Chapter 10: Congress
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 2 Chapter 10, Section 1
Congress – with all of its faults – is the most representative body in the land. It reflects – however imperfectly – the bigness and diversity of America. It responds – however imperfectly – to the expressed hopes, desires, and ambitions of the American people.
-Acceptance Remarks from The Honorable Lee H. Hamilton, U.S. Capitol Historical Society, 2005
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 3 Chapter 10, Section 1
Introduction
• Why does the Constitution establish a bicameral legislature?
Historically: Parliament has two houses as did most of the colonial legislatures.
Practically: two houses were adopted as part of the Great Compromise
Theoretically: having two house of Congress means that one house can check the powers of the other.
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 4 Chapter 10, Section 1
The National Legislature
• Congress turns the will of the people into public policy by passing laws.
• The Constitution spends more space detailing the Legislative Branch than any other branch.
• Challenge: Members of Congress represent the issues of their states, but must also work together to solve national issues.
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 5 Chapter 10, Section 1
Representation
• Each state is equally represented in the Senate and represented by population in the House.
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 6 Chapter 10, Section 1
The Capital
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 7 Chapter 10, Section 1
112th Congress convenes in 2012
Congressional Terms
• Beginning in 1789, Congress has met for
two-year terms.
– The 20th Amendment (1933) states that
Congressional terms start on January 3rd of
every odd-numbered year.
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 8 Chapter 10, Section 1
Adjourning Congress
A session is the regular period of time during
which Congress conducts business.
• Congress adjourns, or suspends until the next session,
each regular session as it sees fit.
• Only the President may call Congress into a special
session—a meeting to deal with some emergency
situation. (A joint session has been called 27 times)
Chapter 10: Congress
House of Representatives
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 10 Chapter 10, Section 1
Introduction
• There are currently 435 seats in the House.
• Seats are distributed based on the population
of each state
• each state has at least one representative.
• The Reapportionment Act of 1929 fixed
the size of the House at 435 members.
– Congress can change this number if it wishes.
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 11 Chapter 10, Section 1
Census
• Every 10 years the Census Bureau counts
the national population.
• Article I of the Constitution directs
Congress to reapportion—redistribute—
the seats in the House after each census.
– Currently, each seat in the House represents
about 700,000 people.
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 12 Chapter 10, Section 1
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 13 Chapter 10, Section 1
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 14 Chapter 10, Section 1
8th – Jim Moran (D)
10th – Frank Wolf (R)
11th – Gerry Connolly (D)
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 15 Chapter 10, Section 1
Congressional Elections
• Representatives are elected every two years.
• Elections are held on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November of even-numbered years.
• Elections held in nonpresidential years are called off-year elections.
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 16 Chapter 10, Section 1
Congressional Districts
• Representatives are elected from single-
member congressional districts.
– The voters in each district can elect only one
representative to the House.
– Each district in each state must have similar-
sized populations.
– Seven states have only one representative, so
their district consists of the entire state.
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 17 Chapter 10, Section 1
Gerrymandering
• Gerrymandering involves drawing the borders of districts to favor one political party.
• This includes either ―packing‖ (clustering voters) or ―cracking‖ (spreading them out)
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 18 Chapter 10, Section 1
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 19 Chapter 10, Section 1
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 20 Chapter 10, Section 1
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 21 Chapter 10, Section 1
Formal Qualifications
• Custom requires representatives to live in the
districts they represent.
• Representatives must:
– Be at least 25 years old
– Have been a U.S. citizen for at least 7 years
– Be an inhabitant of the state from which he or
she is elected.
• Being an incumbent is a big advantage—more than 90 percent of those seeking reelection to the House win.
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 22 Chapter 10, Section 1
Informal Qualifications
• Include factors such as gender, ethnicity, political experience, name recognition, and party affiliation.
• Heath Shuler (D., NC) had no
political experience before his election to the House in 2006.
– Shuler had been an NFL quarterback and owned a real estate business.
– He was approached by both parties to run for office.
Chapter 10: Congress
Senate
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 24 Chapter 10, Section 1
Introduction
• The Senate has 100 members, two from each state.
• Members are elected to six-year terms.
• The 17th Amendment (1912) calls for the popular election of senators
• The Senate is a continuous body, meaning that all of its seats are never up for election at the same time.
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 25 Chapter 10, Section 1
Qualifications
• Senators are members of what is often called ―the world’s most exclusive club.‖
• Senators must be:
– at least 30 years old;
– a U.S. citizen for at least 9 years;
– reside in the state they represent.
Senator Edward Kennedy (D., Mass)
Chapter 10: Congress
Section 4
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 27 Chapter 10, Section 1
Introduction
• Members of each house have five major roles. They act as:
– Legislators
– Representatives of their constituents
– Servants of their constituents
– Committee members
– Politicians
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 28 Chapter 10, Section 1
112th Congress
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 29 Chapter 10, Section 1
112th Congress Demographics
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 30 Chapter 10, Section 1
Profile of the 112th Congress
Chapter 10, Section 4 2 3 1
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 31 Chapter 10, Section 1
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 32 Chapter 10, Section 1
Representatives of the People
Trustees Trustees believe that each question they face must be decided on its merits.
Delegates Delegates see themselves as agents of the people who elected them.
Partisans Lawmakers who owe their first allegiance to their political party are partisans.
Politicos Politicos attempt to combine the basic elements of the trustee, delegate, and partisan roles.
Senators and representatives are elected to represent
people. As legislators they have four voting options:
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 33 Chapter 10, Section 1
Overview of Members
• Congress is made up mostly of upper-middle-class Americans.
– Most of the 535 members of Congress are married white men aged 50 or older who have college degrees and identify themselves as Christians.
– Congress has 89 women, 44 African Americans, 29 Hispanics, seven Asian Americans, and one Native American.
– The typical senator is serving a second term, while the average representative has served four terms.
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 34 Chapter 10, Section 1
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 35 Chapter 10, Section 1
Committee Members
• Members of Congress do much of their work in committees.
• Committee members must decide which bills will die in committee and which ones will move ahead to be voted on.
• Committee members also provide oversight of executive branch agencies, making sure that they carry out the public policies set by law.
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 36 Chapter 10, Section 1
Compensation
• Congress sets its own pay.
• Today, rank-and-file
senators and
representatives make
$174,000 per year.
• Leaders are paid
$193,400.
• The Speaker gets
$223,500.
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 37 Chapter 10, Section 1
―Fringe‖ Benefits
• Benefits include access to inexpensive
health care, free parking, and generous
pensions.
• Members receive funds to hire staff and
run their rent-free offices.
• The franking privilege allows members of
Congress mail letters and other materials
without postage.
• They can print items for free, and produce
radio or television tapes at low cost.
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 38 Chapter 10, Section 1
Copyright © Pearson Education, Inc. Slide 39 Chapter 10, Section 1
Membership Privileges
• Members of
Congress are
immune from
arrest for
noncriminal
offenses while
engaged in
congressional
business.
• More importantly, the
Speech and Debate
Clause (Article I,
Section 6, Clause 1)
protects
representatives and
senators from suits
for libel or slander
arising from their
official conduct.