Article 1, Sections 1 thru 7

[03_SHOOTER]

Section 1. 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.

Section 2. 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. (Modified by XIV Amendment) 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 choose their speaker and other officers; and shall have the sole power of impeachment.

Section 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof, 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 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. (Modified by XVII Amendment)

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 choose 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.

Section 4. 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 places of choosing Senators.

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.

Section 5. 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.

Section 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other place.

No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time: and no person holding any office under the United States, shall be a member of either House during his continuance in office.

Section 7. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments as on other Bills.

Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the President of the United States; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration two thirds of that House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two thirds of that House, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each House respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a law.

Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a question of adjournment) shall be presented to the President of the United States; and before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being disapproved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the case of a bill.

[03_SHOOTER]

Commentary?

[HairyEyeball]

Section 3. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof, 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 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. (Modified by XVII Amendment)

I submit that the above was not 'modified' - at not in the generally defined sense of the word. The Senate, designed as the 'voice' of the Joint and Several States, was, rather, eliminated, and replaced by a variant House, no longer responsible for balancing the interest of their respective States - against those of other States and against those of the populace at large - but instead those of 'the people' - the same who elect members of the lower House - who now directly elect them. Given that the Constitution itself was ratified by the States, and not 'the people', the adoption of Amendment XVII may in a great sense be considered an abrogation (and far from the first) of the Constitution by one of the parties to the 'contract' it represents between the individual State entities and the federal monolith.

Again, from the rhetorical perspective of the Constitution:

Article I identifies a Legislative Branch, a bicameral construct, both drawing on and specifically differing from the British pattern. Neither ‘lords’ nor ‘commoners’ were to be among the citizens, but appropriating the grandeur of the Roman republic, one house was to be the Senate. To insure the interests of the citizenry would ideally receive equal weight, the idea of a “people’s house”, the inspirational name “House of Representatives” was invented. Neither had, as yet, form or constituency, but as rhetorical devices buttressed the intent set forth in the preamble. All that existed at this juncture was what amounted to a first payment on the implied promises of justice, promotion of an indefinable ‘general welfare’, and the possible unification of diversity through – if not a diverse, than at least a bifurcated – unity.
In defining the legislative houses, art again superceded function, as the lower house – that representing the people as a whole – was the first to be defined. Stressing that while apportioned by state population, the representatives were directly elected by the citizens “…chosen every second year by the people of the several states…”, and that it was the most numerous branch, it reinforced the theory that the people were the primary arbiters of their own government: The House was to be composed of a membership that grew as the population grew, while the Senate limited a state to two members, no matter the size or wealth it claimed. The limitation of terms to two years also implied an accountability to the local constituency, and not the ‘government’ per se. The balance of Section 2, dealing with the qualifications and apportionment, further reinforces the art of the drafters: Every effort is made to present this large body as the average citizen’s ‘voice’ in his own governance. The representatives are defined as being ‘of’ the people, subject to rapid replacement if they act against the perceived will of those who elect them, choosing their own officers, and apportioning taxes.
The import of placing this provision first cannot be overestimated. By specifically placing what is, effectively, the least influential branch – but the one closest to a people who desired neither an absolute monarch nor a powerless confederation – first, the framers guaranteed the widest possible approval for the document. The ‘pathos factor’ – the emotional appeal to the broadest base – is subtle, but unquestionable. The logos – the logical appeal of a form of government in which the citizenry theoretically exercised control of who ‘represented’ them and had the power to replace them were they not responsive – was arguably the first calculated ‘grassroots movement’ in American History. This is nowhere more apparent than in the specific provision that the House of Representatives is the one body of government in which all bills for raising revenue must originate. Arbitrary, confiscatory taxes and tariffs had been a primary cause of the revolt against the previous government, the lack of authority to raise any revenue – and the absence of power to enforce any measure taken under that authority – was a failing of the present one. Fully aware that some source of income was necessary to maintain a government, the solution placing the responsibility for that income was, especially in retrospect, Machiavellian: The House of Representatives, the ‘voice of the people’ in government, was the sole originator of tariff bills. If too high, the fault lie with the citizenry through their elected representatives, if the government was unable to function due to lack of revenue, so, too, were they culpable. Once more, the logos is inescapable, the ethos readily apparent, the pathos muted, but underscoring all: To deserve liberty, a populace must be capable of reaching agreement and responsible enough to finance and support it in a manner equitable to all who partake. The exercise of rights demands the assumption of obligations and duties.
With provision made to entice the acceptance of the populace, the support of the individual states was necessary. Grandiose promises – again, implied and inferred, never specifically enumerated – of the sovereignty of the people might well garner their support, but the power to accept or refute this new form of compromise government still was in the hands of the states. Enlisting their support engendered creating a ‘democratic’ equivalent of the British House of Lords, the august-sounding Senate. Countering the populist House, the Senate gave equal voice to each state, regardless of size, wealth or population. Further separating the two, the Senate was to serve overlapping, rotating six-year terms, as opposed to the House’s two-year terms, expiring simultaneously. Elections for both, however, would synchronize with that for President (to be defined later in the document). Should the system function as intended, it could be fairly argued the framers had indeed fulfilled another promise from the preamble, and indeed formed “…a more perfect union…” Effectively, the voters would express their approval – or lack of it – of the policies of the administration and the Congress by either returning their representatives to office or replacing them, or countering those they couldn’t replace with those more attuned to the popular will.
While the theory was set forth as one of balance and controlled (or enforced) harmony, countering the interests of ‘the people’ with the weight of the states, it had the advantage of forestalling any precipitate action by either part: To accomplish anything, concurrence of a majority of both interests was necessary. Additionally (skipping ahead a few sections), no matter that both houses, regardless of their disparate interests and constituencies, could reach agreement on the need, form, and wording of a proposed law, it still required the approval of the chief executive. By requiring the accord of two separate branches for passage of a law, the drafters sought to prevent the concentration of power in the hands of a single individual, while requiring concurrence among diverse interests.

