Need to Know - Get to it!

● How a bill becomes a law

1. The bill is thought of
2. The bill is introduced by a lawmaker
3. The bill goes to a committee where it has to get a majority vote.
4. The bill gets sent to the floor of one of the chambers (House or Senate) for majority vote
5. The bill gets sent to the other chamber for majority vote
6. The President signs the bill
7. If the bill is vetoed, a ⅔ vote must be held from both houses to bring the bill back.
● Powers of Congress
Congress is considered the most important branch because it is supposed to be the one that
responds to people the most. Its powers include the making of laws, declaring war, raise money,
and monitoring the spending of funds.
● Differences Between House + Senate
The House has 435 members who serve 2 year terms. These people also have to be at least
25 years of age with 7 years of residency within the state. The Senate has 100 members who
serve 6 year terms. These people have to be at least 30 years of age with 9 years of residency
within that state. The number of members in the House is determined by the population of the
state while the number of members in the senate is determined equally for each state. Members
of the house are elected by district while members of the Senate are elected by the state as a
whole.
● How the Committee System work
Committees are made in order to make Congress more efficient with things like organization.
More specifically, Committees are groups in Congress that look at issues and the agenda. They
determine what needs to be reviewed, as well as collecting and assessing information.The
House possesses 19 standing committees, while the Senate holds 16. There are also things
called join committees where the committee is made up of members in both of the houses.
Sometimes, committees called Conference Committees will be formed in order to accept a bill
that the House and Senate have different versions of.
● How Congress is elected and votes
The House serves 2 year terms with 435 members while the Senate serves 6 year terms with
100 members. The number of members in the Senate is elected equally for every state (2 per
state). As a result of this, they are elected by the whole state. However, the House is elected by
state population. These people are elected by districts within the state.
● Congressional demographics
Congressional demographics are measures of the statistics of the members' races, ethnicities,
religion, age, gender, education, etc.
● Describe the similarities and differences in the two chambers of the Congress
The House has 435 members who serve 2 year terms. These people also have to be at least
25 years of age with 7 years of residency within the state. The Senate has 100 members who
serve 6 year terms. These people have to be at least 30 years of age with 9 years of residency
within that state.
● Identify the major powers of the legislative branch
The Legislative branch is able to draft laws, impeach the president and federal judges, declare
war, and overlook the federal budget.
● Describe demographic changes over time in the U.S. Congress.
The Congress used to consist of mainly older white men, but over time, more diversity has
come. There has been more racial, gender, and ethnic diversity in Congress, as well as diversity
in religion and age.
● Explain how the lawmaking process and committee system impacts policy outcomes
The Lawmaking process and committee system impacts policy outcomes because committee's
gather information and assess them. These people then recommend the bills, draft the bills, and
send them over to the chamber floors.

