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THE ORGANIZATION OF CONGRESS
Chapter 5
CONGRESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPCH. 5, SEC. 1
Describe the characteristics of membership in Congress
Content Vocabulary Bicameral legislature- two house chamber;
Senate and House of Rep. Session- meeting of Congress Census- population count (every 10 yrs) Reapportionment- process to divide the
number of reps among the states Redistricting- process of setting up new
district lines after reapportionment Gerrymandering- process of drawing district
boundary lines to gain an advantage Incumbent- members already in office
Congressional Sessions Congressional terms start on January 3rd of odd
years Terms last 2 years Terms have 2 sessions; each last 1 year The President can call Congress into special
sessionThere are a total of 535 members
435- House100- Senate
Currently- 114th Congress
Membership of the House 435 members Members are apportioned among the
states based on pop.
Pennsylvania has 18 repsCalifornia has 52 reps
Montana has 1 rep(1 Rep per 400,000 people)
Qualifications of the House 25 years or older Citizen of the U.S. for at least 7 yrs Legal resident of the state that elects
them
Terms of Office for House Members
2 year term Elected in November of even years Terms start on January 3rd following
election
Representation and Reapportionment
A census is taken every ten years for reapportionment.
If a states pop. goes down they may lose representatives; if it goes up they may gain them.
Reapportionment Act of 1929 fixed the number of reps in the House at 435
Redistricting After the census, state legislatures can
redraw the district lines in their state.
States abuse their power of redistricting by Gerrymandering- drawing lines to gain an advantage in elections.
Gerrymandering results in odd shaped districts
Elbridge Gerry – Salamander - Gerrymander
Pennsylvania Congressional Districts
Find Your Representative in the U.S. House of Representatives
Norristown, East Norriton, West Norriton
Allyson Schwartz (D)
District 13 Pat Meehan (R)
District 7
Jim Gerlach (R)District 6
Brendan Boyle (D)
Ryan Costello (R)
Qualifications of the Senate
30 years old Citizen for at least 9 years Legal resident of the state they rep.
Terms for Senators Elections held in Nov. of odd numbered
years Terms start on Jan. 3 6 yr terms
PA SenatorsRobert Casey
DemocratPat ToomeyRepublican
Salaries of Benefits Current salary is $174,000/year
Congress sets its own salary however, 27th Amendment- prohibits a sitting Congress from giving itself a pay raise
Congress’s Job DutiesLegislator – make laws
Committee member- Screen and revise bills
Constituent Rep- represents the people back home
Constituent Servant- Does favors for citizens
Politician- works for the party
The Voting Roles of Congressmen
Trustee- votes based on their own judgment
Delegate- votes based on opinion of the constituents
Partisan- votes with the party
Politico- balances all three