CHAPTER 13CONGRESS

A bicameral Congress

I. Bicameral Congress: 2 houses

WHY???

A. Historical reasons: British parliament had two house and so did most of colonies.

B. Practical reasons: Only way to get the Constitution passed was to go along with both the large states and small states

C. Theoretical reasons: Two houses would diffuse the power of Congress. (It was suppose to be the ruling body with the power of governing.

Terms and Session

Term: = 2 years 112th Congress will go until 2013

Session: = l year

2 sessions = 1 term

Each session and term starts January 3rd

B. GERRYMANDERING

1. Drawing district lines in a strange shape to guarantee a party wins or to prevent a party from winning

2. This act keeps most seats as “safe” in elections

Barney Frank’s 4th District

C. Misc. House Info1. Wesberry vs. Sanders (1964): important

court case that said all congressional districts must be equal in population. Moved control of Congress from rural America to the cities (urban).

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

A. SIZE OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: 435 set by Congress.

Each District = about 700,000 people MATH?: If Virginia has 11 congressional

districts, what is the population of Virginia _________________The Bureau of the Census takes the Census

every ten years and tells each state how many districts it has. State legislatures draw the lines

2. Formal and informal qualifications for Representatives

a. Formal: 25, 7 years citizen, resident of state b. Informal: a) Being an incumbent helps (90% of those seeking re-election succeed. b) Fundraising abilities: Cost over $1 million to run c) Name familiarity d) Political experience e) Ethnicity/gender f) Party identification or lack thereof

THE SENATE

“a necessary fence” against the “fickleness and passion” of the House of Representatives – James Madison

A body which has time and security enough to keep its head. Woodrow Wilson

A. Size, election and terms

1. 100 = 2 from 50 states

2. Each serve 6 years: 1/3rd of Senate is

is elected every 2 years so it is called

a “continuous body” or “rotating” body.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

B. Formal and informal qualifications for office.

1.Formal: At least 30, 9 years citizen, resident of state

2. Informal: Same as House

a. Party, b. Name familiarity, c. gender,

d. ethnicity, e. political

experience, f. incumbency

I. Organization of CongressA. Leaders of Congress 1. Speaker of the House – Paul Ryan a. recognizes who speaks b. assigns bills to committee c. appoints members to select committees

2. President of the Senate

a. Is the current Vice-President

b. It is a Constitutional position, not an elected position.

c. Only powers is to recognize who speaks and vote in case of a tie.

3. President Pro Tempore of Senate

a. Presiding officer in absence of VP

b. Given to majority party leader with most years of membership

• ORRIN HATCH

4. Majority/minority leaders

Senate: Harry Reid D/Mitch McConnell

House: R/Nancy Pelosi D

a. Quarterback whose job is to get a bill over the goal post. Plans strategies to get all party’s bills through

b. First to speak on any bill

c. Grants favors with extra office space, helps with choice committee assignments

5. Majority/Minority Whips

a. Liaison between leaders and members

b. Keeps tracks of votes

c. Takes care of “pairing” – members of opposite party pair up when missing a vote

6. Committee Chairmen

a. Decide when committees meet

b. Assign staff, money research

c. Call witnesses

B. Committee Structure

1. Where most of the work is done and where most bills die

2. Each committee same ratio of the party make-up in both houses. The majority party rules each committee is chaired by the majority party.

3. Seniority Rule: Chairmen of committees are chosen by seniority. The majority member who has served longest gets to be the chairman.

4. Pros and Cons of Seniority RulePros

1 Guarantees experience

2 Prevents intraparty fighting

3 Smooth transition of power

Cons

1. Best person does not get the position

2. New ideas have hard time getting heard

3. Chairmen come from single-party districts

B.PRIVILEGES OF CONGRESS

1. Free from arrest going to and from Congress and during a session of Congress. Why?

2. Speech and Debate Clause: Cannot be sued for anything said in Congress or committee. Article 1, Section 6, Why?

3. Franking privilege: Means free use of the mail. Why?

4. Free trips home and around the world

C. Compensation• Pay

– Fixed at $174,000– Speaker of the House-

$223,500– Senate president pro

tem, majority and minority floor leaders – $193,400

• Federal tax deduction• Travel allowances• Pay little for life and

health insurance• Funds to hire staff• Offices provided in one

of the buildings near the capitol