Terms and Concepts ‘

The AP exam is not a vocabulary test but you should understand the following terms and
concepts. It is particularly valuable to know how the terms below relate to current
political events (apply to scenarios).
Constituents - The people that a government official represents or serves.
Majority Leader - A leader elected by the party in the majority. The leader represents that
party's interests on the floor. The current majority leader in the House Of Representatives is
Steve Scalise and is representing Republicans on the House floor.
Joint Committee - Committees that are made up of members from both of the Houses.
Minority Leader - The leader elected by the party in the minority. The current minority leader in
the House of Representatives is Representative Hakeem Jeffries (Democrat), born August 4,
1970 and assumed office in 2023. The Minority Leader of the Senate is Mitch Mconnell.
Seniority Rule - A system where members with more service time have greater influence or
authority.
Redistricting - Process of drawing electoral district boundaries. The House of Representatives
redistricting happens after each census (that happens every 10 years).
Whip - Ensures party members attend and vote according to the party's official stance.
Conference Committee - A committee formed to resolve differences between House and Senate
versions of a bill.
Gerrymandering - Manipulation of electoral district boundaries to create an advantage for a
party or to protect an incumbent.
Closed Rule - Prohibits amendments to a bill.
Delegate - A congressman who votes based on the preferences of their constituents.
Safe Seat - A constituency that is fully secure, either for a political party or for the incumbent.
Open Rule - The law is free to add amendments to it.
Trustee - A congressman who votes using their own judgment on behalf of their constituents
Incumbent - The person currently in office
President pro tempore - A person who will oversee the senate if the Vice president can't
Log rolling - Straightforward bargaining for bills.
Earmarks - funds that are provided by Congress for things like projects of programs.
Hold - When the Senate is able to block the consideration of a bill.
Attentive Public - People who attentive to issues
Bicameralism - A government in which the legislature is divided into two chambers
Filibuster - One or more members of a legislative body abuse prolonged debate to delay or
prevent a decision. In the US, this can only be performed in the Senate
Discharge Petition - Bring a bill out of committee to the floor without a report from the
committee
Enumerated Powers - powers granted to the Federal government by Congress
Cloture - A motion to bring a debate to an end; useful for stopping a filibuster
Rider - a provision added to a bill or other measure under the consideration by a legislature
Speaker - A member of the House of Representatives selected by the majority party. They are
the third in line to become president.
Standing Committee - A permanent committee that is in charge of bills that deal with certain
kinds of issues.
Pocket Veto - Choosing not to sign a bill into law or vetoing, and waiting for Congress to
adjourn. This can only be performed near the end of the session.
Party Caucus - A meeting that consists of all party members in the House. These meetings are
made to nominate party members or party policies.
Select committee - temporary bodies are usually called upon to investigate an issue, sometimes
in response to a crisis or a scandal.
Override -An action taken by Congress to reverse a presidential veto, requiring a two-thirds
majority in each chamber. When Congress passes an act by a ⅔ vote in each chamber against
the president's veto.
Foundational Documents and Landmark Supreme Court Cases Understand the
relationship between the Congress and the following:
U.S. Constitution Federalist No. 51 - Big Question How does the way Congress is elected
impact how it makes policy?

