Presentation Plus! United States Government: Democracy in Action
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Send all inquiries to:
GLENCOE DIVISION
Glencoe/McGraw-Hill
8787 Orion Place
Columbus, Ohio 43240
Chapter Focus
Section 1 Congressional Membership
Section 2 The House of
Representatives
Section 3 The Senate
Section 4 Congressional Committees
Section 5 Staff and Support Agencies
Chapter Assessment
Click on a hyperlink to go to the corresponding content area.
Press the ESC (escape) key at any time to exit the presentation.
Chapter Objectives
• Congressional Membership Describe the structure of
Congress and list the qualifications for congressional
membership. (Section 1) 
• The House of Representatives Describe the rules and
procedures used in the House and explain the House’s role
in the lawmaking process. (Section 2) 
• The Senate Contrast the Senate’s leadership and role in
the lawmaking process with that of the House of
Representatives. (Section 3) 
• Congressional Committees Identify kinds of congressional
committees and principles by which members of Congress
serve on these committees. (Section 4) 
• Staff and Support Agencies Explain how staff members
and support agencies participate in the legislative process.
(Section 5)
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Chapter Concepts
• Section 1 Political Processes 
• Section 2 Growth of Democracy 
• Section 3 Growth of Democracy 
• Section 4 Political Processes 
• Section 5 Political Processes
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Making It Relevant Transparency
The next slide is a political cartoon that
ran shortly after the Republicans gained
control of Congress in 1994.
Making It Relevant 5
End of Chapter Focus
Click the mouse button to return to the Contents.
Congressional Membership
Key Terms
bicameral legislature, session, census,
reapportionment, redistrict, gerrymander,
at-large, censure, incumbent 
Find Out
• How does apportionment of membership
in the House of Representatives in
districts provide representation to local
voters? 
• What are the key common characteristics
of members of Congress?
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the
information. Additional lecture notes appear on the following slides.
Congressional Membership
Understanding Concepts
Political Processes How well do you
think members of Congress represent the
people who have delegated legal authority
to them? 
Section Objective
Describe the structure of Congress and list
the qualifications for congressional
membership.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the
information. Additional lecture notes appear on the following slides.
Introduction
• The Founders intended that the legislative
branch have more power than any other
branch of government. 
• The United States Congress is a
bicameral legislature: it is made up of two
houses, the Senate and the House of
Representatives.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Introduction (cont.)
• Eighteenth-century colonial legislatures
and Congress followed the English
Parliament with its upper house and a
lower house. 
• Today Congress plays a central role in
formulating national policies.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Congressional Sessions
• Each term of Congress starts on January 3
of odd-numbered years and lasts for two
years. 
• Each term of Congress is divided into
two sessions. A session lasts one year
and includes breaks for holidays and
vacations. 
• Congress remains in session until its
members vote to adjourn.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Membership of the House
• With its 435 members, the House of
Representatives is the larger body of
Congress. 
• The number of House seats is apportioned,
or divided, among the states on the basis
of population.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Qualifications
• According to the Constitution,
representatives must be… 
– at least 25 years old. 
– citizens of the United States for at least 7
years. 
– legal residents of the state that elects them.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Term of Office
• Members of the House of Representatives
are elected for 2-year terms. 
• Elections are held in November of evennumbered years, meaning that all 435
members of the House must run for
reelection every 2 years. 
• Because more than 90 percent of all
representatives are reelected, there is
great continuity in the House.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Representation and Reapportionment
• In order to assign representation according
to population, the Census Bureau takes a
national census, or population count,
every 10 years. 
• The population of each state determines
the new number of representatives to
which each is entitled–a process called
reapportionment. 
• States whose population decreases may
lose representatives, while states whose
population grows may be entitled to more
representatives.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Representation and Reapportionment
(cont.)
• Originally the House had only 64
members. As the population grew, the
number of representatives increased.
By 1911, there were 435 members. 
• The Reapportionment Act of 1929 limited
the House to 435 representatives. 
• Now each census determines how those
435 seats will be divided among the 50
states.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
cd109_TX_loc[1].pdf
2010 Census Reapportionment numbers
• http://www.msnbc.msn.co
m/id/40733820/ns/politics
/
Congressional Redistricting
• After the states find out their reapportioned
representation, each state legislature sets
up congressional districts–one for each
representative. 
• The process of setting up new district lines
after reapportionment has been completed
is called redistricting.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Congressional Redistricting (cont.)
• Over the years, some state legislatures
have abused redistricting power in two
ways–by creating congressional districts
of very unequal populations and by
gerrymandering. 
• In these states a person’s vote in the
largest congressional districts had only
half the value of a person’s vote in the
smallest districts.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Redistricting Cases
• During the 1960s, the Supreme Court
addressed reapportionment issues in
Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. 
– Tennessee: In Baker v. Carr (1962), the
Supreme Court held that federal courts could
decide conflicts over drawing district
boundaries.
Click the blue hyperlink to explore the Supreme Court case.
Redistricting Cases (cont.)
– Alabama: In Reynolds v. Sims (1964), the
Court held that the equal protection clause of
the Fourteenth Amendment required that seats
in both houses of the state legislature be
apportioned on a population basis. 
– Georgia: In Wesberry v. Sanders (1964), the
Court ruled that the Constitution clearly
intended that a vote in one congressional
district was to be worth as much as a vote in
another district.
Click a blue hyperlink to explore the Supreme Court case.
Redistricting Cases (cont.)
• Following the census of 1990, several
states drew new district lines to increase
the power of ethnic or racial minorities. 
• In several cases, the federal courts,
including the Supreme Court, ruled
against district lines for which race was
“the predominant factor.”
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Gerrymandering
• Historically, state legislatures have abused
their power to divide the state into
congressional districts by gerrymandering. 
• Gerrymandering means that the political
party controlling the state government
draws a district’s boundaries to gain an
advantage in elections. 
• The term gerrymandering can be traced to
Elbridge Gerry, an early DemocraticRepublican governor of Massachusetts.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Gerrymandering (cont.)
• Gerry had signed a redistricting plan
with an irregular district shaped like a
salamander. A newspaper published it
as a cartoon and labeled it a
“Gerrymander.” 
• “Packing” and “cracking” are ways to
gerrymander. 
– Packing a district means drawing the lines so
they include as many of the opposing party’s
voters as possible. 
– Cracking means dividing an opponent’s voters
into other districts.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Gerrymandering (cont.)
• The Supreme Court has ruled that
congressional districts must be compact
and contiguous, or physically adjoining,
and this has helped cut down on some
gerrymandering.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
ch10_image.ppt
Membership of the Senate
• Today’s Senate includes 100 members– 2
from each of the 50 states.
Qualifications
• The Constitution provides that senators
must be… 
– at least 30 years old. 
