• the first branch of gov't bc the Consitution est. the basic structure of Congress and sets out its pwrs in Article 1.
• has implied pwrs:sec 9
• enumerated pwrs: sec 8
• bicarmeral-consisting of 2 chambers:
• an upper chamber- The Senate
• a lower chamber- The House of Representatives

• Composition- based on population
• eligibility to serve- age 25, a citizen for at least 7 years
• term length- 2 years
• enumeration- 435 fixed members voting, 6 non-voting members
• they have no votes but can participate in committiees
• Republicans hold majority in House

• Compostion- 100 senators, 2 per state (D.C. has no members, when president election they have 3 elector votes)
• Eligibility- age 30, a citizen for 9 years
• Term length- 6 years
• 112th Congress- 59 marjority Demo's (70%)/ 2 Individuals (Demo's) / Republicans less
• Democrats hold majority in senate
• Majority and Minority work close together in the Senate rather than the House.

• Kay Bailey Hutchison ( Lady Republican) (Senior- the oldest senator serving, -2020)
• JoHn Cornyn (Republican) (2002-2014)

• speaker of house- John Boehner, Ohio Congress man
• House Majority Leader- Eric Cantor, Virginia
• House Majority WHIP- Kevin McCarthy

• No speaker
• Minority Leader- Nancy Pelosi (primary spokesperson)
• Assistant Minority Leader- James Clyburn
• Minority WHIP- Steny Hoyer

• Majority Leader- Harry Reid, Democrate: Nevada
• Majority WHip- Richard Durbin, Democrate: Illinoise

• Minority Leader- Mitch McConnell, Republican: Kentucky
• Minority Whip- Jon Kyl, Republican: Arizona

• Presiding Officer- leader of majority party
• Does not vote on legislation
• authority to assign bills to committee
• recognizes members to speak on the floor
• pwr (final say on interpretor of house rules) 

• Speakers chief lieutenant- main spokes person for the party
• chosen by majority party caucus- has greater pwr in Senate
• day work necessary to build political coalitions and enact laws:
• helps speaker schedule which bill comes to floor 1st
• coordinating committee activity
• negotiate w/ presid, senate, and minority party

Leader of minority party who coordinates the minority's attempts to improve or defeat majority legislation

elected by the minority party caucus

• assist majority and minorities
• counts votes
• party members who serve a link of leadership of a rank-and-file number
• poll members on how they will file a vote
• have a sence on how caucus responds

Vice President- Joe Biden

• Is the only Congressional Leader that is not a member of Congress (votes in a case of a tie)
• can't participate in debate, no authority

Daniel Inouye (Democrate- Hawaii)

• serves as the Senate's presideing officer in the V.P. absence (all the time)
• goes to the most longest serving senior member of the majority party.

have fixed memberships and jurisdictions, and they continue from one Congress to another.

the Appropriations, Commerce, and Foreign Relations Committees are examples.

there are 20 standing com. today. 1809-10 com. made, 1825- 28 com. made

1. secure pork- money for projects in their district (grants, bridges, transportation, etc.)
2. provide expertise- to the chambers: house and senate
3. serve as party agents- represent and pursue
4. screen legislative proposals- decides which come forth and which dont enter the door.

(parties control the standing committee system in each chamber)

1. H of R com. Appropriations- spend money on programs, Chairmen- Hal Roger.
2.     "   Ways and Means- writes tax policy, Chairmen- Dave Camp
3.     "   Rules- when bills are considered on the floor and the conditions of debate, the right arm of the Speaker. Chairmen: David Dreier.

they cant serve any other committee

1. Budget Committee- Kent Conrad- money
2. Finance- tax writing, regulation on fin. on industry, Max B, Orrin G. H.
3. Appropriations- money
4. Foreign relation- ratify treaties (bigger deal than house)

• proposed law.
• before any bill becomes a law it has to pass both chambers the same way it does the other.
• 80-90% dont pass.
• revenue bills have to originate in the House of Reps

any member of Congress can introduce legislation.

no president or interest group.

gathers information of proposed legislation

wittnesses come to help to be asked questions by committee.

they create a record for the Congress.

majority controls most committees dicisions.

• Debate limited
• no amendment are allowed
• 2/3 required for passafe
• used very frequently

• A rule- specifes the terms and conditions under which a bill will be considered.
• rule must be approved by majority vote
• legislation must be approved by majority vote
• rules are almost always passed
• rules limits amendments and time for debate

• members makes a motion to pass bill by unanimous consent

-no one can object unless 1 person does

• leaders negotiate terms of debate thru unanimous consent agrt
• legistation is then brought to the floor under the negotiated terms
• passing a bill by unanimous consent is not the same as considering a bill under a unanimous consent agreetment.

The powers  of Congress that you can find explicity outlined in the U.S. Constitution (article 1, sec 8)

• lay taxes
• regulate foreign and domestic (interstate) commerce
• coin money
• est. post offices
• declare war
• create a navy

• Found in Article 1 in U.S. Const.
• Power specifed in the Constitution, but which arises in the exercise of enumerated powers

• power to bestow titles of nobility
• restriction on the power to ban the import of slaves until 1808
• no ex post facto laws (retroactive laws)
• Bill of attainder (inflict punishment without judicial trail)
• Article 1, section 9

• Happens at te state level every 10 yrs and is based on the data retrieved from the U.S. census
• The allocation of a fixed number of seats to the states
• "one me, one vote" principle mandates that each district be equal in population
• district now have about 693,000 ppl
• census used to determine the number of seats per state
• left up to state to redistrict within the state

• similar to Congress
• appoint committee members, committee chairs and refer bills to committees
• schecdule legislation for floor votes
• recognize members on the floor to amen, etc
• interpret procedure rules

• Assign new bills to committee
• can delay or assigne to a hostile committee
• Recognizes member to speak in the House Chamber
• Can leave crucial members out at the debate
• Final arbiter and interpreter of the House rules
• Can cast final judgement on a point of order

• Majority leader- helps speaker schedule legislation for floor consideration. (Main spokes person of the party)
• Minority Leader- minority party counter part of the majority leader

• member of legislative party who serves as the primary communicator btw party leadership and the rank file

poll member of voting intentions

prepare bills summaries

assist leadership

Joint Committee

Confrence Committee

Select (speical) Committee

1. Bill drafted (sponsered)
2. intro. to senate/house (not by pres or interest grp)
• referred to committee
3. In committee (can be killed here)
• Hearing
• Mark-up
• Reported out
4. Senate/House floor
• Confrence committee
• out to President

A tactic by which a senator tells floor leader, they want to be informed, before a particular bill is brought to the floor. preventing a bill from coming to the floor until the hold is removed.

exits only with senate/formal mechanism attempt to/of halting action of a bill means of long speeches or unlimited debate in the senate.

(tlaking forever)

is a motion or process aimed at bringing the debate to a quick end. (shuts up the talk)

(60% vote to the filibuster can be killed)