Voting in Congress: just yes or no?!!

1. Voting in Congress:just yes or no?!!

2. Who will you be? • Today you will step into the shoes of a legislator! • Create your own identity as a Senator or House member!

3. Who are you? • Raise your hand if you are a member of the House of Representatives? • Raise your hand if you are a member of the Senate? • Raise your hand if you selected one of the Republican Party’s values? • Raise your hand if you selected one of the Democratic Party’s values?

4. Making Laws: • As a member of Congress, it is your job to make laws that solve problems facing this country. • Congress makes laws regarding such issues as: education, going to war, the economy, taxes, and the environment. And the list is much longer than this!

5. Deciding How to Vote: • As a legislator, you can either vote YES or NO on a bill. • When do you think it might be easy to vote YES for a bill? • When do you think it might be hard to vote YES for a bill?

6. There are 4 main factors that shape whether a legislator votes YES or NO on a bill: 1.) Does Congress have the power to do this under the Constitution? 2.) What are my personal views? 3.) What are my political party’s views? 4.) What are my voters’ views?

7. Factor #1: Does Congress have the power to do this? • In this country, the government can’t do anything it wants to do! It must follow the law, too. • Where does the government find the answer to this question? Its official rulebook: The Constitution! • The Constitution only gives the Congress specific powers. This is called: “LIMITED GOVERNMENT.”

8. Factor #2: Your Personal Views • We all have opinions on lots of different things! (Like favorite ice cream flavor or TV show) • As a member of Congress, you have a personal opinion on the bills that come before you. • Sometimes you will agree with bills, and other times you will be totally against them.

9. Factor #3: What does your political party think? • Definition: A group with similar values that works to win elections and shape laws that reflect those values. • Your political party is like your team. You try to support each other and make bills that reflect your values. • Sometimes you will agree with your political party on a bill, and other times you may disagree with your party’s opinion on a bill.

10. Factor #4: Your Voters • Your voters got you elected into office. • You would not have your job if not for your voters! • Your voters will choose whether you keep your job in the future. They can reelect you in the next election, or they can elect someone else. • So, you care what your voters think!

11. Voting on Bills: You get 1 vote!!! • Today we will consider 3 bills. • For each bill, you will compare these four factors. • Then you will get 1 vote – YES or NO.

12. Bill #1: End Saturday Mail Delivery • The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an independent government agency. It pays for itself with the money it brings in from its services. • The USPS is losing A LOT of money because people are sending fewer letters. People use email to send messages and pay bills online. • What are the numbers? • In 2009, USPS lost $3.8 billion! • Over the next 10 years, it expects to lose $238 billion!!!

13. Bill #1: Things to Consider • This bill will save the Postal Service about $3 billion a year. For it to keep running, it needs to reduce its debt. • In 2009, the amount of letters and packages mailed was down 12.7%. This trend is going to continue for years to come. • Will voters be upset with no Saturday mail delivery? It’s a part of American life. • In 1957, there was a law passed to do away with Saturday mail. It lasted one Saturday! Voters were so upset that Congress passed a bill to bring it back.

14. Bill #1: Consider the 4 Factors Look at your handout, “Part 2: Voting on Bills.” 1.) Does Congress have the power to do this? Examine page 3 of your handout to see if Congress has power over post offices (and therefore the postal service). 2.) Your Personal Views? Do you believe Saturday mail delivery should be stopped or continued?

15. Bill #1: Consider the 4 Factors • To know what political party you would most likely be, refer to “Part 1: Who am I?” of your handout. • See which value you checked off and the political party with which it usually connects. 3.) Does your political party support this? • Which party do you think would support this? • Which party do you think would oppose this? • The answer is to come!

16. Bill #1: Consider the 4 Factors 4.) Do your voters support this bill? • For this activity, we will say that your state or district has more older voters than younger voters. Older voters are more likely to still use the Postal Service to mail letters while younger voters are more likely to use email. • So, what do you think? Will the majority of your voters support or oppose this bill?

17. Bill #1: Outcome • Does Congress have the power to make laws for the Postal Service? Yes! It’s listed in the Constitution. • Which political party supports this bill? • The Republican Party would be more likely to support this. Why? Because the bill saves money. • The Democratic Party would be more likely to oppose this. Why? Democrats would be more concerned with people wanting Saturday delivery to continue, even if it costs more money.

18. Bill #1: Outcome • What do your voters support? • The majority of your voters wants Saturday mail delivery to continue!

19. Bill #1: How did you vote?!! • How many people voted YES on the bill? • How many people voted NO on the bill? • For how many people was this an easy decision? Why? • For how many people was this a difficult decision? Why?

20. Bill #2: Increase the minimum wage from $7.25 to $7.50 per hour • The minimum wage refers to what businesses must pay their workers. They may not pay less than this. • In July 2009, the minimum wage increased to its current level of $7.25 per hour. • Who supports this? Workers who get paid by the hour support increases to the minimum wage. • Who opposes this? Business owners want to set their employees’ wages and do not believe the government should do this.

