Congress

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Congress
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Two Houses of Congress
The Constitution creates a bicameral legislature
for three reasons

• Historical The British Parliament consisted of
  two houses since the 1300s, and many colonial
  assemblies were similar in form.
• Practical A bicameral legislature was necessary
  to compromise the Virginia and New Jersey plans
  of representation.
• Theoretical The Framers favored a bicameral
  Congress in order that one house might act as a
  check on the other.

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Terms

• A term is the length of time that officials serve
  after an election, as in a two- or six-year term.

The date for the start of each new term has been
set by the Twentieth Amendment (1933) as noon of
the 3rd day of January.
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Sessions of Congress
A session is the regular period of time during
which Congress conducts business.

• Congress adjourns, or suspends until the next
  session, each regular session as it sees fit.
• If necessary, the President has the power to
  prorogue, or adjourn, a session, but only when
  the two houses cannot agree on a date for
  adjournment.
• Only the President may call Congress into a
  special sessiona meeting to deal with some
  emergency situation.

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Comparative Government Legislative Bodies
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Size and Terms

• The exact size of the House of Representatives,
  currently at 435 members, is determined by
  Congress.
• The Constitution provides that the total number
  of seats in the House shall be apportioned
  (distributed) among the States on the basis of
  their respective populations.

• Members of the House of Representatives serve
  two-year terms.
• Although there have been recent movements to
  limit terms, there are no limits set on the
  number of terms a representative may serve.

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Reapportionment

• Article I of the Constitution directs Congress
  to reapportionredistributethe seats in the
  House after each decennial census.(10 years)

• As the United States grew in population, the
  number of representatives in the House also grew.
• The Reapportionment Act of 1929 set the
  permanent size of the House at 435 members, and
  provided for automatic reapportionment.

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Current Apportionment
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Apportionment Continued

• Based on the Census 2000 apportionment, each
  member of the U.S. House of Representatives
  represents an average population of 646,952.

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Congressional Elections

• Congressional elections are held on the Tuesday
  following the first Monday in November of each
  even-numbered year.
• Off-year elections are those congressional
  elections held between presidential elections.

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Districts and Gerrymandering

• Districts that have unusual shapes or even defy
  description have sometimes been gerrymandered.
• Gerrymandering refers to the act of drawing
  congressional districts to the advantage of the
  political party that controls the State
  legislature.

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Duties of the Job

• 1. Legislators who make the laws
• 2. Committee Members
• Screen bills and make recommendations
• Oversight function of governmental agencies
• 3. Representatives of their Constituents-
• Those who elect them
• 4. Servants of their Constituents
• 5. Politicians
• Much time spent fundraising for future elections

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Qualifications for House Members

• The Constitution says that a member of the House
• (1) must be at least 25 years of age,
• (2) must have been a citizen of the United States
  for at least seven years, and
• (3) must have been an inhabitant of the State
  from which he or she is elected.
• Party identification, name familiarity, gender,
  ethnic characteristics, and political experience.

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Size, Election, and Terms

• The Constitution says that the Senate shall be
  composed of two Senators from each State.
  Todays Senate consists of 100 Senators.
• Originally, the Constitution provided that
  senators were chosen by the State legislatures.

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Senators

• In 1912 the Seventeenth Amendment was passed and
  called for the popular election of senators.
• Senators serve for six-year terms.
• The Senate is a continuous body, meaning that all
  of its seats are never up for election at the
  same time.

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Qualifications for Senators

• The requirements for the U.S. Senate are higher
  than for the House of Representatives.
• The Constitution says that a Senator
• (1) must be at least 30 years of age,
• (2) must have been a citizen of the United States
  for at least nine years, and
• (3) must be an inhabitant of the State from which
  he or she is elected.

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Types of Bills and Resolutions

• Bills
• Joint resolutions
• Unusual or temporary measures
• Constitutional amendments
• Concurrent Resolutions
• Jointly between the House and Senate
• Not sent to the President
• Resolutions
• Rule of procedure or amendment to rule
• Not sent to the President
• Rider
• Addition to a bill

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And now for a 3 minute pause

• Compare and Contrast the House and the Senate
  using a Venn Diagram

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All of the below are being discussed in the 110th
Congress
A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 to provide a credit for fuel-efficient motor
vehicles A bill to amend the foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 to provide assistance for developing
countries to promote quality basic education and
to establish the achievement of universal basic
education in all developing countries as an
objective of United States foreign assistance
policy A bill that protects the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge, prohibit exporting oil and gas
produced A bill that discusses prohibits human
cloning Drug testing standards for professional
athletes A bill that protects Detainees, bans
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment A bill regarding foreign policy in
Iraq, require quarterly progress reports to
Congress from the President
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Congressional Leaders

