Unit Four

Mastery Project by Zephyr Dowd and Mary Oseguera

The United States legislative branch is

separated bicamerally. There is the House of
Representatives which contains 435 members,
and the Senate, which contains 100. The House
members are based on state population, and
every state gets two senators. The Vice
President of America is the presiding president
of the Senate, however he only votes to break
ties. Both the House and the Senate work
together to write and pass laws.

1. Identify and explain

the organization of the
Legislature

The Constitution has spelled out many powers

of congress. Some formal powers include
Passing Laws, Declaring War, Impeaching the
president, Confirming Presidential choices, and
Signing Treaties. Some informal powers are
Drafting for the Military, Establishing a
National Bank, and Establishing the Minimum
Wage.

2. Identify and provide

an example of the powers
of the Legislature, both
formal and informal.

Congress participates in the checks and

balances system put into place. With voting,
they can overrule a presidential veto. They can
break electoral ties. They can work with the
Judicial branch to rewrite laws.

3. Identify and explain

how Congress shares
powers with the
Executive, Judiciary, and
bureaucracy.

When congress shares powers, it results in a lot of

debate, and a very long period of time to work out
kinks in the discussions. To pass laws, congress must
first go through a very long period creating and
agreeing on the law. Then it goes to the president.
They must share the power of putting the law into
place by working together to make sure it is okay
and approved. If it goes through and the SCOTUS
decides it is unconstitutional, then the process starts
over with rewriting parts and executive approval.

4. Discuss the implications of

Congress sharing powers with
each of the following:
Executive, Judiciary, and
bureaucracy.

Congress was put into place to serve the

people. They also create, edit, and vote on laws,
which result in a passed law. They oversee laws
that are passed and each congressman puts in
whatever input they can so that it best serves
their districts.

5. Discuss the functions

that Congress performs.

With the Necessary and Proper clause, the

power of congress has expanded greatly. The
clause allows congress to reach into other
things without the constitution specifically
saying that they cant. Congress can now
expand into committee hearings about budget
and investigation issues, which they werent
able to before.

6. Identify how the

power of the Congress
has/may evolve gradually.

During times of crisis, the power of the

government grows. During these times,
congress can have the power to do things like:
arrest people without cause, limit the freedom
of speech, and regulate business more (in terms
of saving food). For example, during world war
one, it was against the law to talk about certain
things. The phrase 'loose lips sink ships'
became popular. Also, in times of crisis, the
congress usually hands over its power over to
executive.

7. Identify how the power of

the Congress has/may changes
dramatically as a result of
crisis.

One of the main goals of political parties is to

maximize the amount of seats they have in
Congress. Political parties are tied with
Congress because political parties want to be
more powerful, and the way to do that is to
have their party grow in congress.

8. Identify and discuss

the ties between the
Congress and political
parties.

Interest groups are created by something the

people are interested in and passionate about. This
tied Congress and Interest groups together. The
interest groups are going to want to get involved
with Congress people in order to get them to listen
to what the people want. This also helps Congress.
Congress people want to be reelected. In order to
do so, they need to know what the people want. By
teaming up with interest groups, it sets up an
opportunity to get reelected. And it helps the
interest groups because then they get what they
want done.

9. Identify and discuss the ties

between the Congress and
interest groups.

The congress uses the media as a way to talk to the

public people and to establish a foothold. Many
legislators seek national news coverage in order to
maximize their policy goals and desire for
influence in Washington. Congress gets more
coverage during periods of divided government.
Most bills get little or no coverage. Committee
hearings on newsworthy issues/scandals can
temporarily result in Congress successfully
competing for attention. The media is a way for
Congress to get their ideas to the people, find out
what they like and as a way to get reelected.

10. Identify and discuss

the ties between the
Congress and media.

Congress, state, and local government are all used

for separate ideas. The local and state government
help the smaller communities and more of the
detailed affairs for close quarters. Many congress
people start out at local government and then
progress. They are tied because one of the main
goals of congress is to get re elected. To get
reelected, they need the votes of the people and the
local and state governments know what's up. The
congress people use the state government in order
to know what's up and to bring home what the
people want, this gaining their votes.

11. Identify and discuss the ties

between the Congress and state
and local governments.