Government 101

1. The President
2. Congress
3. Constitution
4. Elections
5. Budget

GOVERNMENT 101: The President

Qualifications:

• Must be a natural-born citizen of the United States (can be born abroad of parents who are American citizens).
• Must be 35 years of age.
• Must be a resident of the United States for at least 14 years (but not necessarily the 14 years preceding the election).

The Powers of the President:

According to Article II of the Constitution the President has the following powers:

• Serve as commander in chief of the armed forces
• Commission officer of the armed forces
• Grant reprieves and pardons for federal offenses (except impeachment)
• Convene Congress in special sessions
• Receive ambassadors
• Take care that the laws be faithfully executed
• Wield the “executive power”
• Appoint officials to lesser offices

Powers of the President That Are Shared with the Senate:

• Make treaties
• Appoint ambassadors, judges, and high officials

Powers of the President That are Shared with Congress as a Whole

• Approve legislation

GOVERNMENT 101: Congress

Major Differences Between the Two Houses of Congress:

HOUSE	SENATE
435 members serving two-year terms	100 members serving rotating six-year terms
Speaker’s referral of bills to committee is hard to challenge.	Referral decisions easy to challenge.
Committees almost always consider legislation first.	Committee consideration easily bypassed.
Rules Committee powerful; controls time of debate, admissibility of amendments.	Rules Committee weak; few limits on debate or amendments.
Debate usually limited to one hour.	Unlimited debate unless shortened by unanimous consent or by invoking cloture.
Non-germane amendments may not be introduced from floor.	Non-germane amendments may be introduced (riders).

Qualifications for Entering Congress:
House:

• Must be 25 years of age (when seated, not when elected).
• Must have been a citizen of the United States for 7 years.
• Must be an inhabitant of the state from which elected.
  (NOTE: custom, but not the Constitution, requires that a representative live in the district that he or she represents.)

Senate

• Must be 30 years of age (when seated, not when elected).
• Must have been a citizen of the United States for 9 years.
• Must be an inhabitant of the state from which elected.

Other Sources of Information:

CongressLink Historical information about Congress, explanations of basic congressional procedures, and selections written by scholars and subject matter experts. Online from CongressLink.
Glossary of Senate Terms Defines terms used in the Senate and the legislative process. Online from the U.S. Senate Web Site.
A Map of Capitol Hill Online from the U.S. House of Representatives.
108th Congressional Pictorial Directory The 104th, 105th, 106th and 107th Congressional Pictorial Directories are also available. Online from the Government Printing Office.
A Virtual Tour of the United States Capitol Online from the U.S. Senate.

Congressional Leadership

I. Senate

PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE	Selected by majority party. Usually most senior member of the Senate majority party.
Majority Leader	Leads the party.
Majority Whip	Assists the leader, rounds up votes, heads group of deputy whips.
Chairman of the Conference	Presides over meetings of all members of the Senate majority party.
Policy Committee	Schedules legislation.
Legislative Review Committee	Reviews legislative proposals and makes recommendations to senators of the majority party.
Steering Committee	Assigns Senators of the majority party to committees.
Republican/Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee	Provides funds, assistance to Republican/Democratic candidates for the Senate.
Minority Leader	Leads the party.
Assistant Minority Leader	Assists the leader, rounds up votes.
Chairman of the Conference	Presides over meetings of all senators of the minority party.
Policy Committee	Makes recommendations on party policy.
Committee on Committees	Assigns Senators of the minority party to committees.

II. House

Selected by the majority party.
Majority Leader	Leads the party.
Majority Whip	Assists the leader, rounds up votes, heads large group of deputy and assistant whips.
Chairman of the Caucus	Presides over meetings of all members of the majority party.
Steering and Policy Committee	Schedules legislation, assigns members of the majority party to committees.
Republican/Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee	Provides funds, advice to Republican/Democratic candidates for the House.
Minority Leader	Leads the party.
Minority Whip	Assists the leader, rounds up votes, heads large forum of deputy and assistant whips.
Chairman of the Conference	Presides over meetings of all members of the minority party.
Committee on Committees	Assigns members of the minority party to committees.
Policy Committee	Advises on party policy.
Research Committee	On request, provides information about issues.

The Powers of Congress

The powers of Congress are found in Article 1, section 8, of the Constitution.
The following is a brief summary:

To levy and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises.

To borrow money.

To regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the states, and with Indian tribes.

