Unit 7 Notes
Unit 7 – The Congress (part 1)
I. The National Legislature
Ø Congress is the legislative branch of the National Government
Ø What is Congress’ most basic function?
A. A Bicameral Congress
o The Constitution immediately established a bicameral legislature – that is one made up of two houses (3 reasons why)
1. Historical
- The British Parliament had consisted of two houses since the 1300s and most colonial assemblies were also bicameral
- What is the only state with a unicameral legislature today?
2. Practical
- The two chambered body settled the conflict between the Virginia and the New Jersey Plans at the Constitutional Convention.
- Bicameralism is a reflection of what?
3. Theoretical
- The Framers favored a bicameral Congress in order that one house might act as a check on the other.
- What was the purpose of bicameralism for the Framers?
B. Terms and Sessions
o Terms of Congress
- each term of Congress lasts for 2 years and each term is numbered consecutively (113th Congress presently)
- Why did the start of a term switch from March 4th to January 3rd with the passing of the 20th Amendment in 1933?
o Sessions
- a session of Congress is that period of time during which each year Congress assemblies and conducts business.
- Congress adjourns or suspends until the next session; and also recesses for short periods during a session.
o Special Sessions
- Only the President may call Congress into a special session – a meeting to deal with some emergency
- Has happened 26 times; last time 1948 – why not recently?
II. The House of Representatives
A. Size and Terms
· 435 members; that number is set by Congress and the Constitution states that seats shall be apportioned (distributed) based on populations.
· Each state gets one seat (7 states)
· 2 year terms (no limit) – what is the purpose of the 2 year term?
B. Reapportionment
· The Constitution directs Congress to reapportion (redistribute) the seats in the House after each decennial (10 year) census.
· What was the size of the first House of Reps?
1. A Growing Nation
o As the nation’s population grew, and as the number of States increased, so did the size of the House.
o The size of the House eventually grew to 435 by 1910.
o What was the problem after the 1920 census?
2. The Reapportionment Act of 1929
o Set up an “automatic reapportionment” - some key aspects:
- permanent size of the House at 435 and 650,000 persons per seat in the House (roughly)
- Census Bureau determines the number of seats each State should have after a census is taken.
C. Congressional Elections
- on the same day in every state and since 1872 it has been the Tuesday following the first Monday in November of each even-numbered year.
- What are “off-year” elections?
- What usually happens to the party in power during these elections?
- Single Member Districts (there are 435) – voters in each district elect one person to represent them in Washington DC.
D. Qualifications for House Members
1. Formal Qualifications (from Constitution)
Ø At least 25 years of age
Ø Must be citizen of the US for at least 7 years
Ø Must be an inhabitant of the State from which he/she is elected
2. Informal Qualifications (realities of politics)
Ø Deal with the ability to GET VOTES
Ø IDENTIFY some of these informal qualifications
III. The Senate
A. Size, Election, and Terms
1. Size
§ The Constitution says that the Senate “shall be composed of two Senators from each State”. (Total of 100)
§ Why did the Framers want the Senate smaller than the House?
§ Members of the Senate represent entire states thus they represent a larger more diverse population with a broad range of interests.
2. Election
§ How were Senators originally chosen for the office?
§ After the 17th Amendment (1913) senators have been picked directly by the voters in each state.
§ Only one senator is elected from a State in any given election, except when the other seat has been vacated by death, expulsion, resignation.
3. Terms
§ Senators serve for 6-year terms and there is no limit on how many terms they can serve – Who has the record # of terms?
§ Senators terms are staggered - only 1/3 of the Senate is up for reelection every two years – thus the Senate is a continuous body
§ What is the reason for the 6-year terms in the Senate?
1.
2.
§ Constituencies (people and interests the Senators represent) are larger for a senator and thus must keep an eye on “big picture” rather than local issues – makes them more of a national political leader.
§ Senators get more media attention than House members and often use this as a platform to run for President.
B. Qualifications for Senators
§ A Senator must meet a higher level of qualifications than those the Constitution sets for members of the House.
§ What are these Constitutional qualifications?
1.
2.
3.
§ The Senate, like the House, judges the qualifications of its members and it many exclude a member by a majority vote.
IV. The Members of Congress
A. Personal and Political Backgrounds
q Whatever else they may be, the 435 members of Congress are NOT a representative cross section of the American people.
q DECRIBE the average member of Congress
q General facts about the 113th Congress:
ü More women today than ever: 63 in the House; 14 in the Senate
ü Racial minorities are increasing also (African Americans + Hispanics)
ü Religion = 60% Protestant, 25% Catholic, 8% Jewish
ü Many were lawyers; almost all went to college + have advanced degrees
ü What one thing is common with almost all members?
B. The Job
Ø Members of Congress play (5) major roles:
1. Legislators – make laws
2. Representatives of the People
q Voting on proposed bills is a very important task.
q Senators and Representatives are elected to represent the people and there are (4) options they have when casting votes:
TrusteesDelegates
Partisans
Politicos
3. Committee Members
q Proposed laws (bills) are referred to committees in each chamber and Senators and members of the House screen these proposals.
q What is the oversight function?
4. Servants to their constituents and (5. Politicians)
q They (or staff aides) try to help people who various problems with the federal bureaucracy (Social Security, passport application, etc…
q They politician role is to do these things to get reelected.
