Standards:

Strand: Civics and Government

Content Standard III: Students understand the ideals, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship and understand the content and history of the founding documents of the United States with particular emphasis on the United States and New Mexico constitutions and how governments function at local, state, tribal, and national levels. Students will:

9-12 Benchmark 3-A: compare and analyze the structure, power and purpose of government at the local, state, tribal and national levels as set forth in their respective constitutions or governance documents:

1. Analyze the structure, powers and role of the legislative branch of the United States government, to include:

enumerated powers delegated in Article I of the constitution;

checks and balances described in the federalist papers, Number 51;

lawmaking process;

role of leadership within congress;

federalist and antifederalist positions;

Objectives:

Describe the organizational structure, support system, and the leadership systems of Congress.

Discuss the powers of Congress and the relationship between Congress and the executive branch.

Analyze the lawmaking process, the factors involved in passage of legislation, and the interaction between members of Congress and their constituents.

WICOR: Writing, Inquiry, Collaboration, Organization and Reading

Congress

A Bicameral Congress

Introduction

Reasons why the framers created a Bicameral Legislature

Differences between the House and the Senate

Size, terms, and qualifications

Election

Special Powers

The House of Representatives

Size and apportionment

Reapportionment

Districts

Gerrymandering

Supreme Court limitations on Congressional redistricting

Congressional elections

Incumbents usually win

Reason why Incumbents win

Consequences of the incumbency advantage

How Congress is organized

The role of Political parties

The House of Representatives

The Senate

The Committee System

The House Rules Committee

The House committee on Ways and Means

Committee chairs and the Seniority System

The Legislative Process

Introduction

Creating bills

Committee Action

Floor Action

Conference action

How members vote

Congress and the Executive Branch

Oversight

Foreign policy

Essential Questions:

How does the census affect the reapportionment meant of the house?

Why does the Constitution provide for free and unlimited debate in Congress?

How does the majority party in each house determine the flow of legislation?

Why are bills that are minority party members introduce unlikely to be reported out of committee?

Explain how the Constitution's Commerce Clause has helped African Americans obtain equal rights?

What arguments might be made to support a legislative veto power for Congress?

What means do lawmakers use to bring Federal projects or money to their states or districts?

What factors influence lawmakers when they consider legislation? How do lobbyists influence lawmakers?

Do you think lawmakers activities would be different if there were no special interest groups? Explain your answer.

In your opinion what is the most important purpose of casework for constituents in the representatives home state?

Vocabulary

CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING

The reallocation of the number of representatives each state has in the House of Representatives.

GERRYMANDERING

The legislative process by which the majority party in each state legislature redraws congressional districts to ensure the maximum number of seats for its candidates.

INCUMBENT

An officeholder who is seeking reelection. Incumbency is the single most important factor in determining the outcome of congressional elections.

FRANKING PRIVILEGE

The right of members of Congress to mail newsletters to their constituents at the government's expense.

STANDING COMMITTEES

Permanent subject-matter congressional committees that handle legislation and oversee the bureaucracy.

CONFERENCE COMMITTEES

Temporary bodies that are formed to resolve differences between House and Senate versions of a bill.

HOUSE RULES COMMITIEE

The House Rules Committee sets the guidelines for floor debate. It gives each bill a rule that places the bill on the legislative calendar, limits time for debate, and determines the type of amendments that will be allowed.

HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE

House committee that handles tax bills.

SENIORITY

Unwritten rule in both houses of Congress reserving committee chairs to members of the committee with the longest records of continuous service.

FILIBUSTER

A way of delaying or preventing action on a bill by using long speeches and unlimited debate to "talk a bill to death."

CLOTURE

A Senate motion to end a filibuster. Cloture requires a three-fifths vote.

LOGROLLING

Tactic of mutual aid and vote trading among legislators.

OVERSIGHT

Congressional review of the activities of an executive agency, department, or office.

DELEGATE ROLE OF REPRESENTATION

When members of Congress cast votes based on the wishes of their constituents.

Congressional Membership

The House of Representatives

The Senate

Congressional Committees

Staff and Support Agencies

Essential Question

What is the basic structure and organization of Congress as it represents the interests of voters?

Summary

Section 1 Congressional Membership

The U.S. Congress is a bicameral legislature with two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each term of Congress begins on January 3 in years ending in an odd number, and lasts for two years. Congress remains in session until its members vote to adjourn. The House of Representatives has 435 members elected for two-year terms. A census that determines each state's population is taken every 10 years. Population determines the number of representatives that each state will have in the House—a process called reapportionment. After finding out their number of representatives for the next 10 years, each state legislature draws the boundaries of their congressional districts—one district for each representative. The Senate has 100 members—2 from each of the 50 states. Senators represent their entire state.

