Unit 3 – Legislative Branch/Congress

The Capitol Building

The Capitol Building

Main Ideas Congress is bicameral, meaning divided into two houses/chambers. In the House of Representatives, the States are represented according to population. In the Senate, each State has 2 Senators. Congress meets for two-year terms

Two Houses of Congress House of Representatives Senate

The Constitution Congress is head of the Legislative Branch Congressmen have the job of translating the will of the public into public policy in the form of law James Madison called it “the first branch” of the National Government Article I of the Constitution created the Legislative Branch.

Bicameralism Why is Congress divided into two houses? Because founding fathers saw bicameralism as a way to diffuse the power of Congress, which prevented it from overwhelming the other two branches of government. NJ Plan & VA Plan

Congressional Terms Each term of Congress lasts 2 years. Beginning of each 2 year term is “noon of the 3rd day in January” of every odd numbered year. So Congressmen elected in November don’t start until January 3rd. While each term is 2 years, there are no term limits in Congress. This means the same Senator or Representative can stay in Congress for life as long as he/she keeps getting reelected.

Sessions A session of Congress is that period of time during each year when Congress assembles and conducts business. There are two sessions to each term of Congress, with one session each year. These sessions usually last most of the year, with several short weeklong breaks during a session.

Term Limits: Videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QORVqG3rN5Y&feat ure=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1& safe=active http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPRJMGnGrfE&feat ure=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1& safe=active

Special Sessions A special session is a meeting of Congress or an individual house to deal with some emergency situation. Only 27 special sessions of Congress have ever been called by the President. Most recent: President Truman in 1948 in the aftermath of WWII. Senate alone has been called into special session 46 times to consider treaties or presidential appointments, but not since 1933. President may call Congress into a special session, however Congressional leadership has as well…though their authority is not supreme.

House of Representatives Representation based on population Each state guaranteed 1 seat in the House. Example: Alaska & Delaware each have 1 representative. 435 Representatives total. Redistribution of the number of members takes place every 10 years, which coincides with the census.

Qualifications for the House Must be at least 25 years old Citizen of the U.S. for at least 7 years Must be an inhabitant of the State from which he or she is elected

Reapportionment Act of 1929 In 1920, The House kept getting bigger & bigger. Conducting business became difficult. 1920 census comes out & if Congress were to reapportion seats in the House, then some States would have to lose seats if every State were to be represented according to its population. The Answer? - 1929: The Reapportionment Act. Set the “permanent” size of Representatives at 435.

Districts Each Representative in the House represents their district We are in VA’s 10th Congressional district. Republican Barbara Comstock is our Rep. In small states with only one Representative, the district is the whole state, and the entire population votes – not just a district (Ex: Delaware & North Dakota).

The Senate Equal Representation (NJ Plan!) 6 year terms All time record – Republican Strom Thurmond was elected to the Senate 8 times, and served for 48 years. Each state gets 2 Senators That means, 100 Senators total. 50 x 2 = 100 Above: (D) Mark Warner (D) Tim Kaine 

Qualifications for the Senate At least 30 years old Citizen of the U.S. for at least nine years Must be an inhabitant of the State from which he or she is elected

The Senate The Founding Fathers hoped that the smaller Senate would be a more enlightened and responsible body than the House. They thought the House would be too often swayed by the immediate impact of events and by the passions of the moment “The World’s Greatest Deliberative Body”

The Senate The Senate is a “continuous body” This means that all of its seats are never up for election at the same time. 6 year terms give Senators some job security Since they represent an entire State, they have a huge constituency, which means the people and interests the Senators represent.

Comparing both Chambers of Congress House of Representatives The Senate Larger body (435 members) Smaller body (100 members) Shorter term (2 years) Longer term (6 years) Smaller constituencies (elected from districts within States) Larger constituencies (elected from the entire State) Younger members Older members Less prestige More prestige Most work done in committees, not on the floor Work is split more evenly between committees & the floor Strict rules, limited debate Flexible rules, nearly unlimited debate No power over treaties/presidential appointments Approves/rejects treaties & presidential appointments

Gerrymandering Happens today! Gerrymandering – District lines that have been drawn to the advantage of the political party that controls the State’s legislature Most often gerrymandering takes one of two forms: Lines are drawn to concentrate the oppositions voters in one or a few districts, thus leaving the other districts comfortable safe for the dominant party Or to spread the opposition as thinly as possible among several districts, limiting the oppositions ability to win anywhere in the region Happens today!

The Profile of Congress The average member is a white male in his early 50s. There are more women in Congress today than ever There are 46 African Americans, 32 Hispanics, 11 Asian Americans, and 2 Native American in the House. (most diverse in history) There is 2 African American, 3 Hispanics, 1 Asian American, and 0 Native Hawaiian in the Senate.

The Profile of Congress Well over 1/3rd in the House and well over ½ in the Senate are lawyers, and nearly all went to college. There are several multi-millionaires However, a surprisingly large number of the men and women who sit in Congress depend on their congressional salaries as their major source of income. So do these people represent the people?

How They Cast Their Votes Our representatives can vote on four different views 1.) Trustees – These representatives vote on the basis of themselves. They don’t represent their constituency. 2.) Delegate – These representatives vote on the basis of their constituency only. They vote on what “the folks back home would want.” 3.) Partisans – These representatives vote in line with the political party they identify with 4.) Politicos – A combination of all the above.

Salary and Benefits Senators and Representatives make $174,000 per year. A few make more: The Speaker of the House makes $223,500 per year House Minority/Majority floor leaders in both houses make $193,400 per year. They also receive special tax deductions They receive travel allowances to go to Washington Franking Privilege: Allows them to mail letters and other materials postage-free by substituting their signature instead of the postage.