Guided Reading Activity 5 2 the House of Representatives Answers

The United States Congress is made up of the Firm of Representatives and the Senate. Learn more nigh the powers of the Legislative Co-operative of the federal regime of the United States.

Established past Commodity I of the Constitution, the Legislative Branch consists of the Firm of Representatives and the Senate, which together form the United States Congress. The Constitution grants Congress the sole authority to enact legislation and declare war, the right to confirm or reject many Presidential appointments, and substantial investigative powers.

The House of Representatives is made upward of 435 elected members, divided amidst the 50 states in proportion to their total population. In addition, there are 6 non-voting members, representing the Commune of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and four other territories of the United States. The presiding officer of the chamber is the Speaker of the House, elected by the Representatives. He or she is tertiary in the line of succession to the Presidency.

Members of the Business firm are elected every two years and must exist 25 years of age, a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and a resident of the land (but not necessarily the district) they represent.

The Firm has several powers assigned exclusively to information technology, including the ability to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President in the case of an electoral college tie.

The Senate is composed of 100 Senators, ii for each state. Until the ratification of the 17th Subpoena in 1913, Senators were chosen past state legislatures, non past pop vote. Since then, they have been elected to six-twelvemonth terms past the people of each state. Senator'due south terms are staggered so that about i-third of the Senate is upward for reelection every two years. Senators must be 30 years of historic period, U.Southward. citizens for at least nine years, and residents of the land they correspond.

The Vice President of the U.s.a. serves every bit President of the Senate and may cast the decisive vote in the event of a tie in the Senate.

The Senate has the sole power to confirm those of the President'southward appointments that require consent, and to ratify treaties. There are, however, 2 exceptions to this dominion: the Firm must also approve appointments to the Vice Presidency and any treaty that involves foreign trade. The Senate also tries impeachment cases for federal officials referred to it by the House.

In gild to pass legislation and send it to the President for his signature, both the Business firm and the Senate must pass the same bill past bulk vote. If the President vetoes a bill, they may override his veto by passing the bill once again in each sleeping room with at to the lowest degree two-thirds of each body voting in favor.

The Legislative Process | Powers of Congress | Regime Oversight

The Legislative Process

The first footstep in the legislative procedure is the introduction of a pecker to Congress. Anyone can write information technology, merely just members of Congress tin can introduce legislation. Some important bills are traditionally introduced at the request of the President, such as the almanac federal budget. During the legislative process, however, the initial bill tin undergo drastic changes.

After being introduced, a bill is referred to the appropriate commission for review. There are 17 Senate committees, with lxx subcommittees, and 23 House committees, with 104 subcommittees. The committees are non ready in stone, merely change in number and class with each new Congress as required for the efficient consideration of legislation. Each commission oversees a specific policy area, and the subcommittees accept on more specialized policy areas. For case, the House Committee on Ways and Means includes subcommittees on Social Security and Merchandise.

A bill is first considered in a subcommittee, where it may be accepted, amended, or rejected entirely. If the members of the subcommittee agree to move a nib forwards, it is reported to the full committee, where the process is repeated once more. Throughout this stage of the procedure, the committees and subcommittees call hearings to investigate the merits and flaws of the neb. They invite experts, advocates, and opponents to appear before the committee and provide testimony, and can compel people to appear using amendment power if necessary.

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

When the bill comes upwardly for consideration, the Business firm has a very structured argue process. Each member who wishes to speak only has a few minutes, and the number and kind of amendments are usually limited. In the Senate, fence on most bills is unlimited — Senators may speak to issues other than the neb nether consideration during their speeches, and whatever amendment can exist introduced. Senators can employ this to delay bills under consideration, a process past which a Senator delays a vote on a bill — and past extension its passage — by refusing to stand downwardly. A supermajority of 60 Senators can pause a delay by invoking cloture, or the cession of debate on the bill, and forcing a vote. Once fence is over, the votes of a unproblematic majority passes the bill.

A neb must laissez passer both houses of Congress before it goes to the President for consideration. Though the Constitution requires that the 2 bills have the verbal aforementioned diction, this rarely happens in practice. To bring the bills into alignment, a Conference Committee is convened, consisting of members from both chambers. The members of the committee produce a conference study, intended every bit the terminal version of the bill. Each chamber then votes again to approve the conference report. Depending on where the beak originated, the terminal text is so enrolled past either the Clerk of the House or the Secretary 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 constabulary, and the bill is so printed in the Statutes at Big. If the President believes the law to be bad policy, he may veto information technology and transport it back to Congress. Congress may override the veto with a 2-thirds vote of each chamber, at which point the bill becomes police force and is printed.

There are two other options that the President may do. If Congress is in session and the President takes no action inside x days, the bill becomes law. If Congress adjourns before 10 days are up and the President takes no action, then the neb dies and Congress may non vote to override. This is chosen 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 1 of the iii coequal branches of government, is ascribed significant powers by the Constitution. All legislative power in the government is vested in Congress, significant that it is the simply part of the regime that tin make new laws or change existing laws. Executive Branch agencies effect regulations with the full forcefulness of police force, but these are only under the dominance of laws enacted past Congress. The President may veto bills Congress passes, but Congress may also override a veto by a ii-thirds vote in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

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

Office of Congress's exercise of legislative authority is the establishment of an annual 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, and so Congress may as well authorize borrowing to make up the difference. Congress tin also mandate spending on specific items: legislatively directed spending, commonly known equally "earmarks," specifies funds for a particular project, rather than for a government agency.

Both chambers of Congress take 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 fourth dimension holding hearings and investigations in committee. Refusal to cooperate with a Congressional subpoena can upshot in charges of contempt of Congress, which could effect in a prison term.

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

Congress as well holds the sole power to declare war.

Government Oversight

Oversight of the executive co-operative is an important Congressional bank check on the President'due south ability and a residual confronting his discretion in implementing laws and making regulations.

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

Congress also maintains an investigative arrangement, the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Founded in 1921 as the Full general Accounting Office, its original mission was to audit the budgets and financial statements sent to Congress by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Manager of the Office of Management and Budget. Today, the GAO audits and generates reports on every aspect of the authorities, ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent with the effectiveness and efficiency that the American people deserve.

The executive branch besides polices itself: Lx-iv Inspectors General, each responsible for a different agency, regularly inspect and report on the agencies to which they are attached.

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