PART 5: LEGISLATIVE BRANCH-CONGRESSIONAL PRIVILEGES & PROHIBITIONS

As a fellow citizen, I know you are going to LOVE the first part of Article I § 6. The Senators and Representatives are paid for their service from the Treasury as determined by law. And who makes the law? They do, of course! When I read that I realized why they were able to give themselves such huge pay raises so frequently. They set their on compensation and they must because the Constitution says so. Isn’t that great!

Gimme a minute to collect my thoughts…

Ok. Moving on. While in session or while traveling to or from session, members of Congress are not allowed to be arrested except in cases of treason, felony, or breach of the peace. However, they may still be served in civil and criminal cases. This privilege only applies to arrests.

They also cannot be charged for anything they say in a speech or during debate in either house. This allows Members to speak freely without fear of reprisal. This protection also extends to committee reports, resolutions, and the act of voting on congressional business. As long as the Member was acting in a legitimate legislative activity, they won’t have to worry about litigation as a result of something they said.

Section 6 prohibits a Senator or Representative from being appointed during their time of service to any other civil office that is under the United States’ authority and which they have be involved in creating or improving the benefits of. In other words, while they are serving in either house, they may not resign their position to take a job which they helped create or increased the pay of. The effect is to prevent them from voting to create a better paying job in hopes of getting that job.

This section also excludes anyone having another office under the US’s authority from serving in either house. This exclusion is in place to maintain the integrity of each of the three branches of government.

Next: Passing Acts of Congress

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Part 4: LEGISLATIVE BRANCH-THE ORGANIZATION OF CONGRESS

Section 4 of the Constitution gives the state legislature the right to determine the “times, places, and manner” of holding elections for Senators and Representatives. That means the state determines things such as the preliminary election processes. They regulate when primaries or caucuses are held. They also determine deadlines for voter registration, the means of preventing fraud, tallying of votes, publishing of those tallies, and the various districts in their states. Despite these freedoms held by the state, the Constitution gives Congress the right to make or change state regulations if Congress decides to implement uniform national rules.

The second clause of this section originally mandated that Congress meet at least once a year beginning on the first Monday of December.  The second section of the 20th Amendment changes that date to noon on January 3.  This date will remain in effect unless Congress passes a law to set a different date.

The fifth section gives each House the power to judge the “elections, returns, and qualifications of its members”. This basically means that if a member is elected who didn’t meet the requirements laid out in the Constitution or there is some question regarding the process that elected them, each House can take action. It also means each house can investigate anything regarding the legality of a state’s election process.

This section also states that a majority of the members in attendance is enough to go forth with any business. If there is only a minority, they may adjourn from day to day, and they can compel members to attend by whatever penalties and procedures each house has established. This was one of the problems they had under the Articles of Confederation. Attendance was not compulsory, and, as a result, few members bothered to attend.

In addition, each house sets the rules of its proceedings, can punish disorderly members, and expel members if 2/3 of those present agree the members should be removed from the proceedings. Each house is required to keep a journal of proceedings and to periodically publish those journals except for parts they determine are better served by secrecy. The votes for or against any congressional matter are only entered in the journal if 1/5 of those present request it.

Section 5 goes on to state that neither house is allowed to adjourn for more than three days without the others consent. They are also not allowed to assemble in any other location than their designated meeting place.

With all the material I have written thus far, it is hard to believe that we are only just beginning. There is still more information contained in Article I. In the coming sections we learn about the powers given to and withheld from Congress, the compensation of its members, and more. You should see just up to this point the amount of thought that went into this constitution of ours.

Next: Congressional Privileges and Prohibitions

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Part 3: Legislative Branch-The Senate

Legislative Branch-The Senate

Section 3 of the first Article of the US Constitution pertains to the Senate. Clause 1 of this section states that the Senate will be made up of 2 duly chosen Senators from each state, each will serve a 6 year term, and each will have one vote in Congress. Originally each states legislature chose the 2 Senators for their state, but the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, gave the citizens the right to elect them.

The first Congress (1789-91), according to the provision in Clause 2, was divided as equally as possible into three groups. The term for the Senators in the first group expired after 2 years, and the term for the Senators in the second group expired after 4. This was done to create a system that held elections for Senators every 2 years. Every Senator since then is elected for the full six year term, but every 2 years 1/3 of the Senate is up for re-election.

Unlike the process for the House of Representatives, if there is a vacancy in the Senate, the Governor of the state can choose a replacement to fill in until a special election can be held as long as the states legislature has given that power to the Governor.

In order to run for the office of Senator the candidate must be 30 years old, a US citizen for 9 years, and a resident of the state they are seeking to represent. The Vice President of the US is president of the Senate and can only vote in order to break a tie. The Senate is allowed to choose their officers and a fill in for the Vice President in case the VP is absent.

Further, the Senate is given the sole power to try impeachments. During the impeachment process they are under oath. When the President is tried the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over the proceedings. The President cannot be impeached unless 2/3 of the members present agree. Impeachments can only remove the person on trial from office and they are never allowed to hold any office thereafter. However, that person may still be subject to criminal or civil charges.

Next: The Organization of Congress

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Part 2: What does the Constitution Say?

Legislative Branch-The House of Representatives

Article I divides Congress into the House of Representatives and the Senate. Under the Articles of Confederation there was only one. Section 1 of Article I also states that the power to make laws is expressly given to the Congress.

Section 2 lays out the method of choosing members and the qualifications of those that wish to serve in the House of Representatives. The provisions are as follows:

1. The House will be made up of members elected every second year of the presidency by the people of their state.

2. Candidates must be at least 25 years old

3. Candidates must have been a US citizen for at least 7 years.

4. At the time of their election candidates must live in the state they want to represent.

This section continues with the number of Representatives per state and taxation. It also addresses vacancies and the selection of officials for the House. Each state is allowed one representative for every 30,000 people and every 10 years a census is mandated to make sure each state has appropriate representation. When originally written, slavery was legal and women were not allowed to vote. These issues and the matter of taxation have since been resolved by Amendments 14-16.  More on that later.

If a seat in the House is vacated, the members cannot choose a replacement. Neither can the Governor of the former representative’s state. The Governor must arrange for a special election so the people can elect their representative. Further, the members of the house are given the right to choose their own speaker and other officers.

Next: The Senate

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