The Senate

The Senate

• The senate has two members for every state.– 100 senators

• Senators represent the entire state and not just specific districts.

• Prior to 1913 the state legislature would select senators.– It would take the 17th amendment to have the states

voters elect U.S. Senators• A senator’s term is six years• Senator’s may be elected to any number of

terms.

Strom Thurmond

• Longest serving Senator, severed for almost 50 years.

• Was elected to office nine times.

• Retired from the Senate in 2003 at the age of 100.

Continuous Body

• All of the seats are never up for election at the same time.– Senate terms are staggered 33 or 34 terms

are up every two years.

Constituencies

• The people and interests that a politician represents.

Qualifications for Senators

1. Must be at least 30 years of age.

2. Must have been a citizen of the United States for at least nine years.

3. Must be an inhabitant of the State from which they are elected from.

Members of Congress

• Although, the members of Congress represent the American public they are not an accurate portrait of the nation.– The average member is a white male in their 50’s– Women represent over half the population, but there

are only 101 members of Congress that are women.– Demographics of Congress U.S. Population

• 8.6% African Americans 13.2% African Americans• 6.9% Hispanic 17.1% Hispanic• 2.1% Asian 5.3% Asian• 82.4% White 77.7% White

The Job of Congress

1. Legislators for their constituents

2. Representatives of their constituents

3. Committee Members

4. Servants of their constituents

5. Politicians

Types of Politicians

• Trustee– Believe that each question they face must be decided

on its merits.

• Partisans– Are lawmakers that owe their political allegiance to

the party.

• Politicos– Try to combine the elements of the trustee, delegate,

and partisan roles. They try to balance these often conflicting factors: their own views of what is best for their constituents.

Committees

• Bills are referred to committees in each chamber before they are sent to the floor.– Members screen these bills in both the House

and Senate before they go to the floor.

• Oversight Function – Oversight is the process by which Congress,

through its committees, checks to see that the various agencies in the executive branch are working effectively and following the policies that congress has set by law.

• The party with the majority choose the committee chairman for each committee.

Compensation

• The constitution states that members of Congress shall receive compensation.– Annual pay for Congress is $174,000 a year.– Positions such as Speaker of the house and the

Minority and Majority leaders make more than the standard pay for the other members.

• Other Compensation– Special tax deduction to maintain two residencies– Travel Allowances– Life and Health Insurance– Retirement plan– Social Security and Medicare

More Compensation

• Franking privilege– Benefit that allows them to mail letters and other

materials postage-free by substituting their facsimiles signature for the postage.

• Members of Congress were allowed to use insider information to buy stocks. In April of 2013, President Obama wanted to pass a bill that required disclosure of stock information for members of congress.– Congress removed this privilege shortly after this was

passed.

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• Why is it important to write while a bill is still in committee?

– A bill in committee can still be changed. Also, most bills die in committee, so the opportunity to make one’s voice heard needs to be taken early in the process.

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• Why does the candidate deposit his money in a box labeled “State Legislature?”

– The candidate increases his chances of being elected by buying the votes of State legislators.

• Why is the senate called a continuous body?

– Senate terms are staggered and they are never all up for reelection at the same time.

• How is a typical Senator’s constituency different from the typical House member?

– The senator’s constituency is generally much larger than that of a representative, because a senator represents an entire state.

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• How does racial and ethnic diversity differ between the House and the Senate?

– The House has a higher percentage of non-Caucasian members.

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• Why are voters reluctant to see members of Congress increase their benefits and pay?

– They resent the fact that their tax dollars are used to pay members of Congress more than the salary of most average Americans.