The Legislative Branch : The U.S. Congress

1. The Legislative Branch: The U.S. Congress Michael Quinones, NBCTwww.socialstudiesguy.com

2. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ APK: Activation of Prior KnowledgeWrite at least 2-3 sentences describing a time when…You selected or chose someone to do something for you [Describe how well or poorly the person performed]. Question of the Day How does the United States Congress provide leadership and representation for citizens of the United States?

3. Terms/Words/Topics You Need To Look For

4. The United States Congress The Legislative Branch is also known as the Congress. The Congress is a bicameral legislature. Two (2) separate houses (chambers). Senate [2 senators per state who represent the entire state] House of Representatives [Number of representatives per state based on the state’s population; members of the house represent their district] The powers of Congress are listed in the Constitution Those that are clearly listed such as making laws are called expressed powers Those not so clear are called implied powers such as what the Elastic Clause may allow.

5. Congress is very powerful but….Why are these limits on Congress important?[Writ of Habeas Corpus, Bill of Attainder, Ex Post Facto laws]Which of these powers is the most unfair [why?]? Because of abuses of power by abusive governments in Europe, before the United States was created, certain powers were kept from Congress: According to Article I of the U.S. Constitution Congress may not… Suspend the writ of Habeas Corpus-Latin means to have the body[right of accused criminal to go before a judge to hear charges against him] Pass bills of attainder [convicting people of crimes by a legislature without the option of a jury] Pass ex post facto laws [to make something a crime that was not a crime when originally committed]

6. House of Representatives:How is the H.O.R. more responsive to the people? Jobs, Responsibilities and Powers Members of the House of Representatives represent their constituents [people of a specific district] who elect them to serve the interests of the people of the district in the Congress. Members serve two (2) year terms of office after elected. All budget and tax billsmust originate in the House of Representatives [not the Senate] Have the sole power to impeach [the beginning of the removal process] of government officials. The House of Representatives has a leader called the House Speaker who is a member of the majority political party [if the president and vice president both die the speaker becomes president]. The Speaker of the House controls debate and what bills are eventually voted on by the House of Representatives. Qualifications[1] Have to be 25 yrs old[2] Have be a citizen of U.S[3] Have to reside in that state’s district

7. The Senate:How is the Senate more powerful than the H.O.R.? Jobs, Responsibilities and Powers Members of the Senate represent their constituents [people of the entire state] who elect them to serve the interests of the people of the state in the Congress. Two (2) senators per state Senators serve six (6) year terms of office Has sole power to ratify treaties Have the sole power to try impeachments[decide whether government officials are removed] Has sole power to confirm [by holding hearings] appointed members of the executive branch and judicial branch Examples- members of the Cabinet and Supreme Court Justices. Has sole power to filibuster [a debate intended to stall debate and vote on a bill/confirmation] To end a filibuster 60% of senators present may vote to end debate and ask for a vote[called a cloture vote] Senator engaged in a filibuster Qualifications[1] Have to be 30 yrs old[2] Have to be a citizen of U.S[3] Have to reside in that state

8. Understanding Words-Read each of the sentences on the left and right.-Decide what each underlined word means.-Write the underlined word in a sentence of your own. The students expressed their opinions very clearly about the situation. The kiss expressed exactly what the man was feeling towards the woman. The rude comment by the young woman implied that she did not like him. Somehow, by John wearing a pink shirt and lavender pants, people implied he was gay. In order to postpone going to bed Jane decided to filibuster her parents with endless reasons she should stay awake longer. Pete decided to filibuster his father with small talk while his girlfriend snuck out the back door. The teacher confirmed that Alex’s answer to the question was correct. The pleasant smile on Mark’s face was all the confirmation Emily needed to know that he was happy. After being denied permission, to go out by her mother, Pam asked her dad to override that decision. Certain computer viruses can override important, vital programs. A committeecomposed of seniors was selected to decide which science project was the best. The winner of the beauty contest was chosen by a group of experts on the fashion committee.

9. Be on the look out for‘s Pay careful attention to all the information you are about to learn regarding the U.S. Congress and its structure. Be sure to look for questions with a beside them because you must copy them downandanswer them completely using all information you have. Your answers must be in complete sentencesandin your own words.

10. Terms/Words/Topics You Need To Look For

11. Why does Congress make laws? An idea, issue or problem must arise Examples- Too many illegal immigrants Drunk driving accidents Legal smoking age Homosexual marriage Public outrage may lead to legislation[law] People may petition their representatives in Congress to get a law passed or prevent one of the above issues from becoming a law. Sometimes members of Congress [from the Senate or House] send out letters through the mail to inform constituents of issues. Members of Congress have a franking privilege [may send out free mail] that allows them to share information with people they represent.

12. How does a bill become law? A member of Congress [Senator/Representative] proposes a bill[“Wannabe” law] Members of that Chamber debatethe bill. Discuss the positives and negatives. After debate on the bill it goes to committee for hearings The law is “proofread,” edited and finalized Bill is voted on in Senate, if passed, it goes to the HOR if passed… It goes to the president for approval If he signs it, it becomes a law. If not he can veto [reject the bill] What can Congress do in that case? Override the veto [revote for a super majority] A revote with 2/3 [66%] of both houses

13. The Congressional Committee System Why is having committees a good idea? It would be impossible for every member of Congress to think of every idea, solution or issue that his/her constituents needs answered or taken care of. Each house of Congress has committees [sometimes sub-committees too] set up to consider and write bills, hold hearings, investigate problems. Each committee has a leader [a chairperson] who controls debate and questioning. The leader is chosen by seniority [how long the person has served in Congress].

14. Legislative [Congress] Branch Skit • In groups of no more than five [5] students choose one [1] of the following topics to create a skit to present to the class [You must introduce each member’s role before you present to class]: [1] U.S. Senate filibuster [2] Veto override process [3] Congressional Committee hearing [4] Member of Congress [senator or House Rep] talking to a concerned constituent. [5] Impeachment Process

15. Image Sources http://www.germane-software.com/~ser/albums/dc_6_03/img_0063.sized.jpg http://www.pbs.org/newshour/images/congress/jan-june06/immi1.jpg http://www.pbs.org/newshour/images/congress/jan-june05/0622en_sen.jpg http://www.house.gov/towns/images/chamber.jpg http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/graphic/xlarge/08_30_05(15-29-12)_108th_xl.jpg http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/msh0063l.jpg http://redwing.hutman.net/~mreed/Assets/filibuster.jpg http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/amer_pol_hist/fi/000000d9.jpg http://farm1.static.flickr.com/9/17488944_a6fa009864.jpg?v=0 http://www.apa.org/ppo/images/btltable.jpg http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/hsc4492l.jpg http://cf1.netmegs.com/memestream/habeas%20corpus.jpg