Congressional Committees

Recap Legislative Branch• How many members are in the House of

Representatives?

• How many members are in the Senate?

• What is the process called for Re-arranging districts every 10 years?

• What are some powers reserved specifically to the House of Representatives?

• What are some powers reserved specifically to the Senate?

"Congress in _________ is Congress on __________________, whilst Congress in its________________-rooms is Congress at ________.”

- Woodrow Wilson

Legislative Committees:Function & Purpose

1. ______________________ (a.k.a. “___________” bills)

A bill with a member’s mark-up notes

Legislative Committees:Function & Purpose

2. __________________________________

Secretary Donald Rumsfeld testifies before a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing re: the Department of Defense Budget (May, 2006)

Legislative Committees:Function & Purpose

3. _______________________

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagan testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Hurricane Katrina (Feb., 2006

Types of Committees ________________________ - ________________

panel with ___________ legislative functions and oversight responsibilities– _______________– formed to tackle very

__________ tasks within the jurisdiction of the full committees

______________________ - groups appointed for a ___________ purpose and ______________ duration

_______________________ - includes members of _____ chambers to conduct studies or perform housekeeping tasks

_______________________ - includes members of _________ & _____________ to work out differences between similar bills

Seniority Rule• To get on a committee, the _______________

will be selected based on ______________.

• The ______________ serving members serve as _______________________, they are often the _________ powerful members in Congress

• Criticism: _______________________________

_______________________________________

Congressional Powers

Powers of Congress• The _______________powers of _________

are listed in _________________ of the _____________________.

• These are the specific (___________) powers granted to Congress (____________ powers)

• Of the ____ powers given by Congress, ___ are related to the military.

The Power to _____• Congress shall have the power to lay and collect

________, duties, imposts and excises Pay the _______ Provide for the _______________ And the ______________ of the U.S.

• ___________________ (1913): “The Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes on _______, from whatever source derived”

Power to ______ Money• To ____________ money on the ________ of

the United States• This led to the creation of our ________________:

all the money the U.S. has borrowed over the years and not yet paid back plus interest (____________)

• Today’s national debt is ______________ and rising • There is _________________________, but there is

a __________________ (law) set by Congress and raised every few years

• _______________: allows Congress to regulate trade between states and other nations– ______ includes ______________– Congress can tax ____________– Congress _________ tax ________

Commerce Power

Naturalization and Bankruptcy• __________________: to regulate the process

of how _____________ become a ____ citizen• __________________: to regulate the process

of how the bankrupt person’s ________ are distributed among those to who a debt is owed

Currency and Counterfeiting• _______________: to _______ and _______

money and regulate the value of that money• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2m3t2Yr8Vg - Federal Reserve

• _________________: the crime of a person __________ or __________ their own money (federal offense)

Postal Power• _______________: to establish a _________

_______and post roads (to regulate the mail)• Federal crime to _______ with mail, _______

mail, or send certain items through the mail

Patents and Copyrights• _________: grants a person the sole right to

manufacture, use, or sell any new and useful art, machine, manufacture, or composition

• Patent may last up to 20 years• _______________: the ____________ right

of an author to reproduce, publish, and sell his or her _______ work (last the life of the author + _____ years)

Federal Courts• Congress has the power to create inferior

___________ courts (courts below the US Supreme Court) _____________

Piracies and International Law• Power to define and punish ______________

and __________ committed on the high seas• And offenses against the laws of Nations

(_____________________)

Somalian Pirates

Congressional Military Powers

1. _________ Congress has the power to _______ ________. It also makes laws regarding ______________________.

2. Raise and support _______

3. Provide and maintain a ______

4. Make rules for the ________________________

______________________________________

5. Calling forth of the ___________, which is known as the ___________________ today.

6. To provide for the ________________

_____________________________.

Federal Land and D.C.• Create and pass _______ that regulate our Nation’s

Capital: _________________ (District of Columbia) • Pass laws that regulate all _____________ property

and land to include ____________________• ______________________: power to take _______

property for ____________ use (must pay just _____________________) 5th Amendment

Implied Powers• _________________________ (Article I, Section 8,

Clause 18) Congress has the power to “make ______ laws which shall be _____________ and _____________ for carrying into execution the foregoing powers and all other powers vested by this _____________…” also called the Elastic Clause (Created ___________________)

Examples

• Expressed Power: _________________

Implied Power: Establish a ___________ to raise and Army

Implied Power: Develop new armored tanks

Implied Power: _____________ military bases• Expressed Power: ______________________

Implied Power: Establish the IRS (____________________)

Implied Power: Establish a ______________________

Implied Power: Punish those who fail to pay their taxes• Expressed Power: _______________________

Implied Power: Prohibit the __________ of certain goods

Implied Power: Prohibit the ____________ of certain goods