Government Mr. Rosenstock The Legislative Branch Congress Congress is the legislative branch of the United States o Function is to represent the will of the people o To make laws that reflect the will of the people Congress is bicameral (two houses) o Senate (100 members: 2 from each state) o House of Representatives (435 based on pop) o This arrangement was done to compromise over differences between the states after independence, regarding representation in the legislature. o Big states were represented in the House with more representatives to reflect their size (based on population) o Small states ensured equality with 2 Senators per state regardless of size. Wyoming has a pop- ulation of 584,153 as of Still have 1 House member California has a pop- ulation of 38.8 million and now has 53 House members Congress meets for two-year terms. o Each term is consecutively numbered o Begins Jan. 3 of every odd numbered year o Each term divided into two sessions of one year each. o This is the 114 th Congress of the United States Qualifications House of RepresentativesSenate Must be at least 25 years of age Must have been a US citizen for at least 7 years Must be an inhabitant of the state in which he or she is elected Must be at least 30 years of age Must have been a citizen for at least 9 years Must be an inhabitant of the state from which he or she is elected Major Differences: the House and the Senate House of Representatives Senate Larger body (435 members) Shorter term (2 years) Smaller constituencies (elected from districts within states) Younger membership Considered less prestigious Operate with strict rules and limited debate Most work done in committees, not on the floor Bills regarding taxes always start in the House Smaller body (100 members) Longer term (6 years) Larger constituencies (elected from the entire state) Older membership Considered more prestigious Flexible rules and nearly unlimited debate Work split between committees and the floor Approves/rejects treaties and presidential appointments US House of Representatives The House of Representatives The 435 members of the House of Representatives represent districts of relatively equal population size Members may serve an unlimited number of two-year terms Because of the short length of term and fairly small sized districts (roughly 650,000 people), members of the House of Representatives are considered to be closest to the people they serve Reapportionment Congress sets the size of the House of Representatives o The permanent size of the House is currently at 435 members since o After every census (each 10 years) the Constitution requires Congress to reapportion (redistribute) the seats among the states based on population. o Following each census the Census Bureau determines the number of seats each state should have and advises Congress. o If the Census Bureau plan isnt rejected within 60 days by either house of Congress, it becomes effective. Elections Congressional elections are held on the same day in every state Congress has required elections to be held on the Tuesday following the first Monday of November in each even-numbered year Elections that are held in years between presidential elections are called: mid-term elections. o Example: Obama was last elected in Therefore, 2014 was the mid-term election o The party in power usually loses seats in these elections. Various factors including scandals, problems, voter dissatisfaction with the way the president or congress is doing its job contribute Remember: the party in power refers to the party of the president. This shows that in midterm elections, the presidents party almost always lost seats in the House to the other party. Districts Congressional districts are drawn by the legislatures of each state. This drawing is done every 10 years with the new census The party that is dominant in the state legislature has the advantage when drawing district boundaries for the House of Representatives This advantage leads to Gerrymandering: the intentional drawing of boundaries that favor the dominant party. No one wants to admit it, but it is done everywhere. o 1.) Concentrate the other partys voters into one or a few districts leaving the rest safe for the dominant party o 2.) Spread the other partys voters across several districts to weaken their effect. Congressional District 29 Tony Cardenas (D) Congressional District 29 Tony Cardenas (D) Tony Crdenas sits on the following committees: House Committee on Energy and Commerce o Member, Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and TradeCommerce, Manufacturing, and Trade o Member, Subcommittee on Environment and the EconomyEnvironment and the Economy o Member, Subcommittee on HealthHealth Issue Areas Crdenas sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas: Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Issues (20%) Crime and Law Enforcement (20%) Education (20%) Commerce (10%) Labor and Employment (10%) Agriculture and Food (7%) Health (7%) Taxation (7%) Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority IssuesCrime and Law EnforcementEducationCommerceLabor and EmploymentAgriculture and FoodHealthTaxation Recent Bills Some of Crdenass most recently sponsored bills include... H.R. 3782: Prohibiting Detention of Youth Status Offenders Act of 2015 H.R. 3782: Prohibiting Detention of Youth Status Offenders Act of 2015 H.R. 3783: Community-Based Gang Intervention Act H.R. 3540: Farm to Table Safety Act H.Res. 426: Recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month and celebrating the heritage and culture of Latinos in... H.Res. 426: Recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month and celebrating the heritage and culture of Latinos in... H.Res. 382: Expressing the need to eliminate life without parole for children. H.Res. 382: Expressing the need to eliminate life without parole for children. H.R. 3201: New American Success Act of 2015 H.R. 3041: Low-Income Solar Act Review of House of Representatives i.Representatives are elected to two year terms ii.Numbers are based on state population iii.Constituency is the district he/she elected from iv.Considered the less prestigious body of Congress v.Members tend to be younger and less experienced than their Senate colleagues vi.All legislation concerning taxes starts in the House vii.To be a Representative: must be 25 years old and a citizen for at least 7 years. Must be a resident of the state from which elected U.S. Senate Review of Senate i.Senators are elected for six year terms ii.There are two from each state iii.Constituency of senator is the state he/she represents iv.Considered to be the more prestigious body of Congress v.Members tend to be older, wealthier and with more experience in government vi.The Senate approves treaties and appointments made by the President. vii.To be a Senator: Must be 30 years old and a citizen for at least 9 years. Must be resident of state represented Profile of the 114 th Congress The Senate is 54% Republican and 46% Democrat with 2 Independents (who caucus with the Democrats) The House of Representatives is 57% Republican and 43% Democratic and has no Independents. The Senate has 12 new senators (11R, 1D) and 52 new representatives (36R, 16D). Congress is 81% male and 19% female. A record 104 out of 535 members of Congress are women. Twenty five percent are new to political office. 53% are over 50 and 20% are over 60 while 14% are under 40. Congress is 80% white. 8.5% African American, 6.9% Hispanic American, 2% Asian and 0.3% Native American. Congress is 92% Christian, 5.2% Jewish, 0.4% Muslim, 0.4% Buddhist, and 0.2% Hindu. The Privileges of Membership Base salary for members of Congress is $174,000 Senate and House leaders earn $193,400 The Speaker of the House earns $223,500 All members receive generous allowances for expenses: o Travel between home state and Washington DC o Other travel while on business o Mail expenses and printing expenses o Dining expenses o Access to special restaurants and two gyms