THE US CONGRESS Chapters 10: Sections 1 & 2

T he primary duty of Congress is to write, debate, and pass bills. The north wing (left) houses the Senate, while the south wing (right) houses the House of Representatives. US Congress- What is the purpose of Congress? Why did the Constitution establish a Bicameral legislation?

Historic & practical reasons for bicameral Congress. British Parliament; idea from Britain. Constitution Convention- Compromise

House is based on population of the state Senate- equal representation- each state has two senators Separation of Power- Two Houses Check each other!!

Vocabulary Terms for Congress  Term- An assigned period of time for an elected official to serve  House of Representatives- 2 years  Senate- 6 years  Sessions- A period of time each year when the Congress meets to talk about laws  Two sessions in a term!  Adjourn, end of a meeting-usually starts in January and ends in late fall.

Congress & Sessions  Other Vocab Terms  Convenes – when they begin work in a session  Recess – short breaks during a session  Special Session – called by President to solve an issue- emergency  27 in history – Truman’s in 1948 last one

There are NO term limits on Congress Congressmen can be elected over and over again…..

Each state is divided in districts Each district elects its own representative House of Representatives & Population

When we vote in Media, we are only voting for one House member, one representative out of the total number for PA in U.S. Congres How many districts are in PA? What district is Media?

Several ways congressional districts change Re-appropriation after a census & Gerrymandering! What happens if a state decreases or increases in population?

Census every 10 years in the U.S.

US Census & Re-Apportionment of House Members Census

Bases on the Census, district lines are redrawn…Reapportionment  Gerrymandering –an unfair drawing of district lines, giving a party or a group an advantage. “kidnapping” – redraw lines to move an incumbent into a district less likely to be reelected

Gerrymandering….  Packing, state legislators “pack” as many opposing voters into a single district as possible.  Ex. Republicans may “pack” democrats into only 1 district, and republicans into many…  Cracking-the party in power splits up (spread out) voters who support the opposing party.  Ex. Republicans may spread out the democrats so they can never win in a district. Packing Cracking

Analysis the Cartoons?

Reapportionment Act of 1929 – set 435 as permanent number of Reps!

House of Representative term = two year Senators every term = 6 years President’s and Governors term = four years Every two years we have elections in the U.S. How often do we have elections?

There are many districts in the U.S., states with high populations have more districts. Every 2 years all 435 House Members are up for election!

Elections Every 2 years- Even years All 435 House members; election every 2 years Elections fall on even years!

Every 2 years; 1/3 of Senate seats up for election

Party control of Governors' offices after January 11, Democratic Governor- Blue Republican Governor- Red Independent Governor- Independent Governors/ Executives of State- Elections vary…

112 Congress- Pres. Obama 193 Democrats, 242 Republicans 51 Democrats, 47 Republicans, 2 Independents

113 Congress; President’ Obama Which party controls the House & Senate?

Midterm Elections- November 2014

Which party will take control of Congress? Governors race too!

Speaker of the House= leader  Elected by the majority party members in the House  Runs the business of the House  If President & V. President cannot serve, he becomes the President.