Congress

A Bicameral Congress Bicameral legislature: legislature made up of two houses Part of it is historical like British parliament Done practically for both population and for equal state representation Done theoretically so one house might act as a check on the other

Terms and Sessions A congressional term is 2 years Start of new term is noon onjanuary 3rd Session: period of time congress assembles and conducts business Two sessions one for each year Adjourns until next session Each session usually goes nearly year round Recess: short break for several weeks during a session Special Session: President may call special session to deal with emergency situation

House of Representatives 435 members Seat apportioned among states based on population Each state guaranteed one Territories and DC vote a member in but they are not a full voting member Elected for two year terms No limit on number of terms they can serve

Reapportionment Distribution of seats in the house every ten years Done after each census House originally had 65 seats New congressman every 260,000 but population grew too large Capped members at 435 seats with reapportion Today average of 700,000 per representative

Congressional elections Held every two years Off-year elections: ones where there isn’t a presidential election Low turnout States decide district lines

Congressional Elections The Role of Party Identification Most members represent the majority party in their district. Defeating Incumbents Some incumbents face problems after a scandal or other complication in office. They may face redistricting. They may become a victim of a major political tidal wave.

Congressional Elections Open Seats Greater likelihood of competition. Stability and Change Incumbents provide stability in Congress. Change in Congress occurs less frequently through elections. Are term limits an answer?

Gerrymandering Drawing Districts to the advantage of one party versus the other

Qualifications for Office Formal Qualifications 25yrs old Citizen of US for 7 yrs Inhabitant of the state which they are elected Custom not constitution requires they live in district they represent House can refuse to seat members if deemed unqualified also can oust members by majority vote

Informal Qualifications Have to do with vote getting ability Party identity Name familiarity Gender Race Political experience Incumbents have advantage Name recognition Fundraising ability

The Senate 100 members 2 per state 6 year terms Founders hoped smaller size would encourage more enlightened individuals Only one senator from a state elected any given election No term limits Terms are staggered so only 33 to34 are elected each cycle Designed to be more picture versus small locality

Qualifications for office 30 years old US citizen for 9 years Inhabitant of state elected in Informal qualifications Incumbency also valuable

Members of Congress 535 members of congress Not representative of American population Average member is a white male in their 50’s (57 house, 63 Senate) More women than ever before More minorities than before as well Most Christian

The Job Five major roles Lawmakers have 4 voting options Legislators Representatives of their constituents Committee members Servants of their constituents Politicians Lawmakers have 4 voting options Delegates- serve people who elected them Trustees- question they face decide on merits Partisans- allegiance to party Politicos- combine basics of the three

The Job Committee members Servants of the people Committees screen bills decide if it should go for floor consideration Oversight through committees to ensure executive branch enacts policies Servants of the people Do things to help folks back home Responding to requests of constituents

Compensation Salary: $174,000 per year for most members Speaker of the House: $223,500 Vice President: $227,300 Senate floor leader: $193,400

Compensation “fringe benefits Special tax deduction for two residencies Travel allowances Fully paid health care Generous retirement Provided with offices in Washington and in home state or district Franking Privilege (mail postage free) Approves own pay raises to take affect after next election Protected from libel or slander suit from floor debate