[TruBlu]

Originally Posted by 03_SHOOTER

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.

Originally Posted by 03_SHOOTER

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.

A representative of a state may not actually live there when elected? Am I reading that correctly? Why would that be in place? Wouldn't it make more sense if he/she actually lived where he/she is being elected from?

Originally Posted by 03_SHOOTER

The Senate shall choose 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.

Because this "pro tempore" is a new phrase to me, I'd like to clarify quickly. The President pro tempore is in place so that instead of the entire chain of command to shift up from their positions, one is added in place of another, while the chain of command is still kept "the same." Correct?

I may have more soon, but that's what I've got for now. Many thanks.

[03_SHOOTER]

Originally Posted by TruBlu

A representative of a state may not actually live there when elected? Am I reading that correctly? Why would that be in place? Wouldn't it make more sense if he/she actually lived where he/she is being elected from?

Sorry TruBlu, but you got caught by a classic Jeffersonian "double-negative". It says that nobody may be elected who has not been a citizen of their State. I realize that today that "double-negative" is considered to be a grammatical "no-no", but in Jeffersonian English, it is not only quite common, but is in fact usually grammatically more accurate.

Originally Posted by TruBlu

Because this "pro tempore" is a new phrase to me, I'd like to clarify quickly. The President pro tempore is in place so that instead of the entire chain of command to shift up from their positions, one is added in place of another, while the chain of command is still kept "the same." Correct?

The "President Pro Tempore of the Senate" is the "temporary" President of the Senate while the Vice President, the Constitutional "President of the Senate" as authorized in Article 1 Section 3, is not physically present. "Pro Tempore" literally means "for the time being", so the President Pro Tempore of the Senate is the person acting on the Vice Presidents behalf when he is not there, and is usually held by a freshman Senator to help them "learn the ropes" of the Senate.

I may have more soon, but that's what I've got for now. Many thanks.[/quote]

[TruBlu]

Originally Posted by 03_SHOOTER

The "President Pro Tempore of the Senate" is the "temporary" President of the Senate while the Vice President, the Constitutional "President of the Senate" as authorized in Article 1 Section 3, is not physically present. "Pro Tempore" literally means "for the time being", so the President Pro Tempore of the Senate is the person acting on the Vice Presidents behalf when he is not there, and is usually held by a freshman Senator to help them "learn the ropes" of the Senate.

So the Pro Tempore would be in that position for "the time being" while the ex-VP now President replaces himself with his own VP?

[03_SHOOTER]

Originally Posted by TruBlu

So the Pro Tempore would be in that position for "the time being" while the ex-VP now President replaces himself with his own VP?

Yes and no. The President Pro Temporte serves as President of the Senate ANY time the VP is not there, which is actually most of the time. While the VP is the President of the Senate, his duties generally do not allow him to be physically present in the Senate Chamber on a daily basis, so when he's not there, the President Pro Tempore serves in his stead. Think of it this way, the Executive Officer of a Unit becomes the Commander Pro Tempore any time the Commander isn't with the unit (on leave, or TDY for instance).

As far as the former VP serving as President and appointing a new VP, that falls under the 25th Amendment. To be clear though, the new VP nominee must be approved by Congress as happened when Spiro Agnew resigned in 1973, and Gerald Ford was appointed as VP by President Nixon, and then again after President Nixon resigned and Ford became President in 1974, and he appointed Nelson Rockefeller as VP.

[HairyEyeball]

To shift the discussion to an(other) impending gratuitous violation of the Constitution, shall we address the Emoluments Clause of Article I, Section 6:

The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other place.

No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time: and no person holding any office under the United States, shall be a member of either House during his continuance in office (emphasis added).

and the appointment of the Hildebeast as Secretary of State?

There is no provision differentiating whether the individual voted aye or nay, or at all - the sole (dis)qualification is that she was a Senator at the time, and her term of office (January 2007-December 2012) - abandoned or not - will run concurrent with that of the incoming SecState.

We have allowed increasingly blatant abrogations, 'interpretations' and obfuscations of the Constitution, primarily (albeit not exclusively) by the democrat party since the days of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Baraq Hussein has already demonstrated a deeper contempt for the document. Shall we let this, too, go unchallenged?

[JohnP]

Harry,

Just to make you feel even better:

Particularly in the early years of the republic, the post was regarded as a natural stepping-stone to the Presidency.

As the highest-ranking member of the cabinet, the Secretary of State is fourth in line to succeed the Presidency, coming after the Vice President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President pro tempore of the Senate.

Now under recent administrations, the only appointee I've found, so far, that held an office prior to being named Secretary of State was Edmund Sixtus Muskie, Senator from the Great State of Maine and was appointed by President Carter. He did resign is position to take the post after Senate confimations.

I will do more research into this and report back the findings.

[Billyd]

While BO has indicated his INTENT to nominate the Beastly one to SecState, until the formal nomination is presented to the Senate, she is NOT the nominee (I know, semantics). Now, personal opinion being what it is, IMNSHO, for what it's worth, when BO FORMALLY nominates the Beastly one, she should not accept such nomination until she resigns from the Senate. But I am also of the opinion that Senators Clinton, Obama, McCain, Edwards and Biden, among others that hold a public office, should have resigned their seats the day they threw their hats into the ring. There is no way that they could effectively do the Country's business while campaigning. Of course, we all know that it isn't about doing the country's business as much as giving the country the business.