Chapter+7+Congress+-+Definitions,+Text+Notes,+Class+Notes+&+Connecting+Theory+to+Reality

100 senators-2 for each state **vs** 435 house members-proportional to state population must be 30 yrs old to be a senator **vs** 25 yrs old to be a house member must have resided for 9 yrs in the US to be in senate **vs** 7 yrs in the US to be in the house both must be legal residents of the state that they are elected from elected for 6 yr terms **vs** 2 yr terms
 * Apportionment** - the process of adjusting the number of congressional seats for each state, which is done after each U.S. Census.
 * Bill** - A law proposal that has to be approved by the Senate and the House of Representatives as well as the President before becoming a law.
 * Bicameral Legislature** - a legislature that's divided into 2 houses, the US Congress and the state legislatures.
 * Cloture** - the only way to end a filibuster. It requires the votes of 60 senators to end the unlimited debate.
 * Discharge Petition-** gives the majority party in the House the authority to bring an issue to the floor in face of committee inaction.
 * Conference Committees-** a joint committee created to resolve disagreements on bills between the House and Senate.
 * Impeachment -** a power given to the House to charge the pres., vice pres., or other civil officers with treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. impeachment is the first step to removing an official from office.
 * Joint Committees-** committees that include both houses of Congress; most are standing committees, but there are some specail ones created to address specific issues.
 * Majority Party**- The party in each house that has the most members.
 * Minority Party**- The Party in each house with the second most members.
 * Majority Leader**- Elected leader of the Majority party; 2nd to the Speaker of the House.
 * Minority Leader**- Elected leader of the Minority party.
 * Whip-** Elected by party members in caucuses. They mostly assist the speaker and the majority and minority leaders of their respective parties in their leadership efforts.
 * Redistricting** - when congressional districts are redrawn to show increases or decreases in seats given to the state as well as population shifts.
 * Select Committee-** Temoporary committee that does something specific like doing something with a investigation or study.
 * Seniority-** The continuous time of service on a committee.
 * Speaker of the House-** An officer elected at the beggining of each new congress by the House, and is normally a member from the majority party.
 * Specialization**- when certain members of congress become expertise on one certain subject or policy in order to produce better legislation affecting that policy
 * Standing Committee-** Committee to which bills are referred for consideration.
 * Pork-** The legislation that allows money to be brought home by representatives to their districts, which assist in public works programs, military bases, or other programs which help their districts directly.
 * Senate vs House**
 * Trustee-** elected representives whose job it is to listen to their constituents' opinions and thoughts and then, by using their best judgement, make final decisions
 * Delegate-** elected representitives whose role it is to vote the way their constituents' want them to, regardless of what their own opinions may be.
 * Politico-** elected representitives whose job it is to act like trustees or delegates, depending on what the issue may be. (members of congress typically fall under this category.)
 * Special/Select Committee:** a temporary committee appointed for a specific purpose, such as conducting a special investigation or study
 * Party caucus or conference:** a formal gathering of all party members attended by delegates who represent the party membership. Party Conferences are tasked with electing or nominating the party's leaders or leadership bodies, deciding party policy, and setting the party's platform and agendas.
 * Whip:** one of several representatives who keep close contact with all members and take nose counts on key votes, prepare summaries of bills, and in general act as communication links within parties
 * Divided government:** different political parties control the white house and congress; this makes decision making very difficult for the government
 * Incumbency:** The fact that being in office helps you re-election process significantly.
 * Logrolling:** Vote Trading; voting for someone's bill in return of a favor.
 * Hold:** A tactic by which a senator asks to be informed before a particular bill is brought to the floor. This stops the bill until the hold is removed.
 * Filibuster**- used in the Senate as a way of halting a bill by constant speeches by various senators
 * Oversight**- Members of Congress review the activities of an agency, department or office
 * Congressional Review**- a method of Congressional oversight in which Congress can nullify agency regulations by joint resolutionsof legislative disapproval
 * Pocket veto** – is when the President fails to sign a bill within the 10 days allowed by the Constitution. Congress must be in adjournment in order for a pocket veto to take effect. If Congress is in session and the president fails to sign the bill, it becomes law without his signature.
 * War Powers Act** – requires the president to consult with Congress before deploying troops abroad.
 * President Pro Tempore –** is the senator who presides over the Senate in the absence of the V-P. The position is usually given to the most senior senator of the majority party. The Constitution names the Vice- President as the "president" of the Senate but he rarely presides.

