Ch 12 - Legislative Branch - Class 6

1. How does a bill become a law in theory, and how does a bill become a law in practice?
2. What are the key differences between the Senate and the House?
3. What are the various purposes of committees in Congress?
4. What are common criticisms of Congress?

1. Reflect: Senate Simulation
• What did we learn?
• Read blog posts
• What actually happened?
• Gun Control Bill Hits Brick Wall in the Senate
2. Summarize: How a Bill Becomes a Law
• What is the pathway?
• Diagram
• How often does a bill become law?
• Sunlight Foundation
• What factors influence the vote of a Senator or Representative?
• Constituent Feedback
• Trustee (Conscience) v. Delegate (Public Opinion)
• Campaign Contributions
• House Leaders & Senate Leaders
• Logrolling with Earmarks (aka Pork)
3. Summarize: Key Differences Between House and Senate
• What are the key differences between the two chambers?
• Chart
• How old must you be to run for Congress?
• House
• Senate
• Where must revenue (tax) bills start?
• Read Article I, Section 7
• What can a Representative do if a bill is stuck in committee?
• Discharge petition
• Are the filibuster and cloture in the Constitution?
• Read Article I, Section 5
• How do the filibuster and cloture affect the operation of the Senate?
• Example
• 60 Minutes 
• "Nuclear Option"
4. Summarize: Various Purposes of Committees 
• What are the responsibilities of committees?
• Investigate to Propose Legislation
• Mark-up Legislation
• Oversight
• Vetting Nominees
• What are the key committees?
• House of Representatives
• House Ways and Means Comm
• House Rules Comm
• House Budget Comm
• House Appropriations Comm 
• Senate
• Senate Budget Comm
• Senate Appropriations Comm
• Senate Judiciary Committee
• How does one become a committee chair?
• Majority Party
• Seniority on Committee
5. Summarize: Criticisms of Congress
• Why do Americans have such a low opinion of Congress?
• Criticisms of Congress
6. Satire: Legally Blonde 2
• What is surprisingly accurate about this film?

Ch 12 - Legislative Branch - Class 5 (Floor Debate)

1. Create: Floor Debate
• What is the procedure for floor debate?
• Script

Ch 12 - Legislative Branch - Class 4 (Party Caucus)

1. Debrief: State of the Union
• What was the goal?
• How did it compare to the Republican response? The Tea Party response?
2. Create: Party Caucus
• Where does each Senator stand on this issue?
• Seeking re-election or retiring? 
• Close election or safe seat? (Kay Hagan / Mary Landrieu / Mark Begich)
• Moderate or liberal/conservative?  
• State's cultural view on guns?
• What is the public opinion?
• Polling
• What is your party's strategy for the floor debate?
• Dems need two Republicans to sign a cloture motion to end debate and have a final vote

Ch 12 - Legislative Branch - Class 3 (Committee Hearing)

1. Create: Senate Judiciary Committee
• How does a committee hearing work?
• 2013 Hearing
• Today's Script
2. Looking Ahead: Homework
• What do you need to do for Tuesday's State of the Union?
• Live-tweet your analysis, not your reactions... Analyze the significance of every line... Make connections to what we have studied... Represent yourself well on Twitter... Be political scientists, not voters...
• Use #hsgovchat and your class hashtag in all tweets
• What do you need to do for Wednesday's Party Caucus?
• Party leaders must be prepared to run the meetings