Legislative branch

The Legislative branch makes laws.

The congressional joint powers (delegated to both the House of Representatives and Senate) are:

• Levy and collect taxes

• Raise and maintain military

• Grant statehood

• Control national lands

• Regulate interstate trade

• Naturalize students

• Declare war

• Control making of currency

They are delegated to the houses by Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution.

Perks of being in the Legislative Branch:

• Setting your own salary

• Provides travel allowance, personal staff, and insurance (health, life, etc)

• Provides franking privilege

  • Allows them to mail important mail, free of charge

  • Term coined because of Benjamin Franklin

• Provides legislative immunity

  • A law that protects legislators from liability in a civil lawsuit as long as they are going along with their job duties

• Cannot be arrested or detained while going to a session of Congress.

House of Representatives

Qualifications to serve in the House of Representatives:

• Twenty-five years of age

• U.S. citizen for seven years

• Resident of state elected.

  • Have to live in the district

Representatives serve in office for two years and are elected by the people.

The amount of members in the house is based on population (435 total)

The House of Representatives is reapportioned after every census (10 years)-- if a state has gained citizens, they may gain a senator and vice versa for if they lost a member. (700,00 members/district)

Powers that are reserved to the house only:

• Originates money bills (taxes, revenue, etc).

• Begins impeachment process

• Elects president if electoral college fails to do so.

Speaker of the House

• Presiding officer of the House

• Acknowledges speakers, signs bill, appoints committees, and calls for votes.

• Current speaker of the house is Nancy Pelosi

Majority / Minority leaders

• The floor leaders and heads for their respective parties

• Current majority leader is Steny Hoyer

• Current minority leader is Kevin McCarthy

Majority / Minority Whip

• A whip in the HOR manages their party’s legislative program. They keep track of all legislations and ensure all party members are present when important matters are voted on.

• Acts as floor leader if the majority leader is not present

• James Clyburn is the current majority whip

• Steve Scalise is the current minority whip

Senate

Qualifications to serve in the Senate:

• Thirty years old

• American citizen for nine years

• Resident of state elected

Senators serve for six years and are elected by the people.

There are two senators for every state, meaning there are 100 senators for the country.

Powers reserved for the Senate only:

• Confirm presidential appointments

• Approve/reject treaties

• Jury for impeachment trial

Senators serve for six years and are voted for re-election every two years (only a third of senators are put up for re-election).

Majority / Minority leader

• The leaders serve as the floor leader of their respective parties, depending whoever has the majority in the Congress.

• The majority leader is the the leader in Senate and is recognized first for all debates.

• Mitch McConnell is the current Senate minority leader

• Chuck Schumer is the Senate majority leader

Majority / Minority Whip

• A whip manages their party’s legislative program. They keep track of all legislations and ensure all party members are present when important matters are voted on.

• Acts as floor leader if the majority leader is not present

• John Cornyn is the Senate minority Whip

• Dick Durbin is the Senate majority Whip

President of the Senate

• Same person as vice president

• Less power than Senators

• Presiding officer but may not speak or debate

President Pro Tempore

• Resides in the vice president’s absence

• Elected by the Senate, from the majority party

• The president pro tempore is currently Patrick Leahy

A term for the legislative branch begins January third of every odd numbered year. Congress is counted consecutively for their terms (07-09 = 110th)

Adjournment is when the term ends and both houses must agree.

There are two sessions per term / periodic recesses

The House of Representatives are re-elected during the mid-terms, where the president does not change but Congress may change. The Senate is re-elected in 1/3 chunks, every two years.

Types of Committees

• Standing committee: Permanent groups where similar bills are sent to

  • EG: Budget committee

• Select committee: A special group set up for a specific purpose and is disbanded afterwards

  • EG: Watergate committee

• Joint committee: Contains members from both houses

• Informal grouping: Groups that work together to achieve similar goals and function outside of the formal committee structure

  • EG: Black caucus, democratic study group, republican study group, pro-life caucus

• Conference committee: temporary joint body to iron out different versions of a measure

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Executive branch

Created by Article 2 of the Constitution. Section 1, clause 8 contains to presidential power and section 3 is called the “take care” power.

The requirements to be president are:

• 35 years old

• Natural born ciitzen

• 14 years of residency.

The Ordinance Power means the president has the power to create executive orders -- which are not law, but have the same powers as a law.

The Appointing Power states he has the power to appoint the cabinet secretaries, federal judges, federal justices, etc.

