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The Legislative Branch: Congress

The Legislative Branch: Congress. Congress. There are two chambers of Congress: The House of Representatives The Senate. Powers. Congress has a number of powers. They include: Collecting taxes and borrowing money Regulating commerce Setting immigration law Coining money

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The Legislative Branch: Congress

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  1. The Legislative Branch: Congress

  2. Congress There are two chambers of Congress: • The House of Representatives • The Senate

  3. Powers Congress has a number of powers. They include: • Collecting taxes and borrowing money • Regulating commerce • Setting immigration law • Coining money • Establishing courts • Declaring war Not that many powers, actually…

  4. Powers • “To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States.” • In other words, Congress can define its powers broadly. • The states get all other powers. What might these be?

  5. House of representatives • The House of Representatives represents the people. • Each member represents 600,000 citizens. • Special powers: • Writes all laws related to money. • Impeaches (charges) the President.

  6. Senate • The Senate represents the states. • Each member represents 1 state. • Special powers: • Approves the President’s choices for ambassadors, judges, and other federal officials. • Approves treaties. • Convicts the President after impeachment.

  7. House vs. Senate • The House is supposed to represent the will of the people. The Senate is supposed to represent the will of the states – and to prevent the people from acting rashly. That’s why the Senate has more power. • What do you think about this? Would you have designed Congress differently?

  8. Does a bill become a law? • YES if the House, the Senate, and the President all agree that the bill should become a law. • NO if even one of them disagrees. • (Something called a “veto” and something called an “override” are also possible, but you don’t have to know about these.)

  9. The Executive branch: The presidency

  10. The president The President is the head of state and the head of government. Imagine Morocco elected a king who ran the country without a prime minister.

  11. Legislative Responsibilities • Signs bills into law. • Sets the country’s legislative agenda. • Issues executive orders.

  12. Judicial Responsibilities • Appoints judges. • Pardons criminals.

  13. Domestic executive Responsibilities • Appoints federal officials, including secretaries (ministers) and ambassadors. • Delegates to those officials in enforcing U.S. laws and regulations.

  14. Foreign executive Responsibilities • Manages America’s foreign affairs. • Serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces. • Represents the United States in state ceremonies.

  15. The Judicial branch: The Courts

  16. The Supreme Court • The Constitution established the Supreme Court as the highest court in the United States. • The Court has nine judges (one “chief” and eight “associates”). They decide cases by voting. • There are also lower federal courts, but they were created by Congress – not the Constitution.

  17. Judicial review • The Court decides if a law violates the Constitution. • This is called judicial review.

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