Legislative Branch Review Notes

• Unit 5 Legislative Branch Review notes

Powerful Members of Congress

• The Senate's most powerful member is the Majority Leader (John Thune).
• The House's most powerful member is the Speaker of the House (Mike Johnson).

Requirements for House and Senate Membership

• House: Must be at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for 7 years, and a citizen of the state they represent.
• Senate: Must be at least 30 years old, a U.S. citizen for 9 years, and a resident of the state they represent.

Size of Each House

• Senate: 100 members.
• House: 435 members.

Presiding Officer

• The Speaker of the House presides over the House.

Advantages of Incumbency

• Incumbents often face weaker, less experienced, and underfunded opponents.
• Committees tend to donate to incumbents due to their higher chances of winning reelection.

Powers of the House

• Has the power of impeachment.
• They can trial any official of impeachment.

Powers of the Senate

• The Senate tries all impeachments and must be on oath.

17th Amendment

• Mandates that each state has two senators elected by the people for a term of six years.
• Senators must meet all qualifications.

16th Amendment

• Officially authorizes Congress to collect taxes.

Term Lengths

• Representatives serve terms of 2 years.
• Senators serve terms of 6 years.

Drawing Congressional Districts

• State legislatures draw congressional districts.
• Some states use independent commissions to prevent gerrymandering.

Rules Guiding District Apportionment

• Census: The government conducts a census every 10 years to track population shifts.
• Apportionment: Determines the proportional number of representatives for each state based on population.
• Redistricting: Redraws congressional district lines after the census to accommodate population shifts.

Gerrymandering

• It is boundary redistricting to favor a specific party.
• Boundaries are deliberately modified for electoral advantage, resulting in contorted shapes.

Legislative Oversight

• Legislators assess whether current laws and appropriations are achieving their intended outcomes.

Types of Committees

• Standing Committees: Permanent committees that continue from one Congress to the next.
• Select (Special) Committees: Temporary committees created for specific purposes.
• Joint Committees: Include members from both houses to conduct special studies and can be permanent or temporary.
• Conference Committees: Joint committees formed to resolve differences between House and Senate versions of a bill.

Committee Chairmen

• They have significant power in controlling legislation, including the ability to:
  • Kill a bill by not scheduling hearings.
  • Select all subcommittee chairs.
  • Call meetings.
  • Recommend majority members to sit on conference committees.

Filibuster

• A tactic where a member speaks at length on the podium to block debate on a bill.

Conference Committee Purpose

• Members from both chambers meet to reconcile differences between their versions of a bill.

Important Committees

• Committees dealing with money and rules are considered important.
• Rules Committee determines the terms and conditions of debate and amendment of a measure.

Cloture

• A procedure to end a filibuster, requiring a vote of 3/5 of the Senate.

Discharge Petition

• Requires 218 votes to release a bill from a committee to the floor, overriding the speaker and chairman.

Bill-to-Law Process

• Writing/Coming up with a bill.
• Introduction of the bill into Congress.
• Committee action.
• Floor action.
• Approval by Both Houses.
• Conference committee reconciliation.
• Both houses vote again on the final version.
• Presidential consideration of the bill.

Budget Process

• Federal agencies submit budgets for review.
• The President submits a budget request to Congress.
• Both houses review and propose budget solutions.
• Conference committee creates a budget resolution.
• 12 House and 12 Senate Appropriations Subcommittees markup and vote.
• House and Senate Appropriations Committees markup.
• House and Senate floor votes.
• Conference committee reconciliation.
• Presidential approval or veto.

Types of Spending

• Discretionary Spending: Spending on non-essential items.
• Mandatory Spending: Spending on essential items.
• The largest portion of spending is allocated to mandatory items like Social Security and Medicare.

Government Revenue, Debt, and Deficit

• Revenue is gained through taxation.
• Debt is the total amount the government owes (approximately $36 trillion).
• A deficit occurs when the government spends more than it takes in.

Leadership of the 119th Congress

• Speaker of the House: Mike Johnson (R)
• House Majority Leader: Steve Scalise (R)
• House Minority Leader: Hakeem Jeffries (D)
• House Majority Whip: Tom Emmer (R)
• House Minority Whip: Katherine Clark (D)
• President of the Senate: JD Vance (R)
• President Pro-Tempore: Chuck Grassley (R)
• Senate Majority Leader: John Thune (R)
• Senate Minority Leader: Chuck Schumer (D)
• Senate Majority Whip: John Barasso (R)
• Senate Minority Whip: Dick Durbin (D)