To establish rules for naturalization (that is, becoming a citizen) and bankruptcy.

To coin money, set its value, and punish counterfeiting.

To fix the standard of weights and measures.

To establish a post office and post roads.

To issue patents and copyrights to inventors and authors.

To create courts inferior to (that is, below) the Supreme Court.

To define and punish piracies, felonies on the high seas, and crimes against the law of nations.

To declare war.

To raise and support an army and navy and make rules for their governance.

To provide for a militia (reserving to the states the right to appoint militia officers and to train the militia under congressional rule).

To exercise exclusive legislative powers over the seat of government (that is, the District of Columbia) and over places purchased to be federal facilities (forts, arsenals, dockyards, and “other needful buildings.”)

To “make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for the carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States.”

GOVERNMENT 101: The Constitution

I. Checks and Balances:
The Constitution creates a system of separate institutions that share powers. Because the three branches of government share powers, each can (partially) check the powers of the others. This is the system of checks and balances. The major checks possessed by each branch are listed below.

Congress

1. 1. Can check the president in these ways:
   1. By refusing to pass a bill the president wants
   2. By passing a law over the president’s veto
   3. By using the impeachment powers to remove the president from office
   4. By refusing to approve a presidential appointment (Senate only)
   5. By refusing to ratify a treaty the president has signed (Senate only)
2. 2. Can check the federal courts in these ways:
   1. By changing the number and jurisdiction of the lower courts
   2. By using the impeachment powers to remove a judge from office
   3. By refusing to approve a person nominated to be a judge (Senate only)

President

1. Can check Congress by vetoing a bill it has passed
2. Can check the federal courts by nominating judges

Courts

1. Can check Congress by declaring a law unconstitutional.
2. Can check the president by declaring actions by him/her or his/her subordinates to be unconstitutional or not authorized by law.

In addition to these checks provided for in the Constitution, each branch has informal ways of checking the others. For example, the president can withhold information from Congress (on the grounds of executive privilege), and Congress can try to get information from the president by mounting an investigation.

II. Liberties Guaranteed in the Constitution (before the Bill of Rights was added)

• Writ of habeus corpus may not be suspended (except during an invasion or rebellion).
• No bill of attainer may be passed by Congress or the states.
• No ex post facto law may be passed by Congress or the states.
• Right of trial by jury in criminal cases is guaranteed.
• The citizens of each state are entitled to the privileges and immunities of the citizens of every other state.
• No religious test or qualification for holding federal office is imposed.
• No law impairing the obligation of contracts may be passed by the states.

III. The Bill of Rights: Ratified on December 15, 1791

PROTECTIONS AFFORDED CITIZENS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE POLITICAL PROCESS
Amendment 1: Freedom of religion, speech, press, and assembly; the right to petition the government.
PROTECTIONS AGAINST ARBITRARY POLICE AND COURT ACTION
Amendment 4: No unreasonable searches or seizures.
Amendment 5: Grand jury indictment required to prosecute a person for a serious crime.
No double jeopardy – being tried twice for the same offense
Forcing a person to testify against himself or herself is prohibited
No loss of life, liberty, or property without due process
Amendment 6: Right to speedy, public, impartial trial with defense counsel and right to cross-examine witnesses.
Amendment 7: Jury trials in civil suits where value exceeds $20.
Amendment 8: No excessive bail or fines, no cruel and unusual punishments.
PROTECTIONS OF STATES’ RIGHTS AND UNNAMED RIGHTS OF PEOPLE
Amendment 9: Unlisted rights are not necessarily denied.
Amendment 10: Powers not delegated to the United States or denied to the states are reserved to the states.
OTHER AMENDMENTS
Amendment 2: Right to bear arms.
Amendment 3: Troops may not be quartered in homes in peacetime.
IV. Ways of Amending the Constitution:
Under Article V, there are two ways to propose amendments to the Constitution and two ways to ratify them.
To propose an amendment

1. Two-thirds of both houses of Congress vote to propose an amendment, or
2. Two-thirds of the state legislatures ask Congress to call a national convention to propose amendments.

To ratify an amendment

1. Three-fourths of the state legislatures approve it, or
2. Ratifying conventions in three-fourths of the states approve it.

Some Key Facts:

• Only the first method of proposing an amendment has been used.
• The second method of ratification has been used only once, to ratify the Twenty-first Amendment (repealing Prohibition).
• Congress may limit the time within which a proposed amendment must be ratified. The usual limitation has been seven years.
• Thousands of proposals have been made, but only thirty-three have obtained the necessary two-thirds vote in Congress.
• Twenty seven amendments have been ratified.

