This document provides an overview of Congress and its structure and processes. It defines key terms related to members of Congress and elections. It also outlines the differences between the House and Senate, including that the House has a Speaker and majority leader while the Senate has a President and president pro tempore. Finally, it details the roles and responsibilities of congressional leadership positions in both the House and Senate.

1. Congress
AP Government

2. Our Goals:
• Understand how members of Congress are elected
• Evaluate the structure, leadership, and powers of congress
• Construct the lawmaking process
• Compare the House and the Senate
• Investigate the current Congressional docket

3. To start our discussion, you must define:
• Members
• Calendar
• Constituents
• Reapportionment
• Gerrymandering
• Incumbent
• And…differentiate between Senate
and House elections.

4. It’s a bicameral legislature, but…
There’s DIFFERENCES between the House and Senate

9. Congressional Powers
• Enumerated (stated) powers: Taxing & spending (appropriations); also BORROWING
• Regulate interstate commerce (Heart of Atlanta Motel case)
• Laws concerning copyrights, patents, weights measures, and bankruptcy
• Admitting new states
• Declare war
• Print money; run post office
• Impeachment process
• Create the Federal judiciary
• Implied powers (necessary & proper)

11. Leadership of the House
Speaker of the House: John Boehner(R-
OH)—elected by a party caucus
Majority Leader: Eric Cantor (R-
VA)

12. Their Duties:
• Always from the majority party
• Presiding officer
• Third in line to Presidency
• Decides who speaks & sets rules
for debate
• Makes committee appointments
• Schedules bills for action
• Assists the Speaker
• Floor leader of the party
• Plans party strategies
• Steers bills through House
• Makes sure important bills make it
out of committee
Speaker Majority Leader

13. Minority Leader & Whips
Minority Leader: Nancy Pelosi
(D-CA)
Whips: Majority (Kevin McCarthy (R-
CA); Minority (Steny Hoyer D-MD)

14. Their Duties:
• Assistant Floor Leaders
• Informs members of the calendar
• Watch how party members vote on
bills
• “Persuades” them to vote the party
line
• Leader of the minority party
• Can’t schedule work
• Floor leader of the party
• Steers bills through House
• Makes sure important bills make it
out of committee
Whips Minority Leader

15. Leadership of the Senate
• Only can cast a tiebreaking vote • Longest serving
majority-party
member;
Presiding
officer when
VP isn’t in
Senate
Senate President: Vice President
Joseph Biden
President Pro Tempore: Patrick Leahy
(VT)

16. Their Duties:
• Tie-Breaking Vote
• Can recognize members to speak
• Can’t debate
• Can try to influence Senators
• Spends more time w/President
• Usually most senior member &
from majority party
• VP usually not in Senate so…
• PPT fills in
• Can participate in debates
Vice President President Pro Tempore

17. Majority & Minority Leaders
Majority Leader: Harry Reid (D-
NV)
Minority Leader: Mitch
McConnell (R-KY)

18. Their Duties:
• Steers party bills
• Plans the Senate’s work agenda (like
Speaker of House)
• Works w/minority leader
• Keep the party in line
• Schedules w/majority leader
• Steers party bills
• Keeps party in line
• Criticisms
Majority Leader Minority Leader

19. Assistant Leaders (Whips)
Majority: Richard Durbin
(D-Il) Minority: Jon Kyl (R-AZ)

20. Further Work
• Congressional Committee Web quest
• How a Bill Becomes a Law puzzle—use:
http://votesmart.org/education/how-a-bill-becomes-law#.Ue8sgo21GII
• Redistricting
• Researching a current bill in Congress