Unit 3: The Legislative Branch Guided Notes

Concept 1: Distribution of Power

  1. Types of Powers
  2. Enumerated (______)- Powers specifically written in the Constitution
  3. Denied (______)- Powers forbidden to the national government because they belong to the states
  4. ______Powers- Powers held by both the federal/ national government and the states (______powers)
  5. Implied Powers (______)- Powers not explicitly named in the Constitution, but are assumed to exist due to their being necessary to implement the enumerated powers
  6. Special Powers (______Powers)
  7. Powers held by either the House or the Senate exclusively
  8. House
  9. All money (______/ ______) bills start here
  10. Select the President in an ______tie
  11. Write the article of ______against high ranking officials
  12. Senate
  13. Approves all ______
  14. Requires a ______vote
  15. Approves all ______
  16. Requires a ______vote
  17. Acts as the jury in all trials of impeachment
  18. ______acts as judge unless it involves the President (or VP)
  19. If the President is being impeached, then the ______of the Supreme Court would preside
  20. ______Powers- Powers that belong to the national government because it IS a national government
  21. Congressional Duties
  22. Make the ______
  23. Representatives of their ______
  24. Powers of Congress
  25. Raise and collect ______
  26. Borrow ______
  27. Regulate ______
  28. Set laws for Naturalization and ______
  29. ______money
  30. Punish ______
  31. Post office
  32. ______and Patents
  33. Set up ______
  34. Declare ______
  35. Establish the military and ______
  36. Make rules and allot funds for the ______and National Guard
  37. Punish ______
  38. Run Washington DC and all ______property
  39. ______Clause- implied power

Concept 2- Individuals, Groups, and Institutions

  1. Breakdown of the US Congress
  2. The US Congress is ______
  3. Senate
  4. ______members
  5. Term- ______years
  6. House
  7. ______members
  8. Term- ______years
  9. Reapportioned after each ______
  10. Qualifications/ Terms of Office for Congress
  11. House of Representatives
  12. Term of Office
  13. 2 years
  14. Qualifications
  15. ______years old
  16. ______years as a US citizen
  17. Resident of represented state
  18. Speaker of the House
  19. Paul ______
  20. 3rd in line of succession
  21. Senate
  22. Term of Office
  23. 6 years
  24. Every 2 years ______of the Senate is up for re-election
  25. Ensures ______have prior experience
  26. Qualifications
  27. ______years old
  28. ______years as a US citizen
  29. Resident of represented state
  30. Head of the Senate
  31. United States ______: Mike Pence
  32. 2nd in line of succession
  33. Compensation & Privileges of Congress Members
  34. Salaries
  35. VP- $______
  36. Speaker of the House- $______
  37. Majority/ ______Party Leaders- $193,400
  38. Base Congressional members- $______
  39. Allowances (Play Money)
  40. Office Space
  41. Bonus Tax Deduction
  42. Can deduct up to ______for expenses while outside their home district or state
  43. ______- free postage on all mail to constituents
  44. Insurance/ Retirement
  45. Downtime (Vacations)
  46. Immunity or Legal Protection
  47. Cannot be ______for anything they say or write while carrying out their duties
  48. Cannot be arrested while Congress is in session unless a ______or ______
  49. Who are your senators?
  50. Johnny ______
  51. David ______
  52. The Election Process of Congress
  53. Congressional elections are held every ______years
  54. House
  55. Every member is up for re-election every ______years
  56. Senate
  57. The term of office for the Senate is ______years
  58. The body of the Senate is divided into three groups for election purposes (33/33/34)
  59. That is how only ______of the Senate is up for re-election every two years
  60. Once a group has gone through the election process, that group will not have to run for re-election for 6 years
  61. Examples
  62. 2014: group A ran for re-election- called a midterm election because it is half way through a president’s term of office
  63. 2016: group B will run- Presidential election year
  64. 2018: group C will run- another midterm election year
  65. 2020- 6 years will have passed, so it will be time for group A again- Presidential election year and a census year so a VERY important election
  66. Impact of the 17th Amendment
  67. Americans did not directly vote for ______for the first 125 years of our nation
  68. The ______, as it was adopted in 1788, stated that senators would be elected by state ______
  69. 17th Amendment (1913) established the ______election of the US Senators by the people of the US
  70. Impact of the 17th Amendment
  71. Citizens now voted for their senators- more ______
  72. Strengthened the link between ______and the ______government
  73. Leadership Positions
  74. House
  75. Speaker of the House
  76. Head of the House of Representatives
  77. Administers the ______of ______to members
  78. Calls the ______into order
  79. Preserves order and ______within the House chamber and galleries
  80. Recognizes members to speak on the ______
  81. Makes ______about House procedures
  82. Senate
  83. Vice President
  84. Decides ______members
  85. Decides order ______are debated
  86. Majority Leader
  87. Leader for the political party that does have the ______of the seats in the House/ Senate
  88. Minority Leader
  89. Leader for the political party that ______have the majority of the seats in the House/ Senate
  90. Majority/ Minority Leaders (Responsibilities)
  91. Enforce party discipline on ______deemed to be crucial
  92. Serve as spokesperson for their party’s positions on ______
  93. Party whips
  94. Official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure ______and ______
  95. They act as the party ______
  96. Types of Congressional Committees
  97. ______Committees
  98. Most common type of congressional committee
  99. ______Committee
  100. Handle the vast majority of ______
  101. Most standing committees have ______handling more specific areas of an issue
  102. ______Committee
  103. Created for a limited period and for a ______purpose
  104. Joint Committee
  105. Created to deal with a specific issue
  106. Has members from ______house/ chambers of Congress
  107. ______Committee
  108. A very common type of ______committee
  109. Committee members are from both chambers of Congress
  110. Compromise on the draft of a bill using the ______and ______versions of the bill
  111. Interest Groups and Lobbyists
  112. Interest Group Organization
  113. Members share ______goals
  114. Support candidates who share their ______
  115. They do not nominate candidates
  116. ______power of the groups is strengthened by ______the members
  117. Types of Interest Groups
  118. ______related (______)
  119. ______related (______)
  120. Public interest groups
  121. ______interest groups
  122. Farm interest groups
  123. ______interest groups
  124. ______interest groups
  125. Affecting Public Policy
  126. Most interest groups attempt to influence government through ______
  127. Lobbyists
  128. Representatives of the interest groups
  129. Most important: provide legislators with ______to persuade them to side with their issue
  130. Provide campaign contributions to gain access to ______
  131. Political Action Committees - The Federal ______Campaign Act regulates PACs
  132. Types of PACs
  133. ______
  134. Attached to an ______
  135. Example: Realtor’s PAC
  136. ______
  137. Free from ______control
  138. Example: Council for a Livable World
  139. PAC support of an ______often means re-election
  140. Shaping Public Opinion
  141. Includes the ______and attitudes a significant # of Americans hold about government and ______issues
  142. Political Socialization
  143. People learn their political beliefs and attitudes from the following sources:
  144. Family and ______influence
  145. ______
  146. ______groups
  147. ______
  148. ______
  149. Political Ideology
  150. Set of basic beliefs about ______, ______, ______, and society
  151. Liberal- believes in an active ______government
  152. Conservative- believes in ______government
  153. Moderate- represent a mix of both ______and ______ideologies
  154. Most Americans consider themselves to be ______
  155. How a Bill Becomes a Law
  156. Congress sees about ______bills per year
  157. Only about ______become law
  158. There are many ways a bill can die, but the majority of all bills die in ______
  159. The reason there are so many “______-______” is because it prevents ______.
  160. All bills dealing with money MUST start in the ______
  161. Appropriations bills (______$)
  162. Revenue bills (______$)
  163. Otherwise a bill can start in either the House or the Senate
  164. Facts and Figures of Bills
  165. A bill must first come from an ______for a law and then be ______
  166. The idea/ draft can come from:
  167. ______Branch
  168. ______Groups
  169. ______(citizens)
  170. Steps of How a Bill Becomes a Law

