Congress explained

Organisation Congress is Bicameral The Senate consists of 2 Senators from each of the 50 states The House of Representatives has 435 members Elected from congressional districts of about equal population Every State must have at least 1 seat Alabama 7 House Seats Delaware 1 House Seat New York 34 House Seats

Party Structure The Democrats and Republicans These two dominate the process – Party with most seats is the MAJORITY party, those with the least MINORITY Before each new session the parties meet in a CAUCUS or a conference to choose party leaders and consider legislative issues and plans

Committees Committees prepare the bills to be voted on The system divides the work of processing legislation, enabling members to specialise. The majority party elects the Head of each Committee Also the majority party holds the most seats on the Committees

Role of the Vice-President The Head of the Senate Actually only appears on special occasions or to cast a vote, if there is a tie in the House The Senate normally elects a pro-tempore to serve in the V-P’s absence The Speaker is very important, with broad powers

The Vote A new Congress is elected every 2 years Voters elect all the representatives at this time, plus around 2/3rds of the Senate The Senate is a continuing body as it is never completely new

Which House is most powerful? Technically equal Could be argued that the Senate’s responsibilities re: Treaties and ratification of appointments gives it greater authority House has revenue raising powers, but Senate has full amendment powers Presidential candidates tend to come from the Senate – greater media coverage etc.

Continued…. A senators 6 year term gives them a chance to acquire a working knowledge of their subjects. The Congressman’s 2 year term is too short Senators elected by a whole state, not just a district of it Politicians as a whole are held in low self esteem by Americans, those who have improved themselves through industry are much more impressive.