American CitizenshipChapter 10 Notes

Congress

Section 1

• The National Legislature

A Bicameral Congress

• The U.S. is considered a “Representative Democracy”

– Representatives of the people are responsible for the day-to-day work of government

– Article 1 of the constitution sets down the guidelines for the U.S. Representative Democracy

• Known as Congress

• Historical– Learned about bicameral congress from Britain

A Bicameral Congress (Con’t)

• Practical– Framers created the bicameral also in

order to appease both the big states (Virginia Plan) and the small States (New Jersey Plan)

• Theoretical– Bicameral also helped to help keep the

Legislative branch from becoming to powerful

Terms and Sessions

• Terms of Congress– Each term of Congress lasts for two years

and numbered consecutively• Changed with the 20th Amendment• Now Congress terms begin noon of the 3rd day

of January, and last for two years

Terms and Sessions (Con’t)

• A session of Congress is when Congress assembles and conducts business

– Congress adjourns until the next session• However, in order for one house to adjourn, the other must

approve• President can prorogue, or adjourn Congress if they

cannot come to agreement on date to adjourn

• Special Sessions– Only the President can call Congress into a special

session• Meeting to deal with some emergency• The President can also call each house separately into

special session

Section 2

• The House of Representatives

Size and Terms

• The Exact size of the House is not fixed by the constitution

– Currently it is 435 members

• However each seat in the House must be apportioned among the states on the basis of their respective populations

– Distributed• Could change with the coming Census in 2010

• Representative must be chosen every second year

– Thus they serve for two-year terms

• No term-limit for members of Congress

Reapportionment

• Redistribute the seats in the House after each decennial census

– Originally there were 65 House Seats in the 1790’s

• A Growing Nation– The census of 1910 brought the number of

House members to 435

Reapportionment (Con’t)

• The Reapportionment Act of 1929– Created the “permanent” size of the House

to 435• However they could still change it

– After each census, the Census Bureau determines the apportionment

– Once the plan is ready, the President sends it to Congress

– If no action is taken on it within 60 days, it becomes law

Congressional Elections

• Constitution allows each state to determine it’s date for congressional elections

• Date– However, since 1872, Congress required that the

elections be held on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November in even number years

• Off-Year Elections– Those congressional elections that occur in the

nonpresidential years– Party-in-power tends to lose power in the off-year

elections• party that holds the presidency

Congressional Elections (Con’t)

• Districts– The Constitution does not call for

congressional districts– Today all congressional districts are

single-member districts• only one person is voted for that district

– Congress allowed each state to determine their own size of their congressional district

• however it needed to be appropriate in size and population

Congressional Elections (Con’t)

• Gerrymandering– Congressional districts that have been drawn to

the advantage of the political party that controls the state’s legislature

• Very prevalent today

– Two major ways used• To concentrate opposing voters into a few districts• Spread the opposing voters thin throughout all districts

– Could even use Gerrymandering on the urban versus rural population of states

Congressional Elections (Con’t)

• Wesberry v. Sanders, 1964– Supreme Court ruled that the population

differences among congressional districts were so great as to violate the Constitution

• Did not stop Gerrymandering, but forced a little more representative of each individual

Qualifications of House Members

• Formal Qualifications– Must be at least 25 years of age– Must have been a citizen of the U.S. for at least 7

years– Must be an inhabitant of the State from which they

are elected• Generally speaking, they must also live in the district for

which they are elected

– The House is responsible for judging elections of member-elects

• The House can also punish members for “disorderly behavior”

Qualifications of House Members (Con’t)

• Informal Qualifications– Have to do with a candidates vote getting

abilities• party identification, name familiarity, gender,

ethnic characteristics, and political experience

Section 3

• The Senate

Size, Election and Terms

• The Senate is often called the “Upper House”• Size

– The Constitution calls of their to be two senators for every state

– Today the U.S. has 100 senators

• Election– Originally the Constitution provided that the

members of the Senate were to be chose by the State legislatures

– 17th amendment changed it to be popular vote for Senate positions

Size, Election and Terms (Con’t)

• Term– Senators serve for six-year terms with no term-

limits– The Senate is a continuous body

• All the seats are never up for election at the same time– Only a third of senator seats are elected for every two years

– With the six-year term, less likely to be persuaded by public opinion and more likely to see the “big picture”

• In recent history, the Senate has provided a great deal of president candidates

Qualifications for Senators

• A senator must be at least 30 years of age

• Must have been a citizen of the U.S. for at least 9 years

• Must be an inhabitant of the state from which they are elected

– Like the House, the Senate can punish individuals for “disorderly conduct”

Section 4

• The Members of Congress

Personal and Political Backgrounds

• There is a variety of different cultures represented in the Congress

– However they tend to be White males, over the age of 50

The Job

• They play five major roles– Legislators– Representatives of their constituents– Committee members– Servants of their constituents– Politicians

• Representatives of the People– Trustees

• believe that each question they face must be decided on its merits– make decisions based on independent judgment, and

not on views held by their constituents

The Job (Con’t)

• Representatives of the People (Con’t)– Delegates

• see themselves as agents of those who elected them– tend to vote on the views held by their constituents

– Partisans• they feel duty-bound to vote in line with the party

platform and wishes of their party’s leaders– Most prevalent today

– Politicos• attempt to combine the basic elements of the

previous three

The Job (Con’t)

• Committee Members– Proposed laws (bills) are referred to committees in

each chamber• as committee members, they screen the proposals

– Also serve an oversight function• check to see that various agencies in the executive

branch are working effectively and legally

• Servants– Meet the needs of their constituents on a federal

level

Compensation

• Salary– Senators and representatives are paid a

salary of $155,000 a year• Speaker of the House makes $193,500 a year• President Pro Tem and the majority and

minority floor leaders in both houses receive $167,500 a year

Compensation (Con’t)

• Nonsalary Compensation– Each member receives a special tax deduction– Generous travel allowances– Good life and health insurance– Retirement plan– Receive an office in either House or Senate office

building near the Capitol– Given funds to hire staff and operation costs– Franking privilege

• allows them to mail letters and other materials postage-free by substituting their facsimile signature (frank) for the postage

– Also gymnasiums, pools, parking, advertisement, etc.

Compensation (Con’t)

• The Politics of Pay– Very difficult for Congress to increase their

pay• President veto, and unhappiness from

constituents

• Membership Privileges– Cannot be arrested while their branch is in

session– Also maintain legislative immunity