US Congress

435 Originally only 64 in H of R – 1 rep for every 30,000 people 1810: 186 in H of R 1922: 435 in H of R 1929 Reapportionment Act: capped H of R at 435 What does that mean… – As US population grow your voice become fainter

House of Representatives Incumbent: already in office Constituents: people being represented Bill: proposed laws District: area of a representative Quorum: Minimum number of members needed to conduction official actions Censure: vote of formal disapproval of a member’s actions

House of Representatives Redistricting – Changing district borders to reflect changes in population – Census used to determine changes Census is a population count every 10 years Gerrymandering: to draw a district’s boundaries to gain an advantage in an election

House of Representatives (H of R) Committees – H of R so large is divides up jobs to be more efficient – Reps tend to focus in areas Especially area important to their constituents

House of Representatives (H of R) Speaker of the House – Leader of the H of R – Chosen by majority party in a caucus (closed mtg) – Powers: Recognize first members to speak Organizes the Calendars - bill schedules Appoint committee members 3 rd in succession to President

House of Representatives (H of R) Majority Leader – Top Assistant to the Speaker of the Houser Help plan the party’s legislative program Steer important bills through the House Make sure chairpersons work on important bills of the party Floor leader of his/her party Whips: assistants to the Majority Leader

House of Representatives (H of R) Minority Leader – Leader of the party with less than majority in H of R – Help plan the party’s legislative program – Steer important bills through the House

House of Representatives (H of R) 6 Purposes of House Leaders 1.Unify their party 2.Schedule work for House 3.Make sure members are there for votes 4.Communicate info 5.Stay in contact with the President 6.Influence members of their party

House of Representatives (H of R) Rules for Lawmaking – Complex Try to move legislation quickly once its on the floor – Limits to speaking – minutes per representative – Debates usually last only 1 day

Senate Elected “At-large”: as a whole, statewide Informal Atmosphere – Fewer rules that the H of R – Debate can last for long periods of time Weeks or months

Senate Leaders – Vice President is the President of the Senate – Powers are less that the Speaker of the House VP is NOT an elected member of the Senate Powers: – May recognize members to speak – Put questions to a vote VP may NOT vote on items unless there is a tie vote

Senate Leaders – Vice President is usually absent for Senate Mtgs President Pro Tempore – Runs the senate in the absence of VP – Chosen from the Majority Party Usually the most senior member

Senate Majority and Minority Leaders – Leaders of their parties – Whips assist them in their duties

Senate

Filibuster – Debates on bills have NO limit – A Senator keeps talking until the majority of the Senate agrees to abandon the bill or change it – Senators must stand and talk After the first 3 hours, the Senator may talk about anything he wants (read telephone book, etc) – Cloture If 3/5 of the Senate may vote to cloture or end a filibuster – Senator Thurmond spoke against the Civil Rights Act of 1957 for 24 hours and 18 minutes