1. Magruder’s American Government
C H A P T E R 10 Congress
© 2001 by Prentice Hall, Inc.

2. 1 2 3 4 SECTION 1 The National Legislature
C H A P T E R 10 Congress
SECTION 1 The National Legislature
SECTION 2 The House of Representatives
SECTION 3 The Senate
SECTION 4 The Members of Congress 1 2 3 4
Chapter 10

3. S E C T I O N 1 The National Legislature
Why does the Constitution divide power between the two houses of Congress?
What is a term of Congress?
How have sessions of Congress changed over time? 2 3 4
Chapter 10 Section 1

4. Congress: Warm-Up
The structure of congress is designed to ensure that all states and the people who live in them are represented fairly.
How are the states represented differently in the House and Senate?
Why is this structure advantageous?

5. A Bi-Cameral Congress
Read pp.262,63
Identify and explain the three reasons for having a bi-cameral legislature

6. The Constitution creates a bicameral legislature for three reasons:
Two Houses of Congress
The Constitution creates a bicameral legislature for three reasons:
Historical: The British Parliament consisted of two houses since the 1300s, and many colonial assemblies were similar in form.
Practical: A bicameral legislature was necessary to compromise - the Virginia and New Jersey plans of representation.
Theoretical: The Framers favored a bicameral Congress in order that one house might act as a check on the other…Slow the legislative process…
One More thing….A reflection of the principle of federalism? (p.263…Visual, “Representation in Congress”) 2 3 4
Chapter 10, Section 1

7. S E C T I O N 1 The Role of The National Legislature
Remember the definition of law?
Public Policy, i.e., The will of the people
The US Constitution - Article 1, section 1: “All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.”
It is the job of the National Legislature to turn public will into public policy 2 3 4
Chapter 10 Section 1

8. A couple of “Terms”
A term is the length of time that officials serve after an election, as in a two- or six-year term.
The date for the start of each new term has been set by the Twentieth Amendment (1933) as “noon of the 3d day of January” of every odd-numbered year. 2 3 4
Chapter 10, Section 1

9. Sessions of Congress
A session is the regular period of time during which Congress conducts business.
Congress adjourns, or suspends until the next session, each regular session as it sees fit.
If necessary, the President has the power to prorogue, or adjourn, a session, but only when the two houses cannot agree on a date for adjournment.
Only the President* may call Congress into a special session—a meeting to deal with some emergency situation.
* At the State level, governors may call special sessions of state legislatures 2 3 4
Chapter 10, Section 1

10. Homework
Read: pp. 262 – 265
Respond: 1-7, p. 265

11. Section 1 Homework Review
1.How long does a term of Congress last? 2. How does a special session differ from a regular session 3. When does Congress adjourn? 4. Who has the power to prorogue a session of congress? 5. “Congress is functioning the way the framers intended – not very well. 6. Why do some people believe the Senate is undemocratic? 7. The Articles of Confederation provided for a Congress that met for 1- year terms. Why do you suppose the framers of the Constitution created a congress that meets for a term of two years? 8. Three reasons for a bi-cameral congress??

12. S E C T I O N 2 The House of Representatives
What are the size and terms of the House of Representatives?
How are House seats reapportioned among the States after each census?
How can we describe a typical congressional election and congressional district?
What are the formal and informal qualifications for serving in the House? 1 3 4
Chapter 10, Section 2

13. Size and Terms 1 3 4 Article 1 Section 2 Term Qualifications
Number of representatives per state
Three additional details 1 3 4
Chapter 10, Section 2

14. Arguments for and against???
Size and Terms
Members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms.
Although there have been recent movements to limit terms, there are no limits set on the number of terms a representative may serve.
Term Limits
Arguments for and against???
The exact size of the House of Representatives, currently at 435 members, is determined by Congress.
The Constitution provides that the total number of seats in the House shall be apportioned (distributed) among the States on the basis of their respective populations. 1 3 4
Chapter 10, Section 2

