Unit 4, Section 1:The National Legislature

Two Houses of Congress The Constitution creates a bicameral legislature for three reasons: Historical Practical Theoretical

Terms The length of time that officials serve after an election Two-year term House of Representatives Six-year term Senate Start of each new term: Noon on January 3rd, every odd-numbered year 20th Amendment

Sessions The regular period of time during which Congress conducts business. Congress can adjourn each sessions as it needs to to suspend until the next session If necessary, the President has the power to prorogue (to adjourn) a session. This can only happen when the two houses cannot agree on a date for adjournment.

Special Sessions Only the President may call Congress into a special session. There have only been 26 special session called This is a meeting to deal with an emergency situation. War Natural Disaster As a way to threaten congress to pass his legislation

Major Differences Between the House and Senate Larger Body (435 Members) Smaller Body (100 Members) Shorter Term (2 Years) Longer Term (6 Years) Smaller Constituencies (elected from districts within each state) Larger Constituencies (elected from entire state) Younger Membership Older Membership Less Prestige More Prestige Lower Visibility in the News Media Higher Visibility in the News Media Strict Rules, Limited Debate Flexible Rules, Nearly Unlimited Debate Most work is done in committees, not on the floor Work is split more evenly between committees and the floor No power over treaties and presidential appointments Approves or rejects treaties and presidential appointments

The House of Representatives

Size of The House 435 members The size is determined by Congress. The Constitution states that the total number of seats in the House shall be apportioned (distributed) among the States on the basis of their respective populations. smaller state = less seats larger state = more seats

Terms of The House 2 year terms No limit on number of terms a person can serve There have been attempts to limit the terms but nothing has gone through yet

Discussion What advantages are there to having so many people in the House? Disadvantages? What problems do you see with someone who serves a lot of terms?

Reapportionment of the House of Representatives Reapportion is to redistribute or reapportion the seats in the House after each every 10 years The 10 year census The Reapportionment Act of 1929 This act set the “permanent” size of the House at 435 members. It also provided for “automatic reapportionment.”

Current Apportionment

What general trend in population growth around the country does this map show?

How Are Members Of The House Elected?? The elections are held on the first Tuesday in November of each even-numbered year. They are called off-year elections Elections for congressional positions that are held between presidential elections.

Qualifications for House Members Formal qualifications: The Constitution says that a member of the House must be at least 25 years of age, must have been a citizen of the United States for at least seven years must have been an inhabitant of the State from which he or she is elected. Informal qualifications: party identification name familiarity Gender ethnic characteristics political experience

Congressional Districts Single-member district The voter’s in each district elect one of the State’s representatives. Districts are usually drawn up by population distribution The 435 members are chosen by voters in 435 separate congressional districts across the country

Congressional Districts Does it make any real difference which party controls a state legislature and governorship during the redistricting process?

Redrawing District Line Gerrymandering are districts that have unusual shapes The act of drawing odd shaped congressional districts to benefit a political party that controls the State legislature. This is illegal now!!

Gerrymandering Before After

The Senate

Size and Term Limits 100 Senators total 6-years term limit 2 from each State. This is determined in the Constitution. 6-years term limit The Senate is a continuous body All of its seats are never up for election at the same time. There is always a combination of “old” and “new” ideas in the Senate at all time.

Qualifications for Senators The requirements for the U.S. Senate are higher than for the House of Representatives. The Constitution says that a Senator (1) must be at least 30 years of age (2) must have been a citizen of the United States for at least nine years, and (3) must be an inhabitant of the State from which he or she is elected.

The Members of Congress

Profile of the 115th Congress

Questions to Ponder… Are the members of Congress (the Senate and House of Representatives) representative of all Americans? What problems happen because of this, if any?

Representatives of the People As a reminder, senators and representatives are elected to represent people…like you! They can vote in 4 ways: Trustee Delegate Partisan Politico

Trustee Voting is done based on the merit of each question Call issues as they see them They don’t take our views into consideration Other groups will not influence them

Partisan They feel a duty to vote in-line with the party platform They follow the wishes of the party leaders This is the leading factor as to why they vote a certain way

Delegates See themselves as agents of the people who elected them They should vote the way the people think They ignore their own views They ignore the view of their political party They ignore all outside influences

Politicos They attempt to combine: Trustee Delegate Partisan They try to balance all three conflicting views

Committee Members In Congress every proposed law is referred to committee The screen the proposal to see if it is good They make corrections if necessary They decide which house it will be read and voted on

Committee Oversight Function Congress will check what the other two branches are doing This is done in committee They make sure government is following all the laws

Why is it important for a representative to speak often with constituents?

Compensation Today, senators and representatives are paid a salary of $174,000 a year. Certain members, such as the Speaker of the House and the Senate’s president pro tem, are paid more.

Non-salary Compensations Each member receives fringe benefits There are tons!!! Special tax deductions Travel allowances Full medical coverage Retirement plans Several offices around the U.S. Gym memberships Free Parking

The Franklin Privilege Allows members of Congress to mail letters and other materials postage-free by substituting their facsimile signature (a symbol) for the postage. The Constitution says that Congress fixes its own “compensation.” Therefore, the only things that limit them are the President’s veto and fear of voter backlash against a pay increase.

Privileges in Congress While in Congress they are free from criminal charges (slander etc) as long as they are doing their job… Speech & Debate Clause (Article 1, Section 6, Clause 1) allows this.

Why are voters reluctant to see members of Congress increase their benefits and pay?