The U.S. Constitution

I thought I'd take an occasional look at our constitution. See what it actually says! So, article I, section 1-5 (of 10), the Legislative Branch:

Section 1 - The Legislature
All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.

This is an important statement, not to be taken lightly. It specifically states that the powers given to Congress in the constitution are vested in Congress, meaning nobody else has that power.

Section 2 - The House
The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States, and the Electors in each State shall have the Qualifications requisite for Electors of the most numerous Branch of the State Legislature.

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

(Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.) (The previous sentence in parentheses was modified by the 14th Amendment, section 2.) The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct. The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative; and until such enumeration shall be made, the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled to chuse three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, South Carolina five and Georgia three.

When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.

The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.

Okay, so what is important here? 1. The famous 3/5 compromise. A real stain on the constitution, but the only possible outcome at the time if union if what they were after. 2. We do continue to follow the procedures and requirements for election stated here: 25 years, elections every 2 years, citizen for 7 years and be an inhabitant of their state. 3. The House has the sole power of Impeachment. No matter how much any of us might dislike a President or find his/her actions reprehensible, only the House can call for impeachment. Not the Senate, not us, not the Judiciary, the House of Representatives, period.

Section 3 - The Senate
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, (chosen by the Legislature thereof,) (The preceding words in parentheses superseded by 17th Amendment, section 1.) for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.

Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year; (and if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof may make temporary Appointments until the next Meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such Vacancies.) (The preceding words in parentheses were superseded by the 17th Amendment, section 2.)

No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally divided.

The Senate shall chuse their other Officers, and also a President pro tempore, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall exercise the Office of President of the United States.

The Senate shall have the sole Power to try all Impeachments. When sitting for that Purpose, they shall be on Oath or Affirmation. When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside: And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present.

Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States: but the Party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to Indictment, Trial, Judgment and Punishment, according to Law.

There are some real important things to remember here. 1. The Senate was designed to be the representative of the states to the federal government. The House of Representatives is called the people's house for a reason. That is because the Senate was supposed to be the states house. Now, the 17th amendment changed that, making the Senators elected by the people instead of the states. This is a very important development considering it meant that the state's role in federalism was hugely diminished, specifically in foreign policy since the Senate's role of approving treaties was important in regards to state permission. Since the Senate is now elected by the people, the states no longer have a say in government or in foreign policy, in reality. 2. The rules for being a Senator also remain the same and are pretty much enforced. 3. Contrary to recent statements in the media and by our current Vice President, the constitution makes it very clear here that the Vice President is the President of the Senate (which means he runs things) and does have a vote in the event of a tie. This is a much greater role for the Vice President in the legislative branch than current wisdom would argue. 4. The Senate is responsible for trying an impeached individual. This could be a judge, a Congressman or a President, anyone elected or appointed into public office basically. It is very important that 2/3 of the body vote guilty in order to remove someone from office. In fact, our founders made this process intentionally difficult.

Section 4 - Elections, Meetings
The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Place of Chusing Senators.

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall (be on the first Monday in December,) (The preceding words in parentheses were superseded by the 20th Amendment, section 2.) unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.

This is a nice little section that doesn't really effect much. In other words, you won't find any controversy over this section.

Section 5 - Membership, Rules, Journals, Adjournment
Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members, and a Majority of each shall constitute a Quorum to do Business; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day, and may be authorized to compel the Attendance of absent Members, in such Manner, and under such Penalties as each House may provide.

Each House may determine the Rules of its Proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly Behavior, and, with the Concurrence of two-thirds, expel a Member.

Each House shall keep a Journal of its Proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such Parts as may in their Judgment require Secrecy; and the Yeas and Nays of the Members of either House on any question shall, at the Desire of one fifth of those Present, be entered on the Journal.

Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the Consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other Place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.

I find it interesting that this section talks about qualifications and ability to sit or remove members. If 2/3 of the House or Senate vote to remove a member, they can do so. They can also discipline a member through unspecified means, this is usually a censure statement of some sort. I do find it extremely interesting that the constitution does not give Congress the power to censure the President, which means they can't and shouldn't have done it, but they have. Finally, this section refers to publishing what goes on in Congress. This is done pretty well through the Congressional Record, although it says that things deemed to be secret can be edited out, but members of Congress edit their remarks on a fairly regular basis before they are entered into the official record. Hmm... I guess Congress doesn't think secrecy is required after all? That's obviously not constitutional. The last thing mentioned here is adjournment. Each house of congress must give permission to adjourn for an extended period of time. I guess they follow this rule. In reality, they just get together and decide it, which is fine, there is no constitutional stipulation about how they should do this, just that they need to do it.

So, not too much controversy in the first half of the legislative section, except that Congressional power is limited (which our Congress doesn't believe) and that whole Vice President thing, not to mention who the Senate was really meant to represent before we changed it (at least we changed it constitutionally which is more than I can say for a lot of stuff).