15. Qualifications for House Members
The Constitution says that a member of the House
(1) must be at least 25 years of age,
(2) must have been a citizen of the United States for at least seven years, and
(3) must have been an inhabitant of the State from which he or she is elected.
The realities of politics also require some informal qualifications, such as party identification, name familiarity, gender, ethnic characteristics, and political experience. 1 3 4
Chapter 10, Section 2

16. Congressional Elections
Congressional elections are held on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November of each even-numbered year.
Off-year elections are those congressional elections held between presidential elections.
The party of the president typically loses seats in off-year elections…Why? 1 3 4
Chapter 10, Section 2

17. Back to Reapportionment
Article I of the Constitution directs Congress to reapportion—redistribute—the seats in the House after each decennial census.
As the United States grew in population, the number of representatives in the House also grew.
The Reapportionment Act of 1929 set the “permanent” size of the House at 435 members, and provided for “automatic reapportionment.”
Wisconsin lost a seat as a result of the 2000 census (p. 268) 1 3 4
Chapter 10, Section 2

18. Current Apportionment1 3 4
Chapter 10, Section 2

20. Districts and Gerrymandering
Under the single-member district arrangement, the voter’s in each district elect one of the State’s representatives.
The general-ticket system provided that all of a State’s seats were filled at- large.
Eliminated in 1842
Contiguous territory
Equal population
Compact territory
Districts that have unusual shapes or even defy description have sometimes been gerrymandered.
Gerrymandering refers to the act of drawing congressional districts to the advantage of the political party that controls the State legislature. 1 3 4
Chapter 10, Section 2

21. Top ten most gerrymandered districts
Massachusetts

22. Redistricting in Wisconsin?

23. Question before the court Holding Implications
Case Study Review
Background
Question before the court
Holding
Implications
Wesberry v. Sanders
Gomillion v. Lightfoot
Bush v. Vera
United Latin American Citizens v.Perry
Hunt v. Cromartie

24. Section 2 Homework review and Quiz
Compare and contrast the single member district and at large seat.
How did Wesberry v. Sanders change the makeup of congress?
Since 1910, the ave. number of people in a congressional district has tripled from 210,000 to well over 650,000. How might this have affected the ability of members of congress to represent their constituents?
Homework for Thurs: 1-6, p. 278

25. S E C T I O N 3 Daily Warm-Up: Translate
“It is indispensable that besides the House of Representatives which runs on all fours with popular sentiment, we should have a body like the Senate which may refuse to run with it at all when it seems to be wrong - A body which has time and security enough to keep it’s head, if only now and then, and but for a little while, till other people have had time to think.”
Woodrow Wilson
“A necessary fence against the fickleness and passion of the House of Representatives”
James Madison 1 2 4
Chapter 10, Section 3

26. The Senate
In the Senate, representation is equal: each state has two senators. Senators were originally elected by state legislatures until the passage of the 17th Amendment in The amendment gave voters the right to directly elect senators, and also allowed a governor to appoint a replacement senator should a sudden vacancy occur.

27. How does the size of the Senate differ from the size of the House?
S E C T I O N 3 The Senate
How does the size of the Senate differ from the size of the House?
How have States elected senators in the past and present?
How and why does a senator’s term differ from a representative’s term?
What are the qualifications for serving in the Senate? 1 2 4
Chapter 10, Section 3

28. The Senate
Use the Constitution, Article 1, section 3 (p.13) to answer the following :
1. Number of Senators from each state and how they are to be chosen.
2. Length of term
3. How many are up for re-election every two years?
4. How are vacant seats (between elections) to be filled?
5. Age citizenship and residency requirement?
6. Who will serve as the president of the Senate? Under what conditions may that person vote in the Senate?
7. Who presides over the Senate when the president of the Senate is absent?
8. How did the 17th Amendment (p.20) change the way Senators are chosen ? Facts of Congress

