Introduction to the Legislative Branch Civics 2015 The Legislative Branch Congress = House of Representatives and Senate Article I of the Constitution describes the powers, roles, and responsibilities of the legislative branch Powers of Congress Law-making (how a bill becomes a law) Other responsibilities of government: budget, federal appointments, etc. System of checks and balances involved in the passing of a bill Executive Branch Presidential Veto Judicial Branch Judicial Review Legislative Branch- Congress Membership of the House of Representatives 1. Members proportional to population total members 3. Two year terms 4. Represent a district Membership of the Senate 1. Each State elects two representatives total members 3. Six year terms 4. Represent whole state Wisconsin Representatives Senators District 1 Rep. Ryan, Paul [R] District 2 Rep. Pocan, Mark [D] District 3 Rep. Kind, Ron [D] District 4 Rep. Moore, Gwen [D] District 5 Rep. Sensenbrenner, James [R] District 6 Rep. Grothman, Glen [R] District 7 Rep. Duffy, Sean [R]wi.org/Officials.aspx?State=WI&Report=WI D Tammy Baldwin R - Ron Johnson District 8 - Rep. Reid Ribble [R] Congressional Leadership House Leader = Speaker of the House House Majority Leader House Majority Whip House Minority Leader House Minority Whip Senate Formal Leader = Vice- President (votes only as tie- breaker) Everyday leader = President pro tempore Senate Majority Leader Senate Minority Leader Speaker of the House Presiding officer - Elected by members of House Second in line of Presidential succession after the VP Controls the legislative calendar Leads appointment process of committee chairs Leader and national spokesperson of the majority party Rep. John Boehner R, Ohio House Majority Leader Second in command to Speaker Responsible for day-to-day management Responsible for building majority party consensus elected by members of majority party Rep. Kevin McCarthy R, California House Minority Leader Elected by members of the minority party to serve as their spokesperson Criticizes the program of the majority party Often tries block majority bills from passing Rep. Nancy Pelosi D, California President Pro-Temp of the Senate Vice-President is the official President of the Senate Only votes in the case of a tie, has little power Opens electoral ballots for Presidential elections President Pro-Tempore (President for a time) presides when the VP is not present Elected by resolution in the Senate Third in line of Presidential succession Orrin Hatch R, Utah (in office since 1977) Senate Majority Leader Elected by members of the majority party Primary spokesperson for majority party Day-to-day manager of business on the Senate floor Schedules the sequence and manner of debate Responsible for building and managing majority party consensus Mitch McConnell, R, Kentucky Senate Minority Leader Elected by members of the minority party Primary spokesperson for the minority Responsible for setting the legislative agenda and strategy of the minority party Harry Reid, D, Nevada Majority & Minority Whips Term whip comes from British hunting lore: the whip keeps the foxhounds in line Elected by party members Assist the floor leaders to keep track of party members and lobby (influence) them for votes Serve as leaders in their absence Rep. Steve Scalise R, Louisiana Rep. Steny Hoyer D, Maryland Sen. Richard Durbin D, Illinois Sen. Jon Cornyn R, Texas The Committee System Congress in Committee is Congress at work - Woodrow Wilson (1888) Committees as workshops When a bill is introduced in the House or Senate, it is usually referred to the committee with jurisdiction over its particular policy area Committees allow for a division of legislative labor, enabling the 100 Senators and 435 House members to consider approximately 5,000 bills and 50,000 nominations a year Means by which Congress sifts through an otherwise impossible jumble of bills, proposals and issues. Congressional Committees Two basic types of Committees 1. authorizing (establish policies) 2. appropriations (funding) Standing Committees (permanent) -19 in House, 17 in Senate - further divided into subcommittees (175 total) Select Committees (special issues or investigations) Joint Committees and Conference Committees -House and Senate Committees working together Standing Committees Committees are where the bulk of legislative work is done Committees mark-up bills, hold hearings, conduct investigations, and perform oversight Committees (and subcommittees) concentrate legislative expertise in various policy areas Chairs of key committees are very powerful Ways and Means Appropriations How and Why Do Members Value Committee Assignments District Interests Agriculture, Transportation, Armed Services Advancement in Party /Chamber Rules, Appropriations Personal Interest Visibility Homeland Security, Judiciary Committee Leadership Leaders are chairmen and ranking party members Chairmen have similar role over committee as Speaker has over House (a mini-legislature) Can set agendas, allocate funds, arrange hearings Can kill a bill by refusing to schedule it for a hearing or convening meetings when opponents are absent What happens in committees Three standard steps: public hearings, markups, reports 1. Hearings: committee listens to a wide variety of witnesses Explore need for legislation Provide a forum for citizen grievances Raise visibility of issue Educate lawmakers and public 2. Markups: members decide on bills actual language, conceptualize the bill Outside pressures often intense during markup Government in the Sunshine Act (1977) rules all markup sessions conducted in public (except Natl Security, some commerce, a few others) After markup, if in a subcommittee, recommendations sent to full committee, which: votes to ratify conduct its own markup return to subcommittee or do nothing 3. Reports: If committee votes to send bill to floor, the staff prepares a full report summarizing results of committee research (THIS is the step we will be recreating in our own Student Congress!) How a Bill Becomes a Law Ideas for our Committees Foreign Affairs Energy and Environment Health and Human Services Education Agriculture Fine Arts and Entertainment Transportation Social Issues Economics