Legislative Branch: Congress

Constitutional Requirements: Congress House of Representatives Senate Age: 25 Citizenship: 7 years Residency: Live in the State. DO NOT have to live in the district they want to represent Age: 30 Citizenship: 9 years Residency: Live in the State they represent

House of Representatives: Size There are 435 members in the House. It is NOT set by the Constitution. The total number of seats is apportioned (distributed) among the States based on population. Each state is guaranteed at least one seat. Legislative Branch House of Representatives: Size 11/21: 2nd period needs more time- done w/ Kilmer

House of Representatives: Term Legislative Branch House of Representatives: Term Representatives are elected to two-year terms. No term limit “short 2 year term,” forces representatives to pay more attention to the wants and needs of the constituents in their districts. 5/12: 3rd ended here

Washington has ten representatives. Legislative Branch Washington has ten representatives. We live in the 6th Congressional District and Derek Kilmer (D) is our Representative. Norm Dicks 1977-2013 36 years 18 terms

House of Representatives: Districts Legislative Branch House of Representatives: Districts Members of the House chosen by the voters in voting districts in each state-districts are drawn by the State Legislature. Seats in the House are filled from single-member districts, voters in each district elect one of the State’s representatives. 1/12/16: 2nd period ended here

House of Representatives: Gerrymandering Gerrymandering - the act of drawing congressional districts to the advantage of the political party that controls the State legislature (“safe-districts”). Easily identifiable by the districts contorted shape.

3/28/17: 1st period ended here. Showed legex.org

Gerrymandering

3/28/17: 3rd per ended here watched video

3/28/17: 2nd period ended here and watched video

The Senate: Term six-year terms that are staggered so that only a third of the members are up for election every two years. This is known as a continuous body since all its seats are NEVER up for election at the same time. serve longer terms represent the views of their ENTIRE state, expected to focus less on the interests of individual constituents and more on the interests of entire State and the nation.

The Senators from WA Patty Murray, D 5th term Maria Cantwell, D 3rd term

Senate: Filibuster and Cloture The Cloture Rule Cloture: a way to limit or end debate. If at least 51 senators vote for cloture, no more than another 30 hours may be spent on the bill, essentially forcing a vote. Forcing a vote on a President’s Supreme Court nominee requires 60 votes. Filibuster A filibuster is an attempt to stall or stop legislation. Senators don’t show up for a vote Take the floor for debate and try to “talk a bill to death.” A senator may exercise his or her right of holding the floor as long as necessary, and in essence talk until a measure is dropped.

Senate Filibusters Strom Thurmond 24 hrs. 18 min. No audio…written transcript is 88 pages long Ted Cruz 2013: 21 hrs. 19 mins. Budget appropriations bill. Wanted to defund Obamacare. Cloture had already been filed. Senate had already voted to end debate and scheduled a vote. Rand Paul 2013: almost 13 hrs. Successfully pushed a vote to confirm President Obama’s nominee to the CIA. Stopped because he had to pee. Rand Paul 2015: 10 ½ hrs. Against Patriot Act, helped by 10 other Senators including Cruz. Break in the schedule so did not actually stall any legislation or Senate business. Rand Paul 2015 20 mins. Debt ceiling Gave up because cloture had already been filed.

Bill introduced in House  Bill introduced in Senate HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW Bill introduced in House  Bill introduced in Senate Bill assigned to committee Amendments offered Bill goes to Rules Committee Bill assigned for debate Bill brought to floor for debate Bill voted on If it fails, no other action until it is introduced again; if it passes and is the same as bill in Senate, it goes to the President. If it fails, no other action until it is introduced again; if it passes and is the same as bill in House, it goes to the President. Different versions passed go to a Senate/House conference committee where differences are ironed out   Bill goes back to full House for vote Bill goes back to full Senate for vote Bill passes and goes to President 5/18: 2nd ended here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66f4-NKEYz4

Videos you should watch!!!! Congressional Decision Making video How a Bill Becomes a Law video #1 How a Bill Becomes a Law #2