Members of Congress enjoy a number of benefits and resources: the franking privilege, a medical clinic, a gymnasium, large allowances to pay for staff and trips home, an income tax deduction to maintain two homes (one in their home state and one in the capital), and a pension upon retirement. Membership in Congress changes slowly because officeholders seldom lose reelection. Challengers for open seats and incumbents rely on TV, the radio, and the Internet to campaign for office.

Section 2 The House of Representatives

The main task of each house in Congress is to make laws. The committees of Congress perform most legislative activity. The majority party in both the House and Senate gets to select the leaders of that body, control the flow of legislative work, and appoint the chairs of all the committees. The Speaker of the House has great power presiding over House sessions.

A law starts as a bill, which is introduced and sent to the appropriate committee for study, discussion, and review. Bills that survive committee review are put on one of the five House calendars. The House Rules Committee then decides whether to move the bill ahead, hold it back, or stop it completely. If the bill reaches the floor of the House, a quorum of 218 members is needed to vote on the bill.

Section 3 The Senate

Leadership in the Senate closely parallels leadership in the House, but the Senate has no Speaker. The vice president presides but cannot vote except to break a tie. The majority party leader steers the party's bills through the Senate. The minority leader critiques the majority party's bills and keeps his or her own party united. Senate leaders control the flow of bills to committees and to the floor. One way for senators to defeat a bill they oppose is to filibuster against it.

Section 4 Congressional Committees

Both the House and Senate depend upon committees to consider the thousands of bills that are proposed each session. Committees are the key power centers in Congress. Lawmakers in committees listen to supporters and opponents of a bill, work out compromises, and decide which bills will or will not have a chance to become law. Through public hearings and investigations, committees bring issues and problems to the public. Congress has four basic kinds of committees: (1) standing committees, each with several subcommittees that specialize in a subcategory; (2) select (or temporary) committees; (3) joint committees made up of House and Senate members; and (4) conference committees that resolve differing versions of a House and Senate bill.

Assignment to the "right" committee can help congressional careers, putting members in a position to act on bills important to their constituents, to influence national policies, and to influence other members in Congress. The key House committees are Rules, Ways and Means, and Appropriations. The most prestigious Senate committees are Foreign Relations, Finance, and Appropriations. Party leaders in both the House and Senate have the job of assigning members to a limited number of standing committees and subcommittees. The chairpersons of standing committees are the most powerful people in Congress.

Section 5 Staff and Support Agencies

Trained staffers help lawmakers draw up bills, be informed on issues, and represent their constituents. Lawmakers rely heavily on personal staffers, about one-third of whom work in the lawmakers' home states and the rest in the capital. Personal staffers include administrative assistants, legislative assistants, and caseworkers who handle requests from constituents. Lawmakers also rely on committee staffers who work for the many House and Senate committees. Committee staffers are largely responsible for the work involved in making laws.

Several agencies in the legislative branch provide services that support Congress. The Library of Congress has a Congressional Research Service that does research for lawmakers, staffers, and committees. The Congressional Budget Office coordinates the budget work of Congress and studies the proposals put forward by the president each year. The Government Accountability Office is the nation's watchdog over how the funds Congress appropriates are spent. The Government Printing Office does the printing for the entire federal government, including the Congressional Record and the Statistical Abstract of the United States.

Essential Question

What powers did the Constitution give to the Congress, and how have these developed over time?

Summary

Section 1 Constitutional Powers

The Constitution describes the legislative powers of Congress in Article I, Section 8, Clauses 1–18. These expressed powers of Congress are called the enumerated powers. Loose constructionists interpret Clause 18 as giving Congress implied powers to do whatever is "necessary and proper" to carry out its other powers. Strict constructionists disagree. Congress's powers are limited by the Bill of Rights. In addition, Congress may not suspend the writ of habeas corpus, pass bills of attainder or ex post facto laws, or tax exports.

The legislative powers of Congress include the power to levy taxes. Laws for raising money start in the House and then go to the Senate. Congress can also borrow to pay for government costs, coin money and regulate its value, and make bankruptcy laws. Commerce powers of Congress include regulating foreign and interstate trade and prohibiting discrimination in public places. Congress shares power with the president to make foreign and national defense policy. The Constitution also gives Congress the power over naturalization, to admit new states and to govern territories, and to grant copyrights and patents.

