Chapter 5:The Organization of Congress
 Bicameral


Legislature
Senate
House of Representatives
 Congressional

Sessions
Sessions last two years and starts in January
 Membership

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
435 members
Apportioned among the states based on population
Each state must have at least one
Qualifications



of the House
Must be 25
Must be a citizen for 7 years
Term of Office
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
Elected every two years in even numbered years
Over 90% are reelected every year
 Membership

of the House
Representation and Reapportionment


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
Census Bureau
Census – every ten years
Reapportionment
Limited in 1929 to 435
 Membership

Congressional Redistricting



of the House
State Legislatures are in charge of redistricting
There have been a lot of problems over the years, with
both parties abusing this system to political advantage
Redistricting Cases
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Baker v. Carr, 1962
Reynolds v. Sims, 1964
Wesberry v. Sanders, 1964
North Carolina
 Membership

of the House
Gerrymandering
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Named after Elbridge Gerry
Packing
Cracking
One person-one vote
Compact and Contiguous
 Membership
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
Each state has 2 Senators at-large
100 total
Qualifications



of the Senate
Must be 30
Must have been a citizen for 9 years
Term of Office



Elected every six years
Elected in November of even year and begin in January
1/3 of Senate elected every two years
 Membership

Salary and Benefits






of the Senate
Cannot give themselves raises during a term- 27th
amendment
Cost of living adjustments okay
Current Salary: $174,000
Franking privileges
Office Budgets (House- ~$1.5 mil, Senate - ~$3 mil.)
Privileges of Members

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Freedom from arrest
Cannot be sued for speech in Congress
 Hutchinson v. Proxmire, 1979
Members can vote not to seat an elected member
Censure
 Members

535 voting members


of Congress
4 non-voting delegates
Characteristics


House:
 128 lawyers
 108 business people
 80.6% Male
Senate
 45 lawyers
 22 business people
 80% Male
 Members

of Congress
Reelection to Congress



Incumbents reelected 90% of the time.
14% approval rating for Congress, but 62% of own
representative
The internet has changed elections, making members
much more accountable to the public
 Rules

Complex Rules
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
Focus on defining actions of individual members
Focus on passing legislation quickly once on floor
Committee Work
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
for Lawmaking
Committees are the “work-horse” of Congress
Members become specialists in areas important to
their constituents.
Importance of Party Affiliation


The majority party has significant power
It writes the rules, organizes committees, controls
flow of legislations, etc.
 House

Leadership
Six Purposes
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Organize and unify the party
Scheduled work of the House
Make certain lawmakers are present for key votes
Distribute and collect information
Keep the House in touch with the president
Influence lawmakers to support the policies of the
party
 House

Leadership
Speaker of the House



Chosen by caucus of the majority party every two
years, at the beginning of a session
The whole house votes on new speaker, but, if
majority party votes together, the caucus’s nominee
wins.
The Speaker:
 Controls flow of legislation on floor
 Recognizes members to speak
 Appoints Committee Chairs
 Is second in the line of succession to Presidency
 Meets daily with members to build unity through
“sticks and carrots”
 House
Leadership
Speaker of the House
 The Current Speaker is Paul Ryan
 Paul Ryan has been Wisconsin’s 1st District’s
Representative since first elected in 1998.
 He is the youngest speaker since 1875.

 House

Leadership
House Floor Leaders

Majority leader is the Speaker’s top assistant
 The Majority leader:
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
Plan the party’s legislative agenda
Steers bills through the House
Make sure Chairpersons are getting important
legislation through committee
Is the floor leader of his or her party
Is a party official, not a constitutional officer
Whips are the Majority Leader’s assistants
 Whips:


Monitor how members plan to vote
Ensure members are present for votes
 House
Leadership
 The Majority Leader
 The
current majority leader is Kevin McCarthy
 McCarthy has been a California representative
since being elected in 2006.
 House
Leadership
 The Majority Whip
 The
current Majority Whip is Steve Scalise
 He has represented Louisiana's 1st District since
2008
 Lawmaking



in the House
It can seem chaotic, because people are everywhere
and doing everything until the buzzers ring, calling
members to the floor.
Floor sessions start around noon on M-F
Most work is actually accomplished on TuesdayThursday
 Lawmaking

in the House
How House Bills are Scheduled


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All laws start as bills
To start the process, a member drops the bill into the
hopper
The Speaker then sends the bill to the appropriate
Committee
Only 10-20% make it through committee
If it makes it through committee, it is put on a
calendar for full consideration by the House
The House has five calendars for different purposes
 Lawmaking

in the House
House Rules Committee

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

Oldest and Most Powerful Committee
It places bills on calendars and determines when and
how they will be heard
This allows them to effectively kill bills
Considered the “Traffic Officer” of the House
 Lawmaking

in the House
House Rules Committee

Function and Purpose of the Rules Committee:
 Every bill coming out of it has a rule applied to it
 These determine which calendar it is on and in
which position
 Sets time limits for debates on each bill
 Allows, disallows, or limits floor amendments to a
bill
 Settles Disputes between committees
 Delays of blocks bills Leadership or certain members
do not want on the floor.
 Lawmaking

in the House
A Quorum for Business



Quorum is the necessary number of people who need
to present for legislative action to be taken
House Quorum is 218
Quorum for the Committee of the Whole is 100, but
bills must still be passed by the whole House after
passing the Committee of the Whole