Chapter 10 Congress

The National Legislature Bicameral Congress Historical: British Parliament Practical: all states get equal representation regardless of size Theoretical: one house could check the other

Congressional Terms Each term lasts two years Election in November Term begins in January

Congressional Session Period of time when Congress meets and conducts business Two Sessions One session per year

Special Sessions A meeting to deal with an emergency Only the president can call a special session

The House of Representatives Size 435 members Based on state population Each state gets at least one Terms Two years

Reapportionment Redistribute seats after every census (every 10 years) A Growing Nation As the population grew, the size of the House grew The Reapportionment Act of 1929 Automatic reapportionment Set number of 435 State proportions are set after each census

Congressional Elections Date Same in every state Tuesday following the first Monday in November each even numbered year Off-Year Elections Occur in even years when there is no presidential election

Congressional Elections Districts States are responsible for drawing district lines In 2001, Mississippi lost one of its votes in Congress and had to redraw district lines. We have 4 representatives Gerrymandering Cause odd shaped districts

Qualifications for House Members Formal 25 years old Citizen of the U.S. for 7 years Live in the state from which he/she is elected Informal Vote-getting abilities Party identification Name familiarity Ethnic characteristics Political experience

The Senate Size Election Two from each state 100 17th amendment states that the voters choose senators, not members of the state legislature

The Senate Terms Qualifications Serve 6 year terms Unlimited amount of terms Qualifications At least 30 years old Citizen of U.S. for 9 years Live in the state represented

The Members of Congress Average member is a white male in his early 50s Number of minority members is growing Mostly protestant (60%) Many were lawyers Almost all went to college

The Job-Five Major Roles of Congress Legislators-make laws Representatives of the people Trustees: vote on the merit of the issue Delegates:vote the way they think their constituents would Partisans: vote the way their party would Politicos:combination of all three

The Job-Five Major Roles of Congress Committee Members-decide if a proposal makes it onto the floors of the Senate and the House to be considered for law Servants-help out constituents who have problems with the federal bureaucracy (paperwork, chain of command, etc.) Politicians- try to keep their seat

Compensation Salary Non-salary compensation $174,000 a year Special tax deduction Travel allowances Low healthcare costs Retirement plan Some can retire with a salary of $150,000 a year Offices with a staff

Membership Privileges Cannot be arrested unless they have committed treason, a felony, or breach of the peace Cannot be sued for anything they say in session