• Majority Leaderthe legislative leader of the
  party holding the majority of seats in the House
  or Senate
• Minority Leaderthe legislative leader and
  spokesperson of the party holding the minority of
  seats in the House or Senate
• Whipa senator or representative who works with
  the party leaders to communicate views, solicit
  support before votes are taken, and keep track of
  how voting is likely to go

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Presiding Officers

• Speaker of the House- doesnt vote
• Elected from the majority party
• President of the Senate-Vice President
• President Pro Tempore
• Elected by the senate from majority party
• Honorary position based on seniority
• Floor Leaders- legislative strategists
• Whips-
• Assist floor leaders aware of how others will
  vote
• Party Caucus- party meeting
• Committee Chairman
• Seniority Rule-no longer the rule

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And now for a 3 minute Pause..Compare and
contrast the House and the Senate using a Venn
Diagram.
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110th Congress

• Membership435 Members House Party
  Divisions230 Democrats
• 196 Republicans  
• Membership100 Senators(Vice President votes in
  case of a tie) Senate Party Divisions51
  Democrats49 Republicans

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Education Levels of Congress

• 139 members of Congress have experience in the
  military
• 396 Members of the House and 97 Senators hold
  bachelors degrees
• 120 Members of the House and 19 Senators have
  masters degrees
• 170 Members of the House and 58 Senators hold law
  degrees
• 20 Members of the House have doctoral degrees
• 14 Members of the House and four Senators hold
  medical degrees

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Prior Occupations of Congress

• 13 medical doctors (including a psychiatrist),
  three dentists, three nurses
• two veterinarians, two psychologists, an
  optometrist, and one pharmacist
• six ministers
• 35 mayors, 10 state governors, nine lieutenant
  governors (including two
• Delegates), two state first ladies (one of whom
  was also the first lady of
• the United States), and one territorial first
  lady
• three former cabinet secretaries, a former
  Secretary of the Navy, a former
• deputy administrator in the Department of
  Veterans Affairs,
• a former deputy assistant Secretary of State, a
  former ambassador
• three state supreme court justices, and a federal
  judge
• 275 (236 in the House and 39 in the Senate)
  former state legislators
• 109 congressional staffers (including 11
  congressional pages),
• 15 White House staffers or fellows, several
  former executive branch employees
• four sheriffs, four police officers (including a
  Capitol policeman)
• two state troopers, two volunteer firemen, two
  probation officers, and a
• border patrol chief
• two FBI agents, one CIA agent
• two physicists, two chemists, a biomedical
  researcher
• a biomedical engineer, a geologist, and a
  microbiologist

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VIPS

• SENATE
• Harry Reid (D-NV), Majority Leader,
• Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Minority Leader
• Pro Temp
• Robert Byrd (D-WV)
• President of Senate Vice President-Dick Cheney
• HOUSE OF REPS
• Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Speaker of the HouseSteny
  Hoyer (D-MD), Majority Leader,
• John Boehner (R-OH), Minority Leader
• Majority Whip- James Clyburn (D-SC)
• Minority Whip- Roy Blunt (R-MO)

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Representatives of the People
Senators and representatives are elected to
represent people. As legislators, they have four
voting options
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Committee Membership and Public Servants

• As committee members, senators and
  representatives screen proposed laws before they
  are voted on.
• Members of the House and the Senate also act as
  servants of their constituents.

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Oversight Function

• Another vital part of their committee work
  involves the oversight function.
• Oversight is the process by which Congress,
  through its committees, checks to see that the
  agencies of the executive branch are working
  effectively.

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Compensation

• Today, senators and representatives are paid a
  salary of
• 165, 200 a year, Certain members, such as the
  Speaker of the House and the Senates president
  pro tem, are paid more.
• Senate LeadershipMajority Leader - 183,500 
  Minority Leader - 183,500 
• House Leadership Speaker of the House -
  212,100Majority Leader - 183,500Minority
  Leader - 183,500
• The franking privilege allows members of Congress
  to mail letters and other materials postage-free
  by substituting their facsimile signature (frank)
  for the postage.

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• The Constitution says that Congress fixes its own
  compensation. Therefore, the only real limits
  to congressional pay are the Presidents veto and
  fear of voter backlash against a pay increase.

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Membership Privileges

• Members of Congress are immune from arrest for
  noncriminal offenses while engaged in
  congressional business.

• More importantly, the Speech and Debate Clause
  (Article I, Section 6, Clause 1) protects
  representatives and senators from suits for libel
  or slander arising from their official conduct.

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To summarize the info we learned today

• Create a one sentence summary using the following
  prompt.
• A___________is a kind of______________
• that__________________.
• ___________happens because________________.