Unit 3 – Legislative Branch/Congress

The Capitol Building

The Capitol Building

Main Ideas Congress is bicameral, which means

divided into two houses. In the House of Representatives, States

are represented according to population.

In the Senate, each State has 2 Senators.

Congress meets for two-year terms

Two Houses of Congress

House of Representatives

Senate

The Constitution Congress is part of the Legislative Branch

Therefore, our Congressmen have the job of translating the public will into public policy in the form of law

James Madison called it “the first branch” of the National Government Article I of the Constitution created the Legislative

Branch. It is the very first and longest of the three articles of the Constitution.

Bicameralism Why is Congress divided into two

houses? Because our founding fathers saw

bicameralism as a way to diffuse the power of Congress, which prevented it from overwhelming the other two branches of government. NJ Plan & VA Plan

Congressional Terms Each term of Congress lasts 2 years. The beginning of each 2 year term is “noon of the 3rd day

in January” of every odd numbered year. So the Congressmen we elected last year started

January 3rd, 2013. While each term is 2 years, there are no term limits in

Congress. This means the same Senator or Representative can

stay in Congress for life as long as he/she keeps getting reelected.

Term Limits: Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QORVqG3rN5Y&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPRJMGnGrfE&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

Sessions

A session of Congress is that period of time during each year when Congress assembles and conducts business.

There are two sessions to each term of Congress, with one session each year. These sessions usually last most of the

year, with several short weeklong breaks during a session.

Special Sessions A special session is a meeting of Congress or an individual

house to deal with some emergency situation. Only 27 special sessions of Congress have ever been called

by the President. Most recent: President Harry Truman in 1948 in the

aftermath of World War II. Senate alone has been called into special session 46 times to

consider treaties or presidential appointments, but not since 1933.

The President may call Congress into a special session, however Congressional leadership has as well…though their authority is not supreme.

House of Representatives Representation based on

population Each state guaranteed 1

seat in the House. Example: Alaska &

Delaware each have 1 representative.

435 Representatives total. Redistribution of the number

of members takes place every 10 years, which coincides with the census.

Qualifications for the House

Must be at least 25 Citizen of the U.S. for at least 7

years Must be an inhabitant of the

State from which he or she is elected

Reapportionment Act of 1929 In 1920, The House kept getting bigger & bigger.

Conducting business became difficult. 1920 census comes out & if Congress were to

reapportion seats in the House, then some States would have to lose seats if every State were to be represented according to its population.

But they did do something in 1929: The Reapportionment Act. Set the “permanent” size of Representatives at 435.

Districts Each Representative in the House

represents their district

We are in VA’s 10th Congressional district. Republican Frank Wolf is our Rep.

In small states with only one Representative, the district is the whole state, and the entire population votes – not just a district (Ex: Delaware & North Dakota).

The Senate

Equal Representation (NJ Plan!)

6 year terms All time record – Republican Strom

Thurmond was elected to the Senate 8 times, and served for 48 years.

Each state gets 2 Senators

Virginia’s are: That means, 100 Senators total.

50 x 2 = 100

Above: (D) Mark Warner

(D) Tim Kaine

Qualifications for the Senate

At least 30 years old

Citizen of the U.S. for at least nine years

Must be an inhabitant of the State from which he or she is elected

The Senate The Founding Fathers hoped

that the smaller Senate would be a more enlightened and responsible body than the House.

They thought the House would be too often swayed by the immediate impact of events and by the passions of the moment

“The World’s Greatest Deliberative Body”

The Senate

The Senate is a “continuous body” This means that all of its seats are never

up for election at the same time. 6 year terms give Senators some job

security Since they represent an entire State, they

have a huge constituency, which means the people and interests the Senators represent.

Comparing both Houses of Congress

House of Representatives The SenateLarger body (435 members) Smaller body (100 members)Shorter term (2 years) Longer term (6 years)Smaller constituencies (elected from districts within States)

Larger constituencies (elected from the entire State)

Younger members Older membersLess prestige More prestigeMost work done in committees, not on the floor

Work is split more evenly between committees & the floor

Strict rules, limited debate Flexible rules, nearly unlimited debate

No power over treaties/presidential appointments

Approves/rejects treaties & presidential appointments

Gerrymandering Gerrymandering – District lines that have been drawn

to the advantage of the political party that controls the State’s legislature

Most often gerrymandering takes one of two forms: Lines are drawn to concentrate the oppositions

voters in one or a few districts, thus leaving the other districts comfortable safe for the dominant party

Or to spread the opposition as thinly as possible among several districts, limiting the oppositions ability to win anywhere in the region

Happens today!

The Profile of Congress

The average member is a white male in his early 50s. There are more women in Congress today than ever There are 42 African Americans, 24 Hispanics, 5 Asian

Americans, and 1 Native American in the House. There is 1 African American, 2 Hispanics, 1 Asian

American, and 1 Native Hawaiian in the Senate.

The Profile of Congress

Well over 1/3rd in the House and well over ½ in the Senate are lawyers, and nearly all went to college.

There are several multi-millionaires However, a surprisingly large number of the men and

women who sit in Congress depend on their congressional salaries as their major source of income.

So do these people represent the people?

How They Cast Their Votes Our representatives can vote on four different views

1.) Trustees – These representatives vote on the basis of themselves. They don’t represent their constituency.

2.) Delegate – These representatives vote on the basis of their constituency only. They vote on what “the folks back home would want.”

3.) Partisans – These representatives vote in line with the political party they identify with

4.) Politicos – A combination of all the above.

Salary and Benefits Senators and Representatives make $162,000 per year.

A few make more: The Speaker of the House makes $208,100 per year

House Minority/Majority floor leaders in both houses make $180,100 per year.

They also receive special tax deductions

They receive travel allowances to go to Washington

Franking Privilege: Allows them to mail letters and other materials postage-free by substituting their signature instead of the postage.