AP U.S. Government and Politics · Lesson 1

Congress: structure, powers and lawmaking

Know Know it

Congress is bicameral: it has two chambers. The House has 435 members who serve two-year terms, with seats divided among states by population. The Senate has 100 members, two per state, who serve six-year terms.

Article I, Section 8 lists Congress's enumerated powers, such as taxing, borrowing, regulating trade between states, declaring war and raising an army. The necessary and proper clause lets Congress pass laws needed to carry out those powers, which gives it implied powers.

Each chamber has powers of its own. The House starts all bills that raise revenue and votes to impeach. The Senate confirms the president's major appointments, ratifies treaties by a two-thirds vote and holds impeachment trials.

Most bills die in committee. In the House, the Rules Committee sets the terms of debate, and the larger chamber runs on tighter rules. The Senate allows long debate, so a minority can filibuster. Ending it takes a cloture vote of 60 senators for most bills. Both chambers must pass the same text before it goes to the president.

Members weigh their own judgment (the trustee model), their voters' wishes (the delegate model) or a mix (the politico model). Party loyalty and divided government, when different parties control Congress and the presidency, can lead to gridlock. District lines also shape behavior: gerrymandering draws lines for partisan or other advantage. In Baker v. Carr (1962) the Court ruled that federal courts can hear challenges to unequal districts, which led to the one-person, one-vote standard, and in Shaw v. Reno (1993) it ruled that a district drawn mainly by race can be challenged under the Equal Protection Clause.

Trap The filibuster is a Senate tool

The House limits debate through the Rules Committee, so a House minority cannot talk a bill to death. When a question describes endless debate blocking a vote, think Senate, filibuster and cloture.

Worked example Easy

Which of these powers belongs to the Senate alone?

  1. Starting bills that raise taxes
  2. Bringing impeachment charges against an official
  3. Confirming the president's nomineesAnswer
  4. Declaring war

How to solve it

  1. Sort each power by chamber: revenue bills and impeachment charges start in the House.
  2. Declaring war needs both chambers.
  3. Confirming nominees is the one power listed only for the Senate.

Why each choice is right or wrong

  • A. Incorrect. Starting bills that raise taxes is a power the Constitution gives to the House, not the Senate.
  • B. Incorrect. Bringing impeachment charges is the House's job; the Senate only holds the trial afterward.
  • C. Correct. The Senate gives advice and consent on major appointments, such as judges and cabinet heads.
  • D. Incorrect. Declaring war is a power of Congress as a whole, so it needs both chambers to act.

Explain Explain it

Task verbs: identify, explain

To explain a congressional process, name the rule or body, then say what it does to the bill in the scenario. For example: the bill stalled because 41 senators can block cloture, so a majority of 55 is not enough to force a final vote.

Worked example Medium

A bill has the support of 55 senators, but opponents keep debating so that no final vote can happen. What do supporters need to force a vote?

  1. A rule from the House Rules Committee limiting Senate debate
  2. Votes from 60 senators to end debateAnswer
  3. A signature from the president ending the debate
  4. Approval of the bill by a conference committee

How to solve it

  1. Endless debate in the Senate is a filibuster.
  2. Only a cloture vote ends it, and that takes 60 senators for most bills.
  3. Supporters have 55, so they need 5 more votes.

Why each choice is right or wrong

  • A. Incorrect. The House Rules Committee sets debate only for the House and has no say over Senate debate.
  • B. Correct. A cloture vote of three-fifths of the Senate, 60 senators, ends a filibuster on most bills.
  • C. Incorrect. The president has no power to end debate in the Senate; a signature comes only after passage.
  • D. Incorrect. A conference committee works out differences after both chambers pass a bill, so it cannot end a filibuster.

Explain Your turn

A senator thinks a new crop subsidy wastes money, but she votes for it because most farmers in her state strongly want it. Explain which model of representation she is following and how her vote shows it.

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Compare with a model answer

A full answer does this

  • Names the delegate model of representation
  • Says she put her voters' wishes ahead of her own judgment

Model answer

She is following the delegate model. She privately thinks the subsidy wastes money, yet she votes for it because the farmers she represents want it, so she puts her voters' wishes ahead of her own judgment.

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