1. Chapter 5 Section 2 (pgs.140-142) How Congress is Organized
Essential Question: What are the similarities and differences in structure in the two houses of Congress?

2. Terms and Sessions (pgs.140-141)
The 20th Amendment established Congress’ term started at 12 pm on 1/3 of every odd-numbered year
The 1st Congress started in 1789
Today’s Congress is the 113th
Each term of Congress is divided into 2 sessions
Sessions: meetings of Congress
When Congress finishes it legislative work, both houses are dismissed, ending that session
The president can call for one or both houses for a special session after they’ve been dismissed
Both houses work mostly independently of each other, but do occasionally meet for a joint session
Joint Sessions include the president’s State of the Union address each year
What is the difference between a regular session and a special session of Congress?

3. Organization of Congress (pg.141)
There’s only 3 rules in the Constitution about how Congress should be organized:
1) The House of Representatives is to select a presiding officer (the Speaker of the House)
2) The United States vice president to be named the president of the Senate
3) The Senate is to select a presiding office in the vice president’s absences
Political parties conduct a caucus shortly after the start of each term of Congress
Caucuses: meetings of party leaders to determine party policy or to choose the party’s candidates for public office
Party members select the own leaders in these meetings
The majority party is the political party with the most members in each house
The minority party is the political party with fewer members in each house

4. Organization Structure of Congress (pg. 141)
All parties in both houses have floor leaders and leadership on lower levels
Each party’s floor leader has a top assistant called an whip
Whip: the assistant to the floor leader in each house of Congress who tries to persuade party members to vote for bills the party supports
Second in command in each party is the chairman. They’re responsible for running their party’s individual meetings
Both houses have committees that are consist of Congress members from multiple parties
Committees have subcommittees within them that also include Congress members from multiple parties
The subcommittees consider and hold hearings regarding specific legislation before it is taken up by the full committee
Each committee has a chairperson who is from the majority party
Each committee’s highest ranking minority member is usually the longest serving party member on the committee

5. Organization of the Senate (pgs.141-142)
The Senate has a president pro tempore since the vice president usually doesn’t attend Senate meetings
President Pro Tempore: the official who presides over the Senate in the vice president’s absence
The Senate has about 20 committees

6. Organizations of the House of Representatives (pg.142)
The presiding officer in the House of Representatives is called the Speaker of the House. They’re always a member from the majority party in the House of Representatives
Speaker of the House: the presiding officer of the House of Representatives
The Speaker of the House determines which representatives get to speak on the House floor and for how long. This power allows the speaker to influence what ideas are and aren’t heard during meetings
The basic organizational structure of the House of Representatives is the same as Senate, but on a bigger scale. The House has more members and committees.