Congress
What do you know about
Congress?
What do you want to know about
Congress?
Legislature
(Congress)
535 Members
House of Representatives
(Lower House)
435 Members
2 years
Senate
(Upper House)
100 Members
6 years
Congress
We have a state and a federal legislative
branch.
 Both are Bicameral= 2 houses
 Why do we have 2 houses in our
legislative branch?
 Upper house is the Senate- equal rep.
 Lower house is the House of
Representatives-rep. based on pop.

Terms and Sessions of Congress





Term- each term of congress lasts for 2 years.
Starts and ends on January 3 of odd
numbered years.
Session- period of time during which, each
year, congress assembles and conducts
business.
There are 2 sessions for each term of
congress
Today, congress stays in session throughout
most of the year.
House of Representatives
435 members of the house are chosen
by the voters in 435 separate
congressional districts across the
country.
 Page 270- Why was it deemed unfair to
fill house seats with an at-large election,
rather than using the single member
district arrangement?

House of Representatives
435 members
 2 year terms
 The house seats are reapportioned
throughout the states every 10 years
according to a census
 Each seat in the house represents
roughly 650,000 people on average.

Every 10
Years
US Pop. =
295,000,000
435
Each Represents Approx. 687,000 People
States that Added Congressional Seats after 2010
Census
State
Before 2010
census
After 2010
census[5]
Arizona
8
9 (+1)
Florida
25
27 (+2)
Georgia
13
14 (+1)
Nevada
3
4 (+1)
South Carolina
Texas
6
32
States that Lost Congressional Seats after 2010 Census
State
Before 2010
census
After 2010
census[6]
Illinois
19
18 (-1)
Iowa
5
4 (-1)
Louisiana
7
6 (-1)
Massachusetts
10
9 (-1)
Michigan
15
14 (-1)
Missouri
9
8 (-1)
New Jersey
13
12 (-1)
New York
29
27 (-2)
Ohio
18
16 (-2)
Pennsylvania
19
18 (-1)
7 (+1)
36 (+4)
Utah
3
4 (+1)
Washington
9
10 (+1)
How districts are drawn
Districts are drawn by the state
legislatures.
 In the past districts were not drawn with
equal numbers of people.
 This allowed the congress to be
dominated by rural areas.
 Wesberry v. Sanders 1964- Page 271What is meant by “one person, one
vote”?

Why would they shape districts
like This?
"In gerrymandered election
districts, the voters don't
choose their politicians - the
politicians choose their
voters!"
The State
Legislature redraws
Congressional
Districts in order to
gain an advantage
for a certain political
party in the elections
Gerrymandering



1.
2.
District lines are drawn by state legislatures
Gerrymandering- redrawing of district lines to
gain political advantage.
Lines are drawn to either
Concentrate the oppositions voters in one or
a few districts.
To spread the opposition as thinly as
possible among several districts.
ISD 196
CRACKING
PACKING
Gerrymandering
Go to pg 274 and answer questions 1-3
on the bottom right hand corner
 Once finished partner with 2-3 people
and discuss your answers.

House of Representatives
qualifications
Must be at least 25 years of age
 Must have been a citizen of the United
States for at least seven years
 Must be an inhabitant of the State from
which he or she is elected.
 Traditionally lives within the district.

The Senate

2 from each state
 6 year terms
 Terms are staggered (only 1/3 of them expire
every 2 years)
 Senators represent entire states so they tend
to represent larger, more diverse populations
Differences between House and
Senate
“It is indispensable that besides the
House of Representatives which runs on
popular sentiment, we should have a
body like the Senate which may refuse to
run with it all when it seems to be wrong.
A body which has time and security
enough to keep its head, if only now and
then and but for a little while, till other
people have had time to think”
Woodrow Wilson


Why would Woodrow Wilson say that the
House of Representatives runs on popular
sentiment?
 Why might he claim that the Senate can
choose to not “run with it” if they so choose”
Qualifications for Senators
Must be 30 yrs of age
 Must have been a citizen for 9 yrs
 Must be an inhabitant of the state from
which he or she is elected

Cross Section of Congress 2006
House- 367 men 68 women
 Senate- 86 men 14 women

Page- 280
Personal and Political
Background
Nearly all are married. A few are
divorced.
 1/3 of house and ½ the senate are
lawyers
 House members vary more in political
philosophy and background, where as
members of the Senate are usually more
moderate


Why might this be the case?
Personal and Political
Backgrounds

535 members of congress are not an
accurate cross section of the American
People.

Why not?
Roles of a Congress Person
Law Maker
 Representative of their constituents
 Committee members-proposed laws are
referred to committees in each chamber
 Servants of their constituents
 politicians

On what basis do
representatives cast their votes?
Trustee- trusts their own
conscience/judgment
 Delegate- votes as the “folks back home”
would like.
 Partisan- votes according to party
 Politico- combines basic elements of all
three

The Scope of Congressional
Power

Types of Congressional power
Expressed Powers- explicitly written in the
constitution.
 Implied Powers- reasonable deduction from
the expressed powers.
 Non-legislative powers- powers that do not
deal with creating legislation.

Strict vs. Liberal Construction

Strict Constructionists- believed
congress had expressed powers and
implied powers absolutely necessary to
carry out those expressed powers.

They wanted the states to keep as much
power as possible.


Believed states were best able to meet their own
interests, not a far off national govt.
Understood the need for national defense
and interstate trade.
Liberal Constructionists

Favored a broad interpretation of the
Constitution.

They believed we “need an energetic
government”.
Which group won this argument?
 Which interpretation of the constitution
do you favor?

Vocabulary
Constituency
 Incumbent
 Reapportionment
 Gerrymandering
 Trustee
 Partisans
 Politicos
 Delegates

Strict Constructionist
Liberal Constructionist
Expressed powers
Implied Powers