U.S. Government Branches: Legislative, Executive...

• Study notes on the U.S. Government's Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches

U.S. House of Representatives and Senate: Characteristics and Membership

• Members are typically lawyers, business people, educators, and have prior political experience.
• The House has 435 members; the Senate has 100 members (two per state).
• House members are elected every two years, serving two-year terms; Senators are elected every six years, with staggered terms so that one-third of the Senate is elected every two years.

Qualifications for House and Senate

• House: Must be at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and live in the state they represent.
• Senate: Must be at least 30 years old, a U.S. citizen for at least nine years, and live in the state they represent.
• Informal qualifications include factors like name recognition, fundraising ability, and appeal to voters.

Incumbent Advantage

• Incumbents have a high reelection rate due to name recognition, access to campaign funds, gerrymandering, and constituent service.

Reapportionment, Redistricting, and Gerrymandering

• Reapportionment: The reallocation of House seats to states based on population changes, occurring every ten years after the census.
• Redistricting: The redrawing of congressional district boundaries within a state, usually done by the state legislature.
• Gerrymandering: Drawing district lines to favor one political party or group over another; controlled by state legislatures.

Leadership Roles in the House and Senate

• House: Speaker of the House (presiding officer, controls the legislative agenda), Majority Leader, Minority Leader, Whips.
• Senate: President of the Senate (Vice President of the U.S., only votes in case of a tie), President Pro Tempore (ceremonial leader), Majority Leader (most powerful figure), Minority Leader, Whips.
• Leaders schedule debates, influence committee assignments, and guide their party's legislative strategy.

Congressional Committees

• Standing Committees: Permanent committees that specialize in a particular area of legislation (e.g., Agriculture, Armed Services); they review, revise, and report on bills.
• Subcommittees: Smaller groups within standing committees that focus on specific issues.
• Rules Committee: In the House, sets the terms of debate and amendments on a bill.
• Conference Committee: Temporary committees formed to reconcile differences between House and Senate versions of a bill.

How a Bill Becomes Law

• Introduction: A bill is introduced in either the House or Senate by a member of that chamber.
• Committee Action: The bill is referred to a committee and possibly a subcommittee for study, hearings, revisions, and approval.
• Floor Action: The bill is debated, amended, and voted on by the full House or Senate.
• Conference Committee: If the House and Senate pass different versions of the bill, a conference committee is formed to reconcile the differences.
• Presidential Action: The bill is sent to the President, who can sign it into law or veto it.
• Override: If the President vetoes the bill, Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate.

Pork Barrel Legislation and Logrolling

• Pork Barrel Legislation: Legislation that provides tangible benefits to a legislator's district (e.g., a new highway, a research grant).
• Logrolling: An agreement between legislators to support each other's bills.

Where Legislative Work is Done

• Most of the work on legislation is done in committees and subcommittees.

Primary Responsibility and Unique Jobs

• Primary Responsibility: Make Laws.
• House: Start all revenue bills and impeach federal officials.
• Senate: Approve or reject presidential appointments and treaties and conduct impeachment trials.

Legislative Checks on the President

• Congress can override presidential vetoes, impeach and remove the President, and refuse to pass a law the President wants.

Executive Branch: Qualifications for President

• Formal: Must be a natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old, and a resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years.
• Informal: Prior political or military experience, fundraising ability, and characteristics to appeal to a broad range of voters.

Roles of the President

• Chief Administrator: Oversees the federal bureaucracy, appoints officials, and implements laws.
• Chief Legislator: Proposes legislation, lobbies Congress, and can veto bills.
• Chief of State: Serves as the symbolic leader of the country.
• Commander in Chief: Commands the armed forces.
• Chief Diplomat: Negotiates treaties, recognizes foreign governments, and represents the U.S. in international affairs.

Election of the President

• The President is elected by the Electoral College, not by direct popular vote. Each state has a number of electors equal to its total number of representatives in Congress.

Electoral College Tie

• If no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives chooses the President, with each state having one vote.

President's Term of Office

• The President serves a four-year term and can be elected to a maximum of two terms.

Impeachment Process

• The House of Representatives can impeach the President (bring charges), and the Senate conducts the trial. Removal from office requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate.
• Presidents Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump have been impeached.

Role of the Vice President

• Serves as President of the Senate (casting tie-breaking votes), and assumes the presidency if the President dies, resigns, or is removed from office.

Presidential Line of Succession

• Vice President
• Speaker of the House
• President Pro Tempore of the Senate

Presidential Authority over the Budget

• The President oversees the preparation of the U.S. budget through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Primary Responsibility of the Executive Branch

• Enforce Laws

Growth in Government

• Due to increasing population, social and economic changes, and crises. Last two expansions occurred during the Great Depression and post 9/11.

Presidential Checks on Congress

• The President can veto legislation passed by Congress.

Executive Agreements

• Agreements between the President and foreign leaders that do not require Senate ratification.

Judicial Branch: Establishment of Courts

• Article III of the Constitution established the Supreme Court.
• Congress was given the authority to establish additional courts.

U.S. Court System

• Dual system of federal and state courts.

Federal Court Structure

• District Courts: 94 district courts (at least one in each state); conduct trials and have original jurisdiction.
• Courts of Appeal (Circuit Courts): 13 circuit courts; hear appeals from district courts and federal agencies; they review the application of law.
• Judges: Federal judges are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate; they serve lifetime terms.

Influences on Federal Judge Appointments

• Shared ideology with the President is one of the largest influences.

Original and Appellate Jurisdiction

• Original Jurisdiction: The authority of a court to hear a case for the first time.
• Appellate Jurisdiction: The authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts.

Civil Law and Criminal Law

• Civil Law: Disputes between individuals or entities.
• Criminal Law: Crimes against the state.

Writ of Certiorari

• An order by the Supreme Court directing a lower court to send up a case for review.
• Granted when the Supreme Court believes the case involves a significant constitutional issue or conflicting interpretations of federal law.

Supreme Court Opinion Types

• Majority Opinion: Opinion agreed to by more than half of the members of the court; sets precedent.
• Plurality Opinion: When a majority of justices agree on the outcome of a case, but not on the reasoning.
• Concurring Opinion: An opinion that agrees with the majority outcome but offers different reasoning.
• Dissenting Opinion: An opinion that disagrees with the majority outcome.

Judicial Restraint and Judicial Activism

• Judicial Restraint: The view that courts should defer to the legislative and executive branches and only strike down laws that clearly violate the Constitution.
• Judicial Activism: The view that courts should play an active role in shaping public policy and use their power to correct injustices.
• Strict Constructionism: Interpreting the Constitution based on its original meaning.

Amicus Curiae Brief

• "Friend of the court" briefs filed by interested parties who are not directly involved in the case.

Judicial Review

• The power of the courts to declare laws or actions of the executive and legislative branches unconstitutional.
• Established in Marbury v. Madison (1803).