United States Government
Cuyahoga Heights High School
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Term : 2-year period in which Congress
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Session : 1 year during a term – there are two
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meets
sessions per term of Congress
Recess : a temporary break or vacation during
a session
Adjourn : To end the session of Congress
Prorogue : When the President adjourns
Congress (never done)
Special Session : When the President calls
Congress together to meet after it adjourned
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The lower house of Congress.
Based upon the House of Commons in
England.
Proposed in the Virginia Plan, created by the
Connecticut (Great) Compromise.
Members are elected to 2 year terms (Elected
in the Federal Election prescribed in the
Constitution) in even-numbered years.
Term of Office is Jan. 1 of the odd-year to
Dec.31 of the even-year.
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The seats are apportioned (or divided up)
among the States by Congress based upon
their population.
The seats are reapportioned following every
decennial (10 years) census.
The size of the House was permanently set at
435 members by the
Reapportionment Act
of 1929.
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You are elected! Off-year elections are held
in non-presidential election years
You may be elected in a Special Election
called by a Governor
due to the death,
resignation, expulsion
or retirement of a
Member during the
course of a term.
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They represent the residents of a district.
A district is a political sub-division of a state.
The districts are created by the State
governments (process varies by State) based
upon the numbers given to them by Congress
based on the census figures.
Gerrymandering
is illegal and
unconstitutional.
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ONE per District (single-member districts, are
winner-take all elections). Currently, Ohio
has 16 districts, while California has 53.
Each state is guaranteed at least ONE
representative. Seven states have only one,
and their members are elected “at-large”.
Also, your District is relatively equal in
POPULATION to all of the other Districts in
your State (Wesberry v. Sanders ruling, 1964).
Geographic sizes of districts vary due to
urban, rural population differences.
The United States Territories: (Washington DC, USVI,
Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands)
each have a NON-VOTING Member of the House.
They may participate in debates and serve on
committees. They just cannot vote on the final
passage of bills.
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Be at least 25 years of age
Be a citizen (either natural born or
naturalized) of the US
for 7 years
Be an inhabitant
(resident) of the state
you’re running in.
House members serve a two-year term of office.
 There are no term limits on the number of times
someone may be elected.
 House members earn $174,000 annually, while
leadership positions earn more (for instance the
Speaker of the House earns $223,500).
 Members also receive other fringe
benefits including: medical
coverage, a pension, and the
franking privilege.
 “Legislative immunity ” protects
and promotes free speech
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Well, if you do something really bad, you can
be expelled from the House by the other
Members.
You may also be censured,
or punished for “disorderly
behavior” (but still retain
your seat).