Video 1:

● "All legistative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United
States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives." - article 1
● Serving as a congressman was not even a career during the nations first century
and a half, but by the 20th century a seated in congress became a sought after
position.
● Now nearly all house members seek re-election every two years, any candidate
that had any success in their previous terms they can win eight to ten percent
more votes on the following election
● Senators face more obstacle to their election, theres not the connection with
votes unlike other position but people still seek after those roles in government.
● Political Action Committees, or PACs, and interest groups donated $158.3 million
to incumbents compared to just $21.4 million to challengers
● Incumbents also enjoy more free publicity in the form of:

• Press conferences

• Congressional speeches

• Introduction of bills Junkets in their home districts

● News letters and information letters can point out achievements, stress policy
manking records or highlight any changes made to their district.
● A lot of people don't vote, especially in the primary. Not only am I going to vote 1
am going to run for the U.S. Senate and spend a lot of my money
● While the president is limited to serving two terms in office, members of
Congress can serve an unlimited number of terms. In the mid-nineteenth century,
most congressional representatives served only a single term because at that
time politics was not considered a career. However, by the mid-twentieth century,
congressional representatives began to view holding congressional office as a
prestigious career
Video 2:
● Representatives. shall be apportioned among the several States which may be
included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers
● Apportionment is reassessed every ten years to compensate for population shifts
● Marginal districts The winner typically wins less than 55 percent of the vote
● Safe districtsThe winner gains more than 55 percent of the vote
● The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each
State, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years.
● The United States Congress consists of 535 members, 435 representatives and
100 senators. The number of parliamentarians is not fixed in the Constitution,
which is stated in Article I. Section I, Clause III.
● Representatives. will be divided between several countries that may belong to
this union according to their number. Article I, Section III, Clause I of the
Constitution stipulates the size of the Senate.
● "The Senate of the United States consists of two senators from each state." it
also provides that the period of each senator be six years.
● In 1929, Congress decided that the House of Representatives had a sufficient
number of members and set its size at 435 members.
● These 435 seats are then distributed among the states every ten years,
depending on the population of each state.
● Representatives are elected every two years and have an unlimited number of
terms. have been a citizen of the United States for seven years and must reside
in the state from which they were elected.
● It is also common for a candidate to live in the district they represent
● The United States Congress consists of 535 members, 435 representatives and
100 senators. The number of members of the Parliament is not determined in the
Constitution, which is stated in Article I. Section I, Clause III.
● representation divided between the several countries that may belong to this
union according to their number. Section I, Section III, Clause I of the
Constitution determines the size of the Senate.
● "The Senate of the United States consists of two senators from each state." it
also provides that the period of each senator be six years. In 1929, Congress
decided that the House of Representatives had a sufficient number of members
and set it at 435 members.
Video 3:
● When the Founders created the Constitution, they divided power between
Congress (legislative), the President (administrative), and the courts (courts).
The United States Congress is a bicameral legislature consisting of the House of
Representatives and the Senate. It is the most important decision-making and
representative branch of the national government.
● Because the United States is a representative democracy, members of
Congress represent the people, translating the public will into public policy in the
form of laws.
● Apportionment determines the number of representatives each state sends to the
House of Representatives, and apportionment is based on each state's
population.
● Each country is guaranteed at least one of the 435 representatives in the
parliament. Members represent the district in their state.
● According to the Constitution, the Census Bureau measures the population every
ten years, and the state population determines the number of districts in the
state.
● To keep the number of representatives affordable, the number of seats will
remain at 435, as well as the number of constituencies in the country.
● To maintain this number, some states lose seats in the House and others gain
seats in the House after the decennial census.
● Redistribution of parliamentary seats, or redistricting of seats every ten years, is
based on the total population of the state relative to other states.
● For example, while the population of Kansas grew in the 1980s, the state lost a
relative share of its total population after the 1990 census.
● As a result, the state lost a district, going from five to four.
● The Redistricting Act of 1929 strengthened that law. Once the number of districts
in a state is determined, it is the responsibility of the state legislature to
determine the boundaries of its districts. Baker vs. Carr (1962) introduced the
"one person, one vote" concept, which allows courts to redistribute
constituencies across the country.
● States are not allowed to administer or create regions of unusual shape for
political purposes.
● The expression "gerrymander" comes from "gerry", the Massachusetts politician
Elbridge Gerry who tried to redistrict Massachusetts in 1812 to favor
Democratic-Republicans, and "mander" from the strange way in which districts
began to form.
● Sometimes the federal government encouraged. "benevolent gerrymandering"
aimed at increasing minority representation in Congress
