All Legislative Powers will be vested in a Congress of the United States, which will consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. --Article I, Section I, Clause I

A Bicameral Congress Bicameral—two houses of legislature 3 Reasons 1. Historical—British Parliament had a bicameral house and so did most colonial assemblies 2. Practical—two houses would settle the conflict between large and small states on the issue of representation 3. Theoretical—two houses would be a way to diffuse power in the Congress and prevent it from being too powerful House of RepresentativesSenate

Congressional Terms Each term of Congress last for 2 years Example—elected senators will serve 3 terms and elected house members will serve 1 term Sessions begin on January 3 rd every odd numbered year

Sessions A session of Congress is the period of time during which, each year, Congress assembles and conducts business There are 2 sessions per term of Congress Congress usually stays in session through most of the year, due to pressing issues. However, it calls for several short recesses. One house cannot adjourn (end)without the consent of the other The President has the power to prorouge or adjourn a session

Special Sessions The President has the power to call an special sessions in cases of emergency

Capitol Hill

The Size and Terms Size: 435 members or seats (set by Congress) Seats are apportioned (distributed) among the states based on population All states are guaranteed at least one seat Non-states who send delegates: D.C., Guam, Virgin Islands, and American Samoa (non full-fledged members) Terms: Members serve 2 year terms No limit on terms

Reapportionment Reapportionment takes place after each decennial census (every 10 years) As the population grew so did the number of seats 1789—65 seats 1792—106 seats Today—435 seats New seats are sometimes added when new states are added to the Union After a census, if new seats are NOT added, seats may be redistributed (reapportionment)

Reapportionment Act of The permanent size of the House is 435 (each seat representing approximately 650,000 people) 2. The Census Bureau determines how many seats each state receives (10 years) 3. Census Bureau sends a plan to Congress 4. If, within 60 days neither house of Congress does not reject the plan, it becomes effective

2008 Presidential Election

Elections Elections are held on the same day in every state (Tuesday following the first Monday in November of each even-numbered year) Congressional elections that occur in non-presidential years are called off-year-elections The party in power will usually lose seats during this election

Districts There are 435 Congressional Districts across the country States are allowed to decide how to elect its members Single-member district—the voters in each district elect one member to the house from the district in which they reside General-ticket system—members are elected from the state as a whole (this is called at-large)

Qualifications House members must be: At least 25 years old A U.S. citizen for at least 7 years Reside in the district from which they are elected

Nevada’s Congressional Districts

Harry Reid (D) Nev.

Size Size: The Senate shall be composed of two Senators from every state Today, there are 100 members Senators represent the entire state Qualification standards are higher than the house Qualification standards are higher than the house

Elections Originally, Senators were chosen by state legislatures 17 th Amendment in 1913—allows Senators to be elected by the voters except when the seat has been vacated by death, resignation, or expulsion Only one Senator is elected from any given state during an election

Terms 6 year terms No term limits All time record: Strom Thurmand—elected 9 times Staggered elections—1/3 of the Senators will be elected during elections Continuous body—all of the seats are NEVER up for election at the same time.

Qualifications Senators must be: At least 30 years old A U.S. citizen for at least 9 years Reside in the state from which they are elected Senators can be punished for disorderly behavior Majority vote 2/3’s for expulsion

Personal and Political Backgrounds 535 members of Congress Not a good cross section of America Average age: House—54 Senate—60 Women House—59 Senate—13 Race African-American—39 Hispanics—21 Asian—6 Native American—1 Most members are married Religion Protestant—60% Catholic—25% Jewish—8% Over ½ are lawyers 4 of 5 have college degrees Several millionaires Experienced politicians

The Job Congressmen must balance the goals of the nation against the goals of their constituents 5 major roles 1. Legislators—pass laws 2. Reps of the People—4 voting options a. Trustee—vote on issues based on merit b. Delegates—they are agents to those who elected them c. Partisans—they owe allegiance to their party d. Politicos—an attempt to combine all three

3. Committee Members—2 duties a. Screen proposals and decide if they should go before congress to be considered for law proposalbilllaw b. Oversight function—ensure that the executive branch is executing the law effectively 4. Servants to their constituents— Try to help people with their various problems (social security, passport, small business loan) Failure to respond will hurt their chances for re-election 5. Politicians—deal in the realm of politics

Compensation Annual Salary-$150,000 Speaker of the House-$187,000 Pro Tem, majority and minority floor leaders-$162,000 FRINGE BENEFITS: Special tax deductions Travel allowances Cheap health insurance Excellent retirement Office in DC and home state Money to hire staff Franking Privilege (postage, printing, production of TV and radio ads) Legislative Immunity—cannot be sued for slander or libel