In the News....

Legislative & Executive

Branches

Overview
You might not realize how often the Legislative and Executive Branches are in the news. Have
you heard of the Affordable Care Act (Links to an external site.)? Ever wonder how that came
about? Who proposed it and why? Who opposed it? Did it change through the legislative
process? What about the President's stance on Immigration Reform (Links to an external site.)?
The Federal Budget? We hear about all of the legislation that's pending or that has passed and
that will ultimately affect us.

Directions
Choose a current or recent event that illustrates a theme covered in this week's content on the
Congress. Think about what Congress is working on and what the process is. Use and cite at least
one quality news article or story. How does the article explain a theme or themes about Congress
from our textbook or other class sources? Offer your opinion, thoughts or insight as well.
Create a 250 word summary of your article. Make certain to include a citation. For help with
citations you can check out this PCC Citation page. There are many resources to help you:
Citations.
1. Create 1 or 2 thought questions about the article. These should be questions that help
your classmates' think more deeply about the topic and their own perspective. Such as:
1. If .... happened, what do you think would happen?
2. How should the President respond to...?

3. Why do you think...?

4. How do you feel about...?
How California's delegation feels ahead of Syrian refugee vote
Congressional Republicans voted to make it more difficult for refugees from Syria to come to the
US as the fallout from the attacks in Paris 2 weeks ago. Because of the ongoing fighting in Syria,
more than 4 million Syrians have fled their country. The U.S. government is refusing to allow
Syrian refugees to immigrate to their states. Paul D. Ryan, house speaker, called for a house vote
to pause the increase of the number of Syrian refugees. He believes that it is important to have
a refugee program in place but there needs to be greater screening system. Discussions about this
topic continues, although the Senate hasnt schedule a vote to consider the issue. In addition,
more than half of the USs governors have said they will no longer provide placement for Syrian
refugees, arguing that they pose too great a risk to national security.
California congressman and congresswoman question whether or not the U.S. can depend on the
information received from the Syrian President. Some Republicans point out that with the
continuing Syrian war it has been very difficult to gain detailed information from the Syrian
government. We know that people react on fear and misinformation and what the congress is
trying to avoid is having refugees come in without being investigated. They believe that the
screening process needs to be done more carefully in order to ensure the safety of our country.
Although, some congress members are worried and are questioning the screening process they
dont want to keep Syrians from entering the U.S. (257 words)
Wire, S. (2015, November 19). How California's delegation feels ahead of Syrian refugee vote.
Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-congress-refugeeconcerns-html-20151119-htmlstory.html
Do you think we should allow thousands of Syrian refugees into the country? Why, or why not?
Do you think that some ISIS members will take advantage and disguise as refugees? Is it worth
risking it?