Unit 4 - The Legislative Branch - Study Guide PDF

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Study Guide for the Legislative Branch unit test....

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Unit 4 - The Legislative Branch - Study Guide Do not wait until the last minute to study or you will not do well. Remember, this is a study guide. It is not a substitute for studying your presentation notes, the presentation itself, and all the activities we have done in this unit. DO NOT USE GOOGLE FOR THIS. 1. All of vocab (just study, no need to rewrite them) 2. Expressed powers - in detail, all of them, you better know these completely a. Power #1 - Power to tax b. Power #2 - Power to regulate comerce c. Power #3 - Power to borrow money d. Power #4 - Power to establish post offices 3. Implied powers - in detail, all of them, you better know these completely a. Power #1 - Regulatin gthe drinking age (welfare of citizens) b. Power #2 - Est. national bank c. Power #3 - Regulate air force (militia) d. Power #4 - Regulate highways (comerce) 4. Non legislative powers - in detail, all of them, you better know these completely a. Power #1 - Proposes amendments to the Constitution. b. Power #2 - Counts electoral votes c. Power #3 - Impeachement 5. Term lengths for US Senators - how long? 6 years 6. Term lengths for US Representatives - how long? 2 years 7. Term lengths for NC Senators - how long? 2 years (50 members) 8. Term lengths for NC Representatives - how long? 2 years (120 members) 9. How are Senators and Representative apportioned? a. Senators - two per state, equal approtionment b. Representatives - based on population 10. Who are the major leaders of the House and Senate? a. Speaker of the House i.

Who is it and from where? Nancy Pelosi (D-California)

ii.

What does this person do? The most powerful person in the HOR and is from the majority power.

Third in line to the Presidency. They basically run the HOR.

b. House Minority Leader i.

Who is it and from where? Kevin McCarthy from California, Repub

ii.

What does this person do? Minority counterpart to the Speaker. He leads the Republicans in the House of Representatives.

c. House Majority Whip i.

Who is it and from where? Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland)

ii.

What does this person do? Tally party votes, encourage voting for/against legislation and share info with members of the majority party. Maintain communication betwen party leadership and party members, build support for the leadership’s priorities, and inform and mobilize members on key legislation. The “hype” men.

d. House Minority Whip i.

Who is it and from where? Rep. Steve Scalise (R-Lousiana)

ii.

What does this person do? Tally party votes, encourage voting for/against legislation and share info with members of the minority party. Maintain communication betwen party leadership and party members, build support for the leadership’s priorities, and inform and mobilize members on key legislation. The “hype” men.

e. Senate Majority Leader i.

Who is it and from where? Mitch McConnel (R-Kentucky)

ii.

What does this person do? Elected at the beginning of each Congress by members of their respective party conferences to represent them on the Senate floor, the majority and minority leaders serve as spokesmen for their parties' positions on the issues.

iii.

f.

The posts of majority and minority leader are not included in the Constitution, as are the president of the Senate (the vice president of the United States) and the president pro tempore. Instead, party floor leadership evolved out of necessity.

Senate Minority Leader i.

Who is it and from where? Charles Schumer (D-NY)

ii.

What does this person do? Elected at the beginning of each Congress by members of their respective party conferences to represent them on the Senate floor, the majority and minority

leaders serve as spokesmen for their parties' positions on the issues.

iii.

The posts of majority and minority leader are not included in the Constitution, as are the president of the Senate (the vice president of the United States) and the president pro tempore. Instead, party floor leadership evolved out of necessity. g. President of the Senate i.

Who is it and from where? Mike Pence (VP, R-Indiana)

ii.

What does this person do? The Official Leader of the US Senate. He/she only votes in the US Senate if there is a tie vote (ie 50-50). The day-to-day leader of the Senate is the Presient Pro-Tempore of the Senate.

h. President Pro-Tempore of the Senate i.

Who is it and from where? Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa)

ii.

What does this person do? The day-to-day leader of the Senate is the Presient Pro-Tempore of the Senate. Unofficial leader of the US Senate.

11. What is the most important Committee? Standing Commitee 12. Definition of constituents. People who vote for cnadidates ( you and me!) 13. Age, citizenship, and residency requirements for: a. US Senators i.

Age - 30 years old

ii.

Citizenship - US citizen for 9 years

iii.

Residency - must live in the state you represent

b. US Representatives i.

Age - 25 years old

ii.

Citizenship - citizen for at least 7 yars

iii.

Residency - must live in state and district you represent

c. NC Senators i.

Age - 25 years, qualified voter, resident of NC for at least 2 years, must be a district resident for at least one year

ii.

Citizenship - qualified voter

iii.

Residency - residency of NC for at least 2 years, must be district resident for at least one year.

d. NC Representatives i.

Age - 21 years, qualified voter, resident of NC for at least 2 years, must be district resident for at least one year

ii.

Citizenship - qulified voter

iii.

