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    GED- Lecturer 4- The Legislative Branch.pdf

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    GED- Lecturer 4- The Legislative Branch.pdf

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    Its Noah
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    3 views11 pages

    GED- Lecturer 4- The Legislative Branch.pdf

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    Its Noah

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    The Legislative Branch

    The Legislative Branch


    The legislative branch of government, the U.S.
    Congress, is composed of two houses.
    These are the House of Representatives, or the
    lower house, and the Senate, or the upper
    house.
    The Legislative Branch two houses are equal in
    power.
    They differ in how they are elected and in the number of members in each
    house.
    Members of the House are elected from districts that each include a roughly
    equal number of voters.
    The districts are redrawn (“reapportioned”) every 10 years based on the
    results of a census.
    States with larger populations contain more electoral districts and therefore
    elect more members to the House. Members of the House serve two-year
    terms.
    In the Senate, by contrast, each state is represented by two senators,
    regardless of the state’s population.
    Thus states with small populations have the same number of votes in the
    Senate as states with large populations.
    Senators are elected by all the voters in a state. They serve six-year terms,
    with one-third up for election every two years.
    The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the House and is elected
    by the members.
    He or she is typically the leader of the majority party.
    The powers of Congress are listed in Article I of the U.S.Constitution.
    These listed powers are called enumerated powers, although the
    elastic clause allows Congress to stretch its powers to fit specific
    situations as needed.
    Some of the enumerated powers held by Congress include the power
    to tax, to regulate commerce and the currency, to introduce bills, to
    declare war, to maintain the army and navy, to admit new states into
    the Union, to approve treaties, and to impeach the president.
    Most of these powers are shared by both houses; however, some are
    assigned to either the Senate or the House only.
    EXERCISE 4 The Legislative Branch

    Directions: Use the map to answer the following questions. For each
    question, choose the best answer to the question -
    1. During the 113th Congress, which began on January 3, 2013, California
    had 53 representatives. What does that indicate?
    A. California had a greater population than any other state at the time
    the Constitution was ratified.
    B. At the time of this session of Congress, the population of California
    was greater than that of any other state.
    C. More voters in California participated in the 2012 presidential election
    than in any other state.
    D. California has the greatest land area, in square miles, of any state in
    the country.
    2. What can you infer based on the map?
    A. Texas has always had 36 representatives because it is the largest
    state by area.
    B. Certain states will always have the greatest number of
    representatives.
    C. The number of representatives for each state can change every 10
    years based on census results.
    D. Western states such as California and Oregon have a greater
    number of representatives than states in the east.
    3. Which state gained the most representatives in 2010?
    A. California
    B. Florida
    C. Georgia
    D. New York
    Thank you
    very much!

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