Constitutional Vocabulary

Bill of Attainer – A legislative act that declares the guilt of an individual and doles out punishment without a judicial trial. The state legislatures and Congress are forbidden by Article 1, sections 9 and 10 of the Constitution to pass such acts. This is an important ingredient of the separation of powers.
Executive Privilege – The claimed right of executive officials to refuse to appear before, or to withhold information from, the legislature or courts on the grounds that the information is confidential and would damage the national interest. For example, President Nixon refused, unsuccessfully, to surrender his subpoenaed White House tapes by claiming executive privilege.
Executive Order – This critical instrument of active presidential power is nowhere defined in the Constitution but generally is construed as a presidential directive that becomes law without prior congressional approval. The power for the executive order is implied in Article II of the Constitution when it allots “executive power” to the president:

“The executive power shall be vested in a president of the United States of America.” – Article II, section 1
“[The President] shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed…” – Article II, section 3

Double Jeopardy – The guarantee in the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution that one may not be tried twice for the same crime. For example, an individual declared not guilty of murdering a neighbor cannot be tried again for that murder. The person is not, however, exempt from being tried for the murder of another individual.
Habeus Corpus – A court order directing a police officer, sheriff, or warden who has a person in custody to bring the prisoner before a judge and show sufficient cause for his or her detention. Designed to prevent illegal arrests and unlawful imprisonment. A Latin term meaning “you shall have the body”.
Impeachment – A formal accusation against a public official by the lower house of a legislative body. Impeachment is merely an accusation and not a conviction. Two presidents have been impeached, Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. Neither was convicted. In the case of Johnson, the Senate failed by one vote to obtain the necessary two-thirds vote required for conviction. In the case of Clinton, fifty senators voted for conviction, again missing the two-thirds requirement.
Ex Post Facto Law – A law that makes criminal an act that was legal when it was committed, or that increases the penalty for a crime after it has been committed, or that changes the rules of evidence to make conviction easier; a retroactive criminal law. A Latin term meaning “after the fact.” The state legislatures and Congress are forbidden to pass such laws by Article I, section 9 and 10 or the Constitution.

GOVERNMENT 101: Elections

Kinds of Elections:

1. General Elections – an election to fill public offices.
2. Primary Elections – an election prior to the general election in which voters select the candidates who will run on each party’s ticket. Primaries are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders, and may be open or closed.
   1. Open Primary – an election that permits voters to choose on Election Day the party primary in which they wish to vote. They may vote for candidates of only one party. (A blanket or "free love" primary is a type of open primary. In the voting booth you mark a ballot that lists the candidates for nomination of all the parties, and thus you can help select the Democratic candidate for one office and the Republican candidate for another.)
   2. Closed Primary – the selection of a party’s candidates in an election limited to registered party members. Prevents members of other parties from "crossing over" to influence the nomination of an opposing party’s candidate.
   3. Runoff Primary – if no candidate gets a majority of the votes, a runoff is held to decide who should win.
   4. Presidential Primary – a primary used to pick delegates to the presidential nominating conventions of the major parties.

Election Vocabulary

Electoral College: A group of persons called “electors,” selected by the voters in each state, that officially elects the president and vice president. The number of electors in each states is equal to its number of representatives in both houses of Congress.
Initiative: An electoral procedure whereby citizens can propose legislation or constitutional amendments and refer the decision to a popular vote by obtaining the required number of signatures on a petition.
Machine: A hierarchically organized, centrally led state or local party organization that rewards members with material benefits (patronage).
Office-Block Ballot: A ballot listing all candidates for a given office under the name of that office; also called a “Massachusetts” ballot.
Party-Column Ballot: A ballot listing all candidates of a given party together under the name of that party; also called an “Indiana” ballot.
Split-Ticket Voting: Voting for candidates of different parties for various offices in the same election. For example, voting for a Republican for senator and a Democrat for president.
Straight-Ticket Voting: Voting candidates who are all of the same party. For example, voting for Republican candidates for senator, representative, and president.

GOVERNMENT 101: The Budget

Key Facts:
* The Government spends most of your money on a few major programs. In 2001:

Social Security	23%
Defense	16%
Medicare	12%
Medicaid	7%
National Debt	10%

* The Government collects most of its revenues for a few main sources:

Individual Income Taxes	48%
Social Security Receipts	34%
Corporate Income Taxes	10%

* Because all of the revenues do not cover the costs of all spending, the Government borrows money to finance this deficit. The total it has borrowed over the years, but not repaid, is the national debt.

