Congress Chapter 10

Congress Where is Congress established? Two Houses Article I Two Houses Senate House of Representatives Why was Congress established with two houses? Parliament Connecticut Compromise Check the power of Congress

Terms Term How long do members of Congress serve? Congressional term Length of time officials serve following elections How long do members of Congress serve? House – 2 year terms Senate – 6 year terms Congressional term 2 years Currently, it is the 115th Congress Term begins at noon on Jan. 3rd in odd-numbered years

Sessions Session Time during which Congress conducts business Two sessions per term One session per year Begins on Jan 3rd unless Congress sets a different date Adjourn End the session Both houses must agree on a date

Sessions How long is a session? No set length Prior to WWII, lasted about 5 months Now, last throughout the year Congress recesses several times during a session President may prorogue a session when the houses cannot agree on a date to adjourn President may call a special session No President has called one since Truman

House of Representatives Section 2

Size and Terms 435 members Seats are apportioned among the states based on population Every state guaranteed 1 seat 2 year term How many terms can a Congressperson serve?

Qualifications for Members Formal 25 years old Must have been a US citizen for 7 years Inhabit the state you represent Custom Live in the district you represent

Illinois 18th District Darin LaHood

Reapportionment What is reapportionment? When does it happen?

Growing Nation First House - 65 members After 1790 census - 106 1800 - 142 1810 - 186 1910 - 435

Reapportionment Act of 1929 Automatic reapportionment “permanent” size of 435 Census Bureau determines the number of seats each state should have President must send it to Congress If Congress doesn’t reject it within 60 days, it takes effect

What trend do you notice from the map? 7 states have 1 seat Alaska, Delaware, Montana, N. Dakota, S. Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming D.C., Guam, Virgin Islands, and American Samoa have a delegate Puerto Rico has a commissioner

Congressional Elections Held on same day in every State Tuesday following 1st Monday in Nov of each even-numbered year Off-year elections Incumbents

Districts Each member is chosen by voters in one of the 435 districts Districts are NOT mentioned in Constitution Single-member district General ticket system Seats filled at-large Average District = 710,767 people

Gerrymandering Drawing districts to the advantage of a political party Packing Cracking

Ideal Districts “contiguous territory” Nearly an equal number of inhabitants “Compact territory”

House judges the elections and qualifications of its own members If qualifications challenged, House decides May refuse to seat a member or punish members with majority vote May expel members with 2/3rds vote 5 expelled members, 3 in 1861, 1 in 1980, 1 in 2002

Wesberry v Sanders, 1964 Population differences between Georgia’s districts violated Constitution One person’s vote should be roughly equal to another’s Outcome?

Senate Section 3 Dick Durbin (D) Tammy Duckworth (D)

Size and Election 100 members, 2 from each State How were Senators originally chosen? State legislatures 17th Amendment

Term 6 years Continuous Body Why were Senators given a 6 year term? Staggered terms – 1/3 of Senate up for re-election every 2 years Why were Senators given a 6 year term? Less concerned with public opinion and special interests

Constituencies The people and interests a political figure represents How does a Senator’s constituency differ from a House member’s?

Qualifications 30 years old US citizen for at least 9 years Resident of State from which he/she is elected Senate judges qualifications of members May punish and expel members How do these differ from the House?

House Senate 435 members 2 year terms Small constituencies Younger membership Strict rules, limited debate Most work done in committees 100 members 6 year terms Large constituencies Older membership Flexible rules, nearly unlimited debate Work split between committees and floor

Answer these question on a separate sheet of paper. What was the Framers’ intention for the Senate? What characteristics of the Senate help it to achieve that goal?

Members of Congress 10.4

Background Race/Ethnicity/Gender Mostly white males 108 women 48 African Americans, 38 Hispanics 14 Asian-Americans or Pacific Islanders 2 Native American Age 61 for Senators, 57 for House Prior Work Politics/government – 331 Business – 273 Law – 202 Education – 105 Military – 101 Education 100% of Senate and 94% of House have Bachelor’s Degrees 213 have Law Degrees, 98 have Master’s Degrees 23 Doctoral Degrees, 22 Medical Degrees Religion – 92% Christian 57% Protestant 31% Catholic 5.2% Jewish 3% Mormon 2 Buddhists, 2 Muslims, 1 Hindu

54 Republicans 44 Democrats 2 Independents

188 Democrats 245 Republicans 2 Vacant

Roles of a Congressperson Legislator Representative of their constituents Committee members Servants for their constituents Politicians

Representatives Committee Members Servants Trustee Oversight function Delegate Partisans Politicos Committee Members Oversight function Servants Deal with bureaucracy Personal tours Appointment to military Business loan

Salary and Benefits Regular Member $174,000 Senate Leadership Majority Party Leader - $193,400 Minority Party Leader - $193,400 House Leadership Speaker of the House - $223,500 Majority Leader - $193,400 Minority Leader - $193,400 Non Salary Benefits Housing Tax deduction Travel allowances Insurance Pension Franking privilege