Unit 4: Institutions of
Government
Legislative Branch
Snapshot of Congress-1
• Legislative Branch: lawmaking body (Federal,
State and Local levels)
– Bicameral Congress: 2 houses (House and Senate)
• Location: Washington DC Capital building
• Nickname: “The Hill”
• Why do we have a bicameral Congress?
Why do we have a bicameral
Congress?
• Historically, Great Britain did
• Practically, settle a dispute between large and
small states over representation
• Theoretically, can create a checks on each
other between the houses
Bicameral Congress
Congressional Term: 2 years
• Each term is numbered consecutively January 2015 to
January 2017We will be starting the 114th session of
Congress
• We are currently in the 2nd session of the 113th session
of Congress
• 20th amendment (1933):
– Term begins on January 3 of odd numbered year
– Used to start in March
– Why did we move the start date of Congressional
(and Presidential) Terms from March to January?
Why did we move the start date of
Congressional (and Presidential)
Terms from March to January?
– Historically the gap allowed for delays in
communication and travel
– However, we no longer have this issue and
restricts the amount of work Congress can do.
Sessions: 1 year long (2 sessions in one term)
• Adjourn/recess: suspend work until the next session
• Congress can determine when they will adjourn and
start a session
• They are in session most of the year, but take short
recesses (Holidays, elections)
• Both houses must agree to adjourn
What about an emergency??
Special sessions: meeting to deal with
an emergency situation
• Only the President can call a
special session after Congress
has adjourned
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•
Brooklyn Times/S.S. Byck, 1933
When Congress was “on a retreat” from the
Depression in 1933, Roosevelt’s President
Roosevelt called a special session of
Congress, saying that unemployment could
only be solved “by direct recruiting by the
Government itself.” For the next three
months, Roosevelt proposed, and Congress
passed, Glass-Steagall and other key bills to
deal with the crisis; this session became
known as the Hundred Days.
– State: OHIO’S legislative body is called the
General Assembly
• Located in Columbus, OH (House and Senate) 
discuss later when focus on Ohio government and
Constitution
Resources for information
• https://www.congress.gov
• https://www.congress.gov/help/legislativeglossary
• http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collection.acti
on?collectionCode=GPO&browsePath=The+Const
itution+of+the+United+States+of+America:+Anal
ysis+and+Interpretation
• http://schillerinstitute.org/lar_related/2011/lyn_
webcast_0122_qna.html
•
Snapshot of Congress—
page 2
House of
Representatives:
representation based
on population
Speaker of the House
John Boehner
addresses the 113th
Congress in the
Capitol in Washington
January 3, 2013.
reuters.com
Size: 435 people (not a fixed number by the
Constitution) but determined by Congress
• Constitution says the total number of seats shall be
apportioned (distributed) on the basis of the states
population
• Each state is guaranteed at least 1 seat
• DC, Guam, Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands and
American Samoa and Puerto Rico has a resident
commissioner
– They are not allowed to vote on the floor
– Can introduce bills, speak in debates and vote in committee
Term
• Serve for 2 years
• Founding Fathers wanted the Reps to stay close to the
people back home since the directly represent their
issues at the federal level.
• No Constitutional limits on the number of terms a
member of US Congress can serve
2 longest serving members of House!
John Dingell (R ) Michigan 58 years! (1955), did
not run for re-election this year ending his streak
John Conyers ( D) Michigan 49 years (1965)
Reapportionment: redistribution of seats in the House after the census
• Census (counting of people) takes place every 10 years
• Reapportionment Act of 1929 set the number of Reps
at 435
• 1 Rep for every 575,00-600,000 people
• Number of Reps per state may change after each
census
• After 2010 census, Ohio lost 2 seats
How are the seats in the House of
Representatives apportioned?
2010 reapportionment
How are the seats in the House of
Representatives apportioned?
• Apportionment is based on the population of
each state after the census
• Congress set the number to 435 in 1929, but
should it be expanded?
Congressional elections
• Since 1872, All Reps are elected on the same day in all
50 states on the Tuesday following the 1st Monday of
November of each even-numbered year
• You can only vote for Rep running in your district
– 15th Distict: Steve Stivers (R) 2011 (just won re-election)
• Vacancy (open seat)?: Governor could call for a special
election, only for that district
– Death, resignation
Considered one of the biggest political
upsets of modern times
– Eric Cantor (who was
House Majority Leader
Republican until Aug.