Residency - resident of NC for at least 2 years, must be district resident for at least one year

14. Majority Party a. Definition - party in the house with more control, has the most of the seats of the house b. Which party currently in US House? Dem c. Which party currently in US Senate? Republican 15. Minority Party a. Definition - party in the house with less control, has less seats in the house b. Which party currently in US House? Republican c. Which party currently in US Senate? Democratic 16. Gerrymandering definition: Creating/outlining a district to favor one political party over another. 17. 3 bad things about gerrymandering a. #1 - Gives incumbents and the party in power an advantage b. #2 - Cheats on democracy and undermines the principle of one-peron-one vote...people can vote it might not do anything just because of how their district has been drawn. c. #3 - Elections may not actually reflect the will of the people...the people in that area may not actualy want that specific person to be leader but that person is leader just because of how the districts are drawn. 18. Pocket Veto: The Constitution grants the president 10 days to review a measure passed by the Congress. If the president has not signed the bill after 10 days, it becomes law without his signature. However, if

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Congress adjourns during the 10-day period, the bill does not become law 19. Full and complete process for how a bill becomes a law - detail it. I better see the entire process mapped out. Here are 10 blanks for your to use: a. Step 1 - A bill is born: by constituents, interest groups, reps, or by the president. b. Step 2 - A member of Congress takes the propsed law to the HOR, bill is put into hopper an dnamed. c. Step 3 - Bill is assigned to a particular commitee in the HOR. Committee decides whether to 1) Kill it,

2) Keep it as is 3) Change it 4) Hold a hearing) OR 5) Pigeonhole it. d. Step 4 - Goes to floor of the House, debates and votes according to the Rules Commitee’s ters. e. Step 5 - Bll is introduced in the Senate (by having the sponsor report on it and name it (ie S1500). f.

Step 6 - Bill is assigned to a committe in the Senate. Committee decides whether to 1) Kill it, 2) Keep it as is 3) Change it 4) Hold a hearing) OR 5) Pigeonhole it.

g. Step 7 - Goes to the floor of the Senate (debates and votes. Debate time is unlimited, while Senators canalso choose to filibuster. If the senator stops talking or a cloture vote happens, the filibuster may end). h. Step 8 - Conference Committee: If the bill successfully comes out of the House and the Senate it is sent to a committee of both Representatives and Senators. This committee is called the Conference Committee. Members of the House Senate meet to make a compromise (one final version that can go to the President). i.

Step 9 - Final Approval: both the House and Senate must approve exact same bill. This means the bill must again be debated on the floor of each house and a final vote taken. It is an up or down (yes or no) vote.

j.

Step 10 - The president can choose to : i.

Sign it - becomes law

ii.

Veto it - doesn’t become a law

iii.

Pocket Veto - The Constitution grants the president 10 days to review a measure passed by the Congress. If the president has not signed the bill after 10 days, it becomes law without his signature. However, if Congress adjourns during the 10-day period, the bill does not become law.

20. Most work on a bill takes place in committees - did you know this? Now you do. 21. Rules Committee is the most powerful committee - did you know this? Now you do. 22. How chairmanship of committees are determined: Committee assignments are based on seniority (who’s been in Congress the longest, not how old you are). The majority party has the chairperson of every committee. The majority party has the majority members of every committee. 23. Conference Committee a. What is it? A temporary committee composed of House and Senate conferees which is formed for

the purpose of reconciling differences in legislation that has passed both chambers. b. What does it do? Purpose of reconciling differences in legislation that has passed both chambers. 24. Select Committee a. What is it? A committee established by the Senate or HoR for a limited time period to perform a particular study or investigation. b. What does it do? A committee established by the Senate or HoR for a limited time period to perform a particular study or investigation. 25. Standing Committee a. What is it? A permanent committee that meets regularly on important issues. b. What does it do? Regulates and hears bills on important issues like Nutrition, Agricutlure, and Forestry 26. Joint Committee a. What is it? A committee composed of both Representatives and Senators. Technically, a conference committee is a joint committee. b. What does it do? Conduct studies or perform hearings for bills, like conference committees. 27. Filibuster a. What is it? Speaking in the senate for abnormally long lengths of time b. What is its purpose? To delay the voting of legislation 28. Legal protections of Congress members: called legislative immunity. Members of Congress are immune (protected) from arrest for noncriminal offenses while engaged in congressional buisnesses. It protects reprsentatives and senators from suits arising from their official conduct. 29. How a veto is overridden: Congress can override the President’s veto by 2/3rds vote in the House and the Senate. 30. Federalism - seriously, again? A system of government in which the powers of government are divided territorially between federal, state, and local governments. 31. How do House and Senate rules differ on debate? This is super important. a. House rules - Debate tim eis limited to 30 min per speaker, but is regulated by the Rules CMTE b. Senate rules - Debate time is unlimited, sometimes regulated by the Rules CMTE 32. Which house of Congress approves Presidential appointments and treaties? US Senate

33. What is impeachment? Differentiate between the roles of the House of Representatives and the Senate in the impeachment process. a. House role - Proposes impeachement trial, begins it b. Senate role - Has the impeachment trial 34. What is censure? The census is a survey taken every 10 years by the people in America to allcoate representatives and tax money. 35. What is the supremacy clause? Clause in constitution that the National Government is and always will be “Supreme” to the states. 36. Who declares war? Congress...