CYBERLAND UNIVERSITY OF NORTH AMERICA
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr.
University President & Professor of Political Science
PAGE ONE
POLITICAL SCIENCE 201B:
AMERICAN NATIONAL GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
OUTLINE & STUDY GUIDE, LECTURE TOPIC B,
THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS & NATIONAL LEGISLATION
TEXTBOOK ASSIGNMENTS:
Chapter 10, "Congress: The People's Branch," pages 255-
282.
U.S. Constitution, Articles I & IV & Amendments 13, 14,
15, 16, 17, 19, 23, 24, & 26.
WEBSITE ASSIGNMENTS:
"Constitutional Powers of Congress: National Legislative
Authority & the Enumerated Powers."
"Constitutional Powers of Congress: The Implied Powers &
the Expansion of Congressional Authority."
OUTLINE & STUDY GUIDE:
I. The U.S. Congress--Membership [Textbook, page 255]
A. The U.S. House of Representatives
1. Total Number of Members
2. How the Total Number Is Determined
3. The Basis of Each State's Representation in the
House of Representatives
4. The Ten-Year Reapportionment Act
a. The Decenial Federal Census
b. State Gains and Loses in House Seats
B. The U.S. Senate
1. Total Number of Members
2. Total Number from Each State
3. The Basis of Each State's Representation in the
Senate
II. Congressional Elections [Textbook, pages 255-256]
A. The U.S. House of Representatives
1. Election Years
2. Terms of Office
B. The U.S. Senate
1. Election Years
2. Terms of Office
3. Staggered Terms
C. Constitutional Qualifications for Eligibility for
Election to Congress
A. U.S. House Members
B. U.S. Senators
D. Factors Affecting the Outcome of a Congressional
Election
1. The Most Important Factor
a. The Nature of the State or Congressional
District in Which the Candidate Runs
b. Safe Seat
2. Other Factors
3. The Advantage of Incumbency
E. Congressional Districting and Apportionment
1. The Constitutional Power of Congress
2. The Role of the State Legislatures
3. Gerrymandering
F. Congressional Redistricting
1. Definition
2. Purpose
3. Federal Constitutional Limitations and the Require-
ments of National Laws
a. The Role of the Federal Courts
(1) WESTBERRY V. SANDERS (1964) [Landmark Case]
(a) Ruling
(b) The "One Person, One Vote" Principle
(c) The Foregoing Principle and Party
Gerrymandering
III. The Structure and Powers of the U.S. Congress [Textbook,
pages 256-265]
A. Strict Legislative Bicameralism--The Most Important
Feature of Congress
1. Two Coequal Chambers of Congress
2. The Power of Absolute Veto Over Legislation
3. Institutional Separation of the Two Chambers
4. The Power That the Two Chambers Share
B. The Consequence of Strict Legislative Bicameralism
1. James Madison on Strict Legislative Bicameralism
a. James Madison, FEDERALIST 51
2. How the Bicameral Congress Was Supposed to Work--
The Expectations of the Framers of the U.S. Consti-
tution
a. The U.S. House of Representatives
(1) What the Body Would Represent
(a) Numbers
(b) The Popular Majority
b. The U.S. Senate
(1) What the Body Would Represent
(a) The "Natural Aristocracy"
(2) Protection of Minority Rights and Inter-
ests and Prevention of Majoritarian
Tyranny
(3) Stability, Continuity, and Indepth
Deliberation
C. Differences Between the Contemporary Senate and the
Contemporary House of Representatives [Table 10-1,
Textbook, page 258]
D. Arguments in Favor of Strict Legislative Bicameralism
1. Moderating Influence on Partianship and on Commis-
sion of Errors
2. Many Votes Required to Obtain Final Approval of a
Legislative Policy
3. Opportunities for Negotiation and Bargaining,
Leading to Compromise
4. The Shaping of National Laws--A Role for Legisla-
tors with Different Policy Goals
IV. The Powers of Congress Under the United States Constitution
[Website, Unit Four, Additional Assignments:
"Constitutional Powers of Congress: National Legisla-
tive Authority & the Enumerated Powers."
"Constitutional Powers of Congress: The Implied Pow-
ers & the Expansion of Congressional Authori-
ty."]
