Congress: The National Legislature

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Congress The National Legislature

• Article I of the Constitution established the
  legislative branch.
• Major function is to convert public will into
  public policy make laws.

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Bicameralism

• 2 houses in Congress
• Senate
• House of Representatives
• British parliament was bicameral (composed of 2
  houses).
• All early State legislatures were bicameral.
• Framers of the Constitution wanted the houses to
  act as checks on each other.

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Terms and Sessions of Congress

• Each term of Congress is 2 years and numbered
  consecutively.
• New terms starting date was changed by the 20th
  amendment
• Noon on January 3 Congress MUST meet once a
  year.
• Congress is in session through most of each year
  these days.
• Congress can adjourn whenever they want the
  houses do not have to do it at the same time.
• There are 2 sessions to each term one year
  each.
• Currently we are in the 2nd session of the 108th
  Congress
• Congress can also meet in special session.
• Meeting called by the President to deal with an
  emergency.
• Only 26 special sessions have been called.
• Year round meetings reduce the likelihood of this.

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The House of Representatives

• 435 members
• Elected every 2 years forced to pay attention
  to voters.
• Not set by the Constitution.
• Decided on by Congress.
• These seats must be apportioned among the states
  according to population.
• Every state is guaranteed 1 seat no matter how
  small its population.
• Washington D.C., Guam, Virgin Islands, American
  Samoa each get one representative.
• They are not members of the house so they
  cannot vote.

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House of RepresentativesReapportionment

• Every ten years, seats are reapportioned
• National Census every 10 years.
• 1789 Constitution first called for 65 seats.
• 1792 Congress increased it to 106 seats.
• 1800 142 seats
• 1910 435 seats
• 1920 House was too large for effective floor
  action. No change, nothing done.

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House of RepresentativesReapportionment

• 1930 Reapportionment Act of 1929
• Permanent size of the House 435
• Census Bureau will determine the number of seats
  each State gets after the census (every 10
  years).
• President sends the Bureaus plan to Congress.
• If neither house rejects it in 60 days it
  becomes effective.
• Today, each seat represents approximately 620,000
  people.

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Congressional Elections

• Every citizen can vote for Congressional
  elections.
• Held on the same day in every State.
• Tuesday following the first Monday in November of
  even numbered years.
• Off year elections
• Elections that occur when there is not a
  presidential election.
• Consistently party that holds the presidency
  loses seats.

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House of RepresentativesDistricts

• 435 Members chosen in 435 districts.
• No mention of Districts in the Constitution
• For a long time States chose if voters elected
  representatives by single-member district OR
  at-large.
• Single-member districts
• Voters in each district elect one of the States
  representatives.

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House of RepresentativesDistricts

• At-large
• States seats were filled from the State as a
  whole. Every voter voted for EACH seat that
  State was allowed in the House.
• Seen as being very unfair.
• A party with plurality (majority) of the votes in
  a State could win ALL their seats.
• This practice was ended in 1842.

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House of RepresentativesDistricts

• State legislatures draw up the districts in their
  States.
• Each district must be a contiguous piece of land.
• Each district must have nearly the same number of
  residents.
• Each district should be a relatively small piece
  of land.
• Frequently ignored by State Legislatures.
• Reapportionment Act of 1929
• Requirements for reapportionment were
  accidentally left out.
• 1932 Wood v. Broom Supreme court said the
  requirements were repealed by being left out.
• State legislatures have drawn very oddly shaped
  districts since then.

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Gerrymandering

• Districts shaped like the letter Y or dumbbells
  have usually been Gerrymandered.
• Drawn to the advantage of the political party
  that controls the State Legislature.

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Gerrymandering

• Lines are drawn to put all of the opponents
  voters into just a few districts
• Lines are drawn to spread the opposition as
  thinly as possible so they will never be able to
  elect their candidate.
• Several State today are still like this.

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Wesberry v. Sanders 1964

• Historically, districts were drawn on an urban
  vs. rural basis.
• Less populated rural areas were overrepresented.
• Ended by a Supreme Court Case
• Congressional districts in Georgia had such big
  population differences that they violated the
  Constitution.
• Article I, Section 2 representatives shall be
  chosen by the people of the several States
  apportioned among the several Statesaccording
  to their respective numbers.
• Each mans vote in a Congressional election
  should count as much as anothers.

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Wesberry v. Sanders 1964

• Impact of Wesberry v. Sanders Suburbs and
  Cities have much greater representation now.
• It did NOT end Gerrymandering.

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Qualifications for House Members

• Constitution
• At least 25 years old.
• Citizen for at least 7 years
• Must live in the State they represent
• Custom
• Should live in the district they represent

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Qualifications for House Members

• Disqualifying an elected Candidate
• House is the judge of its own elections.
• If a member-elect is challenged majority vote can
  refuse to seat him/her.
• Only happened once Brigham H. Roberts of Utah
  Polygamist.
• The House also punishes its own members for poor
  behavior by majority vote.
• Doesnt happen frequently.
• 1990 Carney Frank (D., MA.) for relations with a
  male prostitute.
• He was openly gay and re-elected by his district.
• Kicks members out with 2/3 vote.
• Only happened 4 times in history.
• 3 for supporting the Confederacy
• 1 in 1980 for corruption (Michael Myers, D. from
  PA)

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The Senate

• Approx. 1/3 of todays Senators were once
  Representatives.
• No Representative ever served in Senate first.
• Senate is the Upper House

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Elections and Terms

• 2 Senators from each State
• 1789 22 members -gt grew to 26 in the 1st term.
• 2004 100 members.
• Constitution originally had members chosen by
  State legislatures.
• 17th Amendment (1913) Senators chosen by voters
  in each State.
• Elected from the State at Large.
• Unlimited amount of 6 year terms.
• 1/3 of Senate seats go up for re-election every 2
  years.
• Senate is a continuous body.
• Less pressure from public opinion, special
  interest groups, etc. than House
• Less pressure from their local population focus
  on the big picture.

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Qualifications for Senators

• At least 30 years old
• Citizen for at least 9 years
• Must live in the State they represent.
• Senate also administers its own elections.
• Can exclude a member-elect by majority vote
• Can punish members for poor behavior by majority
  vote.
• Infrequent (1990 David Durenberger, R. MN for
  financial misconduct).
• Can kick out a member with 2/3 vote.
• Been done 15 times. (14 during Civil War)
• 1 senator resigned to avoid this (1995, Bob
  Packwood, R. from Oregon Sexual Harassment
  charges)