the legislative branch

The Legislative Branch

The Senate

Free Write

•Congress has the power to control our daily lives. They control mass media, the price of goods, drugs, and personal property, among other things. Should congressional power be limited or expanded to meet the changes in society? Explain your answer using examples.

Key Terms• Continuous Body

• Constituency

• Colleague

• Expressed Powers

• Implied Powers

• Inherent Powers

• Strict Constructionist

• Liberal Constructionist

Senate

•Article 1 Section 3 states that each State shall have 2 Senators.

•Senators represent an entire State; members of the House of Representative only represent their individual districts.

Electing Senators

•Originally the Constitution stated that members of the Senate would be chosen by the State legislatures.

•The 17th Amendment (1913) mandated that senators would be chosen by the voters in each State.

Qualifications •The Constitution states that

members of the Senate:

1.must be at least 30 years old

2.must have been a citizen for at least 9 years

3.must live in the State from which he or she is elected.

Powers of Congress

•What are expressed powers?

•Why do they exist?

•In what ways can these powers be abused?

Powers of Congress

•What are implied powers?

•Are implied powers unlimited?

•What limitations if any should be placed on implied powers?

Powers of Congress

•Why does Congress have inherent powers?

•What inherent powers should be given to Congress, and what should be taken away?

•Do inherent powers put the nation at-risk?

Powers of CongressExpressed

vs.

Implied

vs.

Inherent

Role of the SenateDiscuss at your table

The Senate was originally designed as an elite body, which would make better decisions than the unruly House.

•Why do you think the Framers lacked confidence in the House of Representatives?

•What role do constituents play in legislation?

Your Power as a Constituent

•Senator John McCain

241 Russell Senate Office Building

Washington, DC 20510

•Senator John Kyl

730 Hart Senate Building

Washington, D.C. 20510

Senate Demographics

House Demographics

Senate Demographics

House Demographics

Senate Demographics

Think About it?

What do the demographics of Senate say?