The Legislative Branch

1. The Legislative Branch By: Madison City-data.com

2. What does the Legislative Branch do for us? • The legislative branch is one of the three branches of our country’s government. • The legislative branch is called Congress. • This branch is in charge of making our laws. The executive branch The judicial branch The legislative branch Stauton.k12.va.us

3. Meetings: • The legislative branch meets in our country’s capital, Washington D.C. • They meet in a building called the Capitol Building. • The legislative branch begins its meetings every odd-numbered year on the third of January. Epa.gov

4. The Representatives of Wisconsin: Tammy Baldwin Paul Ryan Steve Kagen Thomas Petri Ronald Kind F. James Sensenbrenner Gwen Moore There are 435 representatives in the United States! David Obey Tammybaldwin.house.gov scientificamerican.com projects.washingtonpost.co fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com zimbio.com politics.usnews.com paulryan.house.gov biztimes.com

5. What are the Qualifications of a Representative? • A representative needs to be 25 years old. • A representative needs to have been a citizen of the United States for 7 years. • The representative needs to live in the state they represent. • All of Wisconsin’s representatives live in Wisconsin.

6. The term of the House of Representatives: • The representatives of the House are elected for a 2 year term to serve our country.

7. Our Presiding Officer: • Our presiding officer is Nancy Pelosi. • She is the Speaker of the House. • Nancy Pelosi is a democrat. • The first woman to be a Speaker of the House is Nancy Pelosi. Poconticohills.org

8. The Senators of Wisconsin: • Russ Feingold: Herb Kohl: There are 100 Senators in the United States! Voices.washingtonpost.com Jama.ama-assn.org

9. What are the Qualifications of a Senator? • A senator needs to be 30 years old. • A senator needs to have been a citizen of the United States for 9 years. • The senator needs to live in the state they represent. • All of Wisconsin’s senators live in Wisconsin.

10. The term of the Senate: • The senators of the United States are elected for a 6 year term to serve our country. • Although, every 2 years, 1/3 of the Senate is up for reelection.

11. The Presiding Officers of the Senate: • The vice president • Joe Biden: • Democrat • The first time that Joe Biden was elected was in 1972. • The president pro tempore • Daniel K. Inouye • Democrat • Daniel K. Inouye is the oldest member of the Senate. Daninouyehawaii.com Joebiden-tvoneblogs.com

12. The Impeachment Process: • The impeachment process is started by the House of Representatives. • The impeachment process is the accusing of an official. • After the official is accused, the Senate carries out the trial against them.

13. How does a Bill become a Law? • It all starts with an idea from the House of Representatives or the Senate. • The idea then becomes a bill. • This bill is sent to the committee where the bill started from. • There then needs to be a quorum, or a vote of one over half in that committee. • The bill is then sent to the opposite committee where there needs to be another quorum. • Then, there needs to be a joint committee in which both the Senate and the House vote together. • After this happens, the bill is sent to the President; if the President likes the idea, it becomes a law, if he doesn’t like idea…

14. What is a Veto? • If the President doesn’t like the idea of the bill becoming a law he vetoes it. • This means that the bill is sent back to the house it started in, where there will be another vote. • This time, 2/3 of the House or Senate needs to agree with the law. • If the first house agrees, the bill is sent to the next house, where if that house agrees, becomes law. • If the bill doesn’t make the votes, it dies, or does not become a new law.

15. The 4 Powers of Congress: • Congress has the power to make our laws. • Implied powers are powers given to Congress that are written but are general. • Enumerated powers are powers given to Congress that are written in our country’s Constitution. • Inherent powers are powers given to Congress that are not stated in the Constitution.

16. The Limits on Congress: • Until 1808, Congress could not outlaw slavery. • Congress can not take away the right to a trial if you are accused of something. This law is called a bill of attainder. • Congress can not punish anyone who did something before it was a law. This law is called an ex post facto law. • Congress can not title anyone or make them a higher nobility. • Congress can not spend government money unless they are passing a law. • Congress can not put taxes on a state’s products.

17. Delegated, Concurrent, and Reserved Powers: • Delegated powers are powers that are reserved for the national government. • Concurrent powers are powers that are reserved for the state and the national government. • Reserved powers are powers that are reserved for the state government.

18. Membership? • In my opinion, I would not like to be a member of this branch because… • My whole country would be counting on me. • I would not have a lot of time for my family. • It would be difficult to come up with the laws for our country.

19. What law would I change? • In our country, some states allow people to text and talk on the phone while driving. • I think that this is very unsafe and that Congress should make a law against texting and talking on the phone while driving.

20. How the Legislative Branch affects our lives: • The legislative branch affects us very much. • Without the laws that the legislative branch makes for us, we would not live in a safe country. • We need laws, and the legislative branch carries out those laws for us.

21. Why is the Legislative Branch important? • The legislative branch is a very important branch in our country. • The legislative branch not only makes our laws, but is the branch that represents the individual states. • The legislative branch contains the House of Representatives, with representatives that help our states as well as the Senate.