– citizens of the United States for 9 years before
election. 
– legal residents of the state they represent. 
• All voters of each state elect senators
at-large, or statewide.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Term of Office
• Elections for the Senate are held in
November of even-numbered years. 
• The Constitution provided for continuity in
the Senate by giving senators 6-year terms
and by providing that only one-third of the
senators would run for reelection every 2
years.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Salary and Benefits
• The Senate and the House set their own
salaries. Over the years, Congress has
voted itself periodic salary increases. 
• The Twenty-seventh Amendment,
ratified in 1992, requires that any new
congressional salary increase will take
effect after an intervening election.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Salary
• Speaker of the House-$223,500
• President Pro-Tempore- 193,400
• Majority and Minority Leaders-$$193,400
• Senators-$174,000
• Representatives-$174,000
Salary and Benefits (cont.)
• In addition to their salaries, members of
Congress enjoy a number of benefits and
resources. These include: 
– stationery 
– postage for official business (called the
“franking privilege”) 
– a medical clinic 
– a gymnasium 
– travel allowances

– pensions of $150,000 or more a year for life
upon retirement
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Privileges of Members
• The Constitution provides members of
Congress certain privileges: 
– They are free from arrest “in all cases except
treason, felony, and breach of the peace,”
when they are attending or on their way to or
from Congress. 
– They cannot be sued for anything they say on
the House or Senate floor. 
• In Hutchinson v. Proxmire (1979), the
Supreme Court ruled that members of
Congress may be sued for libel for
statements that they make in news
releases or newsletters.
Click the blue hyperlink to explore the Supreme Court case.
Privileges of Members (cont.)
• The Senate and the House both may
judge members’ qualifications and decide
whether to seat them. 
• Each house may refuse to seat an
elected member by a majority vote. 
• This power of exclusion was later
defined by the Supreme Court in the
case of Powell v. McCormack (1969).
Click the blue hyperlink to explore the Supreme Court case.
Privileges of Members (cont.)
• Each house may also “punish its own
members for disorderly behavior” by a
majority vote and expel a legislator by a
two-thirds vote. 
• Members who are guilty of lesser offenses
may be censured. Censure is a vote of
formal disapproval of a member’s actions.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Presidential Censures
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
John Adams
Andrew Jackson
Only one U.S. president has actually been censured by the Senate. In 1834,
while under Whig control, the Senate censured Democratic President Andrew
Jackson for withholding documents relating to his actions in defunding the
Bank of the United States. As a partial result of public opposition to the
censure itself, the Senate came under control of the Democratic Party in the
next election cycle, and the censure was expunged in 1837.[John Tyler
James Polk
James Buchanan
Bill Clinton
In 1998, resolutions to censure President Bill Clinton for his role in the Monica
Lewinsky scandal were introduced.[
George W. Bush
President George W. Bush was the subject of five different resolutions for
censure, including actions related to the NSA warrantless surveillance
controversy, the commutation of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's sentence, and the
Plame affair. However, no censure resolution regarding George W. Bush has
ever passed either house of congress.
..\My Videos\Clinton, I did not
have sexual relations with that
woman....flv
Congressional Censures
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Senatorial censures
Timothy Pickering
Timothy Pickering (
Benjamin Tappan
Benjamin Tappan (D-OH) was charged with releasing to the New York Evening Post information regarding the
annexation of the Republic of Texas. (May 10, 1844)
Benjamin R. Tillman and John L. McLaurin
Benjamin R. Tillman (D-SC) and John L. McLaurin (D-SC) were charged with fighting in the Senate chamber.
(February 28, 1902)
Hiram Bingham (R-CT) was "condemned" for employing a staff member to work on tariff legislation who also was
employed at the same time by the Manufacturers Association of Connecticut. (November 4, 1929)
Joseph McCarthy (R-WI) was condemned for "abuse and non-cooperation with the Subcommittee on
Privileges and Elections during a 1952 investigation of his conduct; for abuse of the Select Committee to
Study Censure." (December 2, 1954)
Herman E. Talmadge (D-GA) was charged with accepting reimbursements for expenses not incurred and
improper reporting of campaign money. (October 11, 1979)
[
David F. Durenberger (R-MN) was charged with unethical conduct "in connection with his arrangement
with Piranha Press, his failure to report receipt of travel expenses in connection with his Piranha Press
and Boston area appearances, his structuring of real estate transactions and receipt of Senate
reimbursements in connection with his stays in his Minneapolis condominium, his pattern of prohibited
communications respecting the condominium, his repeated acceptance of prohibited gifts of limousine
service for personal purposes, and the conversion of a campaign contribution to his personal use." (July
25, 1990)
BARNEY FRANK
• Barney Frank (D-MA)
was reprimanded on
26 July, 1990 for
fixing parking tickets
for his roommate and
some-time lover.
Attempts to remove
and censure failed.
Congressional Censures
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Representative censures
S
William Stanbery (Anti-Jacksonian-OH) was censured on July 11, 1832 for insulting the House Speaker.
Joshua Reed Giddings (R-OH) was censured in 1842 for introducing resolutions against the United States attempting to recover slaves freed by the British while the court
case was ongoing. He resigned and was immediately re-elected by a large majority.
Laurence M. Keitt (D-SC) was censured by the House in 1856 for aiding Rep. Preston S. Brooks in his caning attack on Sen. Charles Sumner. When other Congressmen
tried to come to Sumner's aid, Keitt pulled a pistol and said "Let them be." Keitt resigned and was immediately re-elected by a large majority.
Benjamin Gwinn Harris (D-MD) and Alexander Long (D-OH) were censured on April 9, 1864 for treasonable utterances (statements in favor of the independence of the
Confederacy.)
Lovell Rousseau (R-KY) was censured in 1866 for beating a fellow congressman, Josiah B. Grinnell (R-IA), with a cane in front of the U.S. Capitol, leading to his
resignation.
John Winthrop Chanler (D-NY) censured on May 14, 1866 for an insult to the House of Representatives.
John W. Hunter (D-NY) was censured on January 26, 1867 for the use of unparliamentary language.
Fernando Wood (D-NY) was censured on January 15, 1868 for the use of unparliamentary language. Resigned and was immediately re-elected.
Edward D. Holbrook (D-ID Ter.) censured on February 4, 1869 for using unparliamentary language on the House floor.
Benjamin F. Whittemore (R-SC) censured by the House of Representatives on February 24, 1870 for corruption in regard to appointments to the United States Military
and Naval Academies.
John T. Deweese (R-NC) also censured by the House of Representatives on March 1, 1870, for selling an appointment to the Naval Academy
[
Roderick R. Butler (R-TN) also censured March 17, 1870, for corruption in regard to an appointment to West Point.
