1. Chapter 10: Congress

2. Congress—The Legislative Branch makes laws
“All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.”
-Article I, Section I

3. bicameral 2 houses Why? The Senate The House of Representatives
historical reason
practical reason
theoretical reason
Why?
Historical: it’s what the British had
Practical: a compromise between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan (how to decide representation)
Theoretical: one house acts as a check on the other; a way to diffuse the power of Congress (the most powerful of the branches)

4. “There are two periods when Congress does no business: one is before the holidays, and the other is after.” -George D. Prentice
Terms of Congress
2 years; each term numbered consecutively
112th Congress began in 2011
start of the term is “noon of the 3rd day of January” (in odd-numbered years)
Sessions of Congress
period of time during which Congress conducts business
President can call Congress into special session
Used to start in March—changed with the 20th amendment in 1933
President can call Congress into special session to deal with an emergency situation—only 26 special sessions of Congress have been called
Less likely today, because Congress meets nearly year-round as opposed to 4-5 months of year it used to meet

5. The House of Representatives
House is often described as the branch of Congress closest to the people because of the short terms and relatively small districts of members.

6. House of Representatives
435 members
apportioned (distributed) among the States based on population
each state is guaranteed at least one representative
non-voting delegates from:
District of Columbia
Guam
American Samoa
Virgin Islands
Northern Mariana Islands
Puerto Rico
435 members—not fixed by Constitution, but set by Congress
Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming have one representative apiece

7. Terms for Representatives
2-year terms
keeps them paying attention to “the folks back home”
no Constitutional limit on number of terms served
For members of the House, the next election is “just around the corner”

8. Qualifications for the House
must be at least 25 years of age
must have been a citizen of the United States for at least 7 years
must be an inhabitant of the state from which he or she is elected
3. Longstanding custom dictates that the person must also be a resident of the district he or she represents

9. Congressional Elections
First Tuesday, after the first Monday in November, of each even-numbered year (since 1872)

10. Off-year Elections: congressional elections in nonpresidential years
2006, 2010, 2014
typically, the party of the President loses seats in these elections

11. reapportionment reapportion = redistribute
done every 10 years (after a census)
first House had 65 seats
Constitution directs that seats be reapportioned after every census
First House had 65 seats; every 10 years, after a census, seats were added to account for raises in population
By 1920, the House had grown too large, so rather than reapportion and take seats away from states, Congress did nothing
Reapportionment act of 1929:
The “permanent” size of the House is 435.
After each census, the census bureau determines how many seats each state should have
President sends the bureau’s plan to congress
If neither house rejects the plan within 60 days, it becomes effective
Redistricting Game Website:

12. Have students create 18 districts on their map of Ohio with no rules/regulations. (Activity #1 from lesson plan)

14. seats in the House are filled from single-member districts
State legislatures are responsible for drawing congressional districts in a state
districts must be made up of “contiguous territory”
districts have “as nearly as practicable an equal number of inhabitants”
districts should be of “compact territory”
Single-member district: voters in a district elect one of the State’s representatives from candidates running from that district
Contiguous territory: it must be all one piece
Compact territory: a comparatively small area
Have students “fix” their district map, paying attention to the three qualifications above—hand out population map of Ohio to help
*These requirements were largely ignored by states and Congress did not enforce them. As a result, districts have been drawn with very peculiar geographic shapes and until recently many districts were of varying populations.

15. gerrymandering
gerrymandering-drawing districts to the advantage of the political party that controls the State’s legislature
lines are drawn to
concentrate the opposition’s voters in one or a few districts (leaving other districts safe for the dominant party)
spread the opposition as thinly as possible (limiting their ability to win)

16. Cartoon of “the original gerrymander”—named for Governor Elbridge Gerry of MA—1812 drew the states districts to favor the Democratic-Republicans
Map: Illinois 4th Congressional District
Gerrymandering activity from lesson plan—
Look at real Ohio district map to compare

17. The United States Senate

18. The Senate— our “upper house”
Which college is more prestigious—a large college that is fairly easy to get into or a small college with higher entrance standards?
Bellringer page 275
The Senate—
our “upper house”

19. Organization of the Senate
Constitution says each state has 2 senators
“more enlightened and responsible body”
Senators represent the entire state
larger, more diverse population, broader range of interests
First Senate had 22 members

20. Election of Senators originally chosen by state legislatures
1913—17th Amendment provided for the direct election of senators
only one elected at a time

21. Term of a Senator 6 years—no term limits staggered terms
33 or 34 seats expire every 2 years (continuous body)
longer term means less susceptibly to pressures of special interests
bigger constituency means focused on the “big picture”
tends to be a bigger public figure
Continuous body: never the whole body up for reelection at one time

22. Qualifications of a Senator
at least 30 years
citizen for at least 9 years
inhabitant of state from which he or she is elected (no time requirement)

23. Senators vs. Representatives
Choose 5 differences between a senator and a representative.
Create a T-Chart that shows these differences.
Under each difference, write a pro for each side.
Senate
House
Term Length
6 years
2 years
Pro for Each ?

