Daily Question: 10/20/15
• Which house in
Congress is more
powerful and why?
Daily Question: 10/20/15
• How many districts does AZ
have?
Essential Question:
• What is the structure of
Congress and how does
it operate?
Bicameral Congress
• Our Congress is bicameral, meaning it
has two houses
• The larger house, which is supposedly
the “common man’s house,” is the
House of Representatives
• The smaller house, which is for “the
elite” of America is the Senate
Members of the House of Representatives
• Official title is “Representative So and
So”
• Also called “congressman”
• There are 435 congressmen
• Congressmen are elected to a term of
2 years
The House of Representatives
The House of Representatives
Members of the Senate
• Official title is “Senator So and So”
• There are 100 Senators (2 from each state)
• Senators are elected to a term of 6 years
The Senate
The Senate
Basic Information
• Since you get new congressmen every 2
years, we call each 2 year period a “term”
of Congress
• The terms are numbered consecutively…
the one that ended Dec. 2006 was the
109th Congress
• The one that is in session now is called
the 110th Congress
Basic Information
• A session of Congress is all the time it
takes to finish their business for the
year
• So how many sessions are there in a
term of Congress?
Seats in the House
• Seats are apportioned (given out) to
each state based on population
• Every 10 years seats are
reapportioned after the census, when
a new count of the population is
taken
• Ever since 1929, the number has
been 435 (Reapportionment Act)
Seats in the House
• Every state divides itself into districts
based on the number of seats
apportioned to the state
• For example, Arizona is given 9 seats
based on our population
What Does it Take to be in the House?
• 25 years old
• U.S. citizen for at least 7
years
• Must live in the state
you are elected in
Seats in the Senate
• The Constitution establishes that there are 2
seats per state in the Senate
• 50 States = 100 Senators
What Does it Take to be in the Senate?
• 30 Years Old
• U.S. Citizen for 9
Years
• Must live in the
state you are
elected in
Off-Year Elections
• In the election years
where there is no
presidential election
(2006, 2010), the
president’s party
usually loses seats in
Congress
Comparing the House and the Senate
• Originally, congressmen were elected by
the public, and Senators were elected by
the state legislatures
• Founding Fathers did not trust the
public with all power
• 17th Amendment has since changed
Senate elections to a public vote
Comparing the House and the Senate
• Senators have a much longer term
• Entire House is elected at once, while only
1/3 of Senate is chosen at a time
• House members appeal to one small
district, Senators appeal to entire state
Founding Fathers’ Intent
• The Founding Fathers wanted to have one
house that would quickly respond to the
desires of the public (House of Reps)
• And one house that would be moderate,
and stop any crazy nonsense the House
would try (Senate)
Demographics of Congress
• Congress is not at all demographically
representative of the U.S. population
• For example…
Demographics of Congress
• U.S.
• Males – 49%
• Females – 51%
• Congress
• Males – 86%
• Females – 14%
Demographics of Congress
• U.S.
• White – 75%
• Black – 12%
• Hispanic – 13%
• Asian – 4%
• Native – 1%
*Many people
qualify as more
than 1 race
• Congress
• White – 87%
• Black – 7%
• Hispanic – 4%
• Asian – 1%
• Native – 0.6%
Demographics of Congress
• U.S.
• Millionaires –
0.7%
• Non-Millionaires
– 99.3%
• Congress
• Millionaires –
29%
• Non-Millionaires
– 71%