Legislative Branch

Power of the Purse (Article 1 Sec 7,8,9) =Congress' ability to raise revenue and then spend money

Power of the House

introduce revenue bills, impeach federal officers, select a president if no candidate wins the electoral college, determines tax policy

Powers of the Senate

advise and consent for presidential appointees, try and remove federal officers, approve treaties with a 2/3 vote, approve ambassadors & high ranking military personnel, filibuster

Descriptive vs Substantive

Congress can’t represent their constituents by being from the same background and having the same problems, but they can represent them as advocates who understand their problems and concerns

House of Representatives

435 members, apportioned by population, minimum 25 yrs old, resident for 7 years, length of term 2 years, constituencies are citizens within a geographic district in state

Discharge Petition

In the House where they force a bill to be voted on even if a committee is not ready to send it to the full House. If 218 members (a majority) sign the petition, the bill must be brought up for a vote. It helps move stalled legislation forward.

Senate

100 members, 2 per state, minimum 30 yrs old, resident for 9 yrs, length of term 6 years, constituencies are all the citizens of a state

House Rules for Debate

formal, debate limited due to size (1 hour or less per member, germaneness [only consider one subject matter at a time] rule)

House Rules Committee

assigns bills to committee; can speed up, slow down, or kill a bill; establishes rules for debate, schedules bills for debate and determines when that vote will take place

Senate Rules for Debate

less form and less centralized, unlimited debate, filibuster, cloture (requires 60 members to cut-off debate and end a filibuster); nuclear option (parliamentary procedure that allows the Senate to override a filibuster by a simple majority)

census

counts every resident in the United States. It is mandated by Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution and takes place every 10 years

Filibuster (Senate)

not in the constitution; allows a minority to stall or kill a bill through unlimited speaking time, rules change over the years (effectively only applies to legislation and sometimes Supreme Court nominees)

Coalitions (Caucuses)—informal

interest groups within Congress; based on party affiliation; based on ethnicity, shared interest, ideology

Article 1, Section 7

provides Congress with the authority to raise revenue; how voting is to be done and votes need to be recorded; the president has 10 days excluding Sunday to sign or veto; if congress adjourns within 10 days and the president does not sign the bill into law, the bill is vetoed (pocket veto); 2/3 of both Houses to override a veto

Article 1, Section 8 (Enumerated Powers)

pass a federal budget (power of the purse), grants congress the power to coin money, declare war, and the power to tax (raises revenue)

Article 1, Section 2

the house of representatives shall choose the speaker of the house and other officers, and shall have sole power of impeachment

Article 1, Section 3

the senate shall choose their officers, including a president pro-tempore, who shall serve in the absence of the vice president

Article 1, Section 5

Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members, and expel a member with a 2/3 vote

Legislate

pass policy interests into law through bicameral legislature with presidential signature (committee structures, speaking and voting, appropriate revenue, public and private policy)

Constituent Services

representing constituents’ concerns via voting, speeches, oversight, and intersession with federal agencies. It’s a way to connect with voters and address their needs (aiding students, meetings, casework, grants, memorials)

Oversight

Congress monitors and checks the executive branch and federal agencies, ensuring they implement laws properly and follow the Constitution. (hearings, inquiries, investigations, financing, rulemaking review via Congressional Review Act)

Standing Committee

Permanent committees, multiple standing committees, often overlapping jurisdiction to afford more control to the party leadership to move must-pass legislation (agriculture, judiciary, foreign affairs, government, oversight); Taxing—-Finance committee (senate), ways and means committee (house)

House Rules Committee

set rules (timing, conditions, schedule) to hear bills out of rest of standing committee -House only

Select Committees

address temporary investigative or policy issues, dissolve generally after a term is adjourned (steroids in baseball, benghazi, Missouri compromise)

Joint Committees

members of both houses; focus on specific issues, conduct investigations, or oversee certain functions, providing a collaborative approach to legislation; library, printing, investigative or research purposes (economic taxation)

Conference Committee

made up of House and Senate; formed if both houses can’t agree on an identical version of a bill; works to resolve differences between two versions of a bill creating a unified version for final approval.