James Brooks (politician) (D-NY) was censured by the House of Representatives on February 27, 1873, for attempted bribery in connection with the Crédit Mobilier of
America scandal.
[
Oakes Ames (R-MA) was also censured in the Crédit Mobilier of America scandal, on February 28, 1873 for "seeking to secure congressional attention to the affairs of a
corporation in which he was interested, and whose interest directly depended upon the legislation of Congress, by inducing members of Congress to invest in the stocks
of said corporation."
William D. Bynum (R-IN) was censured on May 17, 1890, for the use of unparliamentary language.
[
Thomas L. Blanton (D-TX) was unanimously censured on October 24, 1921, for "abuse of leave to print." after inserting "obscene" and "indecent" materials into the
Congressional Record.
Charles Diggs (D-MI) censured by the House on July 31, 1979 after being convicted of mail fraud. He served 14 months of a 3-year sentence.
Daniel J. Flood (D-PA) was censured for bribery in 1980, leading to his resignation.
Charles H. Wilson (D-CA) was censured on June 10, 1980 for "financial misconduct" as a result of the "Koreagate" scandal of 1976. Koreagate was an American political
scandal involving South Koreans seeking influence with members of Congress. An immediate goal seems to have been reversing President Richard Nixon's decision to
withdraw troops from South Korea. It involved the KCIA (now National Intelligence Service (South Korea)) funneling bribes and favors through Korean businessman
Tongsun Park in an attempt to gain favor and influence. Some 115 members of the United States Congress were implicated. Edward R. Roybal (D-CA), Ronald Dellums
(D-CA) and Phillip Burton (D-CA) were reprimanded.
Gerry Studds (D-MA) was censured in 1983 for inappropriate sexual behavior with a congressional page.
[
Dan Crane (R-IL) was censured in 1983 for inappropriate sexual behavior with a congressional page.
George V. Hansen (R-ID) was censured by the House for failing to include transactions on federal disclosure forms. He was convicted and served 15 months but the
conviction was overturned in 1995.
Barney Frank (D-MA) was reprimanded on 26 July, 1990 for fixing parking tickets for his roommate and some-time lover.
Austin J. Murphy (D-PA) was reprimanded on December 18, 1987 for ghost voting and misusing House funds.
Representative Charlie Rangel Censured Dec
2010
• http://voices.washi
ngtonpost.com/44/
2010/12/charlierangel-censurewas-emb.html
• Federal officials impeached.doc
The Members of Congress
• Congress includes 535 voting members–
100 senators and 435 representatives. 
• In addition, there are 4 nonvoting delegates
in the House–1 each from the District of
Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, and
the Virgin Islands–and 1 resident
commissioner from Puerto Rico.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Characteristics
• Nearly half the members of Congress are
lawyers. A large number of members also
come from business, banking, and
education. 
• Senators and representatives typically
have been white, middle-aged males. 
• Slowly Congress has begun to reflect the
racial, ethnic, and gender diversity of the
general population.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
• 111th United States Congress - Wikipedia,
the free encyclopedia
• Members of the 111th United States
Congress - Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
• http://www.house.gov/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/112th_United_
States_Congress
• http://www.billlucey.com/2011/02/the112th-congress-by-the-numbers.html
• Al Franken - Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
Reelection to Congress
• Between 1945 and 1990, about 90 percent
of all incumbents, or those members
already in office, won reelection. 
• Why are incumbents so successful? 
– Incumbents find it easier to raise campaign
funds. Political action committees (PACs)
provide substantial campaign funds, usually
supporting incumbents. 
– Incumbents may represent districts that have
been gerrymandered in their party’s favor. 
– Incumbents are better known to voters. 
– Incumbents use their position and office staff to
help solve problems for voters.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Reelection to Congress (cont.)
• In the 1990s a wave of criticism against the
power that seemed to accompany lengthy
terms in office boosted the chances of
challengers in congressional races. 
• In 1992 the voters chose 121 new
members of Congress.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
The Voters Speak
• In 1994 the tide against incumbents
resulted in a big turnabout in Congress,
placing Republicans in control of both
houses for the first time since 1954. 
• In 1996, however, incumbents returned
to their winning ways. More than 90
percent won reelection.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
How does apportionment of membership
in the House of Representatives in districts
provide representation to local voters?
Members are likely to be aware of local needs and
wishes.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
What are the key common characteristics
of members of Congress?
Nearly half of the members of Congress are
lawyers. A large number of members come from
business, banking, and education. The typical
member of Congress was white, middle-aged, and
male, but recent elections have resulted in a more
diverse representation.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
End of Section 1
Click the mouse button to return to the Contents slide.
The House of Representatives
Key Terms
constituents, caucus, majority leader,
whips, bill, calendars, quorum 
Find Out
• Why are committees more important in
the House than they are in the Senate? 
• Why is the Rules Committee one of the
most powerful committees in the House?
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Additional lecture notes appear on the following slides.
The House of Representatives
Understanding Concepts
Growth of Democracy Why does the
majority party often get the credit or blame
for everything Congress does? 
Section Objective
Describe the rules and procedures used in
the House and explain the House’s role in
the lawmaking process.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Additional lecture notes appear on the following slides.
Introduction
• Political division and debate is unavoidable
in democratic government. 
• Rules are necessary to help ensure
fairness, to enable the legislature to
conduct business, and to protect the
minority.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Rules for Lawmaking
• The main task of each house is the same–
to make laws. 
• Complex rules and a structure of
leadership enable Congress to carry
out its lawmaking duties.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Complex Rules
• Each chamber has scores of precedents
based on past rulings that serve as a
guide to conducting business. 
• The complex rules in the House are
geared toward moving legislation quickly
once it reaches the floor.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Committee Work
• Committees do most of the work in
Congress. 
• In the committees, representatives have
more influence than on the House floor,
and they have the time to study and shape
bills.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Committee Work (cont.)
• In addition, representatives tend to
specialize in a few issues that are
important to their constituents–the
people in the districts they represent. 
• Because House members are elected
from districts, much of their time is
devoted to serving the interests of
their constituents.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
•
•
•
•
Mike Conaway-R
Texas
11th District
U.S. House of
Representatives
• Committees-Agriculture,
Armed Services,
Standards of Official
Conduct
• Former Accountant/MISD
School Board Member
• Davey CrockettU.S.
Representative
Tennessee-18331835
• John Q. Adams
• U.S.
Representative
Mass. 1831-1848
• The only President
to serve in the
House following his
Presidency.
• Steve Largent
• U.S.
RepresentativeOklahoma 19942002.
• NFL Hall of Fame
Heath Shuler-
• Representative
from North
Carolina-Former
University of
Tennessee/NFL
Quarterback.
Importance of Party Affiliation
• Many procedures in Congress are
organized around the political party
affiliation of members. 
