Chapter 4

Congress
 The people who make laws for the entire country
 Bicameral – two house legislature
o House of representatives – population
o Senate – 2 per state
 3 reasons
o Great Britain had 2 houses
o Made sense – compromise between large & small states
o Each house can check each other
Congressional Terms
 Working time
 Numbered consecutively
 1st term – march 4, 1789 – 1791
 20th amendment – noon on January 3 (odd # years)
 118th term (house): January 3, 2023 – January 3, 2025
Session
 1 year
 Congress meets and does business
 Begins January 3
 Adjourns – stops working until the next session – when it sees fit
o Used to work only 4 or 5 months
o Today – in session throughout most of the year
Special sessions
 President can call congress back after they have adjourned
 Special session – meeting to deal with an emergency situation
 26 times (both)
o Last time was in 1948
 46 just senate (treaties/presidential/appointments
o last time was 1933
size & terms
 435 members (congression)
 The # of HofR sent from each state depends on each states
population
o 1 HofR for every 690,000
o At least one
 7 states – Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota,
South Dakota, Vermont, & Wyoming
 Term = 2 years
o No term limit
 Closer to the people of the state than senate
o Lower house
Qualification of HofR
 Age: 25 years old
 Citizenships: US citizens for 7 years
 Residency: live in state that elects you
 Not in constitution but usually followed:
o Must live in district he/she represents

SPACE FOR MISSED NOTES

Commerce Power: Regulate Trade and Industry
Article I, Section VII, Clause III
 Regulate trade with foreign nations
 Regulate trade between the states
o This is the source of most congressional power
o Regulates trade between native American tribes
Example: Gibbons Vs. Ogden
 First case involving the commerce clause to reach the supreme court
o Case involved new York steamboat monopolies
o Described commerce broadly as any commercial relation
between nations and parts of nations
Limits to commerce power
 Constitution places 4 limits on the use of the commerce power:
o Cannot tax exports
o Cannot favor the ports of one state over another
o Cannot tac goods sent from one state to another
o Could not interfere with the slave trade until at least 1808
The money powers – tax
 Congress has the expressed power “to lay and collect taxes”
o Tax – a charge collected by the government on people and
property to raise money to meet public needs
 Most money the government takes in comes from taxes
Limitations
 Tax only for public purposes
 Cant tax exports
 Must be levied at same rate in all parts of the country
Direct vs. Indirect taxes
  Direct taxes – paid directly to the government by the person
o Income tax, property tax
 Indirect taxes – first paid by one and then passed to another
(indirectly paid by second person)
o Cigarette tax – paid by tobacco company, then passed on to
the consumer
Borrow Money
 No limit, no restriction
 Public debt – all the money borrowed by the federal government +
interest and not yet repaid
o 31 trillion in 2022
 Deficit financing – spends more than it makes and borrows to make
up the difference

Currency power
 Article 1 section 8 clause 5
 Power to coin an print money, and to regulate its value

War powers
 Declare war
 Raise and support army and navy
 Make laws governing land and naval forces
 Call the militia (national guard)
 Suppress uprisings
Other expressed powers
 1. Naturalization – become U.S. citizens
 2. Establish post offices and roads
 3. Issue copyrights and patents
 4. Set standards for weight and measurements
 5. Acquire, manage, dispose of territory
  6. Set punishments for piracy, counterfeit, treason, etc.

Necessary & proper clause

 Implied powers are those not explicitly stated in the constitution, but
implied by those that are. “necessary & proper”

Strict vs. liberal constructionism

 Strict constructionists- only powers specifically state in the
constitution
 Liberal constructionist – if it is not forbidden, it is permitted
 Over time, liberal constructionism has prevailed because of reason
and practical necessity
McCulloch vs. Maryland
 Very important supreme court case
 Established supremacy clause & implied powers
 National gov Power overrules state gov
 Supreme court approved implied powers and a loose interpretation
of the constitution
Constitutional Amendments
 Article V
 TWO ways
o Propose amendments by 2/3 vote in each house
o Call a national convention of state delegates
 Done at request of 2/3 of state gov
Investigatory power
 Gather useful information for making laws
 Oversee the operations of various executive agencies
 Focus public attention on a particular subject
 Expose questionable activities or public officials
  Promote the particular interest of congressmen
Electoral duties
 House of representatives elects president if no candidate receives
the majority of electoral vote
 Senate elects the vice president if no candidates receives majority of
electoral votes
 Fill a vacancy VP
o Majority vote by both houses

Executive powrrs
 Senate must confirm all appointments made by president
o Majority vote
 Senators must confirm treaties
o 2/3
Impeachment process
 House of reps files articles of impeachment
o Impeachment – to formally accuse an elected official of a crime
 Impeachment articles may be filed by any member of the house
o Requires a simple majority vote
 Most presidents have had articles of impeachment filed against
them, they typically go nowhere
Impeachment continued
 Senate acts as the jury during the trial
o 2/3 guilty vote required to convict
 If guilty- removed from office
 If innocent – acquitted
 Trial – each side has a set of lawyers
 Judge – vice president
o Exception – presidents impeachment trial
Expressed powers
  Tax – raise and collect taxes
 Currency – print and coin money
 Borrow money & pay it back
 Commerce – regulate trade
 War powers – pay for defense, declare war
 Foreign relations – share with president
 Promote the general welfare

