How a bill becomes a law
1. A member of Congress introduces a bill.
When a senator or representative introduces a bill, it is sent to the clerk of the Senate or House, who gives it a number and title. Next, the bill goes to the appropriate committee.
2. Committees review and vote
Powers of Congress
Taxes- lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises
Borrowing- borrowing money for the U.S.
Commerce- regulate trade with foreign countries
Naturalization- bankruptcy foreigners become citizens, person or business can't pay its debts
Coins; weights;
Differences Between House and Senate
House- 435 members with two-year terms
More hierarchically organized (more centralized, more formal, stronger leadership)
Power distributed less evenly
Members are highly specialized
Emphasizes tax and revenue policy
More committees and subcommittees
Sena
Committee System
Members of Congress are assigned to committees to investigate the merits and problems with suggested bills, sometimes holding public hearings to learn more before sending it to the full House or Senate for debate and a vote.
How members of Congress are elected
Members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms and are considered for reelection every even year. Senators however, serve six-year terms and elections to the Senate are staggered over even years so that only about 1/3 of the Senate is up for
Congressional demographics
House- 80% male, 80% white, mostly catholic
Senate- 80% male, 94% white
Who draws US congressional district lines and how often are these redrawn?
state legislature, and the majority party controls the process
What's the difference between redistricting and reapportionment?
Reapportionment The redistribution of congressional seats among the states among the states every ten years, following the census.
Redistricting The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate popul
Why is bicameralism important in our congress?
Benefits of Bicameralism Promotes different modes of representation
Smaller states favored Senate b/c they received equal votes
Larger states prefer the House
Checks "mob rule"
Problems that panic the Senate will be checked by the House and vice-versa
"Co
What are some of the major differences in the different houses of congress?
Differences are each state has equal representation in the Senate, whereas population determines representation in the House (of Representatives) House terms are 2 years, Senate is 6 years. Senate can filibuster, House cannot. Only the House can introduce
Explain who has more power- a representative or a senator
Senator, without a doubt. If you make the rough assumption that each house of congress is of equal influence, then a senator has 1/200th influence over congress and each representative has 1/870th influence.
In addition, the speaker of the house and the r
What is the most powerful job in Congress?
Speaker of the House
Who does the senate have the power to confirm?
As a result, the Senate does not have the power to initiate bills imposing taxes. Furthermore, the House of Representatives holds that the Senate does not have the power to originate appropriation bills, or bills authorizing the expenditure of federal fun
What checks does the congress have on the presidency and the judiciary?
Neither the president nor Congress has any power to override a Supreme Court decision, but the executive and legislative branches still do have important levers to check and balance the judiciary, mainly by influencing who gets to serve on the Court in th
How does a whip keep party members in line?
a whip is a member of a political party in a legislature whose task is to ensure that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires. The term originated in the Parliament of the United Kingdom and derives from the "whipper-in" at a
What congressional portion does it take to ovveride a presidential veto?
If the Congress overrides the veto by a two-thirds majority in each house, it becomes law without the President's signature. Otherwise, the bill fails to become law unless it is presented to the President again and he or she chooses to sign it.
list 5 specific ways to kill a bill
1) The President vetos the bill (does not sign it) and there is not 2/3rds of both houses of Congress willing to override the veto.
2) A pocket veto - which means that the President gets it with less than ten days left in a Congressional term and does not
what power does the rules committee have
The Committee on Rules, or (more commonly) Rules Committee, is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. Rather than being responsible for a specific area of policy, as most other committees are, it is in charge of determining under what
how does divided government affect the ability of the congress to work with the presidency?
...
what is the relationship between congressional subcommittees & congressional parent committee?
...
list some of the powers of the speaker of the house
The Speaker exercises duties as a Member of Congress, as presiding officer of the House of Representatives, and as leader of the majority political party in the House.
describe and analyze the committee system in the law making process
Congressional committees are the "workhorses" of Congress. As the number of issues brought before Congress grows, lawmakers increasingly rely on the committee system to sift through the facts and determine how issues should be resolved.
explain why there is more minority representation in the house than senate
...
list the top 5 powers of congress in order
1. The power to collect, levy, and raise taxes.
2. The power to make laws regarding bankruptcy, naturalization of its citizens, and otherwise regulate commerce.
3. The power to coin money, and regulate its value.
4. The power to create post offices and ro