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What is meant by the "dual nature" of Congress?

It is law making institution for country and a representative assembly for states and districts.

For the framers, why was the legislative branch likely the most important (of the 3 branches)?

It was the most important because it was 'the branch of the people'. These people directly elect who serves in Congress.

Back when the Founding Fathers drafted the Constitution, what was the nature of the debate (about the structure of the Legislative Branch)?

It was a legislature with equal representation or a proportional representation.

Which article of the Constitution outlines the Legislative Branch?

Article 1 of the Constitution.

The House is led by what position?

The Speaker of the House.

What are the exclusive powers of the House (ones that are not shared by the Senate)?

Only the house can initiate tax laws and spending bills and the house can only initiate impeachment of the president or other officials.

How does the term of a Senator differ from that of a member of the House?

The term of a Senate is 6 years and the term of the House is 2 years.

How many Senatorial races occur every 2 years? Why is there a "staggering" of these races?

Every even year, a third of the Senate is up for re-election.

How was the choice for Senators different today than from the time before the ratification of the 17th Amendment (1912)?

They used to be elected by the state legislature and now they are elected by the people.

What is the role of the Vice President of the U.S. regarding the U.S. Senate? What are their duties in these roles?

The vice president serves as head of the senate. The vice president is allowed to cast a vote if there is a tie.

What are the Senate's exclusive powers?

The exclusive powers are to approve presidential appointments and treaties.

What are the powers that both houses of Congress have?

They have the power to tax, coin money, declare war, regulate foreign and interstate commerce.

What is the President's role in the passage of a bill?

The president gives approval to the bill but also can veto the bill.

What is unique about how Congress is chosen, when considering the other two branches?

Congress is the only branch of government whose members are elected directly by the people as well as the only part of government that tries to balance the relationship between the power of the nation and the individual states.

What does bicameral mean? How is it displayed in the national legislature in the U.S.?

Bicameral is a legislature divided into two branches or chambers and it is displayed by the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Why did the framers (likely) propose and ultimately approve a bicameral legislature? (3 overarching reasons)

The house is the will of the people.

The senate is the will of the states.

Parliament was the reason that the powers were separated. It had two houses as well as many states had bicameral legislatures.

The House:

No. of members - how did we arrive at this no.?

There are 435 members that were apportioned by population and given a fixed number in 1929.

The House:

How long is a term? Is there a limit on how many terms a person may serve?

They are two year terms and there is no limit on how long someone may serve.

The House:

How does apportionment work (for House districts)? Upon what is it based?

It is when each state is divided into at least one congressional district. The census decides how many districts and house members the state has.

The House:

What is reapportionment?

The districts are assigned to a state based on the population.

The House:

What must each state attempt to do (regarding the population in each district)?

They try to make the biggest districts so they have the biggest population.

The House:

What is the "dual role" of House members?

To focus on the needs of their districts as well as the nation.

Roughly how many constituents should each member of Congress have?

about 770,000 constituents

How have the Congressional Maps for PA changed from 2010, to the Supreme Court Remedial Plan, to 2020 Map?

Based on the 2010 census, PA lost one House seat (19-\>18). This necessitated the House lines to be redrawn in PA. The PA House map district lines seemed to be "gerrymandered" by the Republican-dominated PA Legislature (this is who is tasked with redrawing the lines). he results of the elections using the map were Reps. winning 13 of 18 seats, despite PA having more registered Democrats than Republicans. The Democrats sued, and the PA Supreme Ct. eventually issued a "Remedial" Map that was alleged to be more politically balanced. In the ensuing election, Democrats won 9 of the 18 seats, which seemed to substantiate the claim that the former map was indeed gerrymanderd. Then, based on the 2020 census, PA again lost one House seat. (18-\>17). This necessitated that a new map be drawn once again. A new map was created, and he results of the 2022 yielded 9 DEMs and 8 REPs

Why have the number of apportioned seats for PA declined? How many districts are there in PA?

There are 17 districts in PA. The number has declined because our population is not increasing as it once was.

Why are districts of different sizes?

They are different sizes depending on the concentration of the population.

What accounts for the concentration of districts in the southeast corner of PA?

The population is most dense here.

In which district Upper St. Clair lie?

We lie in the 18th district.

The Senate:

How many members? How many per state?

100 members, 2 per state.

The Senate:

How long is a senator's term? Is there a limit on how many terms a senator may serve?

The term is 6 years and there is no limit.

The Senate:

What is the "dual role" of a Senator?

The role is to make decisions which are best for the entire state and the nation.

Requirements for election - make sure to know the Constitutional requirements for both chambers of Congress.

House: 25 years of age, u.s. Citizen for 7 years, and a resident of the district they hope to represent.

Senate: 30 years of age, u.s. Citizen for 9 years, and a resident of the state they wish to represent.

What are the leadership positions in Congress and what do they do?

Speaker of the House: steers legislation, in charge of floor debates, third in line for President.

Vice President: President of the Senate, in an equal split vote it is their job to break ties.

President Pro Tempore: Presides over the Senate in absence of the Vice President.

Party Whips: the person you think could be the most persuasive in your party.

Assistant leaders in House and Senate: help to organize votes over important issues, representatives from both majority and minority parties.

