Comprehensive Study Notes on Congressional and Executive Branch Functions

Significance of Congressional Function and Economic Influence

• Understanding the functions of Congress is critical because its legislative decisions directly affect the various branches of government and the American people.
• Legislative actions have significant economic consequences, often impacting international economies when laws regarding trade and training are altered.
• Inefficiencies or failures in congressional function result in broad negative impacts across diverse sectors of society and the global market.

The House of Representatives: Qualifications and Tenure

• Election Cycle: Members of the House of Representatives are elected every $2\,\text{years}$.
• Age Requirement: Candidates must be at least $25\,\text{years old}$.
• Citizenship Requirement: Candidates must have been a citizen of the United States for a minimum of $7\,\text{years}$.
• Residency Requirement: A representative must reside within the state they are elected to represent.
• Credentialing: There are no specific educational requirements or professional credentials needed to serve as a representative. Individuals from all career backgrounds, such as gardeners, are eligible if they meet the basic constitutional criteria.

The Decennial Census and Apportionment of Representation

• Purpose: The number of representatives assigned to each state is determined by its population size.
• Frequency: Population tracking occurs via the Decennial census, which is conducted every $10\,\text{years}$.
• State Minimums: The United States Constitution guarantees that every state maintains at least $1\,\text{representative}$.
• Population Variance: Representation is proportional to the number of residents. For example, California has $52\,\text{representatives}$, whereas a state with a smaller population, such as Nevada, might have $4\,\text{representatives}$.
• Data Collection Methods:
  • Surveys are sent through the mail to households.
  • Census workers historically conducted door-to-door interviews to record household data.
  • Data points include the total number of residents per household, the names and ages of children, and employment status.
  • Health-related information, such as whether a resident is pregnant, aids in tracking future population growth and resource needs.
• Resource Allocation: Accurate census reporting allows the government to allocate necessary resources to regions based on population density and community needs.

The United States Senate: Qualifications and Equal Representation

• Election Cycle: Senators serve terms of $6\,\text{years}$.
• Election Structure: To ensure stability, elections are staggered so that only $\frac{1}{3}$ of the Senate seats are up for election every $2\,\text{years}$.
• Age Requirement: Candidates must be at least $30\,\text{years old}$.
• Citizenship Requirement: Candidates must have held U.S. citizenship for at least $9\,\text{years}$.
• Residency Requirement: A senator must be a resident of the state they represent.
• Equal Representation: Regardless of population size, every state is represented by exactly $2\,\text{senators}$. This includes states such as California, Nevada, Hawaii, New York, Minnesota, and Florida.
• Professional Backgrounds: While not constitutionally required, senators often possess advanced degrees or professional backgrounds in fields such as education, medicine (doctors), law (lawyers), and psychology.

The Legislative Process: Progression from Bill to Law

• Bill Definition: A proposed law is formally categorized as a bill.
• Revenue Bills: All legislation involving revenue or the generation of money must originate in the House of Representatives.
• General Bills: These may originate in either the House of Representatives or the Senate.
• Sponsorship and Introduction: A legislator introduces and sponsors the bill. The legislation is typically named after the sponsors (e.g., the Levitt and Callahan Act) and assigned a specific registration number to begin the process.
• Committee and Subcommittee Review: The relevant chamber sends the bill to a committee, which then forms a subcommittee. The subcommittee reviews the bill's contents, makes necessary changes, and votes on its advancement.
• Chamber Agreement: Both the House of Representatives and the Senate must agree on the identical verbiage of a bill for it to move to the final stage of the legislative process.

Executive Action: Presidential Review and Veto Options

• Approval and Signing: The President can approve and sign the bill, at which point it becomes law on the effective date specified by Congress within the document.
• The Power of Veto: The President may reject the bill, returning it to Congress with objections. Congress must then re-evaluate the text and attempt to gain approval in both chambers again to meet presidential standards.
• The Ten-Day Rule: The President has a window of $10\,\text{days}$ (excluding the day of receipt) to act on a bill.
• Inaction Leading to Law: If the President takes no action within $10\,\text{days}$ while Congress is in session, the bill automatically becomes law.
• Pocket Veto: If the President takes no action within $10\,\text{days}$ while Congress is not in session, the bill fails to become law and "dies."

