Congress – Article I

VII Congress – Article I

A. 2 House Legislature – Bi-Cameral

1. The House of Representatives

a. Qualifications

1. 25 years at time sworn in

2. 7 year citizen

3. Live in the state represented

( Members are called Congressmen/Congresswomen or Representative)

b. Term : 2 years. There are no term limits(vacancy: when there is a vacancy then the Governor of that state schedules a special election)

c. Officials

i. The Speaker of the House: elected by the majority party

ii. House Majority Leader

iii. House Majority Whip

iv House Minority Leader

v. House Minority Whip

Speaker of the House

Paul Ryan

House Majority Leader

Kevin McCarthy

House Majority Whip

Steven Scalise

House Minority Leader

Nancy Pelosi

House Minority Whip

Steny Hoyer

D.Special Things the House gets to do

i. All bills concerning money start here

ii. House has sole power to impeach

iii. House has sole power to admit or kick out own members

iv. The House makes up its own rules to conduct business

E. Representation in the House of Representatives is based on the population of each state. States are carved into Congressional districts based on a ratio of 1 representative for about every 750,000 persons.

1. However, each state is guaranteed at least one representative.

2. Every 10 years the population of the United States is counted to determine how many representative each state gets. (Census)

3. The process of redrawing Congressional district lines is known as Redistricting. Redistricing is done by the state legislatures.

Example: Which state has more representatives?

Alaska

Population: 710,000

1 Representative

Rhode Island

Population: 1,550,000

2 Representatives

Question

1.How many Representative are in the House of Representatives fro Puerto Rico with a population of 3,458,000?

2.How many Representatives are in the House of Representatives from Washington DC with a population of 601,000?

Gerrymandering: To draw district boundaries for the purpose of making sure one party or the other is elected or stays in office or to draw district boundaries to discriminate against a particular group.

Congressman Pat Meehan

Pennsylvania 7th Congressional District

Congressman Bob Brady

Pennsylvania 1st Congressional District

2. The Senate

A. Qualifications

1. 30 years old

2. 9 year citizen

3. Live in state represented

B. Term: 6 years – No term limits. 1/3 of the Senators are elected every 2 years.

( Vacancy: When there is a vacancy the Governor of that state appoints a replacement until the next election.)

C. Officials

i. The President of the Senate

ii. The President Pro Temp.

iii The Senate Majority Leader

iv The Senate Majority Whip

v. The Senate Minority Leader

vi. The Senate Minority Whip

President of the Senate

Joe Biden - The Vice President of the United States is the President of the Senate.

President Pro TemporePresident Pro Tem

Orrin Hatch

Senate Majority Leader

Mitch McConnell

Senate Majority Whip

John Cornyn

Senate Minority Leader

Harry Reid

Senate Minority Whip

Richard Durbin

D.Special Things the Senate gets to do

1. Approve all appointments to high executive jobs (Cabinet Secretaries) and federal judges

2. Approve all treaties3. Tries all impeachments by acting as a jury 4. The Senate makes its own

rules to conduct business

Pennsylvania – U.S. Senator

Bob Casey

Senator Pat Toomey

B. Impeachment:

1. How Impeachment works –

a. Who may be impeached?

1. President

2. Vice president

3. Cabinet level positions in Executive department

4. Federal Judges

b. the House votes to charge a crime

c. the trial takes place in the Senate. The Senate acts as the jury.

d. When the president is impeached, the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court is the judge of the trial.

e. The Senate is the jury.

f. It takes a 2/3 vote to remove an official from office.

g. When another government official is impeached, the presiding officer of the Senate acts as the judge. – Can you see the hole in the Constitution?

Committees – Almost all work in Congress is done in committees

Committees are run by Chairpersons and Chairpersons are very powerful. They have the ability to stop a bill by pigeonholing it.

Pigeonhole

Types of Committees

1. Standing Committees – Permanent

2. Select Committees – Temporary, formed for a special purpose

3. Joint Committees – Committees formed that includes members of the House and the Senate

4. Conference Committee (Joint Conference Committee) – a Standing (permanent) Committee of House and Senate members that meet to resolve differences in a bill.

House CommitteesHouse Committee on Agriculture

House Committee on AppropriationsHouse Committee on Armed Services

House Committee on the BudgetHouse Committee on Education and Labor

House Committee on Energy and CommerceHouse Committee on Financial Services

House Committee on Foreign AffairsHouse Committee on Homeland Security

House Committee on House AdministrationHouse Committee on the Judiciary

House Committee on Natural ResourcesHouse Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

House Committee on RulesHouse Committee on Science and Technology

House Committee on Small BusinessHouse Committee on Standards of Official Conduct

House Committee on Transportation and InfrastructureHouse Committee on Veterans' AffairsHouse Committee on Ways and Means

House Permanent Select Committee on IntelligenceHouse Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming

Senate CommitteesSenate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

Senate Committee on AppropriationsSenate Committee on Armed Services

Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban AffairsSenate Committee on the Budget

Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and TransportationSenate Committee on Energy and Natural ResourcesSenate Committee on Environment and Public Works

Senate Committee on FinanceSenate Committee on Foreign Relations

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and PensionsSenate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

Senate Committee on Indian AffairsSenate Committee on the Judiciary

Senate Committee on Rules and AdministrationSenate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Senate Committee on Veterans' AffairsSenate Select Committee on Ethics

Senate Select Committee on IntelligenceSenate Special Committee on Aging

United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control