November 30, 2015
Objectives: To develop a better
understanding of Congress
Question: How many representatives to
the House does Washington have?
CONGRESS
The Constitution and the Legislative
Branch of Government
Article I creates a bicameral legislative branch of
government.
The upper house is called the Senate in which each state
receives two representatives.

Name WA’s two Senators.
The lower house is called the House of Representatives
which is apportioned by population.

Name your Representative for the 10th District.
The Senate has a six-year term with 1/3 of the seats up for
reelection every two years.
 Name which of our State’s senators just won re-election.
House members serve two-year terms.
Apportionment and
Redistricting
The Constitution requires that all Americans be
counted every ten years by a census.
The census determines the representation in the
House of Representatives.
Redistricting (the redrawing of congressional districts to
reflect changes in seats allocated to the states from
population shifts) is done by state legislatures and, of
course, always has political overtones.
When the process is outrageously political, it is
called gerrymandering and is often struck down by
the courts.
Spend
Money
Taxation
Lawmaking
Regulate
Commerce
Powers of
Congress
Create
Courts
Declare
War
Make all laws
“necessary and proper” to carrying out
the enumerated powers
Constitutional Powers
of Congress
The most important constitutional
power of Congress is the power to
make laws.
This power is shared by the House
and the Senate.
In order to become a law, a bill must
be passed by both the House and the
Senate.
Key Differences
House
• Initiate revenue
•
•
•
•
•
bills
Two-year term
438
Formal
Specialist
Tax policy
Senate
• Advise and
•
•
•
•
•
consent
Six-year term
100
Relaxed
Generalist
Foreign policy
Congress Leadership
House:
 the Speaker of the House
 majority leader of the House (wields real power)
 minority leader of the House
 whips (assistants who aid the majority or
minority leaders)
Senate:
 presided by the Vice-President
 president pro tempore
 majority floor leader
 minority floor leader
The Members of Congress
Congress is older, better educated,
whiter, and richer than most of us.
However, great strides have been
made. Currently, both California and
Washington State senators are women.
 Points
 Can
to ponder:
a man represent a woman?
 Can a white person adequately represent the
views of a black person?
Committee Membership
Committee System - The real work of
Congress is done in committees.
Based on party affiliation
Seniority
Chairman-most seniority & power
There are 4 types of committees: 1.Standing
2. Special 3. Joint 4. Conference




Standing - always exist
Select - special purpose, limited time
Joint - members of both houses, investigate
something
Conference - members of both houses, work out
differences in legislation
Organization of
Congress
The Speaker of the House is the official
leader of the House of Representatives.
He/She is 3rd in line for the Presidency.
The speaker controls the selection of
Committee members in the House.
The Majority leader is second in power
behind the Speaker.
He/She presents the official position of the
party on issues and tries to keep party
members loyal to that position
Organization of
Congress
The President of the Senate is the
Vice–President of the U.S.
In cases of a tie, (50 – 50) the VicePresident will cast the tie breaking vote.
For day to day operations, a president
pro tempore is elected.
This person is usually party of the
majority party and senior member of the
Senate
Final 5
Which house of Congress do you think
will be more diverse? Why?
December 1, 2015
Objectives: To develop a better
understanding of Congress
Tomorrow: Mock Congress begins!
Get out your notes and charts
Get with your partner and write these
percentages down.
White 72%
Hispanics 11%
Black 13%
Asian/Pac. Islander 4%
Statistical Analysis
1.
2.
3.
4.
Identify which house of Congress is more
diverse.
African Americans are one of the largest minority
groups in the US population. How does the
African American percentage of total population
compare to their representation in Congress,
which has a total of 535 members (House +
Senate)?
Now compare the percentage of Hispanics in the
US population to their representation in
Congress.
EXTENDED RESPONSE: Use the ratios you
found to write an opinion statement on minority
representation in Congress.
The Representational Role
of Members of Congress
How should an elected official represent
his/her constituents?
Trustee - representatives use their own best
judgment
Delegate - representatives vote the way
their constituents want them to
Politico - representatives act as trustee or
delegate depending on the issue
6. YOUR OPINION: Which of these representational roles do
you agree with more? Explain why!
How Congress is Organized
Every two years, a new Congress is seated.

Which number will be assigned the Congress
sworn in on Jan. 4, 2016?
The first order of business is the election of
leaders and adoption of new rules.
Both houses of Congress are organized on
the basis of party for both leadership and
committee purposes.

Which party controls both houses of Congress?
How
a Bill
becomes
Law
Different Types of
Congressional Committees
Standing Committee: continues from
one Congress to the next.
Joint Committee: set up to expedite
business between the two houses.
Conference committee: special joint
committees that resolve differences in
bills passed by either house.
Ad hoc, special, or select
committees: temporary committees
designed for a specific purpose.
The Law-Making Function of Congress
Only a member of the House or Senate may
introduce a bill but anyone can write a bill.
Over 9,000 bills are proposed and fewer than
5 to 10% are enacted.
Most bills originate in the Executive Branch.

Who is the Chief Executive?
A bill must survive three stages to become a
law: committees, the floor, and the
conference committee. A bill can die at any
stage.
Gun Control Legislation
Following Publicized Shootings
Since 1968
How Members Make Decisions
It is rare for a legislator to disregard strong
wishes of constituents, particularly on hot-button
issues or those contentious issues that get a lot
of media attention.
Deciding how the voters feel is not possible.
The perceptions of the representative are
important since he/she cannot really know how all
the constituents feel about an issue.
If constituents have little knowledge or interest in
an issue, the legislator often makes an
autonomous decision.
How Members Make Decisions
Interest Groups Colleagues
Caucuses
Party
Representative
Constituents
Staff
Political Action Committees
Congress and the President
Especially since the
1930s, the president has
seemed to be more
powerful than Congress.
However, Congress
retains several key
powers vis-à-vis the
president:



funding powers
oversight
impeachment/removal
Congressional Oversight
of the Executive Branch
Congress has the power to review
the actions of the Executive Branch
Congressional oversight is used to
ensure that the bureaucracy is
enforcing and interpreting laws the
way Congress intended.