Lesson 3.4 - Congressional Committees

Why Do We Have a House and Senate?

Cooperative Learning Review Activity. Complete the Anticipation Activity (teacher note: I need to remember to cut and paste to one page). Be prepared to check your work!

Drag and Drop

Congress is in the ​

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branch. Congress' main job is to make​

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. Congress is divided into two houses: the​

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and the House of Representatives. Each state has​

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Senators. A state's number of members in the House of representatives is based on its​

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.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

Population

Legislative

Laws

Senate

Two

One

Executive

President

Why Do We Have a House and Senate?

Cooperative Learning Review Activity. Complete the Voting Activity Worksheet.

Why Do We Have a House and Senate?

Complete Parts A-E. Be prepared to share your work!

Crash Course G&P Episode 7

Complete the Video Notes as you View the clip. Be prepared to check your work!

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Congress creates special or select committees to deal with particular issues that are beyond the jurisdiction of​

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committees. There are joint committees made up of members of both ​

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. Other committees are​

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committees, which are created to reconcile a bill when the House and Senate write different versions of it. Any member of Congress can propose a bill, this is called proposal​

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.

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Any member of Congress can propose a bill, this is called proposal​

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. Being able to offer chairmanships to loyal party members gives the ​

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a lot more influence over the committees themselves. Caucuses are semi-formal groups of Congresspeople organized around particular​

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or interests. Caucuses, congressional staff, and especially committees, all exist to make the process of lawmaking more​

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.

Multiple Choice

Where does the real work of crafting bills take place?

• In the Senate
• During the voting process
• At public hearings
• In committees

Multiple Choice

What is the purpose of Congressional Committees?

• To create new laws without any review
• To review legislation, conduct hearings, and oversee government activities

• To provide funding for all government projects
• To serve as a social club for Congress members

Match

Match the following

• Permanent Committees

• Work with a smaller part of the larger committee's responsibilities

• Created to study one specific issue

• Have members from both the House and the Senate

• Tasked with negotiating the final form of a bill (called a conference report)

Standing Committees

Subcommittees

Select Committees

Joint Committees

Conference Committees

• Standing Committees

• Subcommittees

• Select Committees

• Joint Committees

• Conference Committees

Congressional Committees

Complete the Guided Reading as you Read page A-B. Be prepared to check your work!

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Each committee has a special​ interest like Homeland Security or Finance and deals with matters related to that interest. They craft bills, gather information, hold hearings, conduct investigations, confirm presidential​

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, and may even look after government functions. Standing committees are​

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committees established by chamber rules. When a member of Congress proposes a bill, it is handed to a ​

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for consideration and work. The committee process is a very important piece of the​

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process. Almost 90% of bills “die” in committee. That means they never make it to the floor for a vote. Select Committees - Perform special and​

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tasks, like conducting investigations.

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Joint Committees - Look into matters that interest both houses, like printing,​

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, our economy, and the Library of Congress. Favoring or supporting one thing over something else is ​

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. Journalists work hard to provide accurate, truthful information, and they want to be objective. That means keeping their personal feelings and opinions as far away from their ​

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as possible. Fair and​

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reporting is one standard of journalism that reporters use to limit bias. A complete story isn’t told from a single side. It shares different perspectives. That’s what makes it fair and balanced. If an article fails to acknowledge the other side’s viewpoint, stance, or opinion on an issue, your bias detector should be ringing…If the person quoted or interviewed for the other side is presented as​

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or put in a negative light, that’s another indicator that the story is biased.

Heimler's History: Congressional Behavior

Complete the Video Notes as you View the clip. Be prepared to check your work!

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So in this video here's what we're trying to do: explain how congressional behavior is influenced by election processes, partisanship, and​

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government. The result is that it becomes very difficult for them to negotiate and compromise, which is what our system of government​

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. The word we use for a president in that situation is a​

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president. It just matters that you can see how a government dominated by one party can​

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up the work of Congress.

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The argument here was that such a situation violated the equal protection clause of the​

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Amendment. That’s what we call​

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gerrymandering, where districts are redrawn to favor one party over another. The court ruled that drawing districts solely based on​

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was a dangerous practice that could on other occasions be used to disenfranchise minority voters. The factors that affect how well Congress is able to do their job include ideological division or alignment, whether representatives understand themselves as trustees, delegates, or politicos, and the process of redistricting and​

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.

Congressional Committees

Closure Activity: Complete the News Literacy Activity. Use Politico.com. It's a website that focuses on government and politics. Be prepared to share your work!