Legislative Branch - Mr. Shannon's Web Page
Legislative Branch name:
The Senate
The Senate of the United States is the voice of the states and the partner of the House of Representatives. On the new Senate Office Building are engraved in marble the words, "THE SENATE IS THE LIVING SYMBOL OF OUR UNION OF STATES."
The Senate has exceptionally high authority, sometimes higher than the President or the House of Representatives. The Senate can try cases of impeachment, which can dismiss a President for misconduct. Presidents Andrew Johnson and William J. Clinton were impeached by the House but were found innocent of the charges by the Senate and remained President. President Nixon resigned before the House could bring about its impeachment charges.
The Senate also checks the President by having the power to approve or not approve the treaties he makes with other nations. The Senate also approves the appointments that the President makes to his Cabinet, ambassadors, federal judges, and all civilian employees of the government who are not covered by another area.
A senator's term is for six years. Only 1/3 of the entire Senate will be up for reelection at any one time. Therefore, the Senate does not have all new senators at one time. This always leaves 2/3 of the Senate members with some past experience. On the other hand, the House of Representatives could face the problem of all new members if the voters chose to change every representative. Representatives are elected every two years. This keeps the representatives very close to the wishes of the people.
Voters get very excited during a presidential election year. They carefully read about the candidates. They turn out in larger numbers to the polls to vote. Millions watch the election returns. Fewer voters realize, though, that the most important race may be in their own state for the job of senator. The senator is in office longer than the President. Senators help make laws that affect our daily lives.
1. Who are the two senators from Michigan? _________________ and ________________________.
2. How does the Senate check the President? ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________
3. How long is a senator's term? __________.
House of Representatives
|More than any other part of our government, the House of Representatives is directly responsible and responsive to the people. A |
|representative speaks for about 550,000 people in his or her own district--the district in which he or she lives. |
|On the other hand, a senator speaks for all the people in his or her state. A senator, therefore, must consider the interests of all the |
|people in his or her state whether they are farmers, businessmen, laborers, or oil millionaires. |
|A representative can have a more narrow focus on issues, because he or she speaks for the people in a smaller area. He or she can travel the |
|represented area and hear the complaints and hopes of the people in the district. When people in his or her district visit Washington, the |
|representative tries to see them and make arrangements for them to see special sites of interest. |
|The Hall in the House of Representatives has certain activities take place within its walls. Here the President speaks to the joint sessions |
|of the Congress. Here decisions are made on war and peace. Here over 218 million people act through their representatives. Here issues of the|
|most importance to world history are decided. Here laws are made. Here billions and billions of dollars are budgeted out of the taxes |
|Americans pay into the Treasury of the United States. |
|The House of Representatives has special powers that no other branch has. It has the power-- |
|1. To start all revenue (money) bills. |
|2. To impeach civil officers. |
|3. To elect a President if no candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes. |
1) Using this web site: find the names of two of the representatives from Michigan.
List the names of two of the representatives from Michigan below. Each state is divided into congressional districts. Which district do you live in and who is your representative?
Name: _______________________ Name: _____________________
Where You live__________________________
Who is your representative_______________________________
HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW
The way an idea grows from a bill to a law is a long and complicated process. The framers of the Constitution wanted government leaders to have lots of debate on issues and not just make laws quickly or without thought as to consequences. They chose to design a system that requires both parts of the Legislative Branch to be involved in the lawmaking process and to then have to seek approval from the President (Executive Branch) for the final step. They also prevented the President from being too powerful in this process, by allowing the legislature the option to outvote the President's decision to veto a law.
Go to this web site and see the total steps needed to take a bill through the process to become a law. This is part of the Vote Smart site.
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TASKS:
After reviewing these steps, write what part of the process that you think is the most difficult for the bill to go through. Where do you think bills most likely get stopped or changed? Give your opinion supported by facts from this site.
PUT THESE STEPS IN THE CORRECT ORDER:
|Committee action |Bill is introduced |
|Vote |Conference committee if needed |
|Debate |Law is given a number |
|Floor action |Presidential action |
|Override veto if needed | |
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The Legislative Branch
You know that in a representative democracy the people have a voice in the making of their laws. Voters in our country elect people to represent and to serve as their voice in the law making process. Laws are made by the men and women who are elected to Congress by the voters of each state.
Congress is made up of two houses, just the way most of the state legislatures are made up. The upper house is called the Senate, and the lower house is called the House of Representatives. Men and women who belong to the House of Representatives are called representatives. They may also be called congressmen or congresswomen.
The number of senators in Congress is spelled out in the Constitution. Under the Constitution, each state has two senators. However, the number of representatives a state has depends on the population of the state. Every state must have at least one representative though. Law now sets the total number of representatives at 435. This means that as the population changes in a state, so does the number of representatives that state is allowed to have. But the total must not change! Therefore, as some states gain representatives, other states may lose representatives.
Each of the fifty states elects two men or women to the Senate of the United States. These senators stay in office for six years. Then they must try to get elected again if they want to stay in the Senate.
The number of representatives a state sends to the House of Representatives depends on how many people live in the state. Representatives stay in office for only two years. If they want to stay in the House of Representatives, they must run for reelection every two years.
Congress meets in Washington D.C., the capital city of the United States. "D.C." stands for the District of Columbia. The District of Columbia is not a state. It is not in a state, either. It is a district which acts like a combination of a city and state.
TASKS: Use this web site:
What is the total number representatives for Michigan?_________
Add the total number of representatives and senators. That number is your electoral number, meaning the number of electoral votes your state has in the presidential election. What is the electoral number for Michigan?______
Determine which state or states have the most representatives:____________ ___________ _____________ ______________
FILL IN THE BLANKS IN THE SENTENCES BELOW
1. The laws of the United States are made by _________________.
2. Congress is made up of ________ houses.
3. The upper house of Congress is the _________________________.
4. The lower house of Congress is the _________________________.
5. Men and women who belong to the Senate are called __________.
6. A congressman is a member of the __________________________.
7. There are _________ senators in the Senate.
8. There can be no more than_________ congressmen in the House of Representatives.
9. My state has _______ representatives.
10. The two people who represent my state in the Senate are ____________________ and ____________________.
11. The congressman or congresswoman who represents me in the House of Representatives is ________________________.
12. Each senator is elected to office for a period of _______ years.
13. Each congressman is elected to office for a period of __________ years.
14. The capital city of the United States is ________________,
15. Congress meets in a building called the ___________________.
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