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Congress Chapter 10 Congress • Where is Congress established? – Article I • Two Houses – Senate – House of Representatives • Why was Congress established with two houses? – Parliament – Connecticut Compromise – Check the power of Congress Terms • Term – Length of time officials serve following elections • How long do members of Congress serve? – House – 2 year terms – Senate – 6 year terms • Congressional term – 2 years – Currently, it is the 114th Congress – Term begins at noon on Jan. 3rd in odd-numbered years Sessions Session • Time during which Congress conducts business • Two sessions per term • One session per year • Begins on Jan 3rd unless Congress sets a different date Adjourn • End the session • Both houses must agree on a date Sessions How long is a session? • No set length • Prior to WWII, lasted about 5 months • Now, last throughout the year • Congress recesses several times during a session • President may prorogue a session when the houses cannot agree on a date to adjourn • President may call a special session • No President has called one since Truman House of Representatives Section 2 Size and Terms • 435 members • Seats are apportioned among the states based on population • Every state guaranteed 1 seat • 2 year term • How many terms can a Congressperson serve? Qualifications for Members Formal • 25 years old • Must have been a US citizen for 7 years • Inhabit the state you represent Custom • Live in the district you represent Illinois 18th District • Darin LaHood Reapportionment • What is reapportionment? • When does it happen? Growing Nation • • • • • • First House - 65 members After 1790 census - 106 1800 - 142 1810 - 186 1910 - 435 How did Congress deal with the problem in 1920? Reapportionment Act of 1929 • Automatic reapportionment • “permanent” size of 435 • Census Bureau determines the number of seats each state should have • President must send it to Congress • If Congress doesn’t reject it within 60 days, it takes effect • What trend do you notice from the map? • 7 states have 1 seat – Alaska, Delaware, Montana, N. Dakota, S. Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming • D.C., Guam, Virgin Islands, and American Samoa have a delegate • Puerto Rico has a commissioner Congressional Elections • Held on same day in every State – Tuesday following 1st Monday in Nov of each even-numbered year • Off-year elections • Incumbents Districts • Each member is chosen by voters in one of the 435 districts • Districts are NOT mentioned in Constitution • Single-member district • General ticket system – Seats filled at-large • Average District = 710,767 people Gerrymandering • Drawing districts to the advantage of a political party • Packing • Cracking Ideal Districts • “contiguous territory” • Nearly an equal number of inhabitants • “Compact territory” • House judges the elections and qualifications of its own members • If qualifications challenged, House decides • May refuse to seat a member or punish members with majority vote • May expel members with 2/3rds vote – 5 expelled members, 3 in 1861, 1 in 1980, 1 in 2002 Wesberry v Sanders, 1964 • Population differences between Georgia’s districts violated Constitution • One person’s vote should be roughly equal to another’s • Outcome? Senate Section 3 Dick Durbin (D) Mark Kirk (R) Size and Election • 100 members, 2 from each State • How were Senators originally chosen? – State legislatures • 17th Amendment Term • 6 years • Continuous Body – Staggered terms – 1/3 of Senate up for reelection every 2 years • Why were Senators given a 6 year term? – Less concerned with public opinion and special interests Constituencies • The people and interests a political figure represents • How does a Senator’s constituency differ from a House member’s? Qualifications • 30 years old • US citizen for at least 9 years • Resident of State from which he/she is elected • Senate judges qualifications of members • May punish and expel members • How do these differ from the House? House • • • • • 435 members 2 year terms Small constituencies Younger membership Strict rules, limited debate • Most work done in committees Senate • • • • • 100 members 6 year terms Large constituencies Older membership Flexible rules, nearly unlimited debate • Work split between committees and floor • Answer these question on a separate sheet of paper. • What was the Framers’ intention for the Senate? • What characteristics of the Senate help it to achieve that goal? Members of Congress 10.4 Background Race/Ethnicity/Gender • Mostly white males • 108 women • 48 African Americans, 38 Hispanics • 14 Asian-Americans or Pacific Islanders • 2 Native American Education • 100% of Senate and 94% of House have Bachelor’s Degrees • 213 have Law Degrees, 98 have Master’s Degrees • 23 Doctoral Degrees, 22 Medical Degrees Age • 61 for Senators, 57 for House Religion – 92% Christian • 57% Protestant • 31% Catholic • 5.2% Jewish • 3% Mormon • 2 Buddhists, 2 Muslims, 1 Hindu Prior Work • Politics/government – 331 • Business – 273 • Law – 202 • Education – 105 • Military – 101 • 54 Republicans • 44 Democrats • 2 Independents • 188 Democrats • 245 Republicans • 2 Vacant Roles of a Congressperson • • • • • Legislator Representative of their constituents Committee members Servants for their constituents Politicians Representatives Committee Members • • • • • Oversight function Trustee Delegate Partisans Politicos Servants • • • • Deal with bureaucracy Personal tours Appointment to military Business loan Salary and Benefits • Regular Member $174,000 • Senate Leadership Majority Party Leader - $193,400 Minority Party Leader - $193,400 • House Leadership Speaker of the House - $223,500 Majority Leader - $193,400 Minority Leader - $193,400 Non Salary Benefits • Housing Tax deduction • Travel allowances • Insurance • Pension • Franking privilege