The Structure of Congress Lesson 2 the House of Representatives

The United States Congress is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Larn more virtually the powers of the Legislative Co-operative of the federal government of the U.s..

Established by Article I of the Constitution, the Legislative Branch consists of the Business firm of Representatives and the Senate, which together course the United States Congress. The Constitution grants Congress the sole authority to enact legislation and declare war, the correct to confirm or reject many Presidential appointments, and substantial investigative powers.

The House of Representatives is made up of 435 elected members, divided amidst the 50 states in proportion to their full population. In addition, there are 6 non-voting members, representing the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and iv other territories of the United states of america. The presiding officer of the sleeping room is the Speaker of the Business firm, elected past the Representatives. He or she is tertiary in the line of succession to the Presidency.

Members of the House are elected every two years and must be 25 years of age, a U.S. denizen for at least seven years, and a resident of the land (but non necessarily the district) they represent.

The House has several powers assigned exclusively to it, including the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President in the instance of an electoral college tie.

The Senate is equanimous of 100 Senators, 2 for each state. Until the ratification of the 17th Amendment in 1913, Senators were chosen by state legislatures, non by popular vote. Since then, they have been elected to vi-twelvemonth terms by the people of each state. Senator's terms are staggered so that nigh ane-third of the Senate is up for reelection every 2 years. Senators must be 30 years of historic period, U.South. citizens for at to the lowest degree nine years, and residents of the state they represent.

The Vice President of the United states of america serves as President of the Senate and may bandage the decisive vote in the event of a tie in the Senate.

The Senate has the sole power to confirm those of the President's appointments that crave consent, and to ratify treaties. At that place are, however, two exceptions to this dominion: the House must likewise approve appointments to the Vice Presidency and whatever treaty that involves foreign trade. The Senate also tries impeachment cases for federal officials referred to it by the House.

In club to pass legislation and send information technology to the President for his signature, both the Business firm and the Senate must laissez passer the same pecker past majority vote. If the President vetoes a bill, they may override his veto by passing the bill over again in each chamber with at to the lowest degree 2-thirds of each body voting in favor.

The Legislative Process | Powers of Congress | Government Oversight

The Legislative Process

The showtime pace in the legislative process is the introduction of a bill to Congress. Anyone can write it, simply just members of Congress can introduce legislation. Some of import bills are traditionally introduced at the request of the President, such as the annual federal upkeep. During the legislative procedure, withal, the initial bill can undergo drastic changes.

After beingness introduced, a bill is referred to the appropriate committee for review. There are 17 Senate committees, with 70 subcommittees, and 23 House committees, with 104 subcommittees. The committees are not prepare in rock, merely change in number and form with each new Congress equally required for the efficient consideration of legislation. Each committee oversees a specific policy expanse, and the subcommittees take on more specialized policy areas. For example, the House Committee on Ways and Ways includes subcommittees on Social Security and Trade.

A bill is starting time considered in a subcommittee, where it may be accepted, amended, or rejected entirely. If the members of the subcommittee agree to move a bill forward, it is reported to the full committee, where the process is repeated once again. Throughout this stage of the process, the committees and subcommittees phone call hearings to investigate the merits and flaws of the bill. They invite experts, advocates, and opponents to appear earlier the committee and provide testimony, and tin can hogtie people to appear using subpoena ability if necessary.

If the total committee votes to approve the bill, it is reported to the floor of the Firm or Senate, and the majority party leadership decides when to identify the nib on the calendar for consideration. If a bill is especially pressing, it may be considered right abroad. Others may wait for months or never be scheduled at all.

When the bill comes upwardly for consideration, the Business firm has a very structured debate process. Each member who wishes to speak only has a few minutes, and the number and kind of amendments are ordinarily limited. In the Senate, argue on about bills is unlimited — Senators may speak to issues other than the bill under consideration during their speeches, and whatever amendment tin can be introduced. Senators tin utilise this to filibuster bills nether consideration, a procedure by which a Senator delays a vote on a bill — and by extension its passage — by refusing to stand down. A supermajority of threescore Senators can break a filibuster by invoking cloture, or the cession of debate on the bill, and forcing a vote. Once debate is over, the votes of a elementary majority passes the pecker.