• In both the House and Senate, the
Republicans sit on the right side of the
chamber, the Democrats on the left. 
• In each house the majority party… 
– selects the leaders of that body.

– controls the flow of legislative work. 
– appoints committee chairs.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Importance of Party Affiliation (cont.)
• The Republican majority began sweeping
changes of House rules in 1995. 
• Many Democrats supported the reforms
because they were part of a trend begun
when the Democrats were the majority
party.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
House Leadership
• Organized leadership coordinates the
work of the House of Representatives.
• What are the responsibilities of the House
leaders? 
– organizing and unifying party members 
– scheduling the work of the House 
– making certain that lawmakers are present for
key floor votes 
– distributing and collecting information 
– keeping the House in touch with the president 
– influencing lawmakers to support the policies of
their political party
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
The Speaker of the House
• The Speaker of the House is the presiding
officer of the House and its most powerful
leader. 
• A caucus, or closed meeting, of the
majority party chooses the House
Speaker. 
• At the start of each session of
Congress, the entire House membership
then approves the choice.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
The Speaker of the House (cont.)
• Powers of the Speaker include: 
– presiding over the House sessions and
influencing proceedings by deciding which
members to recognize first. 
– appointing the members of some committees. 
– scheduling bills for action. 
– referring bills to the proper House committee.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Speaker of the House John Boehner
• ..\My Videos\RealPlayer
Downloads\msnbc.com Boehner Can you
trust this bill Hell no.flv
• 2:44-start here.
The Speaker of the House (cont.)
• The Speaker of the House follows the vice
president in the line of succession to the
presidency. 
• Today Speakers rely as much on
persuasion as on their formal powers to
exercise influence.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
#
Office
1 Vice President and
President of the
Senate
Current Officer
Joe Biden
2 Speaker of the House of John Boehner
Representatives
Presidential Line of Succession
3 President pro tempore
of the Senate
Daniel Inouye
4 Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton
5 Secretary of the
Treasury
Timothy Geithner
6 Secretary of Defense
Robert Gates
7 Attorney General
Eric Holder
House Floor Leaders
• The Speaker’s top assistant is the
majority leader. 
• The majority leader’s job is to… 
– help plan the party’s legislative program. 
– steer important bills through the House. 
– make sure the chairpersons of the many
committees finish work on bills important to
the party.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
• House Majority
Leader- Eric
Cantor
House Floor Leaders (cont.)
• The majority leader has help from the
majority and deputy whips, who serve as
assistant floor leaders in the House. 
• The majority whip’s job is to… 
– watch how majority-party members intend to
vote on bills. 
– persuade them to vote as the party wishes. 
– see that party members are present to vote. 
• The minority party in the House also
elects its own leaders who have similar
responsibilities.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
• House Minority
Leader-Nancy Pelosi
House Whips
• Minority Whip-James
Steny Hoyer
• Majority Whip-Kevin
McCarthy
Lawmaking in the House
• To a visitor, the floor of the House of
Representatives may seem totally
disorganized. Representatives walk in
and out of the chamber or talk in small
groups. 
• Usually the House starts its floor sessions
at noon or earlier. It is normally in session
from Monday through Friday.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
How House Bills Are Scheduled
• All laws start as bills. A proposed law is
called a bill until both houses of Congress
pass it and the president signs it. 
• After a bill is introduced, the Speaker of
the House sends it to the appropriate
committee for study, discussion, and
review. 
• Bills that survive the committee process
are put on one of the House calendars,
or lists of bills up for consideration. 
• The House has several calendars, each
used for a different kind of bill.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
How House Bills Are Scheduled (cont.)
Calendar
Type of Bill 
Union Calendar
– bills dealing with money
issues 
House Calendar
– major nonmoney bills 
Private Calendar
– bills that a majority of
House members have
petitioned to force out of
committee 
Consent Calendar
– bills that have unanimous
consent to debate out of
regular order 
Discharge Calendar
– bills to be discharged out
of committee by petition
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
The House Rules Committee
• The Rules Committee serves as the
“traffic officer” in the House, helping to
direct the flow of major legislation. 
• After a committee has considered and
approved a major bill, the bill usually
goes to the Rules Committee.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
The House Rules Committee (cont.)
• The Rules Committee can move bills
ahead quickly, hold them back, or stop
them completely. 
• Because the Rules Committee has the
power to decide how and when legislation
will be considered by the House, it has
often been the focus of political battles.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Function of the Rules Committee
• As major bills come out of committee, they
are entered on either the Union Calendar
or the House Calendar in the order
received by the Rules Committee. 
• The chairperson of the committee that sent
the bill to the Rules Committee may ask for
it to be moved ahead of other bills and to
be sent to the House floor. 
• If the Rules Committee grants the request,
the bill moves ahead.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Other Purposes of the
Rules Committee
• The Rules Committee also settles disputes
among other House committees. 
• The Rules Committee often delays or
blocks bills that representatives and House
leaders do not want to come to a vote on
the floor.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Joseph G. Cannon (A.K.A –”Uncle Joe”
or “Foul Mouth Joe”
• Speaker of the
House-1903-1911,
Second Longest term
for a Republican
speaker. Also sat on
the rules committee
until the Revolt of
1910 in the House
toppled him as king
of the House.
A Quorum for Business
• A quorum is the minimum number of
members who must be present to permit a
legislative body to take official action. 
• For a regular session, a quorum consists of
the majority of the House–218 members. 
• When the House meets to debate and
amend legislation, it may often sit as a
Committee of the Whole. 
• The Committee of the Whole cannot pass a
bill. Instead, it reports changes back to the
full House, which has the authority to pass
or reject the bill.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Why are committees more important in the
House than they are in the Senate?
Committees are more important in the House
because it has so many members.
Representatives do not have as much time to
express their positions on the floor.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
Why is the Rules Committee one of the
most powerful committees in the House?
The Rules Committee is powerful because it
decides when and how legislation will be
considered by the full House.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
End of Section 2
Click the mouse button to return to the Contents slide.
The Senate
Key Terms
president pro tempore, filibuster, cloture 
Find Out
• Why does the Senate have fewer rules
and a less formal atmosphere than the
House? 
• Why does the Senate usually take longer
than the House to pass a bill?
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Additional lecture notes appear on the following slides.
The Senate
Understanding Concepts
Growth of Democracy Why do floor
debates in the Senate often include
powerful speeches charged with emotion? 
Section Objective
Contrast the Senate’s leadership and role in
the lawmaking process with that of the
House of Representatives.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Additional lecture notes appear on the following slides.
Introduction
• The Senate is a deliberative body, moving
legislation more slowly than the House. 
