Chapter 10: Congress - FCPSonlinecampus.fcps.edu/media2/Social_Studies/GOVT/Topic05/Resou… · Chapter 10: Congress House of Representatives . Chapter 10, Section 1 Copyright ©

Chapter 10: Congress

Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 2 Chapter 10, Section 1

Congress – with all of its faults – is the most representative body in the land. It reflects – however imperfectly – the bigness and diversity of America. It responds – however imperfectly – to the expressed hopes, desires, and ambitions of the American people.

-Acceptance Remarks from The Honorable Lee H. Hamilton, U.S. Capitol Historical Society, 2005


Introduction

• Why does the Constitution establish a bicameral legislature?

Historically: Parliament has two houses as did most of the colonial legislatures.

Practically: two houses were adopted as part of the Great Compromise

Theoretically: having two house of Congress means that one house can check the powers of the other.


The National Legislature

• Congress turns the will of the people into public policy by passing laws.

• The Constitution spends more space detailing the Legislative Branch than any other branch.

• Challenge: Members of Congress represent the issues of their states, but must also work together to solve national issues.


Representation

• Each state is equally represented in the Senate and represented by population in the House.


The Capital


112th Congress convenes in 2012

Congressional Terms

• Beginning in 1789, Congress has met for

two-year terms.

– The 20th Amendment (1933) states that

Congressional terms start on January 3rd of

every odd-numbered year.


Adjourning 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.

• Only the President may call Congress into a special

session—a meeting to deal with some emergency

situation. (A joint session has been called 27 times)


House of Representatives


Introduction

• There are currently 435 seats in the House.

• Seats are distributed based on the population

of each state

• each state has at least one representative.

• The Reapportionment Act of 1929 fixed

the size of the House at 435 members.

– Congress can change this number if it wishes.


Census

• Every 10 years the Census Bureau counts

the national population.

• Article I of the Constitution directs

Congress to reapportion—redistribute—

the seats in the House after each census.

– Currently, each seat in the House represents

about 700,000 people.




8th – Jim Moran (D)

10th – Frank Wolf (R)

11th – Gerry Connolly (D)


Congressional Elections

• Representatives are elected every two years.

• Elections are held on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November of even-numbered years.

• Elections held in nonpresidential years are called off-year elections.


Congressional Districts

• Representatives are elected from single-

member congressional districts.

– The voters in each district can elect only one

representative to the House.

– Each district in each state must have similar-

sized populations.

– Seven states have only one representative, so

their district consists of the entire state.


Gerrymandering

• Gerrymandering involves drawing the borders of districts to favor one political party.

• This includes either ―packing‖ (clustering voters) or ―cracking‖ (spreading them out)





Formal Qualifications

• Custom requires representatives to live in the

districts they represent.

• Representatives must:

– Be at least 25 years old

– Have been a U.S. citizen for at least 7 years

– Be an inhabitant of the state from which he or

she is elected.

• Being an incumbent is a big advantage—more than 90 percent of those seeking reelection to the House win.


Informal Qualifications

• Include factors such as gender, ethnicity, political experience, name recognition, and party affiliation.

• Heath Shuler (D., NC) had no

political experience before his election to the House in 2006.

– Shuler had been an NFL quarterback and owned a real estate business.

– He was approached by both parties to run for office.


Senate


Introduction

• The Senate has 100 members, two from each state.

• Members are elected to six-year terms.

• The 17th Amendment (1912) calls for the popular election of senators

• The Senate is a continuous body, meaning that all of its seats are never up for election at the same time.


Qualifications

• Senators are members of what is often called ―the world’s most exclusive club.‖

• Senators must be:

– at least 30 years old;

– a U.S. citizen for at least 9 years;

– reside in the state they represent.

Senator Edward Kennedy (D., Mass)


Section 4


Introduction

• Members of each house have five major roles. They act as:

– Legislators

– Representatives of their constituents

– Servants of their constituents

– Committee members

– Politicians


112th Congress


112th Congress Demographics


Profile of the 112th Congress

Chapter 10, Section 4 2 3 1



Representatives of the People

Trustees Trustees believe that each question they face must be decided on its merits.

Delegates Delegates see themselves as agents of the people who elected them.

Partisans Lawmakers who owe their first allegiance to their political party are partisans.

Politicos Politicos attempt to combine the basic elements of the trustee, delegate, and partisan roles.

Senators and representatives are elected to represent

people. As legislators they have four voting options:


Overview of Members

• Congress is made up mostly of upper-middle-class Americans.

– Most of the 535 members of Congress are married white men aged 50 or older who have college degrees and identify themselves as Christians.

– Congress has 89 women, 44 African Americans, 29 Hispanics, seven Asian Americans, and one Native American.

– The typical senator is serving a second term, while the average representative has served four terms.



Committee Members

• Members of Congress do much of their work in committees.

• Committee members must decide which bills will die in committee and which ones will move ahead to be voted on.

• Committee members also provide oversight of executive branch agencies, making sure that they carry out the public policies set by law.


Compensation

• Congress sets its own pay.

• Today, rank-and-file

senators and

representatives make

$174,000 per year.

• Leaders are paid

$193,400.

• The Speaker gets

$223,500.


―Fringe‖ Benefits

• Benefits include access to inexpensive

health care, free parking, and generous

pensions.

• Members receive funds to hire staff and

run their rent-free offices.

• The franking privilege allows members of

Congress mail letters and other materials

without postage.

• They can print items for free, and produce

radio or television tapes at low cost.



Membership Privileges

• Members of

Congress are

immune from

arrest for

noncriminal

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.

Chapter 10: Congress - FCPSonlinecampus.fcps.edu/media2/Social_Studies/GOVT/Topic05/Resou… · Chapter 10: Congress House of Representatives . Chapter 10, Section 1 Copyright ©

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