Video 4:
● The committee system controls the House of Representatives. Much of the daily
work of the House is completed in committees, committees that meet to discuss
specific policies, work to control the congressional agenda, and guide legislation
through Congress until it is signed or vetoed by the president.
● Representatives can be part of several different committees at each session
● There are four different types of parliamentary committees.
● The first type, standing committees, are always convened and are the most
important committees in Parliament.
● There are about 20 standing committees, such as the Committee on Agriculture,
Budget, Rules, Ways and Means, and Appropriations.
● Standing committees deal with proposals in their own interest.
● Each committee is divided into subcommittees that hold hearings, discuss
proposed legislation, add amendments, and oversee the bureaucratic agency
responsible for the committee's concerns.
● Joint commissions are congressional commissions that unite members of both
the House and the Senate.
● They meet to discuss political areas such as economics and taxation.
Conference committees also invite members of both the House and Senate.
● These committees reach an agreement on the respective bills passed by the
House and Senate before they are presented to the president.
● Election commissions are appointed for specific purposes, such as investigating
the state of government or an emergency.
● A phenomenon in the congressional committee system is the iron triangle. The
Iron Triangle consists of congressional committees and subcommittees,
significant bureaucratic agencies, and interest groups whose legislation directly
affects the committee.
● For example, the Armed Services Committee (House committee), the
Department of Defense (bureaucratic agency), and the Boeing Corporation
(interest group) form the Iron Defense Triangle. These groups are interconnected
and can dominate areas of domestic politics.
● Iron triangles can have both positive and negative effects on legislation. They
have a positive influence on decision-making because the bureaucracy within the
triangle can ensure that the laws passed by Congress are effective and
practical.
● Another positive effect is that interest groups have a direct say in the creation of
legislation that affects their members. In addition, Congress can rely on outside
experts to write fit-for-purpose legislation.
Video 5:
● A bill is a bill that has been proposed but not passed. Bills come from many
sources, including politicians, individuals, special interest groups, and the
president.
● But only congressmen are allowed to present a bill for discussion. Each biennial
session of Congress, its members introduce between 10,000 and 11,000 bills.
● However, Congress approves only about five to six percent of the proposals
presented
● There are two different types of bills: public and private bills. Public accounts
affect all citizens and include things like taxes and the use or receipt of
government funds.
● Public bills also deal with issues that benefit citizens, such as public transport,
business and education. Tax bills cannot originate in the Senate, all tax bills must
first be introduced in the House of Representatives.
● Private invoices apply to small groups, individuals or venues. Those bills can, for
example, confiscate debts owed to citizens or contain other actions that affect a
limited number of people.
● Today, citizens depend on state bureaucracy and courts to resolve their
grievances, so private bills are not as common as they used to be.
● In addition to passing laws, Congress passes resolutions. The House of
Representatives and the Senate use resolutions to express opinions on issues,
change the procedures of individual bodies, and address issues in parliament.
● For example, in December 1954, Senate Resolution 301 was passed, sentencing
Joseph McCarthy for inciting the communist witch hunt in the early 1950s.
● Because the resolutions concern Congress, they are not laws and do not need to
be signed into law
● There are also joint and parallel resolutions, joint resolutions are used to solve
occasional or short-term problems.
● For example, in February 1987 a joint decision was made, according to which the
third Sunday of August is *National Day of Pensioners.
● Once both houses of Congress pass a joint resolution, it becomes law, so the
president must sign it.
Video 6:
● After the House and Senate pass the bill, it goes to the President for action.
The US Constitution defines four actions that the president can take.
● First, the president can sign the law.
● Another option is to withdraw the invoice. If the president vetoes a bill, it goes
back to the original, either the House of Representatives or the Senate, with an
explanation of the veto.
● Congress can then veto or vote to overturn the president's decision. Initially, a
two-thirds vote in both chambers is required.
● Usually, however, after the president has blocked a bill, Congress does not
reverse the decision. Of the 318 bills that have been vetoed over the last 20
years, Congress has voted to override only 12.
● The third option of the president, who assumes that there are more than ten
days left before the parliamentary session, is to allow the bill to enter into force
without his signature.
● Basically, the bill sits on the president's desk for ten days, excluding Sunday,
after which it becomes law.
● While Congress can pass a law and the president can sign it, judges have the
final say on legislation.
● Judicial review allows the Supreme Court to declare a law unconstitutional, giving
the court indirect input into the development of legislation.
● Many laws have failed in court. President Franklin Roosevelt had a very difficult
time getting Supreme Court approval for much of his New Deal legislation.
● To avoid this situation and increase the likelihood of passing a law, legislators
can use failed laws as benchmarks when determining the appropriate wording
and content of new bills.
● Many factions are lobbying hard for and against the bill at all stages of the
legislative process. These groups include special interest activists, businesses,
and firms that specialize in lobbying on behalf of other organizations. In addition,
the public can act as a lobbyist by sending letters and emails and calling
legislators.