A bill must pass both houses of Congress before it goes to the President for consideration. Though the Constitution requires that the two bills take the exact aforementioned wording, this rarely happens in practice. To bring the bills into alignment, a Briefing Committee is convened, consisting of members from both chambers. The members of the committee produce a conference report, intended every bit the final version of the pecker. Each bedchamber then votes over again to approve the briefing report. Depending on where the nib originated, the final text is and then enrolled past either the Clerk of the House or the Secretarial assistant of the Senate, and presented to the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate for their signatures. The nib is then sent to the President.

When receiving a bill from Congress, the President has several options. If the President agrees substantially with the bill, he or she may sign it into police, and the bill is then printed in the Statutes at Big. If the President believes the law to be bad policy, he may veto it and send it back to Congress. Congress may override the veto with a two-thirds vote of each bedchamber, at which point the pecker becomes police and is printed.

There are 2 other options that the President may exercise. If Congress is in session and the President takes no action within 10 days, the beak becomes law. If Congress adjourns before 10 days are up and the President takes no activeness, then the bill dies and Congress may not vote to override. This is called a pocket veto, and if Congress still wants to laissez passer the legislation, they must begin the entire process anew.

Powers of Congress

Congress, as one of the three coequal branches of government, is ascribed meaning powers by the Constitution. All legislative power in the government is vested in Congress, meaning that information technology is the only part of the authorities that tin can brand new laws or change existing laws. Executive Branch agencies event regulations with the full forcefulness of law, just these are simply under the dominance of laws enacted by Congress. The President may veto bills Congress passes, but Congress may also override a veto by a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and the Business firm of Representatives.

Article I of the Constitution enumerates the powers of Congress and the specific areas in which it may legislate. Congress is as well empowered to enact laws accounted "necessary and proper" for the execution of the powers given to any part of the government under the Constitution.

Part of Congress's do of legislative authority is the establishment of an almanac budget for the government. To this end, Congress levies taxes and tariffs to provide funding for essential government services. If enough money cannot be raised to fund the government, so Congress may also authorize borrowing to make up the difference. Congress tin can also mandate spending on specific items: legislatively directed spending, commonly known as "earmarks," specifies funds for a particular project, rather than for a government bureau.

Both chambers of Congress accept extensive investigative powers, and may compel the product of evidence or testimony toward whatever end they deem necessary. Members of Congress spend much of their time belongings hearings and investigations in committee. Refusal to cooperate with a Congressional subpoena can result in charges of antipathy of Congress, which could outcome in a prison term.

The Senate maintains several powers to itself: It ratifies treaties by a 2-thirds supermajority vote and confirms the appointments of the President by a bulk vote. The consent of the House of Representatives is also necessary for the ratification of merchandise agreements and the confirmation of the Vice President.

Congress also holds the sole power to declare war.

Regime Oversight

Oversight of the executive branch is an important Congressional check on the President's ability and a residuum against his discretion in implementing laws and making regulations.

A major way that Congress conducts oversight is through hearings. The House Committee on Oversight and Regime Reform and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Regime Affairs are both devoted to overseeing and reforming government operations, and each committee conducts oversight in its policy area.

Congress as well maintains an investigative system, the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Founded in 1921 every bit the General Accounting Part, its original mission was to audit the budgets and fiscal statements sent to Congress by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of the Office of Management and Upkeep. Today, the GAO audits and generates reports on every aspect of the government, ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent with the effectiveness and efficiency that the American people deserve.

The executive co-operative also polices itself: Sixty-4 Inspectors General, each responsible for a different agency, regularly audit and report on the agencies to which they are attached.

sweeneybehatee76.blogspot.com

Source: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/1600/legislative-branch