A. Congress and National Legislative Authority
1. U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 1
a. The Provision
(1) "All Legislative Powers Herein Granted"
b. Meaning
(1) Location of the National Government's
Legislative Power
(2) Stipulation of Federalism
B. The Enumerated (Expressly Delegated) Powers of Congress
1. U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8
a. Article I, Section 1, Clause 1 (The Tax Clause)
(1) What the Tax Clause Provides
(2) Meaning of the Tax Clause
(a) The Three Purposes for Which Congress
May Lay and Collect Taxes
(b) What Is Meant by the "General Welfare
of the United States"
(c) How the Tax Clause Limits the Taxing
Power of Congress
(d) Definitions: "Duty"; "Impost";
"Excise"
(e) The Constitutional Requirement That
Duties, Impost, and Excises Be Uni-
form throughout the U.S.A.
What the Requirement Prevents
Congress from Doing
b. Article I, Section 8, Clause 2 (The Borrowing
Clause)
(1) What the Borrowing Clause Provides
(2) Meaning of the Borrowing Clause
c. Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 (The Commerce
Clause)
(1) What the Commerce Clause Provides
(2) Meaning of the Commerce Clause
(a) Foreign, or International, Commerce
(b) Interstate Commerce
d. Article I, Section 8, Clauses 4-10 (Miscellan-
eous Powers)
(1) Naturalization and Bankruptcies
(2) Money, Its Value, and the Standard of
Weights and Measures
(3) Counterfeiting
(4) Post Offices and Post Roads
(5) Patents and Copyrights
(6) Lower Federal Courts
(7) Piracies and Felonies on the High Seas and
Offenses Against the Law of Nations
e. Article I, Section 8, Clauses 11-16 (The War
Powers Clauses)
(1) Declaring War and Making Rules Concerning
Captures
(2) Raising and Supporting Armies
(a) The Two-Year Limitation and Its Pur-
pose
(b) Longstanding Congressional Practice
(3) Providing and Maintaining a Navy
(4) Rules for the Government of the Land and
Naval Forces
(a) Significance
(5) Calling Forth the Militia
(a) Meaning of Clause 15
(6) Organizing, Arming, Disciplining, and
Governing the Militia
(a) Application of and Practice Under
Clause 16
f. Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 (The Exclusive
Legislation Clause)
(1) What the Clause Provides
(2) Meaning of the Clause
g. Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 (The Elastic,
or Necessary and Proper, Clause)
(1) What the Clause Provides
(2) Meaning of the Clause
2. U.S. Constitution, Article IV, Section 3, Para-
graph 1
a. The Provision
b. Meaning of the Provision
(1) Power to Admit New States into the Union
(2) Limitation on the Power to Admit New
States into the Union
3. U.S. Constitution, Article IV, Section 3, Para-
graph 2
a. The Provision
b. Meaning of the Provision
(1) Power to Dispose of and Make All Needful
Rules and Regulations Respecting the
Territory and Other Property of the U.S.A.
4. Sixteenth Amendment (The Income Tax Amendment)
a. The Provision
b. How the Provision Affects the Taxing Power of
Congress
5. Enforcement Sections of Amendments 13, 14, 15, 19,
23, 24, and 26
a. Thirteenth Amendment
(1) Section 1 (The Substantive Provision)
(2) Section 2 (The Enforcement Section)
(a) Meaning
b. Fourteenth Amendment
(1) Section 1 (The Main Substantive Provi-
sion)
(2) Section 5 (The Enforcement Section)
(a) Meaning and Significance
c. Fifteenth Amendment
(1) Section 1 (The Substantive Provision)
(2) Section 2 (The Enforcement Section)
(a) Meaning and Significance
d. Nineteenth Amendment
(1) Paragraph 1 (The Substantive Provision)
(2) Paragraph 2 (The Enforcement Clause)
(a) Meaning
e. Twenty-third Amendment
(1) Section 1 (The Substantive Provision)
(2) Section 2 (The Enforcement Section)
(a) Meaning
f. Twenty-fourth Amendment
(1) Section 1 (The Substantive Provision)
(2) Section 2 (The Enforcement Section)
(a) Meaning and Significance
g. Twenty-sixth Amendment
(1) Section 1 (The Substantive Provision)
(2) Section 2 (Enforcement Section)
(a) Meaning and Significance
C. The Implied Powers and the Expansion of Congressional
Authority
1. The Implied Powers of Congress--A Definition
2. Important Examples of the Implied Powers of Con-
gress
a. Instructions:
(1) Know and Be Able to Cite the Examples of
Implied Powers Given in the Website Read-
ing and Study Assignment.