Text & Class Notes
The Constitution & the Legislative Branch of Government In a bicameral legislature, each state is represented in the Senate by 2 senators, regardless of state population. The House is determined by state population. The US Constitution sets out the formal requirements for membership in the House and Senate.

How is congress organized? The house of representiatives--> the speaker of the house ~the only officer specifically mentioned in the consituition: elected at the beginning of each new congress by the entire house, but traditionally of the majority party. Who are some other house leaders? Majority leader: elected leader of the party controlling the most seats in the house or the senate. second in authority to speaker in the house, most powerful in the senate. Minority leader: Elected leader of the party controlling less seats. Whip: representative who keeps in close contact with all memeber s of the party, takes counts of who will be voting for certain bills, acts as a communication link within the party. And the senate?? -vice president votes in case of a tie. president pro tempore: selected by majority party, presides over senate in absence of the vice president. what is the role of political parties in organizing congress? - party leaders decide who will sit on which committee. what is the committee system? - types of committees ~Standing: proposed bills refered here ~joint: members of both houses of congress, conducts investigations and special studies ~conference: commmittee that "irons out" differences between house and senate versions of legislation ~select (special): tempory. made for specific purposes like and investigation. Committee chairs - in the house, selceted by loyalty to the party and seniority COmmmittee memeber ship generally reflects party distribution How do members make decisions? -Constituents can influence a candidate. They are people who live and vote in the home district. -Staff and Support Agencies such as the Congressional Budget Office, the Congressional Research Service and the General Accountability Office.

Congress:
 * Where is most of the work done in Congress? -Committees proved oversight; 20 committees and 70 sub committees
 * House Standing Committees/ Senate Standing Committees: appropriations: appropriation committee and authorizing committes
 * -How do the differences between the HOuse and the Senate influence rules, procedures, and law making of those institutions?
 * S: more personal
 * H: votes more with party
 * H: More formal (435)
 * H: Rules Committee(set parameters)
 * S: unlimited debate
 * S: Amendments at any time
 * S: fillibuster
 * S: equal number
 * H: based on population...S(6) vs. H(2)
 * S: state
 * H: 650,000(District)
 * S: two per state
 * H: based on population

constitutional powers of congress
 * lawmaking
 * levy taxes
 * declare war
 * raise an army and navy
 * coin money
 * regulate commerce with foreign nations and among the states
 * establish federal courts and their jurisdiction
 * establish bankruptcy rules
 * establish rules of immigration and naturalization
 * issue patents and copyrights
 * borrow money
 * exercise power over the District of Columbia
 * override a presidential veto with 2/3rds vote of both houses
 * make all laws "necessary and proper" to carrying out the above


 * Congress and the Judiciary**

Congress must always be mindful of if their laws are in accord to the Constitution. Congress has the authority to establish the size of the Supreme Court, its appelate jurisdiction, and the structure of the federal court system. And it can also accept or reject presidential nominees to the federal courts.

Connecting Theory to Reality
An example of connecting theory to reality is the possible veto ovverride of the SCHIP bill, which President Bush vetoed in late 2007. Both houses of Congress would need a two-thirds majority in both Congressional houses, which the leaderships thinks that they can get.

An example of Congressional oversight of the Executive branch can be found in Congress' passing of the War Powers Act in 1973. As a result of the Vietnam war, they passed this law over Nixon's veto. It requires presidents to have the approval of Congress before sending troops into a combat zone. When troops were sent overseas in 2001 to fight terrorism, Congress had to pass a joint resolution that satisfied War Powers Act requirements.