Unit 4: Institutions of Government

Legislative Branch

Snapshot of Congress-1

• Legislative Branch: lawmaking body (Federal, State and Local levels)– Bicameral Congress: 2 houses (House and Senate)• Location: Washington DC Capital building• Nickname: “The Hill”

• Why do we have a bicameral Congress?

Why do we have a bicameral Congress?

• Historically, Great Britain did• Practically, settle a dispute between large and

small states over representation• Theoretically, can create a checks on each

other between the houses

Bicameral Congress

Congressional Term: 2 years

• Each term is numbered consecutively January 2015 to January 2017We will be starting the 114th session of Congress • We are currently in the 2nd session of the 113th session

of Congress• 20th amendment (1933):

– Term begins on January 3 of odd numbered year– Used to start in March

– Why did we move the start date of Congressional (and Presidential) Terms from March to January?

Why did we move the start date of Congressional (and Presidential) Terms from March to January?

– Historically the gap allowed for delays in communication and travel

– However, we no longer have this issue and restricts the amount of work Congress can do.

Sessions: 1 year long (2 sessions in one term)

• Adjourn/recess: suspend work until the next session• Congress can determine when they will adjourn and

start a session• They are in session most of the year, but take short

recesses (Holidays, elections)• Both houses must agree to adjourn

What about an emergency??Special sessions: meeting to deal with an emergency situation

• Only the President can call a special session after Congress has adjourned

• Brooklyn Times/S.S. Byck, 1933• When Congress was “on a retreat” from

the Depression in 1933, Roosevelt’s President Roosevelt called a special session of Congress, saying that unemployment could only be solved “by direct recruiting by the Government itself.” For the next three months, Roosevelt proposed, and Congress passed, Glass-Steagall and other key bills to deal with the crisis; this session became known as the Hundred Days.

– State: OHIO’S legislative body is called the General Assembly• Located in Columbus, OH (House and Senate) discuss

later when focus on Ohio government and Constitution

Resources for information

• https://www.congress.gov• https://www.congress.gov/help/legislative-glo

ssary• http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.

action?collectionCode=GPO&browsePath=The+Constitution+of+the+United+States+of+America:+Analysis+and+Interpretation

• http://schillerinstitute.org/lar_related/2011/lyn_webcast_0122_qna.html

•

Snapshot of Congress—page 2

House of Representatives: representation based on population

Speaker of the House John Boehner addresses the 113th Congress in the Capitol in Washington January 3, 2013. reuters.com

Size: 435 people (not a fixed number by the Constitution) but determined by Congress

• Constitution says the total number of seats shall be apportioned (distributed) on the basis of the states population• Each state is guaranteed at least 1 seat• DC, Guam, Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands and

American Samoa and Puerto Rico has a resident commissioner– They are not allowed to vote on the floor– Can introduce bills, speak in debates and vote in committee

Term

• Serve for 2 years• Founding Fathers wanted the Reps to stay close to the

people back home since the directly represent their issues at the federal level.• No Constitutional limits on the number of terms a

member of US Congress can serve

2 longest serving members of House!John Dingell (R ) Michigan 58 years! (1955), did not run for re-election this year ending his streak

John Conyers ( D) Michigan 49 years (1965)

Reapportionment: redistribution of seats in the House after the census

• Census (counting of people) takes place every 10 years• Reapportionment Act of 1929 set the number of Reps

at 435• 1 Rep for every 575,00-600,000 people• Number of Reps per state may change after each

census• After 2010 census, Ohio lost 2 seats

How are the seats in the House of Representatives apportioned?

2010 reapportionment

How are the seats in the House of Representatives apportioned?

• Apportionment is based on the population of each state after the census

• Congress set the number to 435 in 1929, but should it be expanded?

Congressional elections

• Since 1872, All Reps are elected on the same day in all 50 states on the Tuesday following the 1st Monday of November of each even-numbered year• You can only vote for Rep running in your district

– 15th Distict: Steve Stivers (R) 2011 (just won re-election)

• Vacancy (open seat)?: Governor could call for a special election, only for that district– Death, resignation

Considered one of the biggest political upsets of modern times

– Eric Cantor (who was House Majority Leader Republican until Aug. 2014) resigned from Congress to take a Wall Street job after losing the Republican primary to Dave Brat. Brat won the seat in the November 4th election

– 1st time (since Majority leader created in 1899) that a sitting majority leader lost his seat!

