing strict rules
to wear down talkers.
The Filibuster, cont.
• Strom Thurmond, right,
holds the record for a
filibuster, holding the floor
for 24 hours and 18
minutes.

• Today most filibusters are

team efforts, with
senators taking turns.

• More than 300 measures

have been killed by
filibusters.