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How Congress Works

Learn about the intricate rules and procedures governing Congress, the roles of key leaders like the Speaker of the House and Party Whips, and the essential functions of committees in lawmaking. Discover how these mechanisms enable effective governance amidst diverse political affiliations.

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How Congress Works

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  1. How Congress Works (Congress #2)

  2. Congressional Rules • -Developed to help Congress operate: • 535 people making laws for over 300 million… • There must be rules! • -House has more rules than Senate: why? • -Parliamentary Procedures • both Houses of Congress use a formal system of debate which keeps the debate orderly • Imagine if we had 535 class members and no rules!!!

  3. Congressional Leadership -Majority Leader -each House chooses a leader of the majority party to be floor leader -Minority Leader -each House picks a minority party member to be its floor leader -Party Whip -each party in each House has a Party Whip to keep track of voting for important issues • Each person in the HoR & Senate is either: 1. a republican 2. a democrat 3. an independent • More democrats, then the majority will be Democrat and vice versa • Each will have a leader to help

  4. House Leaders Senate Leaders • -Vice President • -official leader but only votes in a tie and is rarely present • -President Pro-Tempore • -mostly symbolic position given to the longest serving Senator from the majority party • 3rd in line to the presidency! -Speaker of the House -basically runs the House of Representatives -sets up the calendar and schedules bills for debate • 2nd in Presidential succession!

  5. Committees: Little Legislatures • The detailed work of lawmaking is done in committees. • Each house has permanent standing committees that continue their work from session to session. • Most are divided into smaller subcommittees that deal with specialized issues.

  6. Committees (cont.) • Both houses also have select committees that are created to do a special job for a limited period. • They disband after completing their task. • Joint committees include members of both houses. • Temporary conference committees help the House and Senate agree on the details of a proposed law.

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