2. Chapter Introduction
Section 1: How Congress
Is Organized
Section 2: Powers of
Congress
Section 3: Representing
the People
Section 4: How a Bill
Becomes a Law
Visual Summary

3. Our nation’s Constitution
gives the power to make laws
to the legislative branch.
Citizens participate in the
lawmaking process by
expressing their views to
Congress. Find out what
legislation is pending in
Congress and your
representatives’ positions on
the issues.

4. Section 1: How Congress Is
Organized
The Constitution gives the
legislative branch—
Congress—the power to
make laws. In Congress,
members of each party select
their own leaders and work
mainly in committees to carry
out their duties.

5. Section 2:
Powers of Congress
The Constitution gives the
legislative branch—
Congress—the power to
make laws. While the
Constitution limits the powers
of Congress, it also gives
Congress the powers it needs
to conduct its business and to
accomplish its goals.

6. Section 3:
Representing the People
The Constitution gives the
legislative branch—
Congress—the power to
make laws. Congress
employs many staffers who
help with the workload.

7. Section 4:
How a Bill Becomes a Law
The Constitution gives the
legislative branch—
Congress—the power to
make laws. Several complex
steps are involved in taking
an idea and turning it into
a law.

8. Guide to Reading
Big Idea
The Constitution gives the legislative
branch—Congress—the power to
make laws.

9. Guide to Reading
Content Vocabulary
• bicameral • majority party
• census • minority party
• constituent • standing committee
• gerrymander • seniority
Academic Vocabulary
• occur • adjust

10. A Bicameral Legislature
Congress is the legislative, or
lawmaking, branch of government.

11. A Bicameral Legislature (cont.)
• Congress is a bicameral legislative body.
• Two-year terms for each Congress
• 2 sessions in each term
• January – November or December

12. A Bicameral Legislature (cont.)
• The House of Representatives:
– Voting members according to population
– Representation based on each 10-year
census
– At least one congressional district per state
– 435 members of the House of Reps
– Elected every two years

13. A Bicameral Legislature (cont.)
– District size based on number of
constituents
– Gerrymander shapes districts to help a
particular group
Congressional Apportionment, Selected Years

14. A Bicameral Legislature (cont.)
• The Senate:
– Six-year terms
– No more than one-third up for re-election
at one time
– 100 Senators (2 for each state)
– Elected every 6 years

15. A Bicameral Legislature (cont.)
• Both the House and the Senate have
majority and minority parties.
– Leader of majority party in the House is
the Speaker.
– Steer legislation
– Leads floor debates
– Next in line for President
– Leader of the Senate is the vice
president of the United States.

16. Committee Work
Much of the actual work of legislating
is performed by committees and
subcommittees within Congress.

17. Committee Work (cont.)
• Each house of Congress has a system of
committees to handle the bills proposed to
become laws.
• Standing committees for specific areas
– Agriculture
– Budget
– Veterans’ Affairs
Standing Committees

18. Committee Work (cont.)
• Temporary committees for special issues
• Both House and Senate members on joint
committees
• Committee assignments based on
seniority
• Senators and Representatives that
have been there the longest get
preferred committee spots

19. Guide to Reading
Big Idea
The Constitution gives the legislative
branch—Congress—the power to
make laws.

20. Guide to Reading
Content Vocabulary
• expressed • writ of habeas
powers corpus
• implied • bill of attainder
powers
• ex post facto
• elastic clause law
• impeach
Academic Vocabulary
• regulate

21. Legislative Powers
The Constitution provides that all
powers to make laws for the United
States government shall be given to
Congress.

22. Legislative Powers (cont.)
• Most of Congress’s powers are related to
making laws.
• Expressed and implied powers

23. Legislative Powers (cont.)
• Expressed powers in Constitution
– Coin money
– Support troops
– Regulate commerce
– Dealing with foreign countries
– Collect taxes
Powers of Congress

24. Legislative Powers (cont.)
• Implied powers not clearly stated in
Constitution
– Allow “necessary and proper” actions by
Congress
– Clause 18 is often called the elastic
clause.
– Ex. – clause 4 implies that congress can
pass bankruptcy laws
Powers of Congress

25. Nonlegislative Powers
The Constitution gives Congress a
number of nonlegislative duties.

26. Nonlegislative Powers (cont.)
• Most nonlegislative powers of Congress
are used to check the other branches of
government.
• Sole authority to impeach
• Only Congress can declare war

27. Nonlegislative Powers (cont.)
• Limits to powers:
– Cannot suspend the writ of habeas
corpus
– Banned from passing bills of attainder
– Cannot pass ex post facto laws

28. Nonlegislative Powers (cont.)
• Checks and balances from other branches
of government:
– Supreme Court can declare laws
unconstitutional.
– President can veto bills.

29. Guide to Reading
Big Idea
The Constitution gives the legislative
branch—Congress—the power to
make laws.

30. Guide to Reading
Content Vocabulary
• franking • casework
privilege
• pork-barrel
• lobbyist project
Academic Vocabulary
• draft • estimate
• complex

31. Qualifications and Privileges
The Constitution sets forth the
qualifications for election to the House
and to the Senate.

32. Qualifications and Privileges (cont.)
• The work of Congress requires many
people in addition to the representatives
and senators.

