Warm-Up (37L) – What do we already know/ remember? Answer the following Qs (you do NOT need to write the question). Make an educated guess even if you’re not certain. What is the purpose of the legislative branch? What political party has the majority in the House? In the Senate? Who are the 2 Senators from NC? Which party do each of them represent? Who is Speaker of the House? How many people are there in the House? In the Senate? How is # of people in the House determined for each state?

The US Legislative Branch

Congress Is bicameral What does this mean? Why do we have a bicameral legislature?

Special session: meet in times of emergency Congressional terms Each term lasts 2 years Starts Jan 3rd of odd-numbered years Divided into 2 sessions (1 session/ 1 yr, so 1 full term is technically 2 sessions) Special session: meet in times of emergency

Members of Congress Senate 100 members 435 members Based upon? HoR 100 members Based upon? Term length: 6 yrs/ staggered elections Qualifications 30 y.o. Live in state you rep. US citizen 9 yr 435 members Based upon? Term length: 2 yrs Qualifications 25 y.o. Live in state you rep. US citizen 7 yr

Congressional Leaders Majority party: political party w/ more than ½ the members (other party is minority party) Each chamber (Senate/HoR) chooses their leaders Senate: President Pro Tempore (Pro Tem)- acts as chairperson of Senate (ceremonial) Vice President: president of Senate; only votes in case of a tie HoR: Speaker of the House most powerful Steers legislation, in charge of debate, influences business

Intended Purpose? Senate HoR Provide stability; continuity; in-depth deliberation Represent constituents Reflect will of average citizen Represent constituents

Other perks…. Membership: college degree; involved w/ community; ½ are lawyers Salary: $174,000 (but Speaker of House, 220k+; Leaders + Pres Pro Tem, 193k) Other privileges: free parking; free office space; trips to home states; send job- related mail w/o paying postage [franking privilege]; immunity in certain situations

Responsibilities of each chamber Senate HoR Confirms presidential nominations Requires 2/3 vote to ratify treaties Holds impeachment trial Must begin all revenue bills (AKA appropriation bills) Brings charges of impeachment

Congressional Committees (where most work gets done!) Standing committee (permanent – always there) Select committee: created to a special job for limited time Joint committee: members from both HoR & Senate Conference committee: temporary committee that helps Senate/ House agree on details of proposed law

Committee Assignments (who decides who does what?) Assignments made by party leaders Leaders consider peoples’ preferences & mostly their seniority ----------------- Membership on committees is proportional to that party’s rep. in that chamber (more Repbs in House = more Repbs on House committee) Longest-serving majority member usually becomes chairperson of a committee Chairpeople of standing committees are most powerful people in Congress

Congressional districts (how do we decide who represents what in HoR?) State legislatures have power to draw congressional districts for HoR Each district must be equal in population Each state gets at LEAST 1 Representative Redistricting occurs after census (every 10 yr) to accommodate population shifts Gerrymandering: drawing district lines to favor a particular party What is gerrymandering? TEDx https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcUDBgYodIE