Congress - Gov Unit 2

Feature	House of Representatives	Senate
Total Members	435 members	100 members
Minimum Age	25 years old	30 years old
Citizenship Requirement	7 years	9 years
Term Length	2 years	6 years
Representation	Specific district based on state population	Entire state (2 per state)
Constitutional Location	Article I, Section 2	Article I, Section 3
Chamber Debate Style	More formal, stricter rules	Less formal, broader debate

Enumerated Powers: Explicitly stated powers directly granted to Congress in Article I, Section 8, Clauses 1–17 of the Constitution.
Implied Powers: Powers not explicitly listed but deemed "necessary and proper" to execute enumerated powers, grounded in Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 (the Necessary and Proper / Elastic Clause).
Economic Powers: Power to tax, borrow money, regulate interstate and foreign commerce, coin money, and declare bankruptcy standards.
Military Powers: Power to declare war, raise and support armies, maintain a navy, and make rules governing military forces.
Application of Necessary & Proper Clause: Allows Congress to pass modern legislation (e.g., environmental protection, civil rights) as an extension of its enumerated power to regulate interstate commerce.

House Exclusive Powers: Initiates all revenue/tax bills, impeaches federal officials, and elects the President in the event of an Electoral College tie.
Senate Exclusive Powers: Provides "advice and consent" by ratifying treaties (2/3 vote), confirms presidential appointments (judges, cabinet members), and conducts trials for impeached officials.

Speaker of the House (House): Constitutionally required. Presides over the House, controls the legislative agenda, assigns bills to committees, and leads the majority party.
President of the Senate (Senate): Constitutionally required (held by the Vice President of the US). Presides over the Senate and casts tie-breaking votes.
President Pro Tempore (Senate): Presides over the Senate in the Vice President's absence; traditionally the senior member of the majority party.
Party Whips: Second-in-command officers who rally votes and maintain party discipline.

Filibuster (Senate): Prolonged debate used to delay or block a vote on a bill; prevents action without a 60-vote supermajority.
Cloture (Senate): A procedure to end a filibuster requiring a 3/5 majority vote (60 votes) to force a final vote on a bill.
Discharge Petition (House): A motion to force a bill out of committee directly to the floor for a vote (requires 218 signatures), bypassing leadership blocks.
House Rules Committee (House): Standing committee that sets parameters for floor debate, including time limits and amendment rules.
Treaty Ratification (Senate): Constitutional power to approve foreign treaties by a 2/3 vote, checking presidential foreign policy.
Confirmation of Judges (Senate): Constitutional power to approve judicial and executive appointments by a simple majority.

Discretionary Spending: Spending subject to annual appropriations bills that Congress actively debates and budgets each year.
Mandatory Spending: Spending required by existing law for entitlement programs (consumes over 60% of the federal budget).
Pork Barrel Legislation: Appropriations directed to specific local projects in a member's district to secure local votes by directing federal funds home.
Logrolling: An agreement by lawmakers to support each other's bills, facilitating bill passage and budget compromises.

Divided Government: Executive branch controlled by one party, legislative branch by another; often leads to gridlock, heightened oversight, and difficult budget negotiations.
Partisanship: Strong adherence to party loyalty over compromise, causing strict party-line voting and ideological polarization.
Bipartisanship: Agreement or cooperation between both political parties, necessary for passing major non-controversial legislation.
"Lame Duck" President: An outgoing president serving out their term after an election or term limit; faces reduced political leverage and increased congressional resistance.

Trustee Model: Representatives use their own independent judgment and conscience to make decisions. (More common in the Senate due to 6-year terms).
Delegate Model: Representatives vote strictly according to the explicit desires of their constituents. (More common in the House due to 2-year re-election cycles).
Politico Model: Representatives act as a delegate on high-profile constituent issues and a trustee on complex or minor issues.

Redistricting: Redrawing district boundaries every 10 years following the census to reflect population shifts.
Gerrymandering: Redrawing electoral district boundaries to favor one political party or demographic group, creating safe partisan districts.
Baker v. Carr (1962):
- Issue: Rural Tennessee districts had far fewer voters than urban districts, diluting urban votes.
- Outcome: Established that redistricting challenges are justiciable in federal court under the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment ("One person, one vote").
Shaw v. Reno (1993):
- Issue: North Carolina created an abnormally shaped majority-minority district to increase Black representation.
- Outcome: Ruled that race cannot be the predominant factor in drawing district lines without strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause.