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A Quick Overview
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A Quick Overview. National Legislature Bicameralism--made up of two houses Congress made up of the House of Representatives & Senate Historically from.

Jan 13, 2016

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Justin Poole
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Page 1: A Quick Overview. National Legislature Bicameralism--made up of two houses Congress made up of the House of Representatives & Senate Historically from.

A Quick Overview

Page 2: A Quick Overview. National Legislature Bicameralism--made up of two houses Congress made up of the House of Representatives & Senate Historically from.

National Legislature

• Bicameralism--made up of two houses

• Congress made up of the House of Representatives & Senate

• Historically from the British Parliament

Page 3: A Quick Overview. National Legislature Bicameralism--made up of two houses Congress made up of the House of Representatives & Senate Historically from.

Bicameral2 houses--Why

• Practical — makes sense b/c of the conflict b/n the Virginia And N.J. plans

• Theoretical — 2 houses to “check” each other

Page 4: A Quick Overview. National Legislature Bicameralism--made up of two houses Congress made up of the House of Representatives & Senate Historically from.

Terms and Sessions

• Term--length of time between elections

• 2 sessions for each term– almost all year

• (one house cannot dismiss w/o the consent of the other)

• Special Session--called by the President to deal with a pressing issue

Page 5: A Quick Overview. National Legislature Bicameralism--made up of two houses Congress made up of the House of Representatives & Senate Historically from.

House of Representatives

• 435 members for 435 Districts• Apportioned by population (distributed)• State guaranteed at least one• Single Member Districts – each district elects it’s own rep.• Michigan has 15• Gerrymandering--drawn to the benefit of the Political Party

Page 6: A Quick Overview. National Legislature Bicameralism--made up of two houses Congress made up of the House of Representatives & Senate Historically from.

Gerrymandering• District lines drawn to the

political advantage of the party that controls the Legislature

• Concentrates certain groups of society that will be an advantage to a political party

• Spreads thinly the population of the opposing party voters so they lose their voting power

                                                 

Page 7: A Quick Overview. National Legislature Bicameralism--made up of two houses Congress made up of the House of Representatives & Senate Historically from.

Reapportionment Act

• Sets House of Reps size to 435 members

• Census bureau decides # of seats each state has based on population (done every 10 years)

• President sends plan to Congress

• 60 days after receiving it…it is made effective

Page 8: A Quick Overview. National Legislature Bicameralism--made up of two houses Congress made up of the House of Representatives & Senate Historically from.

Senate

• 2 from each state• At large - (voted by all

voters in the state)• 6 year Terms• Continuous body--all

seats never up at the same time (every 2 years 1/3 of Senate is up for reelection)

• More focused on big picture

Page 9: A Quick Overview. National Legislature Bicameralism--made up of two houses Congress made up of the House of Representatives & Senate Historically from.

Qualifications

• House of Reps.House of Reps.• At least 25• citizen for 7 years• live in the state district

they represent• 2 years• Young

• SenateSenate• at least 30 • citizen for 9 years• live in state• 6 years• Older

                                               

                                                                             

Page 10: A Quick Overview. National Legislature Bicameralism--made up of two houses Congress made up of the House of Representatives & Senate Historically from.

Who are these people? (2010)• Average--White male in their mid 50s

• Women and minorities numbers are growing

• Married, 2 kids, religious, lawyers, lots of political experience

• While about 1% of Americans are considered millionaires, 44% members of Congress are.

• Average net worth of a Representative is $645,503.

• Average net worth of a Senator is $1.79 million

                                                                        

Page 11: A Quick Overview. National Legislature Bicameralism--made up of two houses Congress made up of the House of Representatives & Senate Historically from.

Duties of a Congressperson• Legislators--law makers• committee members—more than one• representatives To their constituents-voting• servants to their constituents-extras (speaking

engagements)• Politicians—elected officials• Oversight function--check the executive branch

Salary• $174,000— over 200,000 (through other fringe

benefits) • Retirement—150,000 a year

                                                       

Page 12: A Quick Overview. National Legislature Bicameralism--made up of two houses Congress made up of the House of Representatives & Senate Historically from.

4 C’s to voting• Conscience/Trustee—their personal belief• Constituents/Delegates -- “How would my

constituents want me to vote?”• Caucus/Partisans -- vote based on party platform• Common Good – What is best for overall country• Politicos--combine all