The nonlegislative powers of Congress include counting the Electoral College votes for a new president, and breaking a tie if no candidate has a majority of votes. Congress also has the power to remove a federal official from office through impeachment. The Senate must approve presidential appoints to office and ratify formal treaties with other nations. Finally, Congress and state legislatures share the power to propose amendments to the Constitution.

Section 2 Investigations and Oversight

Congressional investigations into government failures and scandals have had a long history in American politics. A standing committee or a select committee may conduct investigations. Witnesses may be called to testify at committee hearings. Investigations can lead to new laws to deal with a problem, reforms in a government program, or to officials being fired and convicted.

Legislative oversight gives Congress the power to review executive branch activities on an ongoing basis. The president is required to send Congress an annual report on the nation's economy. The Government Accountability Office examines the finances of federal agencies to see if public money is being spent appropriately and legally. Congress also reviews the budgets of all agencies in the executive branch. The attorney general conducts ethics investigations of top officials.

Section 3 Congress and the President

The level of cooperation between Congress and the president has varied throughout history. The checks and balances system can often result in a government stalemate. The president may threaten to veto a bill, and Congress may override the veto because states or districts would benefit from the bill's passage. Politics driven by party loyalty also affects relations, especially if one party controls the White House and the other controls the House and Senate.

Congress dominated policy making the first 150 years of the Republic. Several strong presidents have challenged congressional supremacy, however. In times of crisis, Congress has given extra powers to the president, but the National Emergencies Act set procedures for how and when a state of emergency exists. The president plans the national budget, but the Congressional Budget Office provides financial expertise to analyze the budget.

Essential Question

What types of actions can members of Congress take to represent voters' interests, and what rules govern congressional activities?

Section 1 How a Bill Becomes a Law

Private bills and public bills are introduced in Congress. Private bills deal with individual people or places, often involving claims against the government. Public bills deal with general matters and apply to the entire nation, such as tax cuts, gun control, and civil rights. Congress can also pass resolutions to make policy. A simple resolution covers matters affecting only one house of Congress and is passed by that house alone. It does not have the force of law. A joint resolution is passed in the same form by both houses and must be signed by the president to become law. Concurrent resolutions cover matters in both houses, and do not become law.

Earmarks are a way that members of Congress can specify that some part of a funding bill will go toward a certain purpose. Bills sometimes have riders attached, which are provisions on subjects other than the one covered in the bill.

After a bill is introduced, it is sent to the committees that deal with the subject. If a committee decides to act on a bill, it holds hearings. After the hearings are over, the committee meets in a markup session to decide what changes to make to the bill. After all the changes have been made, the committee votes either to kill the bill or to report it to the House or Senate for action. The bill is then debated on the floor, followed by a vote. To become law, a bill must pass both houses of Congress in identical form. A conference committee works out any differences between versions of the same bill. Then the bill is sent to the president, who signs it into law or rejects it with a veto. Congress can override a president's veto with a two-thirds vote in both houses.

Section 2 Taxing and Spending Bills

The Constitution gives the House of Representatives the exclusive power to start all revenue bills. The House Ways and Means Committee makes the numerous rules and regulations that determine who will pay how much in tax. The Senate has the authority to amend tax bills passed by the House. The power of appropriation belongs to Congress. Thus, Congress must approve spending before the departments and agencies of the executive branch can actually spend money. The House and Senate appropriations committees review budget requests before signing appropriations bills. Some spending legislation, however, cannot be changed. Spending is required on entitlements such as Social Security, interest on the national debt, and federal contracts in force.

Section 3 Influencing Congress

Lawmakers are influenced by their constituents' beliefs, their party's positions on issues, the president, special-interest groups, and what staffers have researched. Most lawmakers make frequent trips home to learn local voters' concerns. Messages also pour into their offices every day. Increasingly, lawmakers use Social Media, Web sites and e-mail to send questionnaires and get feedback on key issues. Both Democrats and Republicans tend to vote with their parties. Every president tries to influence Congress to pass the bills he or she supports. Lawmakers are also influenced by lobbyists, many of which have their own buildings and full-time professional staffs in the capital. Interest groups and their lobbyists focus their persuasion on congressional committees. Political action committees use the money they raise to support lawmakers who agree with their outlook.

Section 4 Helping Constituents

Helping constituents solve problems is called casework. Lawmakers respond to thousands of requests from voters for help in dealing with executive agencies. Casework gets lawmakers reelected, brings problems with federal programs to the attention of Congress, and provides a way for citizens to cope with the huge national government.

Congress members try to bring federal projects to their districts and states. They do this through pork-barrel legislation, by winning federal grants and contracts, and by working to keep existing federal projects. Many lawmakers' staffers are experts who help individuals, businesses, and local governments qualify for federal money.