2014) resigned from
Congress to take a Wall
Street job after losing the
Republican primary to
Dave Brat. Brat won the
seat in the November 4th
election
– 1st time (since Majority
leader created in 1899)
that a sitting majority
leader lost his seat!
Congressional Districts: area where a
House member represents
• Drawn by each state’s legislative body
• Single member districts: voter’s elect one person to
represent their district
• http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/upload/resha
pe/congressional/congressional-statewide.pdf
• http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/upload/resha
pe/GA/Adopted-House.pdf
Gerrymandering: drawing
districts to the advantage of
the party controlling the state’s
legislature
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Packing: putting
minority party in
just a few districts
Cracking:
spreading minority
party thinly
through many
districts
Creates districts
with funny shapes
Gerrymandering in Ohio?
Court Cases to combat?
• Wesberry v. Sanders (1964): Supreme Court ruled that
Georgia’s districts were in violation of the Constitution
– Districts were not equal in population
– “one person, one vote”
• Shaw v. Reno (1993)
– Race can not be used as main factor in determining districts to
increase or decrease the power of the race in elections
• Hunt v Comartie (2001)
– Gerrymandering could be done as longs as districts were equal in
population.
– Race could be used to draw district lines as long as not the only
factor.
• Why do politicians gerrymander districts?
Why do politicians gerrymander
districts?
• To create districts that their party is almost
certain to win in an election for the next 10
years!
Who Represents You at National Level?
• 16 US Congressional
Districts based on the
2010 Census (we lost 2
seats)
• 15th Congressional
District: Steve Stivers
(R) since 2011- Financial
Services Committee
Who Represents You at the State
Level?
• 99 Ohio Congressional
districts (set by Ohio
Law in 1966)
• 77th Ohio House
District: Gerald
Stebleton (R ) since
2006- Education,
Judiciary, and Ways and
Means
Qualifications to be a House
Member
• Formal for US House- US Constitution (Article I)
– 25 years of age
– Citizen of the US for 7 years
– Must be inhabitant of State that are being elected from
(custom to be living in the district you represent too)
– House is a judge of qualifications, so could technically
refuse/remove members on a majority vote
• Informal for US House
– Candidate’s vote getting abilities… the whole package
(descriptive representation)
– No term limits
Qualifications to be a House Member
• Formal for Ohio House- OH Constitution (Article 2)
– Must be a resident of the district
– Have resided in the district for one year immediately
preceding the election
– Be a qualified elector (18 years old)
– Term limits (set in 1992 referendum): 8 consecutive years. Reeligible to run after 4 years.
Resources for Information
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http://www.house.gov
http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/vacancies.aspx
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/05/15/americas-mostgerrymandered-congressional-districts/
http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/upload/reshape/congressional/congressional-statewide.pdf
http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/upload/reshape/GA/Adopted-House.pdf
http://www.ohiohouse.gov/index
http://stivers.house.gov
http://www.ohiohouse.gov/gerald-l-stebelton
http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/constitution.cfm?Part=2&Section=02
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/03/us-usa-congress-idUSBRE90203V20130103
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Conyers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dingell
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_congressional_districts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering
Snapshot of Congress—page 3
• Senate: representation
is 2 per State
• Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)
spoke for 21 hours and
19 minutes during a
filibuster in the Senate
taken from United Liberty.org
Size 100 people (as set by the US Constitution)
• Founding Fathers felt that Senators would be a more
enlightened and responsible group
• Senators represent a whole state, a more diverse
population
• Qualifications are stricter
Term:
• 6 year terms
• Staggered terms: 1/3 are elected every 2 years (started in
1789)
• Divided into 3 classes (the 1st, 1st class only had a 2 year term and 2nd
class only had a 4 year term)
• Continuous body: seats are never all up for re-election so it
is considered always to be in session
• Longer term gives Senators some insulation from day to day
politics and they may be less subject to the pressures of
public opinion and special interest groups
Why is the Senate called a Continuous body?
How is a Senator’s constituency (the people he represents)
different than a House Member’s constituency?
Member of the 1st, 1st class!
• Tristram Dalton
• Massachusetts
• 1789-1791 (only a 2
year term)
• Lost in his re-election 
Why is the Senate called a Continuous
body?