(2) In the Case of Each Example, Be Able to
Indicate the Enumerated Power or Powers
from Which the Implied Power Is Reasonably
Implied, According to the U.S. Supreme
Court
3. Expansion of the Powers of Congress
a. The Five Major Constitutional Pillars upon
Which the Powers of Congress Have Been Expanded
through Judicial Construction, or Interpreta-
tion
b. How the Powers of Congress Have Been Expanded
through Judicial Construction, or Interpreta-
tion
(1) The Necessary and Proper Clause (Article
I, Section 8, Clause 18)
(2) The National Supremacy Clause (Article VI,
Paragraph 2)
(3) The Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8,
Clause 3)
(a) What the Clause Provides
(b) Types of Commerce
*Two Types of Commerce to Be Regu-
lated by Congress
Foreign, or International, Com-
merce
Interstate Commerce
*One Type of Commerce to Be Regu-
lated by the States
Intrastate Commerce
(c) The Meaning of "Commerce," in the
Sense of the Commerce Clause
(d) The Scope of Congressional Power to
Regulate Commerce
*Interstate Commerce
*Successively Broader Interpreta-
tions of "Commerce"
(e) The Types of Economic Activity Which
Congress May Regulate
(f) Using the Commerce Clause to Go
Beyond Economic Regulation
*Federal Anticrime Legislation
*The Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Statute
HEART OF ATLANTA MOTEL V. UNITED
STATES (1964) and KATZENBACH
V. MCCLUNG (1964)
(g) The Commerce Clause and the National
National Police Power
(4) The Tax Clause (Article I, Section 8,
Clause 1)
(a) What the Clause Provides
(b) The General Welfare Clause
(c) The SOCIAL SECURUTY CASES (1937)
(d) Use of the Spending Power to Increase
the Regulatory Power of Congress
*Indirect Control and Regulation of
an Activity
*Example--Education in the Public
Elementary and Secondary Schools
(5) The War Powers Clauses (Article I, Section
8, Clauses 11-16
(a) The War Powers Clauses and the Neces-
sary and Proper Clause
(b) The War Powers Clauses and the Neces-
sary and Proper Clause, Coupled with
the Inherent Powers of the National
Government
(c) Examples of Actions of the National
Government That Have Been Authorized
by Congress During Time of Involve-
ment in a Major War
V. The Congressional Impeachment, Trial, Conviction, and Removal
Process--The Power of Congress to Remove Executive and Judi-
cial Officers [Notes Taken During Class Lecture; Relevant
Constitutional Provisions]
A. Scope of the Power
B. Relevant Constitutional Provisions
1. Article I, Section 2, Paragraph 5
2. Article I, Section 3, Paragraphs 6 and 7
3. Article II, Section 4
4. Article III, Section 1
C. The Role of Each Chamber of Congress in the Process
1. The House of Representatives
a. The "Sole Power of Impeachment"
b. Impeachment--A Definition
c. The House of Representatives as the "Grand
Jury"
d. House Members as Prosecutors
2. The U.S. Senate
a. The Senate Sitting as a "Court of Impeachment"
b. The Consequence of Conviction
VI. Special Powers of the U.S. Senate Over Treatymaking and
Presidential Appointments [Textbook, pages 264-265; U.S.