Checks and Balances in the Legislative System

• The primary objective of the system of checks and balances is to ensure that no single branch of the national government holds an excessive amount of power.
• This system ensures fairness by distributing authority among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches rather than letting it reside in one body.

The Role of Lobbyists in Influencing Legislation

• Definition: Lobbyists represent specific groups, industries, or organizations to influence the decisions of lawmakers regarding proposed bills.
• Goal: To persuade senators and representatives to support or oppose specific pieces of legislation.
• Ideal Traits: Successful lobbyists typically possess traits of persuasion and are often individuals from sales or legal backgrounds (attorneys) who can articulate positions effectively.
• Lobbying Activities: Lobbyists utilize strategic communication and may offer incentives (e.g., dinners, luxury gifts like Rolexes, or tickets to events for a legislator's family) to build rapport and secure votes.
• Representative Organizations:
  • PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals): Pushes for animal safety laws and national protections against animal cruelty.
  • National Rifle Association (NRA): Historically active in opposing legislation that might limit Second Amendment rights.
  • ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union).
  • AARP (American Association of Retired Persons): Represents the interests of retirees and the elderly.
  • AMA (American Medical Association): Focuses on physician interests and healthcare standards.

Article II of the U.S. Constitution: Defining the Executive Branch

• Section 1: Details the election procedures for the President and Vice President.
• Section 2: Defines the powers of the President, including:
  • Serving as the Commander in Chief of the armed forces.
  • Making appointments (Judges, Ambassadors, and Cabinet heads).
  • Negotiating and entering into treaties.
• Section 3: Outlines the mandatory duties of the President:
  • Enforcing laws.
  • Regularly reporting to Congress on the state of the union.
  • Convening Congress when necessary.
• Section 4: Lists the conditions under which a federal official can be removed from office.

Constitutional Grounds for the Removal of Federal Officials

• Impeachment Criteria: According to Article $2$, Section $4$, federal officials (including the President and Vice President) can be removed upon conviction of Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.
• Interpretive Ambiguity: The Constitution does not explicitly define what actions constitute "high crimes" or "misdemeanors." This lack of specificity makes the grounds for removal highly subjective and open to legal interpretation.
• Absence of Felony Restrictions: The text does not explicitly mention "felonies" as a disqualifier for holding the office of President. If an act is not specifically defined as treason, bribery, or a high crime/misdemeanor by the interpretive body, the official may technically remain in office under the highest law of the land.

Perspectives on Constitutional Interpretation and Media Reporting

• Legal Defense: Attorneys often utilize the lack of specific definitions in the Constitution to build defenses for their clients, arguing that specific actions are not explicitly prohibited by the document.
• Media Impartiality: Information from news outlets can be biased based on the agendas of the reporting agencies. It is beneficial to cross-reference reporting with independent or international news sources to gain a more objective view of political events.
• Ownership and Influence: A current estate case involving the owner of Fox News highlights the internal struggle over who will control the network's future political agenda, demonstrating how media ownership can impact public perception and the recording of history.

Questions & Discussion

• Question regarding Voting and Legal Changes: Are questions on the ballot regarding issues like marijuana or involuntary servitude representative of the people's vote, or is the law already passed?
  • Response: These are typically state-level votes. For example, Nevada voters recently decided to amend the Nevada Constitution by removing language regarding "involuntary servitude" to move away from historical associations with slavery.
• Question regarding the Structure of Government: How are the different government levels organized?
  • Response: Government functions in a pyramidal hierarchy that exists at multiple levels:
    • Federal Level: President (Executive), Congress (Legislative), U.S. Supreme Court (Judicial).
    • State Level: Governor (Executive), State Legislature (Legislative), Nevada Supreme Court (Judicial).
    • City/Municipal Level: City Manager or Mayor (Executive), City Council (Legislative).
    • County Level: County Commissioners representing specific districts.
• Question regarding Organizational Hierarchy: Is this structure found outside of government?
  • Response: Yes, similar hierarchies exist in education and business. At NCC, for instance, a proposed change for program chairs would start at the chair level, move to the dean for consensus, and then to the CEO for final approval before being implemented downward.
• Question regarding Current Nevada Senators: Who are the current representatives in the Senate for the state of Nevada?
  • Response: The two Nevada senators currently sitting in Congress are Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen.