The Legislative Branch

ChallengeYou are at the Constitutional Convention, making the

constitution. One of the hardest parts of making the constitution was deciding how the legislative branch would work.

Big states (Virginia, New York, and Pennsylvania) want the number of seats in the legislative branch to be determined by the population of the state. Big states would get more seats than small states.

Small states, (Vermont, New Hampshire) are afraid of this and want every state to be equal in the legislature. Can you think of a solution to this problem?

Two HousesThe Legislative Branch (Congress) has two

separate houses.

The Senate

The House of Representatives

These two houses were made in what is called the Great Compromise when the Constitution was written

Jobs of the LegislativeThe primary job of the legislative branch is to

make laws

The legislative also confirms (approves) the President’s choices for the Cabinet and the Supreme Court

The legislative can vote to impeach the President or Supreme Court Judges

These are both checks on the other branches

The House of Representatives

The House of Representatives has 435 members

Each state elects their own representatives

The number of representatives is determined by the population of the state

Alaska- 1 Representative

California- 53 Representatives

Speaker of the House The Speaker of the House

is the leader of the House of Representatives

The Speaker is chosen by the Political Party with the most members in the House.

RepresentativesRepresentatives are elected to two year terms

They may be elected as many times as they want (no term-limits)

Alaska’s RepDon Young

The Senate The Senate is the upper

house of the Congress

The Senate has 100 members

Each state is given two Senators

Senators are elected by the people.

Senators serve 6 year terms.

They have no term-limits

The Senate ContinuedThe Senate is the final vote on proposed laws

The Senate gets to confirm (approve) all of the President’s choices for Cabinet and Supreme Court

Alaska’s SenatorsMark Begich Lisa Murkowski

Committees

Both the House of Representatives and the Senate are broken up into committees

Committees work on laws that interest them.

Example: The budget committee works on the budget for the country, Defense committees work on laws having to do with the military

Making a lawHouse of Representatives Votes on a law

Then the Senate gets to Vote

The President may sign or Veto the law

The Supreme Court review the law (Judicial Review)

Check for understandingWhat is the Speaker of the House? Why is

he/she important in the Government?

What are committees used for in the legislative branch?

What is the upper house in Congress, what is the lower house?