Congressional Districts: area where a House member represents

• Drawn by each state’s legislative body• Single member districts: voter’s elect one person to

represent their district

• http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/upload/reshape/congressional/congressional-statewide.pdf

• http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/upload/reshape/GA/Adopted-House.pdf

Gerrymandering: drawing districts to the advantage of the

party controlling the state’s legislature

• Packing: putting minority party in just a few districts

• Cracking: spreading minority party thinly through many districts

• Creates districts with funny shapes

Gerrymandering in Ohio?

Court Cases to combat?• Wesberry v. Sanders (1964): Supreme Court ruled that

Georgia’s districts were in violation of the Constitution– Districts were not equal in population– “one person, one vote”

• Shaw v. Reno (1993)– Race can not be used as main factor in determining districts to

increase or decrease the power of the race in elections

• Hunt v Comartie (2001)– Gerrymandering could be done as longs as districts were equal in

population. – Race could be used to draw district lines as long as not the only

factor.

• Why do politicians gerrymander districts?

Why do politicians gerrymander districts?

• To create districts that their party is almost certain to win in an election for the next 10 years!

Who Represents You at National Level?

• 16 US Congressional Districts based on the 2010 Census (we lost 2 seats)

• 15th Congressional District: Steve Stivers (R) since 2011- Financial Services Committee

Who Represents You at the State Level?

• 99 Ohio Congressional districts (set by Ohio Law in 1966)

• 77th Ohio House District: Gerald Stebleton (R ) since 2006- Education, Judiciary, and Ways and Means

Qualifications to be a House Member

• Formal for US House- US Constitution (Article I)– 25 years of age– Citizen of the US for 7 years– Must be inhabitant of State that are being elected from

(custom to be living in the district you represent too)– House is a judge of qualifications, so could technically

refuse/remove members on a majority vote

• Informal for US House– Candidate’s vote getting abilities… the whole package

(descriptive representation)– No term limits

Qualifications to be a House Member

• Formal for Ohio House- OH Constitution (Article 2)– Must be a resident of the district– Have resided in the district for one year immediately

preceding the election– Be a qualified elector (18 years old)– Term limits (set in 1992 referendum): 8 consecutive years. Re-

eligible to run after 4 years.

Resources for Information• http://www.house.gov• http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/vacancies.aspx• http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/05/15/americas-most-

gerrymandered-congressional-districts/• http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/upload/reshape/congressional/congressional-state

wide.pdf• http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/upload/reshape/GA/Adopted-House.pdf• http://www.ohiohouse.gov/index• http://stivers.house.gov• http://www.ohiohouse.gov/gerald-l-stebelton• http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/constitution.cfm?Part=2&Section=02• http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/03/us-usa-congress-idUSBRE90203V2013

0103

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Conyers• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dingell• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_congressional_districts• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering

Snapshot of Congress—page 3

• Senate: representation is 2 per State

• Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) spoke for 21 hours and 19 minutes during a filibuster in the Senate taken from United Liberty.org

Size 100 people (as set by the US Constitution)

• Founding Fathers felt that Senators would be a more enlightened and responsible group• Senators represent a whole state, a more diverse

population• Qualifications are stricter

Term:

• 6 year terms• Staggered terms: 1/3 are elected every 2 years (started in

1789)• Divided into 3 classes (the 1st, 1st class only had a 2 year term and 2nd class

only had a 4 year term)

• Continuous body: seats are never all up for re-election so it is considered always to be in session

• Longer term gives Senators some insulation from day to day politics and they may be less subject to the pressures of public opinion and special interest groups

Why is the Senate called a Continuous body?How is a Senator’s constituency (the people he represents) different than a House Member’s constituency?

Member of the 1st, 1st class!

• Tristram Dalton• Massachusetts• 1789-1791 (only a 2

year term)• Lost in his re-election

Why is the Senate called a Continuous body?