In general, what general demographic shifts have occurred over time (esp. between the 114th and 117th Congresses?

There is more diversity in Congress.

What is redistricting? Who is in charge of it?

It is the process of redrawing legislative district boundaries every 10 years based upon changes in population. The state legislatures determine district boundaries.

What is "gerrymandering"?

Gerrymandering is to manipulate the boundaries of an electoral constituency so as to favor one party or class.

Regarding gerrymandering, what is "cracking" and "packing"? How do they differ?

Cracking: splitting up an area that has a lot of support for your enemies political party.

Packing: when you redraw the lines to pack your opponent into as few districts as possible.

What is reappointment? How does it relate to redistricting?

It is dividing up the number of house seats in the US and is mandated by the Constitution.

How did the PA House District Map change from the post-2010 census to the post-Supreme Court Remedial Map to the post-2020 census? What impacts did these changes have?

Since then, the map is not as congested and the impacts have made the lines of the districts cleaner.

What are single member districts? How do they compare with proportional representation?

Single member districts have a strong accountability as well as hold the individual member accountable for issues around corruption. Proportional representation is based on a principle that any group of like-minded voters should win legislative seats in proportion to its share of the people.

Is the Austin TX area an example of cracking, packing, or both?

Packing.

What is the most basic reason for committees of Congress?

They are given tasks to compete and so those tasks are divided up in Congress.

What are the differences between Standing Committees, Select Committees, Joint Committees, and Conference Committees?

Standing committees: permanent committee

Select committees: special issues with a time limit

Joint committees: includes members from both the house and senate

Conference committee: temporary joint committee to discuss specific legislation

What are the "four roles'' of legislators? How is each defined?

Delegates: see themselves as agents of those who elected them. Represent the will of the people.

Partisan: feels they must always vote along party lines. Loyal party members, follow their party.

Trustee: believes that each question they face must be decided on its own merits. They vote based on their own judgment and ideologies.

Politico: combination of the delegate, partisan, and trustee. Tries to keep everyone happy and thus is a true politician.

Be able to list and explain all of the enumerated (expressed) powers of Congress.

They are in article 1, section 8.

Levy taxes

Establish uniform rules of citizenship

Borrow money

Regulate trade/commerce

Coin money

Punish counterfeiters

Establish post offices/roads

Copyright laws

Establish federal courts

Define/punish piracy

Declare war

Raise/support armies

raise/maintain navy

Establish military law

Call up/organize national militia

Exercise jurisdiction over Washington D.C

Necessary & Proper Clause

Refamiliarize yourself with Necessary and Proper Clause.

It gives congress power to expand on the powers. Also elastic clause.

Be familiar with how bills for raising revenue (typically through taxation) proceed through the legislative process.

They must start in the House, but the Senate may propose or concur on with amendments. The Senate must approve.

Know the differences between authorization & appropriation bills.

Authorization bill: establish projects to spend taxes

Appropriation bill: provide money for projects and activity, very powerful, the committee through which all bills need to be looked at if they need a lot of money, needs to be 'appropriate".

Know the differences between direct and indirect taxes (and examples).

Direct tax: a tax that an individual pays directly to the government, paying sales tax, income tax, federal tax being withdrawn, largest percentage of taxes.

Indirect tax: a tax levied on one person but passed to another for payment to the government. Ex: When you fill up a gas tank, a portion of the money goes to the national and state governments. Cigarette taxes are high because the government doesn't want people to smoke so they are making them pay more money for cigarettes.

Be able to describe the BASICS of the case Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) and its Key Question.

A steamboat owner who did business between New York and New Jersey challenged the monopoly that New York had granted, which forced him to obtain a special operating permit from the state to navigate on its waters.

Key Question: Did the state of New York exercise an authority (regulation of trade) that was expressed specifically to Congress? If so, is that constitutional?

Which Article/Section/Clause is critical to Gibbons? How so?

Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3. It says, "Regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian Tribes."

Of the 2 major take-aways of the Supreme Court's Decision in Gibbons, which is the most critical? Why and in what ways??

That Congress has the power to "regulate commerce" - this established the sheer power of the federal government from that point forward to forever have broad control over interstate commerce.

What powers are part of the "general welfare" clause ? How is it expressed by Congress (how is this displaying a "loose" interpretation" of the Constitution)?

Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imports and excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general welfare of the United states. It can allow Congress to stretch expressed powers to meet the common good of the nation.

Be able to identify and describe the Limits in the Constitution

someone going to jail without anything against them. A writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court, especially to secure the person's release unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention. The basis of a criminal going before a judge with a reasonable amount of time which is usually 24 hours. The judge determines if there's enough evidence to put them into the system. Need real evidence cannot just show it against someone just because. Usually seen in Russia or Iran.

Bills of Attainder

Punishing someone without a trial, an act of legislation which punishes an individual or group without a trial.

Ex Post Facto Laws

Something that was legal at one point cannot be considered illegal will be prohibited. A law that makes criminal an act taht was legal when it was committed. A law that is saying something that was legal at one point that now becomes illegal can be used to arrest you or get you in a degree of trouble.

Checks (on Congress's Powers)

Presidential veto/judicial review