The Removal Power states he can remove anyone has appointed besides SCOTUS justices.

The Power to make treaties means he has the power to negotiate treaties through the Senate,

The president’s judicial powers are the ability to pardon (wave a sentence), amnesty (a pardon for a large group of people) and a commutation (to postpone the sentence).

Commander in Chief

The Constitution gives the president direct power of all the branches of the military as Commander-in-Chief. The authority to declare war lies with the legislative branch, but the president can request and sign declarations of war drafted by Congress.

• All military leaders are known as the Joint Chiefs of Staff

• The president can send troops out (for a certain duration of time) but need confirmation from Congress to keep them there.

Chief Administrator

The president heads the executive branch of the government as the chief administrator -- the branch being made up of himself, the White House, and many departments/agencies, such as the Department of Energy / Agriculture.

Chief Executive

The president enforces the laws of the nation and ensures he also has the power to appoint a cabinet (a group of people who advise the president and run various executive agencies).

Chief Legislator

The president has the authority to approve of or veto a bill and advises Congress on their legislative goals (during the State of the Union Speech).

Chief Diplomat

The president determines how the US and its diplomats interact with other countries and hosts State Visits, where foreign leaders visit the president at the White House.

Chief of Party

Presidential decisions are commonly influenced by their party affiliation. The president helps others campaign through the (unofficial) role known as Chief of Party, where he acts as leader of their party and supports other governmental candidates who support the same policies -- if he has a high approval rating.

Chief of State

The president serves as the figurehead of the country, where they go to ceremonial events and act as the public face of the nation.

Chief Citizen

The president represents all citizens and sets an example for civic behavior in times of peace and crisis.

• Example: Woodrow Wilson kept sheep on the White House lawn and donated wool to the Red Cross. This served as a highly visible example of home front support and hoped it encouraged the citizens to give in the ways they could.

The departments in the cabinet are:

• Department of State (1789)

  • Implements foreign policy

  • Protects rights of US citizens travelling abroad

• Department of Treasury (1789)

  • Includes the IRS, Customs, and Mint

  • Manages the monetary resources of the US

  • Manufactures coins (US Mint)

  • Produces paper money (Bureau of Engraving and Printing)

  • Creates nation’s tax code and collects taxes (IRS)

• Department of Interior (1849)

  • Manages and protects public lands and natural resources

  • Oversees relations with Native Americans (Bureau of Indian Affairs)

  • Oversees mining of natural resources (Bureau of Mines)

  • Manages national monuments, historic sites, and national parks (National Park Service)

• Department of Justice (1870)

  • Responsible for all aspects of law enforcement

  • Helps enforce civil rights legislation

  • Brings forth cases on behalf of the Nation

  • Includes FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration

• Department of Agriculture (1889)

  • Develops conservation programs

  • Provides financial credit to farmers

  • Safeguards the nation’s food supply

• Department of Commerce (1903)

  • Supervises trade, promotes tourism and businesses

  • Census Bureau

  • Patent and Trademark Office issues patents for new inventions and registers trademarks.

• Department of Labor (1913)

  • Concerned with working conditions and wages

    • Promotes safe working conditions

    • Safeguards a minimum wage

    • Protects pension rights

  • OSHA, unemployment

• Department of Defense (1949)

  • Was originally called the department of war in 1789

  • Manages the armed forces

    • Army, Navy, Air Forces, Marines, Coast Guard, Space Force, National Guard

• Department of Health and Human Services (1953)

  • Manages Medicare and Medicaid

    • Medicare is for old people and Medicaid is for people in poverty

  • Implements the national health policy

  • Funds medical research

  • Food and Drug administration

• Department of Housing and Urban Development (1965)

  • Ensures Americans have equal housing opportunities

  • Helps make mortgage money available and provides loans

• Department of Transportation (1966)

  • Federal Aviation Administration

  • Federal Railroad Administration

    • Amtrak

  • Federal Highway Administration

• Department of Energy (1977)

  • Directs and implements the nation’s energy plan and consumption

  • Researches and develops energy technology

  • Researches alternative fuels: Ethanol, bio-diesel, etc

  • Petroleum, coal, and natural gas

  • Nuclear program

• Department of Education (1979)

  • Provides advice and funding to school districts through state grants

  • Free public education

  • Special Education, No Child Left Behind

  • Coordinates federal assistance to public and private schools

  • Programs with student with limited English proficiency

• Department of Veteran Affairs (1989)

  • Directs services for veterans

  • Administers hospitals and educational programs for (disabled) veterans and their families

    • Veterans Administration

• Department of Homeland Security (2002)

  • Directs security initiatives for federal agencies up to the federal level

  • Controls the coast guard, border patrol, immigration and naturalization service, custom services, and the federal emergency management agency

  • Analyzes information collected by the FBI and CIA

The Bureaucracy

The job of the Bureaucracy is to implement and enforce federal laws and is under the executive branch. Different branches of the bureaucracy exist to make plans for implementing and enforcing different laws.