• Senators deal with many issues on the
floor, where there is plenty of time for
debate.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Kay Bailey
Hutchison-R-Texas
U.S. Senate
Committees-Appropriations,
Banking, Housing and
Urban Affairs,
Commerce, Science and
Transportation(Ranking
Member), Rules and
Administration
Former Lawyer/NewsAnchor-woman
•
•
•
•
John Cornyn-R
Texas
U.S. Senate
Committees;
Budget, Finance
And Judiciary.
• Former lawyer and
Texas Attorney
General
Senator Jim Bunning (KY) Pitched a Perfect
Game for the Philadelphia Phillies
Senator Daniel Inouye- D-Hawaii
Medal Of Honor Recipient(Don’t Forget to
tell his story)
The Only President to serve in the Senate
following his Presidency
• Andrew JohnsonU.S. SenatorTennessee-18571862 and
• March 4, 1875 –
July 31, 1875
• http://www.youtube
.com/watch?v=BVy
uBcy_wY&feature=rel
ated&safety_mode
=true&persist_safet
y_mode=1
The Senate at Work
• The Senate chamber, with only 100 desks,
is smaller than the House chamber. 
• Usually only a few senators attend
sessions.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Informal Atmosphere
• In the Senate, the rules are more flexible,
and there is a more informal atmosphere. 
• Senate rules are designed to make certain
that all senators have maximum freedom to
express their ideas. 
• Senators may debate a proposal on and off
for months before taking action on an
issue.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Senate Leaders
• Leadership in the Senate closely parallels
leadership in the House. 
• The vice president presides in the Senate
but may not vote except to break a tie. 
• Because Senate rules are more flexible,
party leaders in the Senate may not have
as much influence over other senators as
their counterparts in the House.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
The Vice President
• As presiding officer of the Senate, the vice
president does not have the same role and
power as the Speaker of the House. 
• The vice president may recognize
members and put questions to a vote, but
he may not take part in Senate debates. 
• The vice president may cast a vote in the
Senate, but only in the event of a tie.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
• U.S. Senate: Art & History Home > Special
Collections > Senate Vice Presidential
Bust Collection
The Vice President (cont.)
• In the absence of the vice president, the
president pro tempore presides. 
• The term pro tempore means “for the
time being.” 
• The Senate elects this leader, who is
from the majority party and is usually its
most senior member.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
• Robert ByrdPresident ProTempore of the
Senate
• Born in 1917
• Died- 2009
• ..\My Videos\Senator
Caught Sleeping
SPIKE.flv
• Current President
Pro Tempore of the
Senate-Daniel
Inouye
Majority and Minority Floor Leaders
• The majority and minority leaders are the
most important officers in the Senate. 
• Elected by the members of their political
parties, the majority and minority leaders in
the Senate are party officials rather than
official Senate officers. 
• The majority leader’s main job is to steer
the party’s bills through the Senate.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
• Harry Reid Dem.
Majority Leader
• Mitch McConnell
Republican Minority
Leader
Senate Whips
• Majority Whip-Richard • Minority Whip John
Durbin
Kyl
Majority and Minority Floor Leaders
• The minority leader develops
criticisms of the majority party’s bills
and tries to keep senators in the
minority party working together. 
(cont.)
• As in the House, whips and assistant
whips assist the majority and minority
leaders of the Senate by making sure
that legislators are present for key
votes.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
How Senate Bills Are Scheduled
• Any member of the Senate may introduce
a bill. 
• The Senate has no rules committee to
move legislation along. 
• Instead, Senate leaders consult with
each other to control the flow of bills to
committees and to the floor for debate
and vote.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
How Senate Bills Are Scheduled (cont.)
• The Senate has two calendars: 
– The Calendar of General Orders lists all the
bills that the Senate will consider. 
– The Executive Calendar schedules treaties
and nominations. 
• The Senate brings bills to the floor by
unanimous consent.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
The Filibuster
• Because the Senate usually allows
unlimited debate on a bill, one way for
senators to defeat a bill they oppose is to
filibuster against it. 
• To filibuster means to keep talking until a
majority of the Senate either abandons the
bill or agrees to modify its most
controversial provisions. 
• A filibuster by a group of senators could go
on for weeks or even months.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Filibuster-Strom Thurmond-record 24 hours 18
minutes 1957.
Senate's No. 2 Republican to resign by end of year
• Lott, 66, served as Senate
majority leader when
Republicans controlled that
body but was pushed out of
the leadership post after he
told a 2002 birthday gathering
for former Sen. Strom
Thurmond that the country
would have avoided "all these
problems" .
• Lott later apologized for his
"poor choice of words."
..\My Videos\Trent Lott's Racist
Comments That GOP Now Using
Against Harry Reid.flv
FILIBUSTER-Huey Long
• 1932-spoke for over
15 hours about
Frederick the Great,
read and analyzed
each section of the
Constitution
• Huey P. Long
The Filibuster (cont.)
• A filibuster can be stopped when threefifths of the Senate (60 members) votes
for cloture–a procedure that allows each
senator to speak only 1 hour on a bill
under debate. 
• The filibuster is not as strong a weapon as
it used to be because the Senate now has
a two-track procedural system.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Politics
• As in the House, Senate procedures are
organized around the members’ party
affiliations. 
• Republicans sit on the right side of the
chamber, while Democrats sit on the left.
The majority party controls the flow of
legislative work.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Why does the Senate have fewer rules
and a less formal atmosphere than the
House?
The rules in the Senate are designed to make
certain that all senators have maximum freedom to
express their ideas.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
Why does the Senate usually take longer
than the House to pass a bill?
The Senate allows unlimited debate on proposed
legislation.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
End of Section 3
Click the mouse button to return to the Contents slide.
Congressional Committees
Key Terms
standing committee, subcommittee, select
committee, joint committee, conference
committee, seniority system 
Find Out
• Why are several different kinds of
committees necessary in the House and
Senate? 
• Why are committee chairpersons
considered the most powerful members
of Congress?
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Additional lecture notes appear on the following slides.
Congressional Committees
Understanding Concepts
Political Processes Why have
committees become the power centers in
Congress? 
Section Objective
Identify kinds of congressional committees
and principles by which members of
Congress serve on these committees.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Additional lecture notes appear on the following slides.
Introduction
• Much of the detailed day-to-day work of
considering proposed legislation takes
place in committees that meet in
congressional offices.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Purposes of Committees
• Committees serve several important
purposes: 
– They allow members of Congress to divide
their work among many smaller groups.
Lawmakers can become specialists on the
issues their committees consider. 
– Committees select, from the huge number of
bills introduced in each Congress, those few
that are to receive further consideration. 
– Committees help the public learn about key
problems and issues facing the nation.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Kinds of Committees
• Congress has four basic kinds of
committees: 
– standing committees 
– select committees 
– joint committees 
– conference committees
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Standing Committees
• Committees that oversee bills dealing with
certain kinds of issues are called standing
committees because they continue from
one Congress to the next. 