• 1/3 are elected every 2 year seats are never
all up for re-election so it is considered always
to be in session
How is a Senator’s constituency (the people he
represents) different than a House
Member’s constituency?
• Senate larger more diverse body as he/she
represents an entire State rather than a
smaller, less diverse body of a district
Election
• Originally the Constitution called for Senators to be
chose by the State legislatures
• 17th amendment (1913): people would directly elect
senators
– Party Politics and money began to shape selection Senate
Millionaire’s Club
• Only one senator up for election at a time.
• At large election: the whole state votes for a senator
• Vacancy: Most states allow the Governor to choose
replacement until either special election or November
Election (which ever comes first) Ohio is one
This political cartoon criticizes the Senate as a millionaire club full of
corruption
How did the 17th amendment change
the way we elect Senators?
• Changed from state legislatures to direct
election
Who represents you at the National
Level?
• Sherrod Brown (D) class I
(expires 2019): since
2007– Committees: Agriculture,
Nutrition and Forestry;
Banking, Housing and
Urban Affairs (Chair of Sub
on Financial Institutions
and Consumer
Protections); Finance
(Chair of Sub on Social
Security, Pensions and
Family Policy); Veteran
Affairs, Select Committee
on Ethics
Who represents you at the National
Level?
• Rob Portman (R) class III
(expires 2017): since
2010– Committees: Finance;
Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs:
Energy and Natural
Resources; Budget
Who represents you at the State Level?
• 33 Ohio Senate Districts (set
by Ohio law in 1966)
• Troy Balderson (R) Senate
District 20: since 2011• Committees: Agriculture,
Education, (Chair) Energy and
Natural Resources, General
Gov’t Finance Subcommittee,
Public Utilities, Transportation,
Workforce and Economic
Development
• http://www.sos.state.oh.us/
sos/upload/reshape/GA/Ad
opted-Senate.pdf
Qualifications to be a Senator
• Formal for US Senator- US Constitution (Article I)
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30 years of age
Citizen of the US for 9 years
Must be inhabitant of State that are being elected from
House is a judge of qualifications, so could technically
refuse/remove members on a majority vote
Qualifications to be a Senator
• Formal for Ohio Senator- Ohio Constitution (Article II)
– Must be a resident of the district
– Have resided in the district for one year immediately
preceding the election
– Be a qualified elector (18 years old)
– Term limits (set in 1992 referendum): 8 consecutive years. Reeligible to run after 4 years
– Staggered principle-1/2 elected each 2 years
– Odd v. even districts only vote on your district senator
Resources for Information
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http://www.senate.gov
http://www.senate.gov/reference/Index/Elections.htm
http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/vacancies-in-the-unitedstates-senate.aspx
http://www.brown.senate.gov
http://www.portman.senate.gov/public/
http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Constitutional_Q
ualifications_Senators.htm
http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/constitution.cfm?Part=2&Section=02
http://www.ohiosenate.gov/senate/education/history-of-the-ohio-senate
http://www.sos.state.oh.us/sos/upload/reshape/GA/Adopted-Senate.pdf
http://www.ohiosenate.gov/balderson
http://www.unitedliberty.org/articles/15082-top-10-longest-senate-filibusters
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tristram_Dalton
http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/what-is-the-17th-amendmentdefinition-summary-history.html#lesson
Snapshot of Congress—page 4
• Members of Congress…who are they?
http://www.thewire.co
m/politics/2013/01/da
y-jobs-113thcongress/60918/
Personal/Political Background the “average” as of November 24, 2014
Party
• Party
– House
» 234 Republicans
» 207 Democrats (includes 5 delegates and resident
commissioner)
– Senate
» 53 Democrats
» 2 Independents (who caucus with Dems)
» 45 Republicans
Resources for Information
• http://www.pewforum.org/2012/11/16/faith-on-the-hillthe-religious-composition-of-the-113th-congress/
• http://www.senate.gov/CRSReports/crspublish.cfm?pid=%260BL%2BR\C%3F%0A
• https://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/three_colu
mn_table/Senators.htm
• http://history.house.gov/
• http://www.senate.gov/CRSReports/crspublish.cfm?pid=%270E%2C*PL[%3D%23P%20%20%0A
• http://www.thewire.com/politics/2013/01/day-jobs-113thcongress/60918/
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