The Bicameral Congress
0 British Parliament – has consisted of two houses
since 1300s
0 Most colonies and early states had bicameral
legislatures
0 Constitutional Convention (1787)
0 Consideration given to Virginia and New Jersey plans
0 the Great Compromise (Connecticut Compromise)
0 Senate – equal representation (2 per state)
0 House of Representatives – representation based on
population
Terms of Congress
0 Each term lasts two years
0 First term March 4, 1789 – March 4, 1791
0 Why did this date (March 4) change???
20th Amendment
0 Congress now begins a new term at noon on January 3rd of
every odd-numbered year.
0 Congress began a new term this year on January 3rd
0 Sessions of Congress
0 Time when Congress assembles to do conduct business
0 Two sessions for each term – one per year
0 Prior to World War II – Congress was in session 4-5 months/year
0 Congress currently remains in session most of the year
Terms of Congress cont’d
0 When Congress adjourns
0 Suspension of business
until the next session
0 Requires approval of both
houses when exceeding 3
days
0 President has the power to
prorogue (end a session)
0 Only when Congress
cannot agree upon a date
0 Never been done
0 Special sessions
0 Called by President only
0 For emergency situations
0 Only 27 have been called
0 Most notable in 1861 and 1933
0 President can also call House
or Senate into special session
individually
0 Senate has been called upon 46
times
0 Consider treaties or
appointments
Why are there fewer special sessions these days?
The House of Representatives
0 Consists of 435 members
0 Number not fixed by the
Constitution
0 Set by Congress
0 Each state has at least 1
0 Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North
Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont,
and Wyoming
0 House members serve terms of
two years
0 No limit on number of terms
0 Qualifications:
0 25 years old
0 US citizen for at least 7 years
0 Resident of state in which
elected
0 Georgia’s Representatives to
the 113th Congress
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Jack Kingston (R)
Sanford Bishop Jr. (D)
Lynn Westmoreland(R)
Henry Johnson (D)
John Lewis (D)
Tom Price (R)
Robert Woodall (R)
Austin Scott (R)
Doug Collins (R)
Paul Broun (R)
Phil Gingrey (R)
John Barrow (D)
David Scott (D)
Tom Graves (R)
Phil Gingrey (R)
Tom Price (R)
Reapportionment – redistribution of the
seats in the House
0 Began with 65 seats
0 First national census taken in 1790 (4 mil)
0 Increased # to 106 seats
0 Census of 1910 resulted in 435 seats
0 Reapportionment Act of 1929
0 Permanent size of the House is 435 members
0 Each seat represents approximately 650,000 people
0 Who could change this?
0 Census Bureau determines number of seats each State should
have – after each census
0 President sends Census Bureau’s plan to Congress for approval
0 If neither house rejects after 60 days, it becomes effective
http://www.census.gov/2010census/pdf/20
10_Questionnaire_Info.pdf
http://www.census.gov/cbdmap/
The Senate
“shall be composed of two members from each state”
0 Started with 26 members
0 Currently 100 members
representing 50 states
0 Serve 6-year terms
0 No limit to number of terms
0 Terms are staggered
0 1/3 are up for election every
two years
0 Makes the Senate a
continuous body
0 Less subject to public opinion
& special interests
0 Qualifications:
0 30 years old
0 Citizen of US for at least
9 years
0 Resident of state in
which elected
0 Georgia’s Senators:
0 Saxby Chambliss (R)
0 Johnny Isakson (R)
Senate Facts
0 Longest serving Senator
0 Robert Byrd (D-WV)
0 51 years, 5 months
0 Salary:
0 1815 - $1,500
0 2013 - $174,000
0 Leadership gets $193,400
0 Participated in the Olympics:
0 Wendell Anderson – Hockey
0 Bill Bradley – Basketball
0 Ben Campbell - Judo
0 Gone on to serve as President:
0 James Monroe
0 John Q. Adams
0 Andrew Jackson
0 Martin Van Buren
0 William Henry Harrison
0 John Tyler
0 Franklin Pierce
0 James Buchanan
0 Andrew Johnson
0 Benjamin Harrison
0 Warren G. Harding
0 Harry Truman
0 John Kennedy
0 Lyndon Johnson
0 Richard Nixon
0 Barack Obama
Congressional Elections
Since 1872 elections are held on the Tuesday following the
first Monday in November of each even-numbered year
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
0 At-large
0 Elected by state as a whole
0 Party with plurality of
voters had advantage
0 Single-member district
SENATE
0 Chosen by the voters in each
state since…
17th Amendment
(1913)
0 1/3 of senators are up for
election every two years
0 3 classes of senators
0 Voters in each district
choose from a field of
candidates
Which states still vote “at-large”?
0 Only one senator from a
state is elected in any given
election
Differences Between
House and Senate
House of Representatives
Senate
0 Larger body (435 members)
0 Smaller body (100 members)
0 Shorter term (2 years)
0 Longer term (6 years)
0 Smaller constituencies (elected by
0 Larger constituencies (elected by
0 Younger membership
0 Older membership
0 Less media visibility
0 High media visibility
0 No power over treaties or
0 Approves/Rejects treaties and
districts)
presidential appointments
state)
presidential appointments
Congressional Profile
(as of 2011)
0 Age
0 Senate – 62 years old (Youngest
39; Oldest 87)
0 House – 56 years old (Youngest
29; Oldest 89)
0 Religion
0 57% Protestant
0 29% Catholic
0 7% Jewish
0 Occupations
0 Law
0 Business
0 Public Service/Politics
0 Gender
0 83% male
0 17% female
0 Education
0 Bachelor’s Degree
0 92% of House
0 99% of Senate
0 Master’s Degree
0 19% of House
0 16% of Senate
0 Ph.D
0 2% of House
0 0% of Senate
Congressional Leadership
Senate
0 President of the Senate
0 "The Vice President of the United States shall be President
of the Senate but shall have no Vote, unless they be equally
divided."
Joseph Biden
0 President Pro Tempore – “for the time being”
0 Serves in VP’s absence
0 Early years – served on temporary basis
0 Chosen based on personal characteristics, popularity, &
reliability
Patrick Leahy
0 Since mid-20th century
0 Senior member of the majority party
0 Cannot vote to break a tie
Congressional Leadership
cont’d
0 Senate Majority Leader 0 Floor leaders are elected by
members of their own party
0 Harry Reid (D)
0 One serves as majority
leader; one as minority
0 Majority Whip
leader
0 Richard Durbin (D)
0 Serve as spokesmen for
parties’ positions
0 Senate Minority Leader
0 Whips are also elected by
0 Mitch McConnell (R)
both parties
0 Minority Whip
0 John Cornyn (R)
0 Responsible for counting
heads and gathering party
members for votes or
quorum calls
Congressional Leadership cont’d
House of Representatives
0 Speaker of the House (Leader of the majority party)
0 Elected by whole House
0 Presiding officer and administrative head
John Boehner (R)
0 Majority Leader
Eric Cantor (R)
0 Represents Republicans on House floor
0 Elected every 2 years
0 Plans legislative agenda
0 Majority Whip
0 Assists leadership in managing legislation
0 Keeps track of legislation
0 Ensures presence of party members for votes
Kevin McCarthy (R)
Congressional Leadership
cont’d
0 Democratic Leader
0 Nancy Pelosi (D)
0 Represents Democrats on the House floor
0 Counterpart of majority leader
0 Works to protect rights of minority party
0 Democratic Whip
0 Steny Hoyer (D)
0 Assists leadership in managing party’s
legislative policy
0 Tracks legislation
0 Ensures presence of party members for votes