Congress and the Legislative Process

Bicameral--two bodies

• Provides a check on:
  • emotions
  • power

Different purposes

• House--popular sentiment
• Senate--restraint, advisor to executive, continuity

Congress has all legislative power (Sec 1)

Organization

• Qualifications
  • 25 years old for House and 30 years old for Senate
  • 7 years a citizen for house and 9 years for Senate
  • Live in the state represented
• Terms-- 2 years in House and 6 years in Senate
• Number
  • Two Senators per state
  • At least one representative and number determined by population
• House has an elected speaker and Vice President presides over Senate
• Each house judges its elections (Sec 5)
• Members protected from Arrest (Sec 6)

Unique Powers of Each Body

• Power to impeach is vested in House and power to try in Senate (Sec 3)
• Revenue bills initiated in the House
• Senate approves treaties and presidential appointments

Joint Powers (Article 2, Section 8)

• Impose taxes
• Borrow money when expenditures exceed revenues
• Regulate commerce with nations & among states
  • This section of the Constitution is referred to as the "Interstate Commerce Clause"
• Coin money
• Establish weights & measures
• Promote science and the arts
  • Fund National Endowment for the Humanities
  • Funding for research
  • NASA
  • Patent system--allow people to have exclusive right to their inventions for a period of time
• Establish inferior courts
  • In addition to the Supreme Court. e.g., Federal District Courts
• Declare war
• Govern District of Columbia
  • D.C. was carved out of Virginia and Maryland
• Make all laws necessary & proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers.
  • This section is referred to as the elastic clause
  • It has allowed Congress to exercise powers in addition to those specified in the Constitution

Limits on Congress (Article One, Section (9)

• Can’t suspend habeas corpus
  • Defendants must be charged with a specific crime
• No bills of attainder
  • Trials and punishment through the legislative process
• No ex post facto laws
  • Laws which make an activity illegal even though it was committed before the law was passed.
• Can’t tax goods exported from U.S.
• No preference in commerce
  • Each state to be treated the same
• No titles of nobility

Limits on States (Article One, Section 10)

• No treaties, wars, armies
• No coining of money
• No bills of attainder or ex post facto laws
• No titles of nobility
• No laws impairing obligation of contracts
  • Legally established contracts must be honored
• No duties (taxes) on goods from other states

Differences in House and Senate

• House--larger size requires
  • More formal rules
  • Stronger leaders
  • More reliance on committees, specialists
• Senate
  • More like a club
  • Less influential leaders

How Does Congress do its Business? Consider a bill starting in the House

• Bill introduced by a Representative
• Rules Committee decides which "expertise committee" it will go to
• Expertise committee chair may send it to a sub-committee
• Sub-committee may hold hearings and will ultimately vote on the bill
• If sub-committee approves, bill will return to the expertise committee for debate and vote
• If committee approves, bill will go to full House for debate and vote
• If House approves, bill is sent to the Senate where it undergoes a similar process
• If Senate approves bill without change, bill is sent to the President for signature
• If Senate and House do not agree, a Joint Conference Committee is formed to try to resolve differences
• If any changes are made, each body of Congress must re-pass the bill
• After agreement, the bill is sent for the President's signature