Legislative Branch

Hey all, its time for another session of Slamma Time! Brought to you by me, Slamma Jamma. Today’s topic is the Legislative branch of government, what is this branch of government and what does it do? Well the legislative branch of the federal government consists of the Congress, which is divided into two groups -- the Senate and the House of Representatives. Each member of Congress is elected by the people of his or her state. The House of Representatives, with membership based on state populations, has 435 seats, while the Senate, with two members from each state, has 100 seats. Members of the House of Representatives are elected for two-year terms, and Senators are elected for six-year terms. This makes me wonder, how long are you able to stay in one of these positions if you never get kicked out? If you run for ever because yours spot is never taken by someone else?

In addition to working on bills, the Senate is responsible for approving many of the decisions of the president. Treaties and appointments of judges, department heads, ambassadors, and agency leaders receive final approval in the Senate. Treaties are given special consideration and must be approved by a two-thirds vote to become law. The leader of the Senate is the vice-president. As leader, the vice-president decides who will speak to the Senate and casts a deciding vote when a tie occurs. However, the vice-president is not a member of the Senate and does not participate in debates about bills. This surprised me because can’t the V.P be bias to his/her preferred choice? I mean they can just say they don’t like it but what if it is a good bill and because of his/her beliefs the V.P just says no? I also wonder how often this happens.

The House of Representatives is called the lower house of Congress. There are four-hundred and thirty five members in the House. Every two years the entire House of Representatives is up for election. Representatives must be careful to be the voice of the people for their state. The shorter term gives the people the opportunity to choose someone else when a representative does not follow their wishes. To serve as a representative, a person must be twenty-five years old, a U.S. citizen for seven years, and a resident of the state where elected. So my question is do all four-hundred and thirty five members vote on each bill? Or is it only the bill for there state?

In addition to working on laws with the Senate, the House of Representatives has other responsibilities. In a presidential election where a candidate does not receive a majority of the electoral votes, the House of Representatives meets to choose the next President. What!?! That’s an insane amount of power to have, has this ever happened before?

Well that’s all the slamma time I have today, till next time.
-Slamma Jamma