• 1/3 are elected every 2 year seats are never all up for re-election so it is considered always to be in session

How is a Senator’s constituency (the people he represents) different than a House

Member’s constituency? • Senate larger more diverse body as he/she

represents an entire State rather than a smaller, less diverse body of a district

Election

• Originally the Constitution called for Senators to be chose by the State legislatures• 17th amendment (1913): people would directly elect

senators – Party Politics and money began to shape selection Senate

Millionaire’s Club

• Only one senator up for election at a time.• At large election: the whole state votes for a senator• Vacancy: Most states allow the Governor to choose

replacement until either special election or November Election (which ever comes first) Ohio is one

This political cartoon criticizes the Senate as a millionaire club full of corruption

How did the 17th amendment change the way we elect Senators?

• Changed from state legislatures to direct election

Who represents you at the National Level?

• Sherrod Brown (D) class I (expires 2019): since 2007-– Committees: Agriculture,

Nutrition and Forestry; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs (Chair of Sub on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protections); Finance (Chair of Sub on Social Security, Pensions and Family Policy); Veteran Affairs, Select Committee on Ethics

Who represents you at the National Level?

• Rob Portman (R) class III (expires 2017): since 2010-– Committees: Finance;

Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Energy and Natural Resources; Budget

Who represents you at the State Level?

• 33 Ohio Senate Districts (set by Ohio law in 1966)

• Troy Balderson (R) Senate District 20: since 2011-

• Committees: Agriculture, Education, (Chair) Energy and Natural Resources, General Gov’t Finance Subcommittee, Public Utilities, Transportation, Workforce and Economic Development

• http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/upload/reshape/GA/Adopted-Senate.pdf

Qualifications to be a Senator

• Formal for US Senator- US Constitution (Article I)– 30 years of age– Citizen of the US for 9 years– Must be inhabitant of State that are being elected from – House is a judge of qualifications, so could technically

refuse/remove members on a majority vote

•

Qualifications to be a Senator

• Formal for Ohio Senator- Ohio Constitution (Article II)– Must be a resident of the district– Have resided in the district for one year immediately

preceding the election– Be a qualified elector (18 years old)– Term limits (set in 1992 referendum): 8 consecutive years. Re-

eligible to run after 4 years– Staggered principle-1/2 elected each 2 years– Odd v. even districts only vote on your district senator

Resources for Information• http://www.senate.gov• http://www.senate.gov/reference/Index/Elections.htm• http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/vacancies-in-the-

united-states-senate.aspx• http://www.brown.senate.gov• http://www.portman.senate.gov/public/• http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Constitut

ional_Qualifications_Senators.htm• http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/constitution.cfm?Part=2&Section=02• http://www.ohiosenate.gov/senate/education/history-of-the-ohio-senate• http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/upload/reshape/GA/Adopted-Senate.pdf• http://www.ohiosenate.gov/balderson• http://www.unitedliberty.org/articles/15082-top-10-longest-senate-filibus

ters• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tristram_Dalton• http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/what-is-the-17th-amendme

nt-definition-summary-history.html#lesson

Snapshot of Congress—page 4

• Members of Congress…who are they?

http://www.thewire.com/politics/2013/01/day-jobs-113th-congress/60918/

Personal/Political Background the “average” as of November 24, 2014Party

• Party– House

» 234 Republicans» 207 Democrats (includes 5 delegates and resident

commissioner)– Senate

» 53 Democrats» 2 Independents (who caucus with Dems)» 45 Republicans

Resources for Information

• http://www.pewforum.org/2012/11/16/faith-on-the-hill-the-religious-composition-of-the-113th-congress/

• http://www.senate.gov/CRSReports/crs-publish.cfm?pid=%260BL%2BR\C%3F%0A

• https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/three_column_table/Senators.htm

• http://history.house.gov/• http://www.senate.gov/CRSReports/crs-publi

sh.cfm?pid=%270E%2C*PL[%3D%23P%20%20%0A

• http://www.thewire.com/politics/2013/01/day-jobs-113th-congress/60918/

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