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Congress Powers (Article 1 Section 8)
power of the purse
budget
printing/coining money
declaring war, maintaining armed forces
regulating commerce
borrowing money
uniform laws concerning bankruptcy
rules of naturalization (immigration, becoming a US citizen)
establishes post offices and post roads
copywriting/trademarking
standard weights and measures
oversee all federal areas (National parks, art, embassies)
Judicial Powers (under Congress powers)
creates all courts below the Supreme Court
define federal crimes and punishments
impeachment and removal of government officials
Implied Powers (under Congress powers)
basic legislation for economic, environmental, and social
via the Necessary and Proper Clause
i.e. McCulloch v. Maryland
Examples:
establishing the federal reserve
making tax evasion a crime (control taxation)
establishing federal aid programs
drafting an army
setting minimum wage and maximum work hours
Central purpose of Legislative Branch
make laws
Differences between the House and the Senate
different structures
different operations
different prestige
Structural Differences between House and Senate
House
represents population within state (elected by district
district size ~ 700k constituents
435 members
2-year terms (always thinking about reelection)
Powers:
initiates revenue bills
initiates impeachment
Senate
represents state as a whole (elected at large by state)
100 members
6-year terms
staggered elections
1/3 of Senate up for election every 2 years
Powers:
Advice and consent
confirm and deny presidential appointments
approve and disapprove treaties
tries impeachments
Operational Differences between House and Senate
House
strong leadership — follow authority
Germane (relevant) amendments only
committee action is very important
Rules Committee oversees and limits debate
Senate
collegiate — more equal role as they only have 100 members
Non-germane (irrelevant) Amendments allowed, called riders
floor debate is very important
Filibustering
only applies to floor debates in the Senate since they don’t have a Rules Committee
any attempt to block or delay Senate action by debating at length
can go off topic
talk as long as you want but cannot stop talking or sit down
while it doesn’t actually prevent the bill from being approved, it is typically for the purpose of media attention and publication
Prestige Differences between House and Senate
Senate is the Upper House
enlightened representation
higher-level representation (by state, broader perspectives)
6-year terms; more insulated from public opinion
staggered elections; there will always be senior members in office
equal representation and smaller size → collegiate atmosphere
historically indirect vote but changed to popular vote
House is the Lower House
represent smaller districts, known as the “House of the People”
more localized
2 year terms
always trying to be responsive to constituents to get reelected
always been directly elected
Standing committee
permanent
handle bills in different policy areas
may have subcommittees
Conference committee
established when the HOR and Senate pass as a bill in different forms (to discuss)
comes together to iron out differences in wording, etc
creates one, final bill
Select committee
formed for a special purpose
i.e. investigation (Watergate, JFK assassination)
select committees on ethics, intelligence, etc
Congressional Committees
more significant in House since they have so many people, but they apply to both
most of the representatives spend their time in committees
placement can by by party leadership, seniority, state, background, etc
Goal: influence public policy issues regarding district or state or influence national public policy issues
want to get on the committee in order to best benefit your reelection
each committee led by a chairperson
dominates public policy-making in all states
control agenda and guide legislation
gain quality expertise from discussing laws = hopefully can pass quality laws
congressional oversight
allows for speculation and division of labor
Speaker of the House
Mike Johnson
most important and powerful position in the HOR
elected by whole HOR
always from the majority party
leader of majority party of the House
Representative
second in line to succeed the President after the Vice President
Formal Powers of Speaker of the House
Formal Powers:
refers bills and resolutions to committees
controls the calendar for floor action (debate and vote) and what bills to prioritize and what bills to push back
presides over House meetings
appoint members of joint and conference committees
deciding points of order and interpreting rules
The Majority Leader of the House
major assistant to the Speaker
helps plan the party’s legislative program
directs floor debate alongside Rules Committee
The Minority Leader
major spokesperson for the minority party and organizes opposition to the major party
(applies to both)
Whips
helps floor leaders by directing members in voting
informing members of impending voting
keep track of vote counts
pressuring members to vote with the party they want
Vice President of US
Kamala Harris
presiding officer of the Senate
only votes for bills to break a tie
President Pro Tempore
substitute vice president, from the majority party, mostly a ceremonial position
How a bill becomes a law
A bill is introduced
Committee Action
Floor Debate
and repeat!
