American Government Final Pt. 4

What is the role of the Speaker of the House?

• The Speaker presides over House debates and assigns bills to committee.

• The Speaker reports to the media concerning the President's legislative agenda.

What is the purpose of the House Rules Committee?

• It sets the rules by which a bill will be debated

• It requires Congressmen to follow the "rule of law."

What is the role of the President of the Senate?

• The Vice President presides over the Senate debates as a non voting member.

• The Floor Majority Leader reports directly to the President concerning new bills.

How has Seniority Rule shaped the US Senate?

• Typically the longest reigning Senator has served as the chair of his or her committee.

• Typically the oldest Senators are given legislative priority on the Congressional calendar.

What is the purpose of a filibuster?

• for a Senator to never stop discussing a bill in order to prevent a vote on its passage

• for a Senator to have legislative support when proposing laws that break up financial trusts

What legislative actions can the President make in a bill?

• He or she can sign the bill, refuse to sign the bill, or veto the bill.

• He or she can send the bill back to committee for reconsideration

What happens if the President refuses to sign or veto a bill?

• After 10 days, if Congress is still is session, the bill becomes law; if not, there is a pocket veto.

• The President can call Congress into Special Session to pass a Joint Resolution

How does apportionment affect the US government?

• It determines the number of House seats for each state based on population.

• It determines how many House seats there will be in the US Congress.

How does Congress carry out its Expressed Power of levying taxes?

• Congress created the Internal Revenue Service.

• Congress created the Department of Treasury.

What is one way in which Congress tries to "promote the general welfare"?

• They developed Social Security which includes Medicare.

• They developed the Department of Housing and Urban Development.