Congress

A bicameral legislatureDefine:Bicameral

&Legislatur

eAll bills must pass both the House & Senate before they can go to the President for a signature (or veto).

House of Representatives Voice of the People

Term: 2 years (ea. Term = 2

sessions of 1 year each)435 membersBased on populationElection in NovemberTerm begins January 3

Members must be:25 yrs oldUS citizen for 7 yearsResident of their state

Number of Representatives is determinedby a census taken every 10 years

MOST POPULOUS STATES 2010

CALIFORNIA 37,253,956TEXAS 25,145,561NEW YORK 19,378,102FLORIDA 18,801,310ILLINOIS 12,830,632

LEAST POPULOUS STATES 2010

WYOMING 563,626VERMONT 625,741NORTH DAKOTA 672,591ALASKA 710,231SOUTH DAKOTA 814,180

RE-APPORTIONMENTGAINED LOST Arizona +1 Illinois -1 Florida +2 Iowa -1 Georgia +1 Louisiana -1 Nevada +1 Massachusetts -1 South Carolina +1 Michigan -1 Texas +4 Missouri -1 Utah +1 New Jersey -1 Washington +1 New York -2 Ohio -2

Pennsylvania -1

2010OFFICIAL RESULTS

Build your vocabularyGerrymander Political Action

Committee (PAC)

Incumbent

Gerrymander

Drawing a Congressional District to favor one party over another

The original Gerrymander

http://data.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/iowa-census/redistricting-game/

Leonard Boswell (D) Iowa - District 3

House StructureSpeaker of the House

Majority Leader

Majority Whip

Minority Leader

Minority Whip

The Speaker is the most powerful memberThe Whips’ main job? Count votesThe majority party controls the agenda

Very formal rules due to sizeMost work is done by Committee

Current House Leaders

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) hands the gavel to current Speaker John Boehner (R).

Now the Republicans are in power.

The Senate2 from each state6 year termOnly 1/3 up for re-

election at any one time

Requirements: 30 years old 9 years a citizen Resident of their state

Senator Charles Grassley

(R) Iowa

Senator Tom Harkin

(D) Iowa

Senate StructurePresident President Pro Tempore

Majority Leader & WhipMinority Leader & Whip

The Senate is smaller, and much less formal than the House. Fewer rules.

Terms to know: Filibuster Cloture Number needed for cloture?

Senate Leadership

President of the SenateJoseph R. BidenU.S. Vice President

Majority LeaderHarry ReidDemocrat, Nevada

Minority Leader Mitch McConnellRepublican, Kentucky

President Pro TemporeDaniel K. InoweDemocrat, Hawaii

Assistant Majority Leader(Democratic Whip)Richard DurbinDemocrat, Illinois

Assistant Minority Leader(Republican Whip)John KylRepublican, Arizona