33. Qualifications and Privileges (cont.)
• Different qualifications for serving as
congressperson or senator
– Senator
– 30 years old, live in the State you
represent, have been a US citizen for
at least 9 years
– Representative
– 25 years old, live in the District you
represent, have been a US citizen for
7 years

34. Qualifications and Privileges (cont.)
• Privileges and benefits:
– $162,500 annual salary
– Franking privilege for sending work-
related mail free
– Legal protection in certain situations
– Low-cost life insurance

35. Qualifications and Privileges (cont.)
• Staff to help Congress:
– Personal staff to handle press and
lobbyists
– Committee staff to draft bills and gather
information
– Three major support services
– Library of Congress, General
Accounting Office, Congressional
Budget Office

36. Congress at Work
The 535 members of Congress have
several different but closely related
roles.

37. Congress at Work (cont.)
• While in session, Congress performs three
important functions:
• Lawmaking
• Casework
• helping the district or state.

38. Congress at Work (cont.)
• Making laws:
– Write and introduce bills
– Listen to input of people for and against
a bill
– Vote on the floor of the House or Senate

39. Congress at Work (cont.)
• Casework to address requests from
constituents
• Pork-barrel projects to provide federal
funding for home districts and states

40. Guide to Reading
Big Idea
The Constitution gives the legislative
branch—Congress—the power to
make laws.

41. Guide to Reading
Content Vocabulary
• joint • voice vote
resolution
• standing vote
• special-
interest group • roll-call vote
• filibuster • veto
• cloture • pocket veto

42. Guide to Reading
Academic Vocabulary
• element • category

43. Bills Congress Considers
Congress considers several different
kinds of legislation each year. Most
pieces of legislation are in the form
of bills.

44. Bills Congress Considers (cont.)
• Only about one percent of all bills
proposed during a Congressional session
become laws.

45. Bills Congress Considers (cont.)
• Private and public bills:
– Private concerns of people or places
– Public apply to entire nation and are
more general

46. Bills Congress Considers (cont.)
• Joint resolutions become law if signed by
president

47. From Bill to Law
To become a law, a bill must be passed
in identical form by both chambers of
Congress.

48. From Bill to Law (cont.)
• A bill must be introduced by a
representative or senator before it can be
considered by Congress.
• The idea for the bill can come from private
citizens, the White House, or from special-
interest groups.

49. From Bill to Law (cont.)
• Bills that are introduced are sent to
standing committees:
– Can pass the bill
– Can mark up the bill with changes
– Can replace the original bill
– Can ignore the bill
– Can kill the bill outright by majority vote

50. From Bill to Law (cont.)
• If passed in committee, bill is sent to floor
for debate
• Senate filibuster
• Filibuster can end if three-fifths of the
members vote for cloture.
Profile of the 109th Congress

51. From Bill to Law (cont.)
• Voting on a bill:
– Voice vote
– Standing vote
– Roll-call vote
• Presidential veto
• Pocket veto
How a Bill Becomes Law

52. Comparing the House and the Senate
The Congress of the United States was created by
Article I, Section 1, of the Constitution, providing that
“All legislative
Powers herein
granted shall be
vested in a
Congress of the
United States,
which shall consist
of a Senate and a
House of
Representatives.”

65. California; it has
more representatives
than any other state
listed.

68. bicameral
a legislature consisting of two parts,
or houses

69. census
a population count taken by the
Census Bureau

70. constituent
a person from a legislator’s district

71. gerrymander
an oddly shaped district designed to
increase the voting strength of a
particular group

72. majority party
in both the House of Representatives
and the Senate, the political party to
which more than half the members
belong

73. minority party
in both the House of Representatives
and the Senate, the political party to
which fewer than half the members
belong

74. standing committees
permanent committees that continue
their work from session to session in
Congress

75. seniority
years of service, which is used as a
consideration for assigning committee
members

76. occur
to happen or take place

77. adjust
to change or alter in order to fit or
conform

78. expressed powers
powers that Congress has that are
specifically listed in the Constitution

79. implied powers
powers that Congress has that are
not stated explicitly in the Constitution

80. elastic clause
clause in Article I, Section 8 of the
Constitution that gives Congress the
right to make all laws “necessary and
proper” to carry out its expressed
powers

81. impeach
to accuse government officials of
misconduct in office

82. writ of habeas corpus
a court order that requires police to
bring a prisoner to court to explain
why they are holding the person

83. bill of attainder
a law that punishes a person accused
of a crime without a trial or a fair
hearing in court

84. ex post facto law
a law that would allow a person to be
punished for an action that was not
against the law when it was
committed

85. regulate
to control or govern

86. franking privilege
the right of senators and
representatives to send job-related
mail without paying postage

87. lobbyist
representative of an interest group
who contacts lawmakers or other
government officials directly to
influence their policy making

88. casework
the work that a lawmaker does to help
constituents with a problem

89. pork-barrel projects
government projects and grants that
primarily benefit the home district or
state

90. draft
to create an outline

91. complex
complicated or intricate

92. estimate
to judge the approximate nature,
value, quality, or amount of a thing

93. joint resolution
a resolution that is passed by both
houses of Congress

94. special-interest group
an organization of people with some
common interest who try to influence
government decisions

95. filibuster
a tactic for defeating a bill in the
Senate by talking until the bill’s
sponsor withdraws it

96. cloture
a procedure used in the Senate to
limit debate on a bill

97. voice vote
a voting method in which those in
favor say “Yea” and those against say
“No”

98. standing vote
in Congress, when members stand to
be counted for a vote on a bill

99. roll-call vote
a voting method in the Senate in
which members voice their votes in
turn

100. veto
refusal to sign a bill or resolution

101. pocket veto
president’s power to kill a bill, if
Congress is not in session, by not
signing it for 10 days

102. element
a component of a whole

103. category
a division or grouping used to classify
something

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