Congress

“Pro and con are opposites, that fact is clearly seen. If progress means to move forward, then what does congress mean?” - Nipsey Russell “The only difference between death and taxes is that death doesn't get worse every time Congress meets.” - Will Rogers

Congress US CAPITOL BUILDING Legislative Branch – “makes laws”

Founders’ Intentions 1.Strongest branch 2.Separation of lawmaking power from executive 3.The process was intentionally design to move slowly 4.Bicameralism balances large/small states House – more connected to people (2 yr term) Senate – allows for mature, independent thinking (6 yr term) The “cooling saucer”

Constitutional Powers Article I, Section 8 To lay and collect taxes, duties, imports To borrow money To regulate commerce (states and foreign) To establish rules for naturalization To coin money To create courts (except Supreme Court) To declare war To raise and support an army and navy

Evolution of Powers Elastic clause has extended Congress powers Oversight of budget – can restrict the federal budget prepared by executive branch Appropriations – set amount of money made available for various activity in a fiscal year Investigation – Congress can launch investigations (Watergate, Clinton-Lewinski hearings, Steroids in baseball, Bengazi)

113 th Congress

The Members –535 Members – 100 Senators and 435 Representatives. –House members – At least age 25 and U.S. citizens for 7 years. –Senators – At least age 30 and U.S. citizens for 9 years. –All members must reside in state (and district) from which they are elected.

The Members Most members were lawyers (211) or business persons (214) –this includes some overlap, released exams have stress LEGAL as the most common profession 93% of House Members and 99% of Senators hold at least a Bachelor’s Degree 98% of current members cite a specific religious affiliation

The Members continued Of those with specific affiliation: 98% self identify as Christian 56% are Protestant (Baptist is most represented) 31% are Catholic 6.2% are Jewish 2.8% are Mormon 3 members are Buddhist 2 members are Muslim 1 Member is Hindu

A Representative Democracy… HOUSE MEMBERS SENATE MEMBERS % of 113 th Congress % of U.S. Population AFRICAN AMERICAN HISPANIC ASIAN AMERICAN NATIVE AMERICAN FEMALE

Why Not More Women????? Women are the most under represented “minority” group in Congress. The 113 th Congress is a record high for number of female members. Women with children run for office less than men because of child care responsibilities. Women are less likely than are men to run when they perceive their odds to be poor.

Elections House members have always been directly elected by the citizens Senators are directly elected after passage of the 17 th Amendment Incumbents have an advantage – Why? –We tend to think very little of Congress, but we love our own congressman! –This is the most frequently tested concept on the AP Government Exam!!

THE INCUMBENCY ADVANTAGE Incumbents – Those already holding office. In congressional elections, incumbents usually win. House elections – 90% of the incumbents seeking reelection win and most of them win with more than 60% of the vote. Senate elections - 75% of Senate incumbents seeking reelection win.

THE INCUMBENCY ADVANTAGE MONEY –Incumbents usually raise more than challengers –PACs usually contribute to incumbents that have a proven record of support instead of challengers –Incumbents usually outspend challengers by a 2 to 1 margin

THE INCUMBENCY ADVANTAGE VISIBILITY –Incumbents usually are better known by the voters than their challengers –Incumbents have more opportunities for public appearances in their home districts and for more free media coverage than do challengers –Senators tend to have state-wide visibility which can sometimes hurt them more than House members

THE INCUMBENCY ADVANTAGE CASEWORK (a.k.a. constituency service) –Incumbents have the opportunity to do things that help their constituents and get a favorable reputation for taking care of the voters. –This can be accomplished… individually (application to a service academy or cutting through bureaucratic “red tape”) collectively with “pork” (bringing money and jobs to their district through government contacts, business incentives, or special projects)

THE INCUMBENCY ADVANTAGE THE FRANKING PRIVILEGE –Members of Congress “don’t need no stinkin’ stamps!!” (with apologies to the The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and B. Traven) –Members of Congress can send mail to their constituents at the government’s expense –This has recently been extended to s and recorded phone calls

THE INCUMBENCY ADVANTAGE GERRYMANDERING –district boundaries are redrawn in strange ways to make it easy for candidate of one party to win –Easley v. Cromartie (2001) – upholds the practice of redistricting for political ideology –Gerrymandering remains constitutional and widely practiced

Illinois 4 th District

Pa. 17 th in 2008

Pa. 15 th in 2012

Gerrymandering NOT

Incumbency through the years…

Congressional Turnover Incumbents lose when : One tarnished by scandal or corruption becomes vulnerable to a challenger. Redistricting may weaken the incumbency advantage. Major political tidal wave may defeat incumbents. Open Seats Greater likelihood of competition. Most turnover occurs in open seats.

Changing Congressional House Districts Reapportionment –House districts are redrawn to reflect the gain or loss of seats as a result of a census –Reapportionment Act of 1929 set the permanent size of the House at 435 seats –In 1842 Congress established that all House seats would be filled from single-member districts –That same law established that state legislatures would be responsible to draw the boundary lines of its congressional districts

Limits on Reapportionment Malapportionment –Baker v. Carr (1962) – established that the courts could rule on reapportionment cases. –Wesberry v. Sanders (1964) - found unequal district population totals unconstitutional based on the 14 th amendment –Reynolds v. Sims (1964) - established the idea of “one person, one vote” ****The exception is that each state is entitled to at least 1 seat in the house

Limits on Reapportionment Districts must be equally populated Districts must be compact and have contiguous boundary lines Redistricting cannot dilute minority strength District lines cannot be drawn solely on basis of race (race can be one of a variety of factors that are considered)