The+Legislative+Branch

=The Legislative Branch= flat

=Article One=

=Who= The Legislative Branch is composed of two houses. The House of Representatives and the Senate or collectively called Congress. The House of Representatives currently has 435 members. Each state receives a certain number of seats in the House of Representatives based on population. The Senate currently has 100 members, two from each state, regardless of population.

House of Representatives Requirements for office: Each member of the House must be at least 25 years of age. They must be a citizen of the state which they are representing, and have been a United States citizen for at least seven years.

Within the House of Representatives there are usually three distinct members, the Speaker of the House, elected by the House, and the Majority and Minority leaders. The Majority and Minority leaders are chosen by the political parties which they represent. The Speaker of the House is responsible for monitoring debate and keeping the group on track.



The Senate: Requirements for office: Each member of the Senate must be at least 30 years of age. They must also be a citizen of the state they represent, but they must have been a citizen of the United States for at least nine years, before they may run for office.

Although most senators are well known, as they serve longer terms and are usually more experienced, there are also several distinct members. There is the Vice President, who serves to monitor debate and lead the senate (but may only vote in a tie), the President pro-tempore, who takes the Vice President's place when he or she is absent. Lastly there are also Minority and Majority leaders, who lead the parties within the Senate.

=What= The two houses of Congress are designed to legislate. Legislating is the process of writing laws. These legislative bodies (The Senate and the House) create bills, which are laws that have not been signed into law. The bills go through a process called the Legislative process in order to be either made a law or discarded for its flaws. media type="youtube" key="mEJL2Uuv-oQ" height="345" width="420"

=When= Representatives in the House and Senate serve for terms of varying years designated by the Constitution.

The Representatives from the House are elected for two year terms. Every two years the entire House must be elected. Representatives may serve for an unlimited number of terms. These term lengths were created so that the House of Representatives could respond to the public demand more readily than any other body of the government. This is also the reason that this house is considered the junior house.

The members of the Senate serve terms lasting six years. The terms are scattered so as to only renew one third of the Senate. This is maintain levels of seniority and to slow the public influence on the Senate. Senators are required to be older, and are given more time to legislate without having to worry about reelection. This is what makes them the more senior house.

=Where= Every January 4th the United StatesCongress convenes at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. Here they debate the proposed legislation and work with committees to create more legislation. You can contact your Representatives and your Senators by mail, telephone, and email. This is public information and it is your right as a citizen to be involved in each decision your representatives make. Use this website to find the address of at least one of your Representatives or Senators. [|Congress Contact Info]

media type="googlemap" key="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=United+States+Capitol,+Washington+D.C.,+DC&aq=1&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=53.212719,84.111328&vpsrc=6&ie=UTF8&hq=United+States+Capitol,+Washington+D.C.,+DC&ll=38.890814,-77.013016&spn=0.01737,0.032015&output=embed" width="425" height="350"

=Why= The Legislative Branch exists as a step between the needs of the people and the functions of the government. This body was formulated as a function of our Republican government. This means that in order to create a society that fits the needs of the people, it must be run by a government chosen by the people. This was the goal the founding fathers hoped to achieve by creating this legislative body. Because citizens can be in direct contact with their representatives and because all representatives are popularly elected, they must reflect the will of the people. On the other hand, these people are chosen as particularly adept at leading. They are supposed to put the needs of their constituents (the people they represent) before their own, and this is to help streamline the democratic process and protects against majority rule.

Read [|Article One] of the United States Constitution. When you have finished, answer the following question on the class moodle discussions page:

Do you think that the U.S. Congress fulfills the needs of the people they represent? If so, where can you find proof. If not, how can this be changed?

media type="custom" key="10454260"