Constitution, Article II, Section 2, Paragraph 2]
A. Relevant Constitutional Provision--Article II, Section
2, Paragraph 2
1. Content of the Provision
2. Meaning of the Provision
a. Treaties
(1) Presidential Approval
(2) Senate Ratification
b. Presidential Appointments
(1) Presidential Nomination
(2) Senate Confirmation
VII. Congressional Passage of Money Bills (Revenue Bills and
Appropriations Bills) [Textbook, page 259; U.S. Constitu-
tion, Article I, Section 7, Paragraph 1]
A. Revenue (Tax) Bills
1. The Role of the House of Representatives
2. The Role of the Senate
3. Basis of the House and Senate Roles
B. Appropriations (Spending) Bills
1. The Role of the House of Representatives
2. The Role of the Senate
3. Basis of the House and Senate Roles
VIII. The U.S. House of Representatives--Organization and Pro-
cedures [Textbook, pages 260-262]
A. Procedures Employed to Accelerate the Legislative
Process
1. Special Calender for Finance (Money) Bills
2. Electronic Voting
3. Suspension of Ordinary Rules by Two-Thirds Vote
4. Unanimous Consent to Take Immediate Action
5. Sitting as the Committee of the Whole
a. Description of the Procedure
b. Advantage of the Procedure
6. Limited Debate
B. Speaker of the House of Representatives
1. Position and Political Significance
2. Method of Selection
3. Powers and Functions
a. Formal, Routine Powers and Functions
b. The Most Significant Power--Behind-the-Scenes
Influence
C. Other House Officers and Leaders
1. Majority Leader (Majority Party Floor Leader)
a. Method of Selection
b. Duties and Functions
2. Minority Leader (Minority Party Floor Leader)
a. Position and Political Significance
b. Method of Selection
3. Majority and Minority Whips (Majority and Minority
Party Assistant Floor Leaders)
a. Method of Selection
b. Duties and Functions
D. House Majority and Minority Party Caucuses
1. House Republican Conference--Majority Party Caucus
in the House
2. House Democratic Caucus--Minority Party Caucus in
the House
3. Party Caucus, or Conference
a. Definition and Description
b. Functions
E. House Rules Committee
1. Definition and Description
2. Function
3. "Granting a Rule" to a Proposed Bill
4. The Consequence of Refusing to Grant a Rule
5. Closed Rule
6. Open Rule
IX. The U.S. Senate--Organization and Procedures [Textbook,
pages 262-265]
A. The U.S. Senate--Characteristics
1. An Individualistic Body
2. Extended Debate and Its Consequence
3. Permissive Amending Rules and Their Consequence
4. The Hold
a. The Procedure--Definition and Description
b. The Procedure--How It Came into Being
c. Recent Expansion of the Procedure's Use Beyond
Its Original Purposes
B. Officers and Leaders of the Senate
1. President of the Senate (Nominal Presiding Officer
of the Senate)
a. How One Becomes President of the Senate
b. Degree of Influence over the Senate Procedures
and Voting Behavior
c. Power to Vote in the Senate
2. President Pro Tempore of the Senate
a. Method of Selection
b. Function
3. Majority Leader of the Senate (Majority Party Floor
Leader in the Senate)
a. Position and Political Significance
b. Method of Selection
c. Power, Influence, and Functions
d. Factors Determining the Senate Majority Lead-
er's Degree of Influence
4. Minority Leader of the Senate (Minority Party Floor
Leader in the Senate)
a. Method of Selection
C. Senate Republican Policy Committee and Senate Democra-
tic Policy Committee
1. Each Party's Policy Committee
a. Composition, or Membership
b. Function
c. Degree of Influence on Legislation
D. The Filibuster--Exercising the Right to Unlimited
Debate in the Senate
1. The Right to Unlimited Debate
2. Filibuster
a. Definition and Description
b. When a Filibuster Is Most Potent
(1) At What Stage of the Legislative Process
and Under What Conditions
(2) The Likely Consequence
(3) The Usual Impact of the Threat of a
Filibuster
(4) The Incentive to Avoid a Filibuster
c. Cloture--Defeating a Filibuster
(1) Cloture
(a) Definition of the Term
(b) Description of the Procedure
X. Congress and the Roles of Legislators [Textbook, pages 265-
270]
A. The Two Major Roles of Congress
1. The Role of Congress as a Lawmaking Institution
2. The Role of Congress as a Representative Assembly
B. The Representational Role--Congressional Legislators
as Representatives
1. Variation in How Individual Members of Congress
Perceive the Proper Role of a Legislative Represen-
tative
a. "Delegate"
b. "Trustee"
2. How Most Legislators Handle the Dual Roles of
"Delegate" and "Trustee"
3. The Legislator as "Free Agent"
C. The Lawmaking Role--Congressional Legislators as Law-
makers
1. Variables Influencing How Members of Congress Vote
on Proposed Legislative Bills
a. A Legislator's Own Policy and Philosophical
Convictions
b. Constituents' Interests and Views
(1) Attentive Public
c. Views of Trusted Colleagues and Close Friends
in Congress
d. A Legislator's Own Personal Staff in Congress
e. A Legislator's Party in His Chamber of Congress
f. Political Interest Groups and Lobbyists
g. The President of the U.S.A.