21. Bill #2: Consider the 4 Factors Look at your handout, “Part 2: Voting on Bills.” 1.) Does Congress have the power to do this? Examine page 3 of your handout to see if Congress has the power to change the minimum wage. HINT: Congress might think this is “necessary” to control business done across state lines. 2.) Your Personal Views? Do you believe the minimum wage should be increased to $7.50 per hour?

22. Bill #2: Consider the 4 Factors 3.) Does your political party support this? • Which party do you think would support this? • Which party do you think would oppose this? • The answer is to come!

23. Bill #2: Consider the 4 Factors 4.)Do your voters support this bill? • States have their own laws on the minimum wage. States may require that their employers pay their employees MORE than the minimum wage. However, they may NOT permit them to pay LESS than it. • Look at the map on the next slide and decide if you believe your state would support an increase in the minimum wage to $7.50.

24. Source: http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/america.htm Minimum Wage Laws in the States: January 1, 2010 Green = states with a minimum wage higher than the federal average Blue = states with minimum wage laws that are the same as the federal law Yellow = states with no minimum wage laws Red = states with minimum wage laws that are lower than the federal law Orange = American Samoa has its own minimum wage laws.

25. Bill #2: Outcome • Does Congress have the power to increase the minimum wage? The Supreme Court has said “Yes!” • But this was not easy to figure out since “minimum wage” is not listed in the Constitution. • These are called, “implied powers.”

26. “Implied Powers” • Congress does have some powers, “implied powers,” that are not actually written in the Constitution. • Look at the bottom right of page 3 of your packet. The part that reads, “To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper …” • Let’s read the box below it together.

27. What gives Congress this power? • Congress may create minimum wage laws because it is part of “regulating commerce … among the several states,” which is in the Constitution. • This is referred to as: “interstate commerce.” Congress has the power to make laws for businesses that operate in more than one state. • The minimum wage affects the business practices of all companies across the United States, so Congress can set a minimum wage.

28. Bill #2: Outcome • Which political party supports this bill? • The Democratic Party would likely support this. Why? Because Democrats tend to believe the government should ensure all workers are earning a fair wage of at least a certain amount. • The Republican Party would likely oppose this. Why? Because Republicans tend to believe the government should give business owners and employees the freedom to negotiate salaries individually.

29. Bill #2: Outcome • Do your voters support this bill? • If your state was highlighted in GREEN, then your voters would likely support this bill because they live in a state that thinks the minimum wage should be higher. • If you state was BLUE, then it is uncertain what your voters want. You can decide! • If your state was YELLOW or RED, then your voters would likely oppose this bill because they live in a state that thinks the minimum wage should be lower or shouldn’t even exist. • Move forward to the next slide to see the map again.

30. Source: http://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/america.htm Minimum Wage Laws in the States: January 1, 2010 Green = states with a minimum wage higher than the federal average Blue = states with minimum wage laws that are the same as the federal law Yellow = states with no minimum wage laws Red = states with minimum wage laws that are lower than the federal law Orange = American Samoa has its own minimum wage laws.

31. Bill #2: How did you vote?!! • How many people voted YES on the bill? • How many people voted NO on the bill? • For how many people was this an easy decision? Why? • For how many people was this a difficult decision? Why?

32. Bill #3: The government should grant citizens titles of nobility. • The United States government does not currently grant citizens titles of nobility. • This bill would include such titles as duke or duchess, baron or baroness, earl or countess. • These individuals would be of a higher class and have special privileges. • Who support this? Individuals who believe that society should have upper and lower classes. • Who opposes this? Individuals who believe that all people should be equal and have the same opportunities to be successful.

33. Bill #3: Consider the 4 Factors Look at your handout, “Part 2: Voting on Bills.” 1.) Does Congress have the power to do this? Examine page 3 of your handout to see if Congress has the power to grant titles of nobility. 2.) Your Personal Views? Do you believe that the government should be allowed to grant titles of nobility and special privileges to people?

34. Bill #3: Consider the 4 Factors 3.) Does your political party support this? 4.) Do your voters support this bill? • For both of these questions, decide what you think the right answer would be. • Take a guess on your handout. • We will go over this later!

35. Bill #3: Outcome • Does Congress have the power to grant titles of nobility? • NO! • It is listed in the Constitution that Congress may NOT do this.

36. Bill #3: Outcome • Which political party supports this bill? • NEITHER! The bill is un-American. It goes against the principles upon which this country was founded. • It goes against ALL of the values of each party. Why? • Do your voters support this bill? • NO! Again, the concept of the government granting special privileges to one class of people above another goes against the values of this country.

37. Bill #3: How did you vote?!! • How many people voted YES on the bill? • How many people voted NO on the bill? • For how many people was this an easy decision? Why? • For how many people was this a difficult decision? Why?

38. Final Point: • It doesn’t matter how you voted! If the Constitution says you can’t do it, you can’t do it! • If you passed this legislation, the courts would strike it down!