The Legislative BranchThe Legislative Branch

House of Representatives, Senate, Powers of Congress, The Elastic

Clause, Committees

House of RepresentativesHouse of Representatives Larger of the two governing bodies, has 435

membersBased on populationEvery state has at least one representativeRepresentatives are elected by the people of their

district for 2 year termsThe entire house is up for election every other yearMay run for reelection as many times as they wantLeader of the House is called the Speaker of the

House Speaker regulates debates and controls the agenda. The

Speaker of the House is next in line after the Vice-President to become President

SenateSenate Based on equal representation with two

senators for each stateElected every 6 years but their terms overlap so

that one third of the Senate is up for election every 2 years

This way there are always experienced Senators

Elected directly by the peopleThe Vice-President is the president of the

Senate Casts a vote when there is a tie Vice President cannot take part in Senate debates

Senatorial PositionsSenatorial Positions

http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/e_one_section_no_teasers/org_chart.htm

http://www.house.gov/Welcome.shtml

Powers of CongressPowers of Congress

Most important power of Congress is the power to make lawsAll laws start as proposals called bills

Article I Section 8 of the Constitution lists other powers of CongressExamples: power to collect taxes, borrow

money, coin money, establish post offices, and more

The Elastic ClauseThe Elastic Clause

Article I Section 8 Clause 18 states that Congress can “make all laws which shall be necessary and proper” for carrying out specific duties. This clause is known as the elastic clause

because it enables Congress to stretch its powers to deal with the changing needs of the nation

CommitteesCommittees Each year, Congress is introduced to 10,000 new bills It is impossible to study each one, so Congress

relies on committeesStanding Committees – permanent committees that

deal with a specific topic such as agriculture, business, defense, education, science, transportation, etc.

Members who have served in Congress the longest serve on these committees

Joint Committees – committees made up of both House and Senate members

Ex. Conference Committee – task is to settle differences between the House and Senate versions of the same bill