• Because the majority party in each house
controls the standing committees, it selects
a chairperson for each from among its
party members.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Standing Committees (cont.)
• Party membership on committees is
usually divided in direct proportion to
each party’s strength in each house. 
• However, the party in power in the House
will often have a super majority on the
most important committees.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Subcommittees
• Nearly all standing committees have
several subcommittees. 
• Each subcommittee specializes in a
subcategory of its standing committee’s
responsibility. 
• Subcommittees, like standing committees,
usually continue from one Congress to the
next.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Select Committees
• From time to time, each house has
created temporary committees called
select committees to study one specific
issue and report their findings to the
Senate or the House. 
• Select committees were usually set up
to last for no more than one term of
Congress. 
• In practice, however, select committees
may be renewed and continue to meet
for several terms of Congress.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Joint Committees
• Made up of members from both the House
and the Senate, joint committees may be
either temporary or permanent. 
• In theory, joint committees coordinate the
work of the two houses of Congress. In
practice, lawmakers usually limit joint
committees to handling routine matters. 
• Joint committees do not have the authority
to deal directly with bills or to propose
legislation to Congress.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Conference Committees
• No bill can be sent from Congress to the
president until both houses have passed
it in identical form. 
• A conference committee is a temporary
committee set up when the House and
Senate have passed different versions of
the same bill.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Conference Committees (cont.)
• The job of the conference committee is to
resolve the differences between the two
versions of the bill. 
• When the conference committee’s report–
the compromise bill it has finally worked
out–reaches the floor of each house, it
must be considered as a whole.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Choosing Committee Members
• Assigning members to congressional
committees is an extremely important
decision in the organization of Congress. 
• Assignment to the right committees can
help strengthen a member’s career in
several ways: 
– Membership on some committees can
increase a lawmaker’s chances for
reelection. 
– Membership on some committees can
mean the lawmaker will be able to influence
national policy making.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Choosing Committee Members (cont.)
– Some committees enable a member to exert
influence over other lawmakers because they
deal with matters important to everyone in
Congress. 
• In the House the key committees are
Rules, Ways and Means, and
Appropriations. 
• In the Senate the most prestigious
committees are Foreign Relations,
Finance, and Appropriations.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Assignment to Committees
• In both the House and Senate, the political
parties assign members to the standing
committees. 
• Each member may only serve on a limited
number of standing committees or
subcommittees.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
The Committee Chairperson’s Role
• Along with party leaders, the chairpersons
of standing committees are the most
powerful members of Congress: 
– They determine when their committees will
meet, which bills they will consider, and for
how long. 
– They decide when hearings will be held and
which witnesses will be called to testify for or
against a bill. 
– They may hire committee staff members and
control the committee budget. 
– They manage the floor debates that take place
on the bills that come from their committees.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
The Committee Chairperson’s Role
• The Legislative Reorganization
of 1970 limited the power of
chairpersons somewhat by… 
(cont.)
Act
– allowing a majority of the committee
members to call meetings without the
chairperson’s approval. 
– stating that committee members who
disagree with the chairperson must have
time to present their views. 
– requiring that reasonable notice be given
for all committee hearings.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
The Seniority System
• The unwritten rule of seniority traditionally
has guided the selection of chairpersons. 
• The seniority system gave the member
of the political party with the longest
uninterrupted service on a particular
committee the leadership of that
committee. 
• Criticism of the seniority system has
resulted in several changes, including
limits on how long chairpersons can hold
their positions.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Why are several different kinds of
committees necessary in the House
and Senate?
Committees help ease the workload in considering
bills.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
Why are committee chairpersons
considered the most powerful members
of Congress?
Committee chairpersons decide when committees
will meet, which bills will be considered, when
hearings are held; and they manage floor debates.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
End of Section 4
Click the mouse button to return to the Contents slide.
Staff and Support Agencies
Key Terms
personal staff, committee staff,
administrative assistant, legislative
assistant, caseworker 
Find Out
• Why do members of Congress have
large personal and committee staffs? 
• How could a committee staffer have
more influence than a member of
Congress over a proposed bill?
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Additional lecture notes appear on the following slides.
Staff and Support Agencies
Understanding Concepts
Political Processes How do staffs
and support agencies help members of
Congress carry out their many
responsibilities? 
Section Objective
Explain how staff members and support
agencies participate in the legislative
process.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Additional lecture notes appear on the following slides.
Introduction
• The work of Congress is so massive and
complicated that lawmakers need trained
staffs to help them do their work effectively.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Congressional Staff Role
• Lawmakers rely on their staffs to… 
– help them handle the workload of Congress. 
– communicate with voters. 
– run committee hearings and floor sessions. 
– draft new bills. 
– write committee reports. 
– attend committee meetings. 
– help members get reelected. 
– help raise funds for political campaigns. 
– meet with lobbyists and visitors from home.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Congressional Staff Growth
• Congress has not always relied on staff to
accomplish its work. For almost 100 years,
senators and representatives had no
personal aides. 
• After the Legislative Reorganization Act in
1946, the number of personal staff
members went from 2,000 in 1947 to more
than 11,500 in 1990.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Congressional Staff Growth (cont.)
• Congressional staffs grew because
lawmakers could not be experts on all the
issues that came before their committees
or upon which they voted in Congress. 
• Also, the members of Congress needed a
large office staff to deal with the many
requests from constituents.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Personal Staff
• Congress includes two types of staffs: 
– Personal staff members work directly for
individual senators and representatives. 
– Committee staff members work for the many
House and Senate committees. 
• Senators receive a yearly budget to
operate their offices and to pay staff
salaries. 
• Each member of the House has an
allowance to pay for a personal staff that
includes administrative assistants,
legislative assistants, and caseworkers.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Administrative Assistants
• Administative assistants… 
– run the lawmaker’s office. 
– supervise the lawmaker’s schedule. 
– give advice on political matters. 
– deal with influential people from the
lawmaker’s congressional district or state.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Legislative Assistants
• Legislative assistants… 
– make certain that the lawmaker is well informed
about the many bills with which she or he must
deal. 
– do research, draft bills, and study bills currently
in Congress. 
– write speeches and articles for the lawmaker. 
– assist the lawmaker in committee meetings and
attend committee meetings when the lawmaker
cannot be present. 
– keep track of the work taking place on the floor
of Congress, as well as bills that are in
committee.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Caseworkers
• Caseworkers… 
– handle the many requests for help
from people in a lawmaker’s state or
congressional district. 
– usually staff the home district offices of
the lawmaker.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Committee Staff
• Every committee and subcommittee in
Congress has staff members who work for
that committee. 
• Committee staffers draft bills, study issues,
collect information, plan committee
hearings, write memos, and prepare
committee reports. 