• Example: The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) makes plans for laws related to the environment.

The legislative branch pays the bureaucracy and decides the funding that the different agencies receive.

The judicial branch handles cases of suing if it is believed their funding is mishandled.

The bureaucracy is sometimes referred to as the fourth branch of government due to all its ties to the other branches.

In order to get a job in the Bureaucracy, you have to take the Civil Merit Test (which 90% of all federal workers have to take).

Originally, however, it was the Spoils System. If you knew someone in the government (family, a friend, etc), they could promise you a job inside the government. This was changed in the Pendleton Act (1883), which changed the system to the one we use today (The Merit System).

The reason why this act was created was because of Garfield’s assassination -- he had promised someone a government job before he became President, bu afterwards, decided not to give him a job. This man went on to assassinate him.

Commissions

The ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission) was the first branch created to end price fixing by railroads.

During the Great Depression, a large rise in federal workers occurred and LBJ’s (Lindon B Johnson) War on Poverty (crisis or social change and increase jobs).

The Hatch Act (1939) was passed to reduce government workers involvement in politics (so you didn’t have to support them and could have your own political views + didn’t lose your job if a new administration came in), but got weakened in 1993.

It prohibited:

• civil servants from taking activist roles

• Making political contributions

• Working for a certain party

• Campaigning for a particular candidate.

The Types of Oversight

• Government Corporations: Businesses established by Congress to perform a function that would otherwise be done privately (The Post Office, Amtrak, etc).

• Independent Executive Agencies: Usually perform services that are not regulatory functions (NASA, EPA, CIA, GSA/General Services Association, SBA/Small Business Association)

• Independent Regulatory Commissions: Created to regulate a specific economic activity of interest (SEC/Security and Exchange Commissions, FED/Federal Reserves, FCC/Federal Communications Comission, FTC/Federal Trade Commission)

• The Cabinet: The cabinet positions created by the president.

  • All the cabinet department workers (besides the senior people) are civil service merit system hires.

    • Cabinet heads (Secretaries) are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

Making Agencies Accountable

Executive control

• Executive Orders

Congressional Control

• Constitutional authority

• Control the funding they receive

• Oversight hearings

  • Police patrol

  • Fire alarm

Judicial Control

• Injunctions

Congressional Oversight

1. Investigation Powers: They can investigate what is going on with the agency

2. “Power of the Purse”: Congress funds them so they can also take the money back (GAO and CBO)

3. Appointment Powers: Change the appointment process and how they are appointed to their jobs

4. Enactment of Laws: They can pull back laws they do not believe are rightfully ennacted

5. Abolishment Power: They can get rid of an agency if they’re spending more than they’re allowed budget

Judicial Branch

The dual court system is an example of federalism at play, and is made up of state and federal courts.

The Supreme Court is at the top of the system, and theoretically, any case can make it up to the Supreme Court. If you don’t like the outcome of your case, you can appeal your case to the next higher court.

The Framers viewed the federal judiciary as an important check against Congress and the president, but the judiciary has no influence over the “sword” (president) or the “purse” (money). Its power is ensured by:

• Insulation from public opinion

• Insulation from the rest of the government

Their ruling has to be enforced by the president to mean anything. (EG: Indian Removal Act was deemed unconstitutional by the SCOTUS but Andrew Jackson ignored their ruling).

The Judiciary Act of 1789 established the federal court system by dividing the country into federal judicial districts, creating district courts and courts of appeal

The highest court on a state level is their own State Supreme Court (eg: Louisiana Supreme Court).

The hierarchy goes:

• Louisiana Supreme Court

• State Court of Appeals

• State Court

• City Court

If your case goes all the way up to the Louisiana Supreme Court and you want to appeal, it would go to the SCOTUS.

The highest court on a federal level is the Supreme Court.

The hierarchy goes:

• Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS)

  • SCOTUS has appellate jurisdiction, meaning that they can appeal all cases and reverse their original decisions.

