Chapter 11 and 12 Power to impeach

Chapter 11 and 12

Power to impeach n The House has the sole power to impeach or bring formal charges against someone in office. n The Senate then serves as judge in impeachment cases. n The House can impeach by a majority vote and the Senate may convict by two-thirds vote.

Impeachment n To date the House has only impeached 17 people and the Senate has only convicted seven. n In 1868 the House impeached Andrew Johnson, but failed by one vote to get the votes needed to convict him. n Johnson and Bill Clinton are the only Presidents ever impeached n Richard Nixon resigned from office of the Presidency in 1974 to avoid sure impeachment

Congress in Action - Chapter 12 n Within a few weeks of opening day (Jan 3) the President gives his annual speech to the nation called the State of the Union Address. n This State of the Union Address is basically a plan of the goals of the President’s Administration n Speaker of the House is the most important position in the House. That person is chosen from the majority party and chosen every two years

Congress in Action n If the speaker wants to vote she must appoint a temporary speaker called a Speaker Pro Tempore. n Otherwise the Speaker does not vote unless to break a tie n The Speaker of the House follows the Vice President in line of succession to the presidency

President of the Senate n Vice President n Not a member of Senate n Does not have as much power as the Speaker of the House n Only votes in case of a tie when a bill is proposed and voted on in the Senate n President Pro- Tempore is elected by the Senate and is always a member of the majority party. He or she will serve in absence of the Vice-President.

Other leadership positions n Floor leaders are officers of both the majority and minority parties in both the House and Senate. n Each floor leader has a whip. This whip is an assistant floor leader. n A Party caucus is a closed meeting held by members of each party in both houses. n Party caucus is also called a party conference

Committee work n A large bulk of work is done in committees headed by a committee chairman. This committee chairman is chosen by the majority party and will decide when the committee will meet and what bills will be discussed. n Seniority Rule is an unwritten custom that those party members with the longest records of service will fill the most important positions such as Committee Chairman. n These committees are set up so that each house can get more work done.