Party structure (leaders, whips, caucuses/conferences)

party leaders can engage in negotiations to effect and pass policy

Committee Structure

committees have overlapping jurisdictions (responsibility for the same policy) that gives leadership multiple opportunities to influence the legislative process)

How a Bill becomes law

1. A bill can be sponsored by a member from either the House or the Senate

2. As the bill is considered and debated, it often changes

3. Once the bill is assigned to a committee, it can be further debated and changed

4. Once it comes out fo the committee, it goes to the floor for a vote

5. If the bill passes both houses, it goes to the president for signing

Majority and Minority Whips

make sure party members walk in line with party goals

Most important House Leader and Senate Leader

Speaker of the House; Majority Leader

President of the Senate

VP of the United States, non-voting member, votes to break a tie

Partisanship

members’ allegiance to their party’s beliefs or goals

Redistricting

The process of redrawing the boundaries of electoral districts based on population changes, usually done every 10 years after the census to ensure fair representation; state level

Gerrymandering

The manipulation of electoral district boundaries to favor a particular political party or group, often resulting in oddly shaped districts that benefit the controlling party.

Reapportionment Process

• Census: Every 10 years, the population is counted to gather demographic data.

• Reapportionment: Based on the census data, the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are redistributed among the states to reflect population changes.

• Redistricting: After reapportionment, states redraw the boundaries of their electoral districts to ensure equal representation in response to population shifts.

Floating voter (different election cycles)

"float" between different candidates or parties based on the issues or candidates in a specific election year

Split-ticket voting

voting candidates from both parties in the same election cycle

Divided Government

president held by one party, one or both houses controlled by opposing party

Liberal

intervention by the federal government is necessary to ensure that ideals of equality are upheld

Conservative

the government should do less, allowing the people to have more freedom

Delegate Model (more in House)

members who try to mirror the wishes of their constituencies

Trustee Model (more in Senate)

members elected to use their best judgement in acting on behalf of their constituents

Politico model

A theory of political representation where legislators alternate between acting as trustees (making decisions based on their own judgment) and delegates (following the wishes of their constituents), depending on the issue at hand

Partisan Gerrymandering

Constitutional; redistricting that favors one political party; packing—concentrating the opposing party's voters into a few districts to limit their influence elsewhere. Cracking—spreading the opposing party's voters across many districts to dilute their voting power, preventing them from winning in any district.

Racial Gerrymandering

Unconstitutional; redistricting with racial communities in mind; concentrate racial minorities into majority-minority districts, dilute racial minorities across several districts

Baker v Carr (1963)

• Issue: Whether federal courts have the authority to intervene in state redistricting cases.

• Justiciability: Federal courts have the authority to hear and decide cases regarding state legislative apportionment. This means that voters can challenge state redistricting plans in federal court if they believe their representation is unfair.

• Equal Protection Clause: The Court determined that the failure to appropriately redraw district lines, despite population changes, violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. This clause ensures that each person's vote carries equal weight, thus supporting the principle of "one person, one vote."

About: Tennesse failed to redistrict for 60 years, urban areas underrepresented

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

• Background: After the 1990 Census, North Carolina created a majority-minority congressional district to comply with the Voting Rights Act. The district was unusually shaped and stretched across the state, leading to allegations of racial gerrymandering.

• Key Issue: The plaintiffs, including white voters (Shaw), challenged the district's shape, arguing that it violated their equal protection rights under the 14th Amendment (everyone should be treated the same by law) by prioritizing race over other factors in redistricting.

• Supreme Court Decision: The Court ruled that the redistricting plan was unconstitutional because it was based predominantly on race. It established that while states can consider race in redistricting, they cannot use race as the primary factor in drawing district lines.

• Significance: Addresses racial gerrymandering

Conferences-informal

gatherings of members from the same political party in Congress (e.g., the Republican Conference or Democratic Caucus). They discuss strategy, policy, and legislative priorities.

Congressional Oversight: Financing

funding for bureaucracies is effective. Positive outcomes may lead to continued support, while inefficiencies can result in budget cuts or reforms, promoting accountability in federal spending

Legislate: Committee Structures

Standing Committees: Function: These are permanent committees that focus on specific areas of legislation. They review bills, hold hearings, and make recommendations to the full chamber. Example: The House Ways and Means Committee is responsible for tax policy and revenue generation.

Constituent Services: aiding students, casework

Offices hold workshops on grants, loans, and scholarships, assist with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and advocate for students facing financial aid issues. They also provide resources for students with disabilities or seeking vocational training; Casework involves congressional offices helping constituents with specific issues. For instance, if a constituent faces delays with their visa or green card application, the office can intervene by contacting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to check the application status