    • If SCOTUS decides not to hear your case, then whatever the decision was in the previous court is final.

  • Known as the Court of Last Resort, because all decisions made by SCOTUS are considered final.

  • There is 9 justices -- the uneven number meaning that there is always a tiebreaker.

    • If there is 8 justices for some reason and a tie is made, the decision reverts back to the original court ruling.

• Appellate Courts (courts of appeal or circuit courts).

  • There are 12 Appellate courts that all serve a specific region of the country.

• District Court

  • There are 94 District Courts.

    • 89 are located throughout the states and there is one in each territory:

      • DC, Puerto Rico, Guam, Virgin Islands, and Mariana Islands

      • Fifth circuit in the south was split into two due to population growth, creating the eleventh circuit

    • There are special courts that handle taxes, trademark, etc

If you want to appeal to the SCOTUS, then you have to go through both the district and appellate courts first.

The Politics of Selecting Judges

• Political Litmus Test

  • Used to see whether a person should be nominated/ppointed

• Senate: Advice and Consent

• The Role of the Party, Race, Age, and Gender

• The Role of Ideology and Judicial Experience

• The Role of Judicial Philosophy and Law Degrees

Judges are appointed by the President

• Advisor recommends candidates

• Professional background

• Political/social views

• Collegiate career

Confirmed by Senate: Judiciary committee holds hearings

• Professional background

• Political/social views

• Simple majority vote

SCOTUS judges serve for life, and the only things that get them kicked off are:

• Death

• Resignation

• Impeachment

They protect the rights of the minority.

Article 3 (Constitutional) v. Article 1 (Legislative)

• Original Jurisdiction: The authority of a court to hear a case “in the first instance”

• Appellate Jurisdiction: The authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts

Every court is a legislative court besides the SCOTUS, which is constitutional.

The Scope of Judicial Power

• Judicial Power is passive and reactive

• Hamilton referred to it as the “least dangerous branch”

• Power only to decide judicial disputes

  • Cases must be ripe

  • Cases must not be moot

  • Cases must not be political

Judicial Review is the power to overturn any Act of Congress or executive order that is deemed unconstitutional.

Established by Marbury v. Madison (1803):

• William Marbury was appointed to federal judgeship by John Adams (who had appointed a bunch of judges to sabotage Jefferson’s presidency), and the new president Thomas Jefferson tells the Secretary of State Madison not to deliver the letter of appointment, so Marbury can’t take his new job.

• Marbury sued straight to SCOTUS, citing the right to do so in the Federal Judiciary Act of 1789

• The issued opinion: Marbury was legally appointed as federal judge BUT the part of the act that said the SCOTUS would hear this type of case is unconstitutional. Therefore, his case of nullified and he should have gone up the ladder of courts.

Power of Chief Justices: Appointed by the president upon confirmation by the Senate. Responsible for assigning judges to committees, responding to proposed legislation that affects the judiciary, and delivering the annual report of the state of judiciary.

Role of Law Clerks: Clerks do the initial screening of petitions to decide whether not a case is heard and participate in a pool in which they divide cases and write a single memorandum about each case that is sent to the justices. They also write the final opinions given by the justices.

It takes four justices to decide whether a case should be heard

Amicus Curiea are friends of the courts and they speak to them to brief them on knowledge that pertains to a case.

Once they hear the oral arguments presented by the lawyers from each side (each lasting 30 minutes), they go behind the curtains to conference and decide on the case.

On the federal level, there are:

• 94 District Attorneys

• The Attorney General (Head of the department of justice)

• The Solicitor General (who will hear out a case if the US is a party in it)

The Opinion of the Court is issued at the end of the case , which are written statements explaining the ruling and reasons for reaching that decision.

• Majority opinion: The “winning” decision, sets precedent

• Concurring opinion: Agrees w/ majority opinion but for different reasons

• Dissenting opinion: Disagrees w/ majority opinion

They are then released to the public.

Sometimes cases are remanded, or their opinions are ignored.

Factors that impact the Court are:

• The Constitution

• Precedent formed by other cases

• Intent of the Constitution / laws

• Social Values

• Personal judicial philosophy

And a case can be overturned if the Constitution is amended to overrule it.

There are two judicial philosophies that justices hold:

Judicial Activism: The judicial branch is an equal partner with the other two branches and would be actively involved and interpreting and applying laws, and that their hearings should become law automatically.

Judicial Restraint: The judicial branch should let their branches set policy and only get involved if the policy is a flagrant violation of the Constitution.