● Members of Congress can also act as lobbyists, making deals with other
lawmakers -- "If you vote for my bill, I'll vote for yours
● This legislation allocates federal money to special projects that benefit only a
small area or group, not the entire country. Other lobbyists are members of the
president's administration.
Video 7:
● Congress consists of two chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate. One
hundred senators, two from each state, serve and represent their districts in the Senate.
The Senate differs from the House of Representatives in several ways.
● First, the Senate holds less than a quarter of the seats in the 435-member House.
Senators represent a greater number of voters than members of the House of
Representatives; two senators represent their entire state at large, while members of the
House of Representatives represent one district within their state.
● Senators must be at least 30 years old, live in the state they represent, and be citizens of
the United States for at least nine years.
● To maintain the continuity of the Senate, only one third of the senators apply at the same
time. Due to the high retention rate of incumbents, the turnover of members of the
Senate is much slower than that of the House of Representatives.
● There is an interesting relationship between the Houses of Parliament. In the early
years of the new constitutional government, the Senate considered itself superior to the
House of Representatives.
● The British House of Lords and Commons reinforced this understanding. In fact, the
Senate even overruled President Washington when he tried to use them as an advisory
committee.
● When Washington approached the Senate for advice on the newly negotiated Indian
treaty, the Senate referred the matter to a committee, although Washington hoped they
could discuss the matter immediately.
● The House of Representatives, which sees itself as a workhorse, has often viewed the
Senate as snobbish and ineffective.
● The purpose of the house was to directly represent the will of the people, and therefore
it was elected by popular vote. In contrast, senators elected by state legislatures were
expected to represent the will and interests of those in power in a particular state.
● As the system of electing senators later became corrupt, the 17th Amendment was
added to the constitution in 1913, requiring senators to be elected by popular vote.
● The common characteristics of members of Congress tend to be more uniform than the
constituents they represent. Like members of the House of Representatives, senators
tend to be male, white, rich, and have a background in law or business.
● Because the characteristics of members of Congress do not correspond to the
demographic characteristics of the American population, representation in Congress is
described as substantive rather than descriptive representation.
● Rather than dividing the interests of their constituents because of common background,
culture, or concerns, congressmen advocate for their constituents by representing their
interests. A good example would be Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts.
● Senator Kennedy is white, rich, well educated, and clearly a member of the "eastern
elite". However, his long tenure in the Senate represents the poor, the uneducated and
the unemployed.
Video 8:
● The power of the Senate is not as clearly defined as in the House and is much more
widely dispersed. Although the Constitution states that the Vice President of the United
States is the President of the Senate, the real power rests with the Majority and Minority
Leaders who dictate legislation.
● Party whips are senators who ensure good communication between party members and
work with party leaders to encourage members to vote with the party on key issues.
Because of its central role, the whip also has a lot of power. As in parliament, the
presidents of committees and subcommittees have considerable power.
● The Constitution gives the Senate special powers.
● Confirmation powers give the Senate special power and influence over the president and
the executive branch. The Senate has the authority to confirm major presidential
appointments, including heads of major bureaucratic agencies, federal judges (including
Supreme Court justices), and executive advisors.
● Senate hearings usually precede confirmation in the appropriate committee. For
example, a Justice Department committee reviews the appointments of federal judges
through interviews and public hearings.
● Senatorial courtesy is the practice of ensuring that the president, before nominating a
judicial nominee from a particular state, has the support of that state's senators. Once
the nominee is approved by the committee, a simple majority vote of the Senate is
required to confirm the nomination.
● The Senate also has the power to ratify treaties and rule on formal charges. A two-thirds
vote is needed to approve the deal or to convict the incumbent.
● Senate committees operate similarly to the House committees. The Senate has 16
standing committees that are further divided into subcommittees, Examples of Senate
committees include the Armed Services Committee, the Foreign Relations Committee,
and the Environment and Public Works Committee.
● Members of the Senate also serve on joint, conference, and select committees. As in the
House of Representatives, senators try to serve on committees that will allow them to
affect legislation that will impact their home state.
● For example, a Nebraska senator will seek a seat on the Agricultural Committee.
Senators also seek seats on so-called power committees (Appropriations, Defense,
Judiciary, and Finance) to gain personal prestige and help influence national policy.
● The Senate differs from Parliament in the way it operates and decides on legislation.
Historically, the Senate has proven to be a deliberative body willing to spend more time
debating legislation.
● Unlike the House, the Senate has open and unrestricted debate on proposals. In fact,
one unique strategy senators use to block legislation is the filibuster.
● A filibuster occurs when opponents of a bill argue an issue as long as possible to
prevent the Senate from voting on the bill. By refusing to sit, a senator or a group of
senators can literally kill a bill." Because senators don't want to talk, they can force a bill
to die. The longest filibuster lasted more than 24 hours and was recorded.