The Legislative Branch

1. The Legislative Branch

2. Constitutional Qualifications for Election to Congress

3. Why do we have two houses of Congress? • Unicameral- “one-house” legislatures had not worked well in our history. ( examples: Continental Congress/Articles of Confederation) • Bicameral- “two-house” legislature to serve as the nation’s lawmaking branch. Composed of the Senate/House of Representatives.

4. Benefits of a bicameral Congress • Serves as a brake- A bill must be approved by both houses meeting separately. ( Why do they do this?) • Prevents sectional legislation- A bill passed by the House that favors a single, heavily populated region of the country can be killed in Senate. This prevents the passage of laws that might work against the best interests of other sections in the country. • Provides differing viewpoints- House( every 2 years) and Senate (every 6 years) have different viewpoints based on security/longevity of term. • Provides time for review- most new bills take a long time to go through both houses. This slow process, gives everyone involved a good chance to analyze and make a solid decision on the status of the bill.

5. Critics of the bicameral system say…… • The system’s slow pace is a fault. • The slowness, gives special interests too many chances to delay or defeat the bills they oppose.

6. What are some of the jobs within Congress? • Speaker of the House • Is elected at a special party conference or caucus. Serves a two-year term. • Will only vote on an issue if there is a tie. ( serves as the tie-breaker) • The House of Representatives is led by a presiding officer known as the Speaker. The leader of the majority party holds this powerful post. The Speaker has two major powers which include:

7. Powers of the Speaker • 1. Power to recognize members- House members cannot take the floor to speak unless they are recognized by the Speaker. ( Pick and chose who they recognize. how can these have an impact on decisions? Favoritism? • 2. The Speaker also interprets and applies the rules of the House. This power enables the Speaker to (1) refer bills to favorable committees, (2) appoint special and conference committee members, and (3) delay or speed up the passage of legislation.

8. President of the Senate • The Vice President of the United States serves as the President of the Senate. This is one of the few specific tasks that the Constitution gives the Vice President. Will only take action if there is a close vote on an important bill.

9. HOUSE Larger body (435 members) Shorter term (2 years) Elected from districts within States Younger membership Less prestige Lower visibility in the news media Strict rules, limited debate Most work is done in committees, not on the floor No power over treaties and presidential appointments. SENATE Smaller body (100 members) Longer term (6 years) Elected from entire State Older membership More prestige Higher visibility in the news media Flexible rules, nearly unlimited debate Work is split more evenly between committees and the floor Approves or rejects treaties and presidential appointments Major Differences Between the House/Senate

10. Party Leaders • Each house a majority and a minority party leader. These leaders work with the Speaker of the House and the president of the Senate. Their jobs include the following five duties: (1) to manage debate on all business before the House and Senate, (2) to coordinate the work of congressional committees, (3) to chose the speakers who are going to debate a particular bill, (4) to work with the Rules Committee to move bills onto the floor, (5) to organize party members so that the party is unified on important votes.

11. Three Types of Committees • Standing committees- they investigate problems that need legislative attention. • Special committees- when a situation develops that cannot be handled by normal committee procedures “special committees” are formed. Examples include: , hunger, world affairs, and government intelligent agencies. • Conference committees- when Senate/House cant agree on something, these committees are formed to create a compromise and settle the difference. The conference committee thus plays a key role in deciding a bill's final form.

12. Different types of powers • Who remembers some examples of: • Reserved Powers (only State Government) • Delegated Powers ( Only by the National Government) • Concurrent ( shared by Both)

13. Part 2 • Congress and the control of fiscal policy

14. Where does all the money come from? • The six main types of taxes are: • Personal Income Tax • Social Security Tax • Corporate Income Tax • Excise Tax • Estate/Gift Tax • Custom Tax

15. 1. Personal Income Tax • The federal government uses the personal income tax to collect a percentage of each American’s earnings. (average range is currently between15-28% of income) • Not all income is taxable. Exemptions and deductions allow people to subtract many personal/business expenses from their earnings before they calculate their taxes. • Examples of exemptions/deductions are: donations, charities, school, work, gas, uniforms expenses, coaching, children, and owning your own business( phone bills, computer, etc.)

16. 2. Social Security Tax • The Social Security system was est. in 1935. The system was designed to provide old-age benefits for America’s factory/office workers. Today, Social Security touches the lives of more than nine out of ten Americans. Social Security taxes are taken from each pay check to cover the following: (1) old-age and survivors’ insurance, (2) disability insurance, (3) unemployment insurance, (4) medical insurance, (5) retirement plans for certain groups of civil workers. • Is the future of Social Security in trouble? Will it still be around when you guys are of age?

17. 3. Corporate Income Tax • Industries and businesses pay corporate income taxes on their profits. These range from 15 to 35 percent. • Investment credits and other tax breaks make it possible for some large companies to make millions of dollars while paying almost no taxes. • Are these loopholes good for our society?

18. 4. Excise Tax • These are taxes that are levied on the sale of specific goods/services. Examples include: gas, food, movie tickets, clothes, etc. • These taxes force both the rich and poor to pay same amount on each good. These taxes are harmful to the poor because each dollar they pay represents a larger share of their income. • What is the current NY tax rate? • 8.25% ( about 8 cents on each dollar)

19. 5. Estate and Gift Tax • People pay these taxes when they transfer money or property to another person. • Regulations include the following: • First 1.5 million of a deceased person’s estate is tax-free • May give up to $10,000 tax-free to another person each year These taxes keep wealthy people from giving away their money in order to avoid estate taxes.

20. 6. Customs Taxes • If you buy something imported from another country, the price probably includes a customs tax. This tax is also known as a tariff or duty. • Ever been on a cruise or international vacation? See “Duty-free” shopping signs? • By reducing customs taxes, the U.S. has stimulated trade and opened new markets for U.S. exports.

21. How the Federal Budget Dollar is spent • Defense • Direct Benefit Payments- education, medical care, social welfare • Interest on the National debt- interest paid on notes/bonds that are sold. This amounts to about 11.2% of the federal budget. • 4. Other Federal Operations- up keep of nation( offices, vehicles, statues, etc.)

22. Regulation of the Currency • Congressional Powers include the following four areas: • Regulating banking through the Federal Reserve System • Guaranteeing the safety of individual bank accounts up to $100,000 through Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) • Work with the President to set the international value of the dollar ( trading currencies) • Authorizing U.S. participation in world banking agencies.

23. Vocab words • Pork barreling- The total cost of special-interest programs passed each year. Examples- useless construction projects (flood control on rivers that never flood or financial aid for special interests. • Inflation- when goods are short in supply and people have too much money, the prices will rise. • Recession- a slowdown in the economy that causes high unemployment and lower production of goods/services.