Leadership of the 112 th Congress

1. Leadership of the112thCongress It starts today!

2. 112th Congress In the HR: 193 D’s & 242 R’s Which party has the majority? In the S: 53 D’s & 47 R’s

3. Leadership All the leadership positions are held by the majority party

4. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) Roles: Presides over HR Determines committee assignment Sets rules Generally, most powerful person in Congress HR

5. Floor of the HR

6. Majority Leader From majority party Sets agenda for party Eric Cantor (R-VA) Minority Leader From minority party Is the leader for the party out of power Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) Floor Leaders – HR

7. Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (D-CA) Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) Whip - Ensures party members are voting according to party line, attend

8. Your Rep from CA - District 35 Maxine Waters (D-CA)

9. Senate • President of the Senate = Vice President of the US • Breaks ties Joe Biden (D, Delaware)

10. Senate Leadership • President pro tempore / pro tem • Temporary president • Majority Party • Presides over Senate Daniel Inouye (D- HI)

11. Majority Leader Most powerful position in S Harry Reid (D-NV) Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) S Leadership

12. Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL) Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) Senate Whips

13. Barbara Boxer (D) Dianne Feinstein (D) Your CA Senators

14. Congress # 14: Committees • All of the following are expressed powers of Congress EXCEPT • Tax B. Declare war C. Outlaw discrimination • Which part of Congress gives each state equal representation? • Senate B. House of Representatives • Which part of Congress is responsible for removing impeached officials, confirming nominations, and ratifying treaties? • Senate B. House of Representatives • Which of the following is an implied power? • Draft B. Raise military C. Coin money • Creating districts that give an unfair advantage to a political party is known as • Gerrymandering B. Malapportionment

15. Structure • Committees – divides work into specific categories (for each house) • Agriculture • Education and Labor • Judiciary • Veteran’s Affairs • Library (of Congress)

16. Senate Cmte Room

17. Chair of the S Cmte on Foreign Relations John Kerry (D-MA) • Chair • Leader of cmte • Seniority Rule • Person from majority party who has been on the cmte longest is chair • Majority party has proportional number of seats If a bill sponsored by a Republican goes to a cmte in the S, what chance does it have of passing?

18. Standing Cmte • Permanent, where most bills begin

19. Subcommittees • smaller cmte’s that can specialize even further • House Committee on Agriculture • Subcmte on Conservation, Credit, Energy & Research • Subcmte on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition & Forestry • Subcmte on Horticulture & Organic Agriculture • Subcmte on Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry

20. Select / Special Committees • Temporary or permanent on specific topic • Special Committee on Aging

21. Joint Committees • Cmte made of both HR & S • Library • Economic • Taxation • Printing

22. Where’s Boxer? Where’s Feinstein? • Chairs Environment & Public Works • Foreign Relations • Commerce, Science & Transportation • Select Cmte on Ethics • Select Cmte on Intelligence • Judiciary • Rules & Administration • Appropriations

23. Caucus: a group of like-minded representatives • Party Caucus: determines party leadership and direction • Others: Congressional Black Caucus, Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Out of Iraq Caucus

24. List 2 advantages given to the majority party.

25. I’m Just a Bill – How it should look - Bruiser’s Bill Summary: If passed, this bill will outlaw animal testing in the United States. This includes all four legged animals, but does not include worms… Arguments: This bill should pass because…. Committee: This bill should be assigned to…