Congress
Chapter 10
Congress
• Where is Congress established?
– Article I
• Two Houses
– Senate
– House of Representatives
• Why was Congress established with two houses?
– Parliament
– Connecticut Compromise
– Check the power of Congress
Terms
• Term
– Length of time officials serve following elections
• How long do members of Congress serve?
– House – 2 year terms
– Senate – 6 year terms
• Congressional term
– 2 years
– Currently, it is the 114th Congress
– Term begins at noon on Jan. 3rd in odd-numbered
years
Sessions
Session
• Time during which Congress conducts business
• Two sessions per term
• One session per year
• Begins on Jan 3rd unless Congress sets a different
date
Adjourn
• End the session
• Both houses must agree on a date
Sessions
How long is a session?
• No set length
• Prior to WWII, lasted about 5 months
• Now, last throughout the year
• Congress recesses several times during a session
• President may prorogue a session when the
houses cannot agree on a date to adjourn
• President may call a special session
• No President has called one since Truman
House of Representatives
Size and Terms
• 435 members
• Seats are apportioned among the states
based on population
• Every state guaranteed 1 seat
• 2 year term
• How many terms can a Congressperson
serve?
Qualifications for Members
Formal
• 25 years old
• Must have been a US citizen for 7 years
• Inhabit the state you represent
Custom
• Live in the district you represent
Illinois 18th District
• Darin LaHood
Reapportionment
• What is reapportionment?
• When does it happen?
Growing Nation
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First House - 65 members
After 1790 census - 106
1800 - 142
1810 - 186
1910 - 435
How did Congress deal with the problem
in 1920?
Reapportionment Act of 1929
• Automatic reapportionment
• “permanent” size of 435
• Census Bureau determines the number of
seats each state should have
• President must send it to Congress
• If Congress doesn’t reject it within 60
days, it takes effect
• What trend do you notice from the map?
• 7 states have 1 seat
– Alaska, Delaware, Montana, N. Dakota, S.
Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming
• D.C., Guam, Virgin Islands, and American
Samoa have a delegate
• Puerto Rico has a commissioner
Congressional Elections
• Held on same day in every State
– Tuesday following 1st Monday in Nov of each
even-numbered year
• Off-year elections
• Incumbents
Districts
• Each member is chosen by voters in one of
the 435 districts
• Districts are NOT mentioned in Constitution
• Single-member district
• General ticket system
– Seats filled at-large
• Average District = 710,767 people
Gerrymandering
• Drawing districts to
the advantage of a
political party
• Packing
• Cracking
Ideal Districts
• “contiguous territory”
• Nearly an equal number of inhabitants
• “Compact territory”
House Rule
• House judges the elections and
qualifications of its own members
• If qualifications challenged, House decides
• May refuse to seat a member or punish
members with majority vote
• May expel members with 2/3rds vote
– 4 expelled members, 3 in 1861, 1 in 1980
Vacancies
• Governor will call for special election if
there is an open seat
– Resignation
– Kicked out
– Death
Officers
• Choose their own leaders and officers
– Speaker of the House
• Paul Ryan
• Sole power to impeach
– Accusing
Section 3
Senate
Dick Durbin (D)
Mark Kirk (R)
Size and Election
• 100 members, 2 from each State
– 1 vote
• Senators originally chosen
– State legislatures
– 17th Amendment changes that
Term
• 6 years
• Continuous Body
– Staggered terms – 1/3 of Senate up for reelection every 2 years
• Why were Senators given a 6 year term?
– Less concerned with public opinion and
special interests
Qualifications
• 30 years old
• US citizen for at least 9 years
• Resident of State from which he/she is
elected
• Senate judges qualifications of members
• May punish and expel members
• How do these differ from the House?
Officers
• Vice President is the presiding officer
– Only votes if there is a tie
Officers
• Choose their own officers
– President Pro Tempore
• Presides when VP is gone
• Patrick Leahy (D) Vt.
Impeachment
• Sole power to try all impeachments
• If president is on trial then Chief Justice of
Supreme Court presides
• Takes 2/3 majority to convict
Impeachment
• Punishment only extends to removal of
office
– Can not hold any “Office of Honor”
– Still subject to criminal hearing as well
Constituencies
• The people and interests a political figure
represents
• How does a Senator’s constituency differ
from a House member’s?
Vacancies
• If a vacancy occurs in the Senate, the
state’s governor may appoint a new
member
House
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435 members
2 year terms
Small constituencies
Younger membership
Strict rules, limited
debate
• Most work done in
committees
Senate
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100 members
6 year terms
Large constituencies
Older membership
Flexible rules, nearly
unlimited debate
• Work split between
committees and floor
Section 4
Congress may set the day for elections
Tues. after 1st Monday in November of Even
numbered years
Section 5
• Must have a Quorum to conduct official
business
– Simple majority (218, 51)
• Members not present can be rounded up
and taken to the chambers
• Both houses keep a journal
(Congressional Record)
– Made public by a vote of 1/5 of members
present
Section 5
• Neither house can adjourn for more than 3
days without the others consent
Section 6
• Members of both houses are to be paid
through the treasury
– Pay can not change during term
• Can not hold another civil office while
serving in Congress