• Some senior committee staff members are
experts in the area their committee covers.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Too Much Power?
• The people do not elect congressional
staffers, and some lawmakers believe
staffers have too much power. 
• Others disagree, saying that the staff
really collects information and develops
alternative courses of action for the
lawmakers.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Support Agencies
• Several agencies that are part of the
legislative branch provide services that
help Congress carry out its powers. 
• Some of the services these agencies
provide are also available to the other
branches of government and to private
citizens.
• Congress has created four important
support agencies: the Library of Congress,
the Congressional Budget Office, the
General Accounting Office, and the
Government Printing Office.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
The Library of Congress
• The Library of Congress… 
– was created in 1800 to “purchase such
books as may be necessary for the use of
Congress.” 
– is one of the largest libraries in the world
with more than 100 million items. 
– is the administrator of the copyright law. 
– has a Congressional Research Service
(CRS) that answers thousands of requests
for information from lawmakers,
congressional staff, and committees.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
• Congress established the Congressional
Budget Office in 1974 to… 
– coordinate the budget-making work of
Congress. 
– study the budget proposals put forward by
the president each year. 
– make cost projections of proposed new
programs. 
• The CBO counterbalances the president’s
elaborate budget-making organization, the
Office of Management and Budget.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
General Accounting Office (GAO)
• Established in 1921, the General
Accounting Office is the nation’s
watchdog over the spending of funds
Congress appropriates.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
General Accounting Office (cont.)
• The GAO… 
– reviews the financial management of
government programs that Congress creates. 
– collects government debts. 
– settles claims. 
– provides legal service. 
– prepares reports on various federal programs
for lawmakers. 
– provides information for committee hearings. 
– provides legal opinions on bills under
consideration.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Government Printing Office (GPO)
• The Government Printing Office is the
largest multipurpose printing plant in the
world. It does the printing for the entire
federal government. 
• The GPO prints the Congressional Record,
a daily record of all the bills introduced in
both houses and of the speeches and
testimony presented in Congress.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Government Printing Office (cont.)
• Another valuable publication of the GPO is
the Statistical Abstract of the United States.
Published by the Bureau of the Census,
this volume provides statistical information
about a wide variety of topics. 
• The support agencies provide a vital
function for Congress and have helped the
legislative branch become less dependent
on the executive branch for information.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Why do members of Congress have large
personal and committee staffs?
Committee staffs help members deal with
increasingly complex issues and greater demands
by their constituents.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
How could a committee staffer have more
influence than a member of Congress over
a proposed bill?
A staffer could choose the research that a member
depends upon to determine a vote.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
End of Section 5
Click the mouse button to return to the Contents slide.
What are the qualifications for members
of the House and Senate?
Representatives must be at least 25 years old,
citizens of the United States for at least 7 years,
and legal residents of the state that elects them.
Senators must be at least 30 years old, citizens
of the United States for 9 years, and legal
residents of the state they represent.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
Identify the most powerful committee in
the House of Representatives.
The House Rules Committee is the most
powerful committee in the House of
Representatives.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
How may Congress expel a member?
Congress may expel a member by a two-thirds
vote.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
List four advantages incumbents have in
running for office.
Incumbents find it easier to raise campaign funds;
they often represent districts that have been
gerrymandered in their party’s favor; they are
better known to voters; they use their positions
and office staff to help solve problems for
voters.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
How do House rules differ from Senate
rules?
Senate rules are more flexible than House rules.
Senate rules are designed to give all senators
maximum freedom to express their ideas. House
rules are more complex and are designed to
move legislation quickly once it reaches the
floor.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
What committee serves as the “traffic
officer” of the House?
The House Rules Committee serves as the
“traffic officer” of the House.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
What position in the Senate does the vice
president serve?
The vice president serves as president of the
Senate.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
When do terms of Congress begin?
Terms of Congress begin on January 3 of oddnumbered years.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
List eight benefits members of Congress
receive in addition to their salaries.
Benefits include: stationery; postage for official
business; a medical clinic; a gymnasium; large
allowances to pay for office staff and assistants,
trips home, telephones, telegrams, and
newsletters; an income tax deduction to help
maintain two residences; retirement pensions of
up to $150,000 per year for life
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
Why are bills that minority party members
introduce unlikely to be reported out of
committee?
Minority leaders have no power over scheduling
work in the House, so a bill introduced by a
minority party member may never reach the floor.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
Chapter Bonus Question
What is the House mace, and has it ever
been used?
The mace is a 46-inch-long staff topped by a
silver globe and an eagle with outstretched
wings. The sergeant-at-arms has used the mace
to restore order on several occasions. Sometimes
the Speaker has ordered the sergeant-at-arms to
parade it up and down aisles to quiet agitated
members.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
End of Chapter Assessment
Click the mouse button to return to the Contents slide.
Use the MindJogger videoquiz as a
preview, review, or both.
Click the Videodisc button to play the
MindJogger video if you have a
videodisc player attached to your
computer.
Disc 1
Side 2
Chapter 5
If you experience difficulties, check the
Troubleshooting section in the Help
system.
Click the Videodisc button to play the MindJogger video if you have a
videodisc player attached to your computer.
Powers of the Congress
Rules and Privileges
This segment explores the rights
and duties of members of
Congress.
Click the Videodisc button to play
the ABCNews InterActive™ video if
you have a videodisc player
attached to your computer.
If you experience difficulties, check
the Troubleshooting section in the
Help system.
Side 2
Chapter 30
Click the Videodisc button to play the video if you have a videodisc player
attached to your computer.
Powers of the Congress
Speaker of the House
This segment explores how the
House of Representatives
chooses its Speaker.
Click the Videodisc button to play
the ABCNews InterActive™ video if
you have a videodisc player
attached to your computer.
If you experience difficulties, check
the Troubleshooting section in the
Help system.
Side 2
Chapter 26
Click the Videodisc button to play the video if you have a videodisc player
attached to your computer.
Your Congress Beginning in January
each year, 535 members of Congress come
together to determine such things as the
safety of your workplace, the amount of
taxes you pay, and how medical care will
be provided.
The Chapter 5 video lesson The
Organization of Congress will show you
more about how Congress works and how
it impacts you.
Click the forward button or press the space bar to access
the Democracy In Action preview and activities.
The Organization
of Congress
Disc 1
Side 1
Chapter 5
Click the Videodisc button
anytime throughout this
section to play the complete
video if you have a videodisc
player attached to your
computer.
Click inside this box to play the preview.
Click the Forward button to
view the discussion questions
and other related slides.
The Organization
of Congress
Objectives
• Understand the function of congressional
committees. 
• Comprehend the process by which a bill
becomes a law. 
• Appreciate the effort behind enacting the
Minimum Wage Increase Act.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the information.