29. Size, Election, and Terms
The Constitution says that the Senate “shall be composed of two Senators from each State.” Today’s Senate consists of 100 Senators.
Originally, the Constitution provided that senators were chosen by the State legislatures.
In 1912 the Seventeenth Amendment was passed and called for the popular election of senators. Cartoon 278
Senators serve for six-year terms.
The Senate is a continuous body, meaning that all of its seats are never up for election at the same time.
Has the 17th amendment ruined the framers plan? 1 2 4
Chapter 10, Section 3

30. The Senate: Facts A “continuous body”
One-third of the Senate comes up for reelection every two years
Senators can run for reelection as often as they desire
The Senate is a “continuous body,” which means that unlike the House it does not reorganize from time to time due to changes in population. In addition, to minimize upheaval elections for senators are structured so that only one-third of the Senate comes up for reelection every two years. The framers of the Constitution set up the Senate as a continuous body because they envisioned it as the upper house of the legislature, with more responsibilities in the checks and balances system. Senators can run for reelection as often as they desire.
The Senate in 1939

31. Qualifications for Senators
The requirements for the U.S. Senate are higher than for the House of Representatives.
The Constitution says that a Senator… 1 2 4 5
Chapter 10, Section 3

32. Qualifications for Senate Membership
Must be at least 30 years old
Must live in the state he or she represents
Must have been a U.S. citizen for at least nine years
Members of the House of Representatives must be at least 30 years old, must live in the state he or she represents, and must have been a U.S. citizen for at least nine years.
The chamber of the U.S. Senate

33. The “fickle” public??

34. Homework Review and Quiz
A continuous body?
Constituency?
Why more visible?
17th Amendment
Six-Year term?
High requirement for expulsion?

35. S E C T I O N 4 The Members of Congress
What are the personal and political backgrounds of the current members of Congress?
What are the duties of the job of serving in Congress?
How are members of Congress compensated, and what privileges do they have? 1 2 3
Chapter 10, Section 4

36. Warm Up – Proxmire v. Hutchinson

37. Representatives of the People
Senators and representatives are elected to represent people. As legislators, they have four voting options: 1 2 3
Chapter 10, Section 4

38. Committee Membership and Public Servants
As committee members, senators and representatives screen proposed laws before they are voted on.
Another vital part of their committee work involves the oversight function.
Oversight is the the process by which Congress, through its committees, checks to see that the agencies of the executive branch are working effectively. House
Members of the House and the Senate also act as servants of their constituents.
Requests from voters vary widely, and members of Congress take heed to many of them. Ignoring their constituencies would not bode well in the next election.
Mr. Duffy 1 2 3
Chapter 10, Section 4

39. Compensation
Base Pay - $174,000
Senate Leadership
majority Party Leader - $193,400
minority Party Leader - $193,400
House Leadership

Speaker - $223,500
majority Leader - $193,400
minority Leader - $193,400
The franking privilege allows members of Congress to mail letters and other materials postage-free by substituting their facsimile signature (frank) for the postage.
The Constitution says that Congress fixes its own “compensation.” Therefore, the only real limits to congressional pay are the President’s veto and fear of voter backlash against a pay increase. 1 2 3
Chapter 10, Section 4

40. Membership Privileges
Members of Congress are immune from arrest for non-criminal offenses while engaged in congressional business.
More importantly, the Speech and Debate Clause (Article I, Section 6, Clause 1) protects representatives and senators from suits for libel or slander arising from their official conduct. 1 2 3
Chapter 10, Section 4

41. Members of Congress Case Study: Hutchinson v. Proxmire Homework Review
1. What does a trustee value most when deciding how to vote on a bill?
2. What does a partisan value most when deciding how to vote on a bill?
3. How does the franking privilege help members of congress?
4. What is the oversight function?
Case Study: Hutchinson v. Proxmire
Questions for discussion.