House (All money bills must start in the House!!)

Introduced by a Representative Sub-Committee Committee

Given House Bill #

Introduced in Senate &

Committee Given Senate Bill #Senate Floor for

Debate & Vote

Sub-committee House Floor/ Debate/ Vote

Conference Committee

Committee Rules Committee

Back to both Chambers for vote

President’s Desk

a. sign itc. pass w/o signature

b. veto itd. pocket veto

  1. Other important facts in the process
  2. Senate Floor is where a bill can be killed via a ______
  3. A filibuster is “______a bill to death”
  4. ______- vote to end a filibuster (person still gets 30 hours after the vote so rarely used)
  5. Conference Committee
  6. Made up of members from the ______and Senate
  7. They reach a ______on the proposed House and Senate bills
  8. The new compromise bill is sent to both ______for a vote
  9. If the bill passes both houses, it is then sent to the ______
  10. President’s Desk- the President has these choices for each bill:
  11. Sign It- bill becomes a law
  12. Pass without signature- If 10 days passes and Congress is still in session, the bill automatically becomes a law.
  13. Veto It- bill dies unless Congress decides to rewrite it or does a congressional override
  14. Pocket veto- if the president does not sign it or veto it before Congress goes out of session, the bill automatically dies
  15. Congressional Override- Congress can override a presidential veto with a ______vote

Concept 3: Conflict Resolution

  1. Impeachment
  2. Being formally accused of ______activity/ committing a crime
  3. Does not necessarily mean the official will be kicked out of office
  4. Who can be Impeached?
  5. President/ ______, and all ______officers of the US
  6. ______include people appointed by the President
  7. ______members
  8. Federal ______
  9. Members of ______are not civil officers
  10. Process of Impeachment
  11. ______Department (or independent council) investigates charges and presents them to the House ______(HJC)
  12. HJC reviews ______
  13. HJC drafts ______of ______
  14. HJC debates the Article of Impeachment (Richard Nixon resigned at this stage)
  15. Entire House of Representatives debates Articles of Impeachment and ______on them
  16. Requires ______majority
  17. It is at this point a President is considered ______
  18. Senate holds the trial
  19. HJC acts at the ______and presents evidence against the accused
  20. Accused chooses own ______to present defense
  21. Judge- rules on ______of evidence
  22. The VP acts as the judge for all impeachment trials except the ______
  23. If the President is being impeached, then the ______of the Supreme Court acts as judge
  24. It requires a ______majority of the Senate against the accused to remove a person from office
  25. Andrew Johnson- missed being removed from office by 1 vote
  26. Bill Clinton- not removed from office because they could not meet the 2/3 vote (tied 50/50)

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