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CLSM · Civic Literacy · Progress Check 2
Congress
Read the situation. Connect the ideas. Show how you know.
Name ___________________________Class __________ Date __________
01 Recall, then make a connection.
bicameral
veto
override
A bicameral legislature receives a presidential veto. Explain why an override requires attention to each chamber’s rule rather than simply adding every favorable vote into one total.
Read the situation.
Congress is the national legislative branch, made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Both chambers must pass the same bill before it is presented to the president. Article I, Section 7 describes the president’s role and the possibility of overriding a veto with two-thirds support in each chamber. A large total across both chambers is not a substitute for meeting the requirement in each one.
02 Organize the information.
Count the House requirement
For this fictional veto vote, assume all 435 House members are present and vote. The required threshold is two-thirds.
How many affirmative votes are needed in the House?
Answer: __________________ votes
Show the calculation, then explain what the result tells you in this model.
CLSM · Civic Literacy · Progress Check 2
What does the evidence show?
Congress
03 Follow the evidence.
Verify the press release
A press release claims that both chambers passed the same final River Safety Bill before presentation.
Select every record needed to support that specific claim.
The final House-approved text and vote record.
The final Senate-approved text and vote record showing the same wording.
A poll reporting public support for river safety.
A senator’s earlier draft with wording later changed.
Name the useful records and explain how they answer the claim.
04 Apply the idea.
Three safety proposals, three sources of authority
In this teaching comparison, Congress acts through constitutionally granted national powers; North Carolina’s General Assembly makes state law under the state and federal constitutions; a city council exercises ordinance powers delegated by state law. G.S. 160 A-174 requires city ordinances to remain consistent with state and federal law and constitutional liberties. A fictional city proposal would ban residents from criticizing its safety plan.
Which comparison correctly addresses order, security, and individual rights?
All three levels can make rules within their authority, but the city’s safety purpose does not remove constitutional speech protections or its statutory limits.
A city council can replace the U.S. Constitution whenever it says safety is involved.
Only Congress can ever address public safety, so state and local lawmaking has no role.
Choose a conclusion and explain why it fits the situation.
05 Carry the idea forward.
Write a short news correction explaining the failed override. Then compare Congress, the General Assembly, and a city council as lawmakers, including one rights limit relevant to the fictional safety proposal.