essays on articles.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/06/congress.convenes/index.html?iref=newssearch

This article talks about the 1st session of Congress, the top priority on their list - the economic stimulus bill, the refuted Senate seats and the reelection as Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House.

This article emcompasses everything we have addressed about Congress this semester. It addresses the Senators being elected, and some, who have to be chosen by the governer of their state because the elected senator resigned. It says Dick Cheney swore in the 34 new senators, a duty of the Vice President that we had discussed. Democrats hold 256 seats in the House of Representatives, a body we know to have 435 memebers, while in the Senate, a body with 100 seats, the article says there are 55 Democrats. The 1st bill presented to the Senate was about Economic Stimulus and we know it has to go through several committees and be agreed upon by the Senate, House and the President. We also know this bill will not be vetoed by the President because the article says Obama is pushing for it to be passed. The article also addresses the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, an incumbent who was reelected. We know about imcumbents having an advantage over their competition, and about the duties Pelosi will have as the Speaker. She will have control over the committees that members of the House will be a part of, and which bills, like the Economic Stimulus Package, will be directed to which committees. This article was very broad, but it was a good example of everything we've learned in class.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/05/us/05withdraw.html?_r=1&scp=16&sq=congress&st=cse

This article is about legislation to prevent mining on public land. The rule was issued by the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management. It is one of Congress' emergency powers.

This article is related to what we have studied in class because it addresses the passing of bills. We have talked about several ways a bill can be struck down - in a committee, the Rules Committee, on the floor of the House or Senate, and by the president. This is a new form of legislation we had not talked about, specifically for mineral development. It allows Congress it put a stop to mining if the body agrees it is dangerous, and it is a rule rather than a veto or a filibuster, other things that might halt legislation. The article also tells us that the rule came from a specific committee - the Interior Department.