Congress
 A Bicameral Congress
 Historical Reasoning – The Framers chose to create a
bicameral legislature because that is what they were familiar
with in their dealings with Great Britain
 Practical Reasoning – A two chamber body was created to
settle the controversy between the Virginia and New Jersey
Plan
 Theoretical Reasoning – One house would serve as a check to
the other.
Terms and Sessions
 Each term of Congress lasts two years.
 The term begins at noon on January 3rd
 January 3, 2009 marked the beginning of the 110th
Congress
 Each term consists of two sessions, created by the 20th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
 Congress adjourns whenever it sees fit, usually when all
work is done. However, one house cannot adjourn
without the consent of the other.
 The president has the power to adjourn Congress, or
prorogue, but only when the two houses cannot agree on
a date for adjournment
Special Sessions
 The president may also call Congress into a special
session when emergency situations arise and
Congress is not in session.


Only 26 special sessions have ever been called.
The president can call Congress or either house into session.
The Senate has been called 46 times, mostly to deal with
treaties or presidential appointments.
The House of Representatives
 The HoR has 435 members, these members are
apportioned among the states on the basis of their
respective populations.

Each state is guaranteed at least one seat. Alaska, Delaware,
Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and
Wyoming.
 Representatives are elected for two-year terms, and
face no term limits.
Reapportionment
 Congress redistributes seats every 10 years. States
may gain or lose seats, but seats CANNOT be
added to the HoR.
 Reapportionment Act of 1929
The permanent size of the House is 435 members.
 Following each census, the Census Bureau is to
determine the number of seats each state should have
 When the Bureau’s plan is ready, the President must
send it to Congress
 If, within 60 days of receiving it, neither house rejects
the Census Bureau’s plan, it becomes effective.

Congressional Elections
 Congressional elections are held on the first
Tuesday in November during even-numbered
years.
 Generally during off-year elections, the President’s
party loses seats in the House
 Under the single-member district arrangement, the
voters in each district elect one of the state’s
representatives from among a field of candidates
running for a seat in the House from that district.
Congressional Districts
 State legislatures are responsible for drawing district
lines for their states.

Each district must be made up of “contiguous territory,
contain nearly the same number of inhabitants, and be a
comparatively small territory.
Gerrymandering
 Gerrymandering is the process of drawing district
lines to the advantage of the political party that
controls the legislature.

The term comes from 1812 when Gov. Elbridge Gerry
drew district lines to favor his party. The districts were
said to look like salamanders.
 Reasons for gerrymandering
 To concentrate the oppositions voters in one or a few
districts
 To spread the opposition as thinly as possible among
several districts.
Gerrymandering Cases
 Wesberry v. Sanders – the court ruled that state
drawn district lines in Georgia violated the
Constitution because population differences were
too great and the “one person, one vote” rule was
being violated.
 Gomillion v. Lightfoot – gerrymandering on the
basis of race is illegal
 Bush v. Vera – districts designed to specifically
include a majority of minorities are illegal
 Hunt v. Cromartie – while race cannot be the
controlling factor in drawing district lines, it can be
considered.
Qualification of House Members
 Members of the House of Representatives must:
 Be at least 25 years old
 Must have been a citizen of the U.S. for at least 7 years
 Must be an inhabitant of the state from which he or she is
elected.
The Senate
 The Constitution states that each state will be
represented by 2 senators from each state
 Originally, U.S. senators were elected by state
legislators, not by direct popular vote.

This led to various accusations of bribery and favoritism.
 The 17th Amendment changed the way senators are
selected.

Now, states hold at-large elections were a direct popular
vote is taken state-wide.
Terms and Qualifications
 Senators are elected for 6-year terms
 Every two years, one-third of the Senate is up for
reelection.
 The Senate is considered a continuous body because all
of its seats are never up for reelection at the same time.
 A Senator must:
 Be at least 30 years old
 Have been a U.S. citizen for at least nine years
 Must be an inhabitant of the state from which he or she
is elected
Members of Congress
 Congressmen play 5 roles
 Legislator
 Representative
 Committee member
 Public servant
 Politican
 As legislators, Congressmen have four voting options
 Trustee – is entrusted by the people to make the best decisions
possible
 Delegate – believe they should vote how the people that elected them
would want them to vote
 Partisan – votes how his party wants him to vote
 Politico – attempts to balance the trustee, delegate and partisan
role.
Congressional Oversight
 A vital function of a Congressman’s committee
membership is oversight.
 Oversight is the process by which Congress checks to
see that various agencies in the executive branch
are working effectively and acting in line with
policies that Congress has set by law.
Compensation
 Congressmen today make $150,000/year.
 Some members in leadership positions can make up to $187,000.
 Congress can set their own salary, but are often reluctant to do so.
 Members also receive “fringe benefits.”
 Tax deductions for owning two homes
 Travel allowances
 Life and health insurance
 Medical care
 Generous retirement plans
 Office space and staff expenses
 Franking privilege – the use of free mail service. Very valuable
when a Congressman is running for reelection.