Conference Committee
House and Senate Votes on bill
Presidential Action Options
A bill is introduced
Step 1
can begin in either the House or the Senate (except revenue bills must be in the House)
must be from a congressperson (president cannot initiate but can influence)
Committee Action
Step 2
bill introduced and referred to committee
committee decides to either consider it or kill it
committee refers the bill to subcommittee for hearing
committee votes to put the bill to floor debates or kill it
Floor Debate
Step 3
In House: Rules Committee sets strict rules to govern debates
Bill debated on the floor
Germane amendments may be added in the House
Non-germane amendments may be added in the Senate
House and Senate votes on bill
simple majority (over 50%) required to pass onto the next state
if majority votes against, it dies
And repeat!
Step 4
if the bill passes, it is sent to the other side and goes through the same process and repeats
referred to committee action
referred to floor
need simple majority to pass
Conference Committee
Step 5
two different versions of the bill as a result of different floor debates and committee action
Senators and Representatives come together to work out the differences
finalize one bill and send it back to both houses to vote (if it doesn’t pass both, it dies)
House and Senate Votes on Bill
Step 6
both houses vote to pass the bill
simple majority required in BOTH chambers for the bill to pass
if the bill passes, it gets sent to the President
Presidential Action Options
sign bill into law
do nothing for 10 days → bill automatically becomes a law (that way the prez cannot withhold a signature)
Pocket veto
Veto
congress can override veto to pass the bill into a law with a 2/3 majority vote in both Houses
Pocket Veto
if the president does not sign a bill and Congress adjourns within the 10-day period, the bill does not become a law
Germane Amendments
an amendment to a bill must be strictly relevant to the bill. Requirement in the House.
Non-germane Amendments
formal changes to a bill that do not have any direct relation to the subject of the bill itself. The Senate permits such amendments. Sometimes called riders.
Congressional Oversight
Power used by Congress to gather information useful for the formation of legislation, review the operations and budgets of executive departments and independent regulatory agencies, conduct investigations through committee hearings, and bring to the public's attention the need for public policy
Power of the Purse
Constitutional power given to Congress to raise and spend money
enumerated powers
Powers given to the national government. Explicitly listed in the Constitution.
revenue bills
laws for raising money (tax bills)
bill
a proposed law
Impeachment
A formal charge of misconduct in office against a public official
Riders (non-germane)
additional bills attached to an often unrelated bill; benefits members’ agenda or programs, enhances the political chances of passing a bill (or make it not pass)
Omnibus Bill
mammoth bill; One very large bill that encompasses many separate bills covering many policy areas
can be called a Christmas Tree Bill as it is usually made to benefit every state involved
Pork Barrel Spending
Congress members send federal dollars back to their district, spending to benefit particular constituents rather than a nation as a whole
Earmarking
Funds designated towards a very specific purpose
Logrolling
exchanging political favors
“I’ll vote for your thing if you vote for my thing”
Redistricting
redrawing boundaries of the districts within each state
every 10 years after the census
Reapportionment
the changing of seats in the House of Representatives for each state (435 seats, but the amt per district could vary)
Districting Rules
contiguous (sharing a common border)
compact (as much as possible but varies by population density)
cannot be drawn along racial lines (racial gerrymandering)
equal in representation
Gerrymandering
the drawing of legislative district boundaries for the purpose of obtaining a partisan advantage
Methods: cracking and packing
Cracking
splitting up the voting power of the opposing party across many districts
Packing
concentrating the opposing party’s voting power into as few districts as possible to reduce voting power in other districts