Article II: Legislative Branch
Name:
What is Congress?
The United States Congress is the legislative (lawmaking) branch of our federal government. Legislative is a
verb that means “to make laws”. A Legislator is a person who makes laws. Legislation is a written document
that is or may become a law. Congress meets in Washington, D.C. to make federal laws
— laws that apply to the entire country. Congress is bicameral, which means it is made up
of two Chambers or Houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each chamber
Includes elected officials from all fifty states. Congress was created by the Constitution, and
that document describes how this branch of government works.
The Powers of Congress
The Constitution also lists the powers Congress has that the other branches and the individual states do not
have. These are called enumerated, expressed, or listed powers. The Constitution doesn’t go into much
detail, though, which often creates controversy about what Congress is actually allowed to do. Depending on
how you count them, there are between 17 and 35 powers on the list. Here are a few:
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Create rules on how to become a citizen
Collect taxes, pay debts, and borrow money
Regulate commerce (trade) between the states and with other countries
Coin money and punish counterfeiters
Punish pirates
Establish post offices
Protect patents and copyrights
Create lower federal courts
Declare war, raise and support an Army and Navy
Make any other laws that are “necessary and proper” to carry our the
powers in this list
A House and Senate
When the Constitution was written, the goal was to create a government that represented the people.
Congress works toward this goal by creating laws that reflect the needs and wants of United States citizens.
The work Congress does serves the nation as a whole. Senators help by representing the needs of their
entire state, while members of the House (also called Representatives) work for the people in a specific
section of their state and territories like Puerto Rico and American Soma who get to send representatives.
Who’s In Charge?
In addition to listing the powers of Congress, the Constitution says who is in charge of each chamber. You
may be surprised to learn that the vice president of the United States is also the president of the Senate!
(The VP doesn’t get a vote though, except when there’s a tie.) But the VP can’t always be there, so senators
also elect a “president pro tempore” who leads when the VP isn’t available. In the House of Representatives,
the leader is called the speaker of the House. The representatives vote to decide who their speaker will be.
It’s an important job—the speaker is second in line to become president of the United States in an
emergency, after the Vice President.
Making Laws
Congress makes a law by introducing an idea, discussing and changing it, voting on it, and sending it to the
president for approval. The rough draft of a law is called a bill. Bills can start in either chamber of Congress,
but the example below starts in the House of Representatives.
Directions: Use the word bank to complete the following sentences.
*Bill *Population *Make laws *Legislative *Two *Senate
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Congress is in the _________________________ branch.
Congress’ main job is to ______________________________.
Congress is divided into two houses: the _______________ and the House of Representatives.
Each state has _________ Senators.
A state’s number of members in the House of Representatives is based on its ___________________.
A draft of a law is called a _________________.
Directions: Read each statement and decide if it is about the House of Representatives, the Senate,
or both! Write the letters H, S, or Both.
7) _______ Members represent an entire state
8) _______ Bills about taxes and money must start here
9) _______ Approves presidential appointments
10) _______ Members are called legislators
11) _______ Serve two-year terms
12) _______ Passes bills to the president to become laws
13) _______ There are 100 members of this chamber
14) _______ Can override a presidential veto with a 2/3 vote of support
15) _______ Must be at least 25 to serve in this chamber
16) _______ Led by the vice president of the U.S.
17) _______ Leader is called the “speaker”
18) _______ Voted in by the people
19) _______ Must have been a citizen for at least seven years
20) _______ Make laws
21) _______ Can’t be arrested for civil crimes while they are meeting
22) _______ Passes legislation
23) _______ Makes their own pay scale
24) _______ Has the power to bring charges of Impeach against a president
25) _______ One-third of the entire body is elected every two years
26) _______ Must be at least 30 years of age
27) _______ Elects an official called the President Pro Tempore to run meetings
28) _______ Conducts trials of Impeachment
29) _______ Members are based on a State’s population
30) _______ Elected for six years
31) _______ Puerto Rico and American Soma sends representatives
Directions: Imagine that Congress is considering a bill that would give money to states to improve
roadways. The more people a state has, the more money it will get. Would the bill pass if there was only
one house in Congress? Using the table above, answer these questions to find out:
32)
Representatives from large states would vote
yes
no on this bill.
Representatives from small states would vote
yes
no on this bill.
33) If we only had a House of Representatives . . .
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Add up the number of House votes from the large states here:
State Votes
# House
______________
______________
______________
______________
______________
______________
Total YES votes: ________
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Add up the number of House votes from the Small states here:
State Votes
# House
______________
_______________
______________
_______________
______________
_______________
____________
Total NO votes: _________
34) If we only had a Senate . . .
Write the total number of Senate votes from
the large states here:
YES votes: ________
Write the total number of Senate votes
from the small states here:
NO votes: _________
35) Putting it all together, Why did the founding fathers create our two house system in the manner
that they did?