Disc 1
Side 1
Chapter 5
The Organization
of Congress
Activity
During each term of Congress, how many
bills are usually introduced?
More than 10,000 bills are introduced during each
term of Congress. Because so many bills are
introduced, much of the work in Congress is done
by committees.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
Disc 1
Side 1
Chapter 5
The Organization
of Congress
Activity
Which party strongly supported the
minimum wage bill from the outset?
More Democrats supported the bill while
Republicans initially opposed the bill.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
Disc 1
Side 1
Chapter 5
The Organization
of Congress
Activity
Which committees in the House and
Senate studied the minimum wage bill?
In the House, Ways and Means studied the bill. In
the Senate, Finance studied the bill.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
Disc 1
Side 1
Chapter 5
The Organization
of Congress
Activity
How did the Minimum Wage Increase Act
affect the minimum wage?
The minimum wage was increased to $4.75 an
hour in October 1996, and to $5.15 an hour in
1997.
Click the mouse button or press the Space Bar to display the answer.
Disc 1
Side 1
Chapter 5
End of Why It’s Important
Click the mouse button to return to the Contents.
Explore online information about the
topics introduced in this chapter.
Click on the Connect button to launch your browser and go to the
United States Government: Democracy in Action Web site. At
this site, you will find interactive activities, current events
information, and Web sites correlated with the chapters and units
in the textbook. When you finish exploring, exit the browser
program to return to this presentation. If you experience difficulty
connecting to the Web site, manually launch your Web browser
and go to gov.glencoe.com
Section Focus Transparency 5-1 (1 of 2)
1. Massachusetts
governor Elbridge
Gerry
2. Massachusetts
3. 1812
Section Focus Transparency 5-1 (2 of 2)
Section Focus Transparency 5-2 (1 of 2)
1. New York ranked first
in 1890 and second in
1994.
2. New York and
Pennsylvania
3. California, Texas, and
Florida
Section Focus Transparency 5-2 (2 of 2)
Section Focus Transparency 5-3 (1 of 2)
1. The Republicans
2. 1996
3. A Swing of six seats
would change the
majority party.
Section Focus Transparency 5-3 (2 of 2)
Section Focus Transparency 5-4 (1 of 2)
1. standing committees,
subcommittees, and
select committees
2. joint committees
3. to reconcile the
House and Senate
versions of bills
Section Focus Transparency 5-4 (2 of 2)
Section Focus Transparency 5-5 (1 of 2)
1. by completing
500,000 research
assignments for
Congress
2. Items include discs,
tapes, photographs,
prints, and moving
images.
3. about 240 million
Section Focus Transparency 5-5 (2 of 2)
8,500 House Members?
The Constitution originally specified that there would
be one representative for every thirty thousand
persons, with the House of Representatives to be
enlarged as the country grew. If the original ratio
were still in force, the House would now have about
8,500 members. With the 435 limit, each member
now represents about 588,000 people. Each state is
guaranteed at least one representative under the
Constitution, and seven states have the minimum.
They include Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South
Dakota, Wyoming, Delaware, and Vermont.
Congressional Staff
Growth
By 1900, fewer than 300 people served on
congressional staffs. Complaining about the later
growth of these staffs, Senator Herman Talmadge
(D-Georgia) said, “We have got a lot of bright-eyed,
idealistic young people right out of law school,
seeking new worlds to conquer. They spend
virtually all of their time writing speeches…and
developing brand new spending programs…and if
you double the staff you double the amendments
and double the costly new programs.”
Baker v. Carr (1962)
This case established that federal courts can hear
suits seeking to force state authorities to redraw
electoral districts. In this case, the plaintiffs wanted
the population of each district to be roughly equal to
the population in all other districts. The plaintiffs
claimed that the votes of voters in the least populous
districts counted as much or more than the votes of
voters in the most populous districts and that such an
imbalance denied them equal protection of the laws.
Before this case, it was thought that federal courts
had no authority under the Constitution to decide
issues of malapportionment.
Click the Section Start button to return to the lecture notes.
Reynolds v. Sims (1964)
This case extended the one-person, one-vote doctrine
announced in Wesberry v. Sanders (1964) to state
legislative elections. The Court held that the inequality of
representation in the Alabama legislature violated the
equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Click the Section Start button to return to the lecture notes.
Wesberry v. Sanders (1964)
This case established the one-person, one-vote
doctrine in elections for the United States House of
Representatives. The doctrine ensures that the vote of
each voter has the same weight as the vote of every
other voter. This decision means that the voting
population of each congressional district within a state
must be as nearly equal as possible.
Click the Section Start button to return to the lecture notes.
Wesberry v. Sanders (1964)
This case established the one-person, one-vote
doctrine in elections for the United States House of
Representatives. The doctrine ensures that the vote of
each voter has the same weight as the vote of every
other voter. This decision means that the voting
population of each congressional district within a state
must be as nearly equal as possible.
Click the Section Start button to return to the lecture notes.
Hutchinson v. Proxmire (1979)
This case articulated the limits of the speech and debate
clause (U.S. Const. art. I, § 6, cl. 1), which provides that
members of Congress cannot be held criminally or civilly
liable for statements made in either house. In this case,
however, the Supreme Court held that the clause did not
protect Wisconsin senator William Proxmire from being
sued for libel. In a press release, at a news conference,
and on television news programs, Proxmire claimed that
federal funds were wasted in paying for a study of
aggressive behavior in animals.
(Continued)
Click the Section Start button to return to the lecture notes.
Hutchinson v. Proxmire (cont.)
Had the senator limited his remarks to a speech on the
Senate floor, the speech and debate clause would have
protected him from the libel suit; he lost the protection of
the clause by making his remarks outside of Congress.
Click the Section Start button to return to the lecture notes.
U.S. Constitution
Article I, Section 6, Clause 1
The Senators and Representatives shall receive a
Compensation for their Services, to be ascertained by
Law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States.
They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and
Breach of the Peace be privileged from Arrest during
their attendance at the Session of their Respective
Houses, and in going to and returning from the same;
and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall
not be questioned in any other place.
Click the Section Start button to return to the lecture notes.
Powell v. McCormack (1969)
This case established how much power Congress has in
judging the qualifications of its own members. In 1966
the House refused to seat Adam Clayton Powell, even
though he had been reelected, because of questionable
activities by him and his staff during his previous terms.
Powell charged that he had been unlawfully excluded
from his seat. The Supreme Court ruled in Powell’s
favor. The House could not expel Powell because he
had met all of the constitutional qualifications for age,
citizenship, and residency for the House.
Click the Section Start button to return to the lecture notes.
End of Custom Shows
WARNING! Do Not Remove
This slide is intentionally blank and is set to auto-advance to end custom
shows and return to the main presentation.
End of the Slide Show
Click the mouse button to return to the Contents slide.