Budget History Facts:

• In its first 150 years, the Government sometimes generated budget deficits (for instance, to finance a war) but later ran surpluses and repaid much of the debt that had accumulated.
• In 2001, the federal budget surplus was $184 billion. Budget deficits had grown more frequent in the last half-century, and they soared during the 1980s. At the end of fiscal year 1977 the deficit was $706 billion. By the end of fiscal year 1997 it was $5.38 trillion — almost 8 times as much as it had been 20 years earlier.
• In its first three years, the Government spent a total of about $4 million. By 1800, total annual spending amounted to less than $11 million. Almost two centuries later the total has climbed to $521 billion.
• Federal spending climbed during the 1930s from $4 billion in 1931 to over $8 billion in 1936. WWII increased that number to over $91 billion by 1944.

Types of Spending:
Discretionary – 35% of all Federal Spending
This is the money the President and Congress must decide to spend each year. It includes money for such programs as the FBI and the Coast Guard, housing and education, space exploration and highway construction, and defense and foreign aid.
Mandatory – 65% of all Federal Spending
This is the money that the Federal Government appends automatically – unless the President and Congress change the laws that govern it. It includes entitlements – such as Social Security, Medicare, and Food Stamps – through which individuals receive benefits because they meet some criteria of eligibility (e.g. age, income). It also includes interest on the national debt, which the Government pays to individuals and institutions that buy saving bonds and other US securities. Despite its name, however, mandatory spending is not fixed in stone. The President and Congress can change the laws that govern entitlements or taxes, but they must take explicit action to do so.
The Budget Process:

• The President’s Budget is sent to Congress in early February. This proposal is his/her plan for the next fiscal year, beginning October 1. This plan, however, only becomes official after Congress passes, and the President signs spending bills and legislation creating new taxes and entitlements.
• After receiving the President’s budget, Congress examines it in detail. Scores of committees and subcommittees hold hearings on proposals under their jurisdiction. The House and Senate Armed Services Committees, for instance, would hold hearings on the President’s defense plan. If the President’s plan contains proposals that affect Federal revenues, the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees would hold hearings. The President, the Budget Director, the Cabinet, and others work with Congress as it accepts some proposals, rejects others, and changes still others.
• Each year Congress must pass and the President must sign, 13 appropriation bills that include all of the discretionary spending. The President and Congress do not have to enact new laws governing entitlements or taxes. If they do not, the Government will pay the benefits for Social Security and other programs and collect the taxes required by laws in place.

Budget Calendar

No later than the 1st Monday in February	President transmits the budget, including a sequester preview report.
Six weeks later	Congressional committees report budget estimates to Budget Committee.
April 15th	Action to be completed on congressional budget resolution.
May 15th	House consideration of annual appropriations bills may begin.
June 15th	Action to be completed on reconciliation.
June 30th	Action on appropriations to be completed by House.
July 15th	President transmits Mid-Session Review of the budget.
August 20th	OMB updates the sequester preview.
October 1st	Fiscal year begins.
15 days after the end of a session of Congress	OMB issues final sequester report, and the President issues a sequester order, if necessary.

Budget Vocabulary
Appropriation – A legislative grant of money to finance a government program.
Congressional Budget Office – Provides expert technical and computer services to Congress; analyzes the budget proposal of the office of management and budget; determines the economic consequences of legislation.
Entitlements – A law that requires the paying of monetary benefits to some person or persons who meet the eligibility requirements established by the law; a binding obligation of the government (i.e. Social Security).
General Accounting Office (GAO) – Checks to see that government spending is proper and reasonable; headed by the Comptroller General who is appointed by the President, with the Senate’s approval, for a 15 year term.
Office of Budget and Management – An advisory body that prepares the national budget and reviews agency requests for congressional appropriations. The OMB prepares the national budget, supervises and controls the administration of the budget, and helps the President propose legislation dealing with the budget. In addition, the OMB assists in the preparation of proposed executive orders and keeps the President informed of all overall activities of the government. The Director of the OMB is appointed by the President with Senate approval.
Reconciliation – A concurrent resolution, passed by both houses of Congress, that reconciles the specific amounts to be spend in the coming fiscal year with the overall budget ceiling.