C. Compensation
Ø The Constitution says that members of Congress “shall receive a Compensation for their Services to be ascertained by Law...”
1. Salary
q Senators and Representatives are paid a salary of $158,000 a year
2. Nonsalary Compensation
q Each member receives a number of “fringe benefits”, some of which are quite substantial – examples are:
Travel + office allowancesMedical + pension
Franking privilege
3. The Politics of Pay
q There are only (2) real limits on the level of congressional pay:
i.
ii.
4. Membership Privileges
q Members of Congress enjoy several Constitutional privileges:
ü Cannot be arrested going to, from, or in Congressional session (not really an issue)
ü The more relevant privilege is ….” For any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.”
Ø EXPLAIN the meaning and relevance of this statement
Powers of Congress (chapter 11)
Ø There is much that Congress cannot do – create a national public school system, require to people to vote or attend church or confiscate handguns
Ø Still Congress does have the power to do many things…
V. The Expressed Powers of Money and Commerce
A. The Power to Tax
1. The Purpose of Taxes
q DEFINE tax =
q The Federal Government has taken in over $2,000,000,000,000 or more in recent years - well over 90% comes from various taxes levied by Congress
q Protective tariffs (tax on foreign goods coming into US) also raise $$
q How is “licensing” a form of taxation?
2. Limits on the Taxing Power
q There are limits on taxation: cannot lay a tax on a church service (1st Amendment) or lay a poll tax on voting (24th Amendment)
q There are (4) explicit Constitutional limitations on the taxing power:
1.2.
3.
4.
B. The Borrowing Power
Ø Congress can borrow money on the credit of the United States
Ø For decades the Federal government has practiced deficit financing = regularly spending more than you take in each year.
Ø What is the public debt?
C. The Commerce Power
Ø The power of Congress to regulate interstate and foreign trade
Ø Gibbons v. Ogden (1824): the Supreme Court decision that affirmed this power
Ø How did this power play a role in the civil rights movement in the 1960’s?
D. The Currency Power
Ø Congress has the power to coin money and regulate the value of it.
E. The Bankruptcy Power
Ø Congress has the power to establish uniform laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States. DEFINE bankruptcy
VI. Other Expressed Powers
Ø The National Government has greater powers in the field of foreign affairs and Congress shares this power with the President (states have no part in foreign aff)
A. War Powers
Ø Congress has the power to deal with war and national defense; and these powers are shared with the president.
Ø Power to declare war, raise and support an army + navy, and the power to provide for “calling forth the militia”.
Ø Congress claimed the power to restrict the use of American forces with what?
B. Other Expressed Powers
Ø The Constitution sets out a number of other expressed powers that have a direct influence on the daily lives of Americans:
Naturalization
/Postal Power
/Copyrights and Patents
/Weights and Measures
/Power over ter. + other areas
/Eminent domain
VII. The Implied Powers
A. The Necessary and Proper Clause
Ø What does the Constitution say about education? NOTHING – yet Congress appropriates (assigns to a particular use) more than $60 billion a year.
Ø How can this be? This is an example of an implied power stated in the Necessary and Proper Clause (Article I Section 8) – What does this mean?
B. The Battle Over Implied Powers
Ø The Necessary and Proper Clause was immediately called into question in 1790 over the issue of a National bank: 2 sides to the debate –
StrictConstruction
Liberal or loose
Construction
Ø Supreme Court case McCulloch v. Maryland 1819 reaffirmed Necessary and Proper clause as being Constitutional. RESULT = National bank was legal
VIII. The Non-legislative Powers
A. Constitutional Amendments
Ø Congress has the power to propose a Constitutional Amendment by 2/3 vote in both houses – It has done so 33 times.
Ø Congress can also call a national convention of delegates from each of the States to propose Amendment – this has never happened.
B. Electoral Duties
Ø The Constitution gives certain electoral duties to Congress (rarely exercised)
1. House of Representatives may be called on to elect a President
q How does this happen?
q This has happened twice – Thomas Jefferson in 1801 and John Quincy Adams in 1824
2. 25th Amendment provides for the filling of a vacancy in the vice-presidency
q President nominates a successor (replacement) and the nominee is subject to a majority vote in both houses of Congress.
q Has this process ever happened?
C. Impeachment
Ø President, Vice President and other high officials may “be removed from Office on Impeachment for Conviction of, Treason, Bribery or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” - DEFINE IMPEACH
Ø House has the power to bring the charges (requires a majority vote); Senate has the power to try the case. (2/3 vote for a conviction)
Ø Who presides over a case of impeachment?
Ø Two Presidents have been impeached (Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton) and the Senate voted to acquit (finding of not guilty) both men.
Andrew JohnsonBill Clinton
Richard Nixon
D. Executive Powers
1. Appointments
q All major appointments (cabinet, federal judges) made by the President must be confirmed by the Senate by majority vote
q What is senatorial courtesy?
2. Treaties
q The Senate may accept or reject a treaty as it stands, or it may decide to offer amendments. Treaty of Versailles (WW I) was rejected by Senate.
E. Investigatory Powers
Ø Congress has the power to investigate any matter that falls within the scope of its legislative powers. EXAMPLE Kefauver Commission
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