The Legislative Branch
Congressional Sessions
• Each term of Congress starts on January 3 of oddnumbered 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.
• Currently we are in the middle of the 112th session of
Congress which began on January 3, 2011, and will
end on January 3, 2013.
Representation
• Senate: Equal representation: 2 per state (100
total)
• House of Representatives: Representation
based on population: 435 total
• The number of House seats is apportioned, or
divided, among the states on the basis of
population.
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.
Members of Congress, c’ued
• Nearly half the members of Congress are
lawyers.
• Senators and representatives typically have
been white, middle-aged males.
Apportionment
• To assign apportionment, Congress looks at
Census data from every 10 yrs.
• The population of each state determines the
new number of representatives to which each
is entitled–a process called reapportionment.
• The Reapportionment Act of 1929 limited the
House to 435 representatives.
Redistricting
• After the states find out their reapportioned
representation, each state legislature sets up
congressional districts.
• The process of setting up new district lines
after reapportionment has been completed is
called redistricting.
Alabama Congressional Representation
District
Representative
1st
Jo Bonner
2003 Republican
2nd
Martha Roby
2011 Republican
3rd
Mike Rogers
3-Jan-2003 Republican
4th
Robert Aderholt
3-Jan-1997 Republican
5th
Mo Brooks
2011 Republican
6th
Gary Palmer
1993 Republican
7th
Terri Sewell
2011 Democratic
Senator Richard Shelby (R)
Since 1986, up for
re-election in 2016
Since
Party
Senator Jeff Sessions (R)
Since 1996, up for
re-lection in 2014
Gerrymandering
• Gerrymandering means that the political
party controlling the state government draws
a district’s boundaries to gain an advantage in
elections.
Gerrymandering techniques
• “packing”-putting as many voters of a single
type into one district in order to minimize their
influence in other districts.
• “cracking”-spreading out voters of a single type
among numerous districts such that they will
always be in the minority within any given
district
The strategies are often combined, resulting in the
opposition party having a fewer "safe" seats ,
while the majority party retains more seats for
itself.
Salaries & Benefits
• The Senate and the House set their own
salaries. Over the years, Congress has voted
itself periodic salary increases.
• The Twenty-seventh Amendment
Benefits to members of Congress
– 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
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.
Privileges of Members, c’ued
• 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
• Rangel Censured
Reelection to Congress
• Between 1945 and 1990, about 90 percent of
all incumbents, or those members already in
office, won reelection. 
Reelection to Congress, c’ued
• 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 are better known to voters.
– Incumbents use their position and office staff to
help solve problems for voters.
House of Representatives
Requirements to be a Representative
(Congressman)
•
•
•
•
25 years old
Citizen for at least 7 years
Legal resident from your electing state
2yr terms
Elise Stefanik, New York, (R)
{30 yrs old}
Albio Sires, New Jersey (R)
{born in Cuba}
House rules
• Complex rules and a structure of leadership
enable Congress to carry out its lawmaking
duties.
• The complex rules in the House are geared
toward moving legislation quickly once it
reaches the floor.
Committees
• 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.
Gary Palmer, Alabama’s 6th district.
House Committee on Budget
House Committee on Oversight and Government
Reform
House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology
Party Affiliation
• In both the House and Senate, the
Republicans sit on the right side of the
chamber, the Democrats on the left.
Party affiliation, c’ued
• In each house the majority party…
– selects the leaders of that body.
– controls the flow of legislative work.
– appoints committee chairs.
House Leadership
• 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
Current Speaker of the House: John
Boehner, “bay-ner.” Ohio (R)
The SoH is 2nd in line for the presidency
Powers of the Speaker of the House
– 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.
Other House floor leaders
• 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.
Kevin McCarthy ,
California (R)
Other House floor leaders, c’ued
• Whips 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.
Steve Scalise, Louisiana(R)
– see that party members are
present to vote.
Other House floor leaders, c’ued
• Minority leader and minority whips have
similar jobs to their majority counterparts
House Minority Leader: Nancy
Pelosi, California, (D)
House Minority Whip: Steny
Hoyer, Maryland, (D)
House bills
• All laws start as bills. A proposed law is called
a bill until both houses of Congress pass it and
the president signs it.
House bills, c’ued
1. After a bill is introduced, the Speaker of the
House sends it to the appropriate committee for
study, discussion, and review.
2. Bills that survive the committee process are put
on one of the House calendars, or lists of bills up
for consideration.
a. The House has several calendars, each used for a
different kind of bill.
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.
House bills in committee, c’ued
3. After a committee has considered and approved
a major bill, the bill usually goes to the Rules
Committee.
The Rules Committee serves as the “traffic officer”
of the House, helping to move legislation through
House Bills in Committee, c’ued
• 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.
House bills in committee, c’ued
• The Rules Committee also settles disputes
among other 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.
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
4. When the House meets to debate and amend
legislation, it may often sit as a Committee of
the Whole.
It reports changes back to the full House, which
has the authority to pass or reject the bill.
The Senate
The Senate
The Senate at Work
• Has fewer rules than the House.
Senators have more freedom and
face less pressure from party
leadership
• The Senate is more informal in
general
• Senators may debate an issue off
and on for months
• Leadership is similar to leadership
in the House
Requirements to be a senator
•
•
•
•
Must be 30 yrs old
Citizens for 9 yrs
Must be resident of elector state
6yr terms
Leader of the Senate: Vice-President
• Does not have exactly
same role as Speaker
does in the House.
• May recognize
members & preside
over meetings, but
cannot debate or vote
unless there is a tie.
VP Joe Biden
President pro tempore
• The Senate elects a
President Pro Tempore
“for the time being”,
but this position is not
nearly as powerful in
that position as a leader
as the Senate Majority
Leader.
• 3rd in line for presidency
Orrin Hatch , Utah (R)
Senate leadership
• Senate Majority Leader • Majority Whip (John
(Mitch McConnell, R-KY)
Cornyn , R-TX)
Senate Leadership
• Senate Minority Leader
(Harry Reid, D-NV)
• Minority Whip (Richard
Durbin, D-IL)
What do the Senate Leaders do?
• The Senate majority floor
leader is responsible for
guiding bills through the
Senate
• The minority floor leader
develops criticisms of
majority party bills and tries
to keep the opposition
party members working
together
• Majority and minority whips
make sure their party
members show up to vote
and report the status of
votes to the majority and
minority leaders
• All Senate leaders
control the flow of bills
to committees and to
the floor for debate;
there is no Senate
committee comparable
to the House Rules
Committee.
• Richard Shelby's
Committee membership
The Senate at Work
• There are only 2
calendars in the Senate:
• Calendar of General
Orders (bills for
consideration go here)
• Executive Calendar
(treaties and
nominations)
• The majority party controls
the flow of legislative work
in the Senate.
Filibusters
• The filibuster is a tool
either party can use as
a tactic to stall or
prevent a vote on a bill.
• It takes a vote of 3/5ths
of Congress (60
members) to reach
cloture (to end a
filibuster and put the
bill to a vote)
Sen. Strom Thurmond gives longest filibuster
speech in US history (24 hrs, 28mins) in order
to stop the Civil Rights Act of 1957.