1. Who draws U.S. congressional district lines and how often are these redrawn?
After each decennial census, states redraw their congressional districts to ensure equal
representation.
2. What’s the difference between redistricting and reapportionment?
Reapportionment is the process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives, while
redistricting is the process of redrawing the boundaries of districts within states.
3. Why is bicameralism important in our congress?
- Checks and balances: Bicameralism provides a system of checks and balances within
the legislative branch.
- Representation: The House of Representatives and the Senate have different methods
of representation. The House is based on population, while the Senate provides equal
representation. This was the Connecticut Compromise, which got the smaller states to
get on board with the new constitution
4. What are some of the major differences in the different houses of congress?
- Composition: The House of Representatives currently has 435 members, with each
member representing a congressional district, in which the amount of districts is based
on population. On the other hand, the Senate has 100 members, with two senators
representing each state, regardless of the population.
 - Term Length: Members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms, while
senators serve six-year terms.
- Impeachment power: The House of Representatives initiates impeachment proceedings
against federal officials or the president. The Senate holds the trial for impeachment and
can convict and remove an official with a ⅔ majority vote
- The Constitution states that revenue bills must originate from the House of
Representatives.
5. Explain who has more power; a representative or a senator?
Senators are overall more powerful than a representative because:
- Senators serve six-year terms, compared to the two-year terms that Representatives
serve, which gives them a bit more flexibility.
- The Senate conducts impeachment trials and decides whether to convict and remove an
official.
- The Senate has the authority to confirm or reject certain presidential appointments
If many senators get together, they could all do a filibuster together to prevent anything from
happening.
6. What is the most powerful job in congress?
The speaker of the house is the most powerful. The speaker is responsible for coordinating the
agenda, leading the majority party, and managing the floor.
7. Who does the senate have the power to confirm?
The Senate has the power to confirm certain appointments made by the President.
8. What checks does the congress have on the presidency and the judiciary?
On the President:
- Impeachment: The House of Representatives has the power to impeach the president
for "high crimes and misdemeanors." If the House votes to impeach, the Senate
conducts the trial to determine whether to remove the president from office.
- Power of Purse: Congress can allocate funds to the executive branch
- Confirmation of Appointments: The Senate can confirm or reject the president's
appointments
- Legislative Oversight: Congress has the power to investigate the executive branch's
actions
On the Judiciary:
- Confirmation of Judges: The Senate has the power to confirm or reject judicial
nominations
- Impeachment of Judges: Federal judges can be impeached by the House of
Representatives and then tried by the Senate for "high crimes and misdemeanors"
- Congress can create and abolish federal courts
9. Carefully and explicitly list the steps by which a bill becomes a law.
- The process begins when a congressmen, either a Representative or a Senator,
introduces a bill
- The bill is referred to a committee related to its subject matter. Committees are groups of
members who review, amend, and vote on a bill.
- If the bill was created in the House, then it gets referred to the Rules Committee in
which rules for discussion on the floor are created.
 - The bill is scheduled for debate on the floor of the chamber where it was introduced. The
members discuss the bill and possibly add amendments
- The members vote on the final version of the bill. If the bill gets a majority vote, it moves
to the other chamber and gets discussed and voted there
- If the other chamber makes changes to the bill, the conference reconciles the differences
between the two versions
- Both chambers must agree on the final version of the bill
- The bill gets sent to the president. The president can either sign the bill into law, take no
action which lets the bill automatically come into law, veto it, or potentially pocket veto
the bill
- If the president vetoes the bill, Congress can override the veto with a ⅔ super-majority
10.How does a whip keep party members in line?
The whip keeps party members in line by making sure that the party members vote. They are
also in charge of counting how many people vote.
11. What congressional portion does it take to override a presidential veto?
In order to override a presidential veto, ⅔ of both the Senate and the House has to vote against
the president's veto.
12.List five specific ways to kill a bill.
- Committee inaction: The committee that the bill was referred to may refuse to take
actions
- Amend the bill unfavorably: Amendments can be added to the bill which may make it
unfavorable. These are called "poison pills."
- Veto: The president can veto a bill and give his objections, which usually kills a bill
- Filibuster: In the Senate, senators can perform a filibuster which can potentially block
voting for the bill
- Pocket veto: If a president takes no action on the bill and Congress adjourns, the bill is
killed and nothing can be done
13.What power does the Rules Committee have?
The Rules Committee defines the rules of discussing a bill such as how long it will be discussed
or whenever amendments can be added.
14.How does divided government affect the ability of the congress to work with the presidency?
- A divided government works well for Congress because it makes it very easy for them to
set a policy agenda to oppose whatever the President wants. But it makes it harder to
pass legislation through partisan lines.
15.What is the relationship between congressional subcommittees & their parent committees?
Subcommittees work within the guidelines of the parent committee and then report back to all
committee members.
16.List some of the powers of the Speaker of the House.
The Speaker of the House has the power to assign Congressmen to certain committees. The
Speaker is also second in line, behind the vice president, to become President should they not
be able to fulfill their duties.
17.Describe and analyze the committee system in the law-making process.
The committee system in the lawmaking process is very important as they are the people who
identify and recommend bills to Congress.
 18.Explain why there is more minority representation in the House than the Senate.
There are more places for minority representation in the House because the House has more
seats.
19.What is the historical effect of midterm elections on the composition of Congress?
The historical effect of midterm elections on the composition of Congress because it is a trend
seen that the president usually loses ground during them.
20.Explain why Senators are more likely to be trustees than Representatives are.
Senators represent entire states, which are much more diverse than the single district a
representative represents, which means that senators should use a more broad judgment.

21.list the top five considerations a representative makes when voting on a bill.
1. Representative’s must consider their constituents’ interests
2. Determine exactly what people want
3. View their parties stance on the bill
4. The constitutionality of the bill
5. How the bill will impact the nation and citizens
22.How have congressional demographics changed over the past three decades?
- The average age increased
- Increase in number of women
- Higher education
23.What’s the difference between an authorizing committee and an appropriations committee?
The authorizing committee establishes, continues, or modifies federal programs, while the
appropriations committee allocates funds.
24.If you could be on any committee in Congress, what would it be and why?
If given the opportunity to serve on any committee in Congress, I would choose the Senate
Special Committee on Aging. My motivation is to address and reform the process of aging,
particularly after the age of 21, which I believe is currently an overlooked and challenging aspect
in the United States. I am eager to contribute my efforts towards finding innovative solutions and
policies that can positively impact the aging population and improve their quality of life.

25.Make a claim about which chamber has more power.

I believe that the Senate has more power over the House due to the powers that are exclusively
given to it. For example, they are able to oversee presidential appointments, and ratify treaties.