ALL ABOUT CONGRESSTHE BICAMERAL LEGISLATURE

Unit 5 Review for AP Government

By: Maddy Collins and Deanna Pierce

POWERS OF CONGRESS

• Set and collect taxes

• Place duties and excises

• Pay debts

• Create law

• Regulate commerce

• Coin money

• Establish post offices

• Declare war

• Legislative oversight: monitoring of the bureaucracy and its administering of policy, performed through hearings

• Implied powers with the elastic clause or “necessary and proper” clause

What does Congress have the power to do?

HOUSE V. SENATE

• House• Create budget bills• Size is dependent of

population on state• Currently 435

representatives

• Senate• Confirm budget bills• Two Senators for each

state (making 100 Senators total)

• Vice Presidents presides• Doesn’t vote unless

there is a tie• Speaker of the House Presides• 2nd in line for presidency

• Elections every 2 years• Chooses the president if the

electoral college isn’t able to

• 1/3 is elected every 2 years

• Approve appointments made by the President (takes a majority vote)

• Approve treaties made by the President (takes 2/3)

• Try impeachments

LEADERS• Speaker of the House• Position is

mandated by the Constitution

• Leader of the House of Representatives

• Chosen by majority party

• 2nd in line to presidency

• Majority Leader• Ally of the Speaker of

the House• Party’s “wheel horse”

in the Senate• Responsible for

scheduling bills, influencing committee assignments, and rounding up votes on behalf of the party’s legislative positions

• Minority Leader• Principle

leader of the minority party in the House of Reps

TACTICS

• Casework• Members of Congress

working to get what their constituents desire

• “cutting the bureaucratic red tape”

• Pork Barrel• Items that are

passed to provide funds and project’s for the representatives home district or state• Logrolling

• Mutual aid & vote trading between legislators

• “I’ll vote for your bill if you support mine”

• Franking Privilege• Free use of the mail system

to communicate with their constituents

• Machines duplicate their signatures in real ink

ROLES OF REPRESENTATION

• Trustee:• Legislators use

best judgment to make decisions on policy for the people

• Delegate:• Representative

s mirror the preferences of their constituents (person who is represented)

• Politico:• The combination

of trustee and delegate roles of representation

• Mirrors preferences and uses best judgment

FILIBUSTER V. CLOTURE

Filibuster • Strategy unique to the Senate• Opponents to a piece of

legislation talk it to death• Prevents the Senate from

voting on a bill

Cloture• 60 members need to be

present• They vote to stop a

filibuster

CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING V.

GERRYMANDERING• Congressional Redistricting

• Process of redrawing boundaries

• Occurs when a state has more reps than districts

• Gerrymandering• Redrawing districts to

benefit the majority party• Want the max

number of seats for their candidate

• State legislatures redraw them

COMMITTEES

• Conference• Formed when the

House and Senate pass a single bill in different forms

• Party leadership chooses members to work out the differences to create a single bill

• Essentially compromises

• Standing• Has specific

tasks• Each House has

them• Handle bills in

different policy areas

• Permanent• Ex: House Ways

and Means, Agri.

• Select• Temporary• Investigative• Created for a

specific purpose

• Ex: Watergate Investigation

• Joint• Few subject-

matter areas• Membership is

from both houses

• Ex: joint committee on printing, taxation

HOUSE RULES V. HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS

• House Rules:• Located in the

House of Rep.• Reviews bills

before they go to the full House

• House Ways and Means• Handles tax bills• Works with the

budget• Members on this

committee cannot serve on any other one

INFLUENCES OF CONGRESS

• PACs

• Interest Groups

• Constituents

• media

• President

• Foreign Countries