Commerce power: regulate trade and industry

 Regulate trade with foreign nations
 Regulate trade between the states
o This is the source of most congressional power
 Regulates trade between native American tribes
Limits to the commerce power
 Constitution places 4 limits on the use of the commerce power
o Cannot tax exports
o Cannot favor the ports of one state over another
o Cannot tax goods sent from one state to another
o Could not interfere with the slave trade until at least 1808
The money powers – tax
 Congress has the expressed power “to lay and collect taxes”
o Tax – a charge collected by the government on people and
property to raise money to meet public needs
 Most money the government takes in comes from taxes
Limitations
 Tax only for public purposes
 Cant tax exports
 Must be levied at same rate in all parts of the country

Direct vs. Indirect taxes

  Direct taxes – paid directly to the government by the person
o Income tax, property tax
 Indirect taxes – first paid by one and then passed to another
(indirectly paid by second person)
 Cigarette tax – paid by tobacco company, then passed
on to the consumer
Borrow money
 No limit, no restriction
 Public debt – all the money borrowed by the federal government +
interest and not yet repaid
o 31 trillion in 2022
 Deficit financing – spends more than it makes and borrows to make
up the difference
Currency power
 Article 1 section 8 clause 5
 Power to coin and print money, and to regulate its value
War powers
 Declare war
 Raise and support army and navy
 Make laws governing land and naval forces
 Call the militia (national guard)
 Suppress uprisings
 Make rules about the militias
Other expressed powers
1. Naturalization – become U.S. citizens
2. Establish post offices and roads
3. Issue copyrights and patents
4. Set standards for weight and measurements
5. Acquire, manage, dispose of territory
6. Set punishments for piracy, counterfeit, treason, etc.
President of the senate
 Vice president
o Not elected
o Kamala Harris – democrat
 Presiding officer
o Recognized members & put questions to a vote
 Cannot speak
 Only votes when there is a tie
President Pro Tempore
 Patty Murray – Washington
o In charge of senate when VP is absent
 This happens frequently
o Pro tempore – Latin for temporary
o Elected by other senators
 Majority party & usually long serving members
 Very ceremonial
o 3rd presidential secession
Majority leader
 Name – chuck Schumer – D - New York
 Actual leader of the senate
 Make sure the bills go through the senate correctly
 Whip – dick durbin – D – Illinois
Minority leader
 NAME mitch McConnell – R – Kentucky
 Leads the opposition in the senate
 John Thune – R – South Dakota
Committee chairmen
 Head the standing committees
 They decide
o When to meet
 o Which bills to take up
o Whether to hold public hearings
o What witnesses to call
o Chosen by seniority rule
Committees
 HofR (435) and senate (100) are too large to work together
 Divide into smaller groups
 Most work is done in committees
 People are responsible for research and info on bills
 Present to rest of people in their house
Standing committees
 Permanent
 Very important to law making process
 Each committee deals with a particular subject
 HofR – 23
o 104 sub committes
 10 – 75 members
 Each rep assigned to 1 or 2 committees
 Senate – 17
o 70 sub committees
o 14-28 members
 Each senator assigned to 3-4
Select committees
 Temporary
 Created for specific purpose
 Investigative
Joint committees
 has members of both houses
o joint committee on printing
o joint committee on library of congress
 o joint economic committee
how a bill becomes a law
 article 1, section 7, clauses 1-3
 1. Introduced
 2. Assigned to a standing committee
 3. Assigned to a subcommittee/hearing
 4. Voted yes – passed favorably
 5. Calendar
 6. Debated on the floor
 7. Voted on
 8. Goes to the other house
 9. Repeat steps 1 – 9
 10. A. president says yes – law
 10. B. VETO – president says no
 11. Override veto
Proposing a law
 Bill – a proposed law
 Bills must be formally introduced by a member of congress
 Either house can introduce
o Exception – HofR must introduce money related bills
Where do bills come from?
 They are ideas from...
o American citizens
o Interest group
o Committees in congress
o Individual members of congress
o President
Types of bills
 Public bills – bills that have to do with the general public
 Private bills – bills that concern an individual citizen
 o Property rights
Resolutions
 Joint resolutions – same as a law, once passed. Deal with unusual or
temporary circumstances
 Concurrent resolutions – do not have force of law. Both houses pass.
Doesn’t require signature of president
 Resolutions – just one house passes. Not a law. No presidential
signature
Rider
 Provision attached to a bill
 Often not related
 Hope it will “ride” through the legislative process
Sponsor
 The congress person that actually introduces the bill
1. Bill is introduced
a. The proposed bill is written out
b. No limit of the # of bills
HofR
c. All bills are put into the hopper
i. Wooden box on speakers desk
Senate
d. Introduced in the morning
e. A motion is made for the sponsor to intro the bill
2. Bill Is assigned to a standing committee
 Made up of members who are experts on a subject
 The bills subject determines which standing committee it goes to
 Speaker of HofR decides which one

3. Bill is assigned to a subcommittee

 Smaller divisions of standing committees
 Hearings are held
o Experts and witnesses testify

4. Committee actions
 Pigeonhole – refuse to pass the bill out of committee
o To let die in committee
o Most bills are pigeonholed
 Pass favorably
o Subcommittee likes the bill and recommends it
 Vote unfavorably
o Subcommittee does not like it
o Recommend not to pass
 Amended
o Change it or report new form
5. Bill goes to the floor
 Bill to be considered is placed on a calendar
o Schedule of order in which bills are to be taken to the floor
o House: bill must go first through rules committee which establishes
rules of debate for each bill