What Does Congress Do?
Unit III: Role of the
Legislative and
Executive Branches

What does Bi-Cameral mean?
There are two houses that make up the
legislature.
 House of Representatives
 Senate


This can be traced all the way back to the
British Parliament in the 1300’s.
House of Representatives
435 total members
 Based on population in each state
 Each state has a minimum of ONE
representative.
 California has the most representatives
with 53, North Dakota has 1.
 Each term(length served in office) lasts
for 2 years.

How many representatives
does Minnesota have?
Who is your representative?

Minnesota has 8 representatives!!

Depending on where you live, you may
not all have the same representative. The
majority of you are represented by Betty
McCollum.

Representative
Betty McCollum
Will Minnesota Always Have 8
Representatives?




Not necessarily-there will always be 435
members of the House.
Reapportion (redistribute the seats after the
census)
States can gain or lose representatives based
on population. Each state is guaranteed 1.
In 2010, MN almost lost a representative due to
lack of response in returning the census.
Formal Qualifications for the
House of Representatives
1. Must be at least 25 years of age
 2. Must be a citizen of the U.S. for at least
7 years
 3. Must live in the state from which he or
she is elected.

Senate
100 members
 2 senators from each state, regardless of
population
 Each term lasts for 6 years and terms are
staggered so only 1/3 of the senate is up
for re-election at one time

How many Senators does
Minnesota have?
What are the names of your
Senators?

Minnesota has 2 senators
Al Franken
 Amy Klobachar

Formal Qualifications for the
Senate
Must be at least 30 years of age
 Must be a citizen of the U.S. for at least 9
years.
 Must live in the state from which he or she
is elected.

Personal Backgrounds
The average member is a white male in
his early 50’s.
 There are more African American and
women in Congress than ever before.
 When Barack Obama was elected to the
Senate, he was only the 5th African
American member of the Senate.


Senator (and
now President)
Barack Obama)
Personal Backgrounds







Nearly all members are married
On average they have 2 children
60% are Protestant, 30% are Catholic, 6% are
Jewish
1/3 of the House are lawyers, 1/2 of the Senate
are lawyers
4 out of 5 members have college degrees
Most were born in the state they represent
Most members depend on their salary and are
not independently wealthy
Compensation





Representatives are paid $158,000 a year
Special tax deduction on homes (one in DC and
one in the state represented)
Retirement at $150,000 per year
Franking Privilege: can mail letters and other
materials for free
There is no limit as to how much money a
representative can make, but there is always
fear of voter backlash.
Congressional Power
Congress only has the powers that were
given to it by the Constitution.
 There are three types of powers:

Expressed: directly from the Constitution
 Implied: powers reasonably deduced
 Inherent: used to create a national
government

Specific Powers of Congress









Power to Tax
Commerce Power
Currency Power
War Powers
Naturalization
Postal Power
Constitutional Amendments
Impeachment: to charge with a crime, not
removal from office
Executive Powers
How Congress Organizes





House of Representatives has it’s opening day
every other January.
The Senate has been organized without
interruption since 1789.
Presiding officer of the House: Speaker of the
House, John Bainer.
Presiding officer of the Senate: VP, Joe Bidon.
President pro tempore: serves in the VP’s
absence, Senator Daniel Inouye (Hawaii)

Speaker of
the House:
John Boehner

President of the
Senate: Joe
Biden

President pro
tempore of the
Senate: Daniel
Inouye
Committees in Congress




Way to divide up the work load in the House
and Senate.
This is where bills are presented and
researched.
Standing Committee: some committees are
permanent, the House has 19 and the Senate
has 17.
Committees include: Agriculture, Education,
Budget, Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs,
Ways and Means, etc….
How a Bill becomes a Law




Bill: a proposed law presented to the House or
Senate for consideration.
Step 1: It is introduced
Step 2: Referred to a standing committee for
research, hearings, etc.
Step 3: Bill is debated on the floor and then
passed or defeated. If passed, it goes on to the
other “house” of Congress.
How a Bill becomes a Law
Step 4: Conference Committee resolves
the differences between the House and
Senate versions of the bill.
 Step 5: House and Senate vote on the
bill, approved bill is sent to the president.
 Step 6: President vetoes or signs the bill.
If vetoed, the bill goes back to Congress.
