When the Congress Meets Since every 2 years one-third of the Senators and all of the Representatives are elected, the life of a Congress lasts for 2 years. The 20th Amendment provides that the Congress shall meet at noon on January 3rd of each year, unless by law it provides for a different day. This meeting of Congress is called a regular session, and it continues until the members of both Houses decide to adjourn. A special session is one called by the President to consider problems which are so important that they require immediate attention and cannot wait until the next regular session. Senate and House Officers The writers of the Constitution knew that the Senate and the House of Representatives would need officers to preside over their meetings and keep things running smoothly. They provided for certain officers and authorized each House of Congress to choose other needed officers. Officers in the Senate The Vice President is the President of the Senate and presides over its sessions. The President of the Senate has no vote except in the case of a tie. A President pro tempore presides if the Vice President is absent. Additional officers are chosen by the Senators to perform other duties. Officers in the House of Representatives The Speaker of the House is chosen by its members and presides over its sessions. By tradition the Speaker is a member of the political party to which most of the House members belong. As a result, he often has a great deal of influence in selecting members of important committees and in conducting the business of the House. Additional officers are chosen by members of the House to perform other duties. The members of each political party in each House of Congress select a "floor leader." He works to help pass laws which his party favors, and to defeat those laws which his party opposes. He is assisted by other Senators or Representatives who are members of his own party. Senate and House Committees A great deal of the work of both Houses of Congress is done by those legislators who are members of individual committees. The Senate has 16 standing committees: Armed Services District of Columbia Foreign Relations Government Operations Labor and Public Welfare Rules and Administration The House of Representatives has 21 standing committees: Agriculture Internal Security Interstate and Foreign Commerce Merchant Marine and Fisheries Post Office and Civil Service Rules Science and Astronautics Standards of Official Conduct Veterans' Affairs Ways and Means CAN YOU DO THIS? From this study it can be seen that the Congress consists of a body of qualified Senators and Representatives, leaders who preside over the sessions of each legislative House, and committees of legislators whose main work is that of preparing bills for final action by the whole Congress. After each of the statements below the boxes, write in the House of Congress to which it relates: 1. When does a regular session of Congress meet? 2. What determines the total number of Representatives from each state? 3. Who presides over the Senate? 4. Who presides over the House of Representatives? 5. What work is done by the standing committees of Congress? Talk about: 1. How does the organization of Congress carry out our principles of representative government? 2. Discuss the advantages of having all Representatives and only one-third of the Senators elected every 2 years. MAKING THE LAWS-THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH You will recall from Chapter 6 that the Federal Constitution was drawn up to provide only the broad outlines of the nation's government. No attempt was made to include in that document a complete and detailed description of the entire structure and operation of the government. Using foresight, the authors of the Constitution left many details of such matters to be developed over a period of time by the future government. They wisely reasoned that the persons elected to conduct the business of government would be in the best position to determine the exact machinery and procedures needed for this purpose. The way in which Congress works and the legislative tools that it has created illustrate what has been said above. The Constitution provides for a Congress, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives, to make laws for the nation. It lists the qualifications of Senators and Representatives, states how they are to be elected, and grants them authority to pass laws concerning certain matters. The Constitution, however, does not describe the exact process through which a bill must pass before it becomes a law. Nor does it mention the congressional committees which have become so important and necessary to the passage of legislation. The parts of the lawmaking procedure and the machinery which were not provided for by the fundamental law have been supplied by Congress because they are necessary to the performance of its authorized functions. This chapter describes the matters listed in the Constitution concerning which the Congress may and may not pass laws. It also explains how Federal laws are passed by the Congress under a lawmaking system basically authorized by the Constitution and perfected throughout the years by the Congress itself. DISCUSS: How does your Congressman know the needs of the citizens he represents? MEETING NEW WORDS: assigned: Appointed; given for a purpose; allotted confirm: Officially approve; ratify convicts: Finds or proves guilty of a crime general terms: Not detailed; broad provisions and meanings impeachment: Accusation of serious misconduct by a government official in the performance of his public duties implied: Not written or stated, but understood to exist or follow as a natural result of something already written or stated introduce: Start; bring in maintain: Keep up; support; pay the cost of militia: Army of citizens trained for war or any other emergency; military force made up of citizens participate: To take part in; have a share in procedures: Ways of doing things; methods by which things are done referred: Sent; turned over to report: An account of something done, seen, heard, read, or considered; to furnish such an account sources: Places from which anything comes; beginnings of; origins of Authority of the Congress to Legislate The Constitution gives to the Congress certain specific powers and authorizes it to pass all laws which may be necessary to put these powers into use and make them effective in carrying on the business of the government for the people. By reason of these specific powers and this broad legislative authority, the Congress has other powers not specifically listed in the Constitution. Although not written into the Constitution, these other powers are implied because, without them, the Congress could not make full use of the specific powers. Some powers delegated to the Congress by the Constitution may be grouped under various headings: Money and Trade Under this heading Congress has the power to: Provide for the coining of money and the regulation of its value Borrow money Levy and collect taxes The broad authority to pass all laws necessary to make effective the specific powers to borrow money, and to levy and collect taxes, also gives Congress an implied power to organize a system of banks. Regulate commerce among the states and with foreign countries The writers of the Constitution probably realized that, with the natural growth of the nation, new kinds of commerce would appear and should be regulated by Congress. Consequently, this power is expressed in general terms. The meaning of commerce is neither explained nor limited. As a result, it has been possible to hold that the telephone, telegraph, radio, and television systems are engaged in commerce and that the Congress has the power to pass laws regulating their operation in the interest of all the people of the United States. • National Defense "We the People of the United States, in To achieve this objective of the Preamble, certain specific and implied powers are delegated to the Congress. Under the heading of National Defense, Congress has the power to: Provide for the common defense Provide and maintain an Army, a Navy, and an Air Force When the Constitution was written, the Founding Fathers could not have foreseen the possibility of an Air Force. However, the implied power of Congress to establish this branch of the armed |