Congress Chapter 10

Congress Where is Congress established? – Article I Two Houses – Senate – House of Representatives Why was Congress established with two houses? – Parliament – Connecticut Compromise – Check the power of Congress

Terms Term – Length of time officials serve following elections How long do members of Congress serve? – House – 2 year terms – Senate – 6 year terms Congressional term – 2 years – Currently, it is the 114 th Congress – Term begins at noon on Jan. 3 rd in odd-numbered years

Sessions Session Time during which Congress conducts business Two sessions per term One session per year Begins on Jan 3 rd unless Congress sets a different date Adjourn End the session Both houses must agree on a date

Sessions How long is a session? No set length Prior to WWII, lasted about 5 months Now, last throughout the year Congress recesses several times during a session President may prorogue a session when the houses cannot agree on a date to adjourn President may call a special session No President has called one since Truman

House of Representatives

Size and Terms 435 members Seats are apportioned among the states based on population Every state guaranteed 1 seat 2 year term How many terms can a Congressperson serve?

Qualifications for Members Formal 25 years old Must have been a US citizen for 7 years Inhabit the state you represent Custom Live in the district you represent

Illinois 18 th District Darin LaHood

Reapportionment What is reapportionment? When does it happen?

Growing Nation First House - 65 members After 1790 census How did Congress deal with the problem in 1920?

Reapportionment Act of 1929 Automatic reapportionment “permanent” size of 435 Census Bureau determines the number of seats each state should have President must send it to Congress If Congress doesn’t reject it within 60 days, it takes effect

What trend do you notice from the map? 7 states have 1 seat –Alaska, Delaware, Montana, N. Dakota, S. Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming D.C., Guam, Virgin Islands, and American Samoa have a delegate Puerto Rico has a commissioner

Congressional Elections Held on same day in every State –Tuesday following 1 st Monday in Nov of each even-numbered year Off-year elections Incumbents

Districts Each member is chosen by voters in one of the 435 districts Districts are NOT mentioned in Constitution Single-member district General ticket system –Seats filled at-large Average District = 710,767 people

Gerrymandering Drawing districts to the advantage of a political party Packing Cracking

Ideal Districts “contiguous territory” Nearly an equal number of inhabitants “Compact territory”

House Rule House judges the elections and qualifications of its own members If qualifications challenged, House decides May refuse to seat a member or punish members with majority vote May expel members with 2/3rds vote –4 expelled members, 3 in 1861, 1 in 1980

Vacancies Governor will call for special election if there is an open seat –Resignation –Kicked out –Death

Officers Choose their own leaders and officers –Speaker of the House Paul Ryan Sole power to impeach –Accusing

Section 3 Senate Dick Durbin (D)Mark Kirk (R)

Size and Election 100 members, 2 from each State –1 vote Senators originally chosen –State legislatures –17 th Amendment changes that

Term 6 years Continuous Body –Staggered terms – 1/3 of Senate up for re- election every 2 years Why were Senators given a 6 year term? –Less concerned with public opinion and special interests

Qualifications 30 years old US citizen for at least 9 years Resident of State from which he/she is elected Senate judges qualifications of members May punish and expel members How do these differ from the House?

Officers Vice President is the presiding officer –Only votes if there is a tie

Officers Choose their own officers –President Pro Tempore Presides when VP is gone Patrick Leahy (D) Vt.

Impeachment Sole power to try all impeachments If president is on trial then Chief Justice of Supreme Court presides Takes 2/3 majority to convict

Impeachment Punishment only extends to removal of office –Can not hold any “Office of Honor” –Still subject to criminal hearing as well

Constituencies The people and interests a political figure represents How does a Senator’s constituency differ from a House member’s?

Vacancies If a vacancy occurs in the Senate, the state’s governor may appoint a new member

House Senate 435 members 2 year terms Small constituencies Younger membership Strict rules, limited debate Most work done in committees 100 members 6 year terms Large constituencies Older membership Flexible rules, nearly unlimited debate Work split between committees and floor

Section 4 Congress may set the day for elections Tues. after 1 st Monday in November of Even numbered years

Section 5 Must have a Quorum to conduct official business –Simple majority (218, 51) Members not present can be rounded up and taken to the chambers Both houses keep a journal (Congressional Record) –Made public by a vote of 1/5 of members present

Section 5 Neither house can adjourn for more than 3 days without the others consent

Section 6 Members of both houses are to be paid through the treasury –Pay can not change during term Can not hold another civil office while serving in Congress