Constitution/ Legislative Branch
By: Aiyana Foust
Qualifications and jog expectations of Congressmen
Qualifications:
Senate:
- Must be 30 years old
- Must have been a US citizen for at least 9 years
- If elected can not be living in the state that they have been chosen
House of Representatives:
- Must be at least 25 years old
- Must have lived in the US for at least 7 years
- Must be residents of the states that they represent
Job Expectations:
Senate:
- The Vice President acts as the President of the Senate and only gets to cast a deciding vote when there is a tie.
- The Presiding officer serves only when the Vice President is absent or has become the President.
- During an impeachment the Senate acts as a court and the Chief Justice becomes the judge and the Senate acts as a jury.
House of Representatives:
- They will choose their speaker and other officers and will have the main power of impeachment.
Meeting times of Congress
- The Congress meets at least once every year.
- The meeting every year will take place on the first Monday in December unless, the day needs to legally be changed.
Powers granted to them
- To lay and collect taxes
- To borrow money
- To regulate trade
- To establish a procedure for someone to become a legal US citizen and establish laws on the subject of Bankruptcy.
- To issue currency and regulate the value of it.
- Punish those who counterfeit money
- To establish the Post Offices
- To pass copyright and patent laws
- To establish a federal court
- To protect American ships from piracy
- To Declare War
- To support and raise Armies
- To maintain and provide a Navy
- To make rules and regulations for the armed forces
- To call the Militia and have them execute the laws
- To provide for arming, disciplining and organizing the Militia.`
- To make sure the laws are being enforced over all land owned by the US.
- To make all laws that are necessary and proper.
Rules of Congress
- Each house can determine their own rules.
- Each house can punish any of its members.
- To expel a member a 2/3 vote is needed.
How a Bill becomes a Law
- A Citizen or Representative might have an idea and then write the idea into a bill.
- A Representative introduces the Bill to the House of Representatives.
- The Representatives debate about the bill and then vote on whether or not it should pass.
- If the bill is passed by the House of Representatives it then goes on to the Senate.
- At the Senate the bill is debated and then voted on. If it passes it goes to the President.
- The President can now choose to veto or pass the bill. If they pass the bill it becomes a law.