24. Major differences between the House and the Senate
larger body (435 members)
smaller body (100 members)
shorter term (2 years)
longer term (6 years)
smaller constituencies
(elected from districts within a state)
larger constituencies
(elected from the entire state)
younger membership
older membership
less prestige
more prestige
lower visibility in the news media
higher visibility in the news media
strict rules, limited debate
flexible rules, nearly unlimited debate
most work is done in committees, not on the floor
work is split more evenly between committees and the floor
no power over treaties and presidential appointments
approves or rejects treaties and presidential appointments

25. Who is the “average” member of Congress?
Congress is NOT a cross-section of the American people

26. Average member is a white male in his early 50’s (median age of the House is 55; Senate is 60)
Today there are more women, Afr-Amer; Hispanics; Asian-Amer; Native Americans than ever before
Average is married with 2 children
Christian (60% Protestant; 30% Catholic)
Over 1/3 of House and ½ of Senate are lawyers
Nearly all went to college; 4/5 have college degree and most have an advanced degree
Most were born in the state they represent
A few are millionaires, but most depend on their Congressional salary for their livelihood
Most have been in politics for awhile

27. Profile of the 113th Congress
Began in January 2001

28. Members of Congress Play 5 Roles:
legislators
representatives of constituents
committee members
servants of constituents
politicians

29. Salary of Congress as of 2011 Senators and Representatives $174,000
Speaker of the House $223,000
Vice President 230,700
Senate’s pro tem and majority and minority leaders $193,000
+ fringe benefits

30. The Powers of Congress

31. strict vs. liberal construction
“that government is best which governs least”
~Jefferson
Much of the debate over the Constitution centered around the powers of Congress and how broad those powers would be.
Strict constructionists believed the power should be with the states and Congress should only exercise expressed powers and implied powers that were absolutely necessary. (Jefferson)
Liberal constructionists favored a liberal interpretation of the Constitution and the powers given to Congress. (Hamilton)
Who seems to have won
this debate?

32. Powers of Congress commerce currency bankruptcy foreign relations war
other
Commerce: power to regulate interstate and foreign trade

33. “The Power of the Purse” the power to tax
tax-charge levied by government on persons or property to raise money to meet public needs
The power to levy taxes and provide for the general welfare of the U.S. is among the most important powers of Congress.
No government agency can spend money without it being authorized by Congress.
Congress uses taxes for many purposes.
Limits on the power to tax:
Can’t tax church services —violation of the first amendment
Congress can only tax for public purposes, not private benefit
Congress can’t tax exports
Federal taxes have to be levied the same across the country—ie taxes on gasoline, alcohol, etc.

34. Taxing Power
Congress uses its taxing power to expand its regulatory powers.
When Congress gives money to state or local governments, it often requires specific regulations to be followed.
Congress can levy heavy taxes on undesirable products to discourage its use. (Tobacco)

35. using taxes to regulate the economy
Congress can cut individual taxes to stimulate the economy.
Congress can increase taxes to try and slow economic growth.

37. What happens when the federal government doesn’t raise enough money from taxes?

38. Power to Borrow Money Securities, bonds, or notes
Borrowing from other countries
Borrowing Money = NATIONAL DEBT
No Constitutional limits on the amount that can be borrowed and no restriction on the purpose it can be used for.
Congress puts a ceiling on the debt, however they can raises the ceiling whenever they need to.

39. National Debt
Debt occurs when government must borrow money to meet its operating expenses
Current National Debt
How our money is spent

40. Discussion Questions
How do you feel about our National Debt situation?
Should the government do something about the debt situation? What?
What are possible solutions to paying off the debt?
2 solutions to end debt:
1. Increase taxes or
2. Decrease spending
What are the arguments for each of these solutions? What kind of opposition would each solution face in Congress?
OR, How would you go about paying off the debt?

41. Quotes
“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
Benjamin Franklin
“Taxes are what we pay for civilized society”
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
“Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery.”
Calvin Coolidge

42. One more power of Congress
Impeachment

43. The President, Vice-President and all civil officers of the United States may “Be removed from Office on Impeachment for and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors” Article II, Section 4

44. impeach-to accuse or bring charges The House has the power to impeach.
requires a majority vote
The Senate has the power to try (to judge) the accused.
requires a 2/3 majority

45. Andrew Johnson: 17th president; impeached in 1868; vetoed the Tenure in Office Act and then violated it after his veto was overriden
Bill Clinton: 1998; impeached after his “inappropriate relationship” with a White House intern; perjury and obstruction of justice; many just wanted to censure the president
Senate voted to acquit both men.
Richard Nixon: 1974; Watergate scandal;

46. Organization of Congress
House
chooses the “Speaker of the House” from the majority party
more important than the President of the Senate
Democrats sit to the right of the center aisle, Republicans to the left

47. Organization of Congress
Senate
the Vice-President is the president of the Senate
the president pro tempore serves in the Vice-President’s absence
a leading member of the majority party
Speaker of the House follows the Vice-President in the line of presidential succession. The president pro tem is next.

48. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R) Ohio
President Pro Tempore Patrick Leahy (D) Vermont

49. The Legislative Branch in Ohio

50. Ohio’s General Assembly 129th General Assembly
Ohio House of Representatives
2-year term (limit of 4 consecutive terms)
99 members
Ohio Senate
4-year term (limit of 2 consecutive terms)
33 members

51. Our Representatives Andrew Brenner (R) Kris Jordan (R) District 2
Kris Jordan (R)
District 19

52. To vote in Ohio Citizen of the United States
At least 18 years old on or before the day of the general election
A resident of Ohio for at least 30 days before the election
Register to vote at least 30 days before the election