CHAPTER 5, SECTION 1
PART 2
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATE
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
• Why are the House and the Senate different when
they both are houses within the Legislative Body?
I CAN:
1. Explain how both Houses of Congress are similar
and different
2. Analyze the House and Senate based on their
major facts and information
3. Understand the idea of gerrymandering and how
it affects Congressional elections
4. Evaluate the leadership structure in both the
House and the Senate
VIDEOS ON SENATE AND HOUSE
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYKvx3vH7c&feature=related
• Cram for the Exam
BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS
• Made by Connecticut
Compromise
• Every two years 1/3 of
Senators and all house
members are up for
election
• Print rules every two
years
• Republicans sit on right;
Democrats sit on left
• All proposed laws start
as bills
BOTH HOUSES CONT.
• 27th Amendment- pay
increase would not take
effect until next voting
cycle
• Franking privilegeCongressional members
can send mail for free
• May get up to $150,000 a
year when they retire
• Cannot be arrested while
they are attending
Congress or going to
Congress
• Cannot be sued for
anything they say on the
house or senate floor
DISCIPLINE IN CONGRESS
• Censure- vote of
disapproval,
majority of each
house, lose of
committee chair
• Expulsion- removal
from office, 2/3
votes from
corresponding
house
DISCIPLINE IN CONGRESS
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFQ7T8iiNEo
• Congressman dismissed for wearing hoodie
CENSURE IN CONGRESS
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMnKltzA44Q&
feature=fvsr
• Today in History: McCarthy Censure
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaI2rd-c_1M
• McCarthy on his Censure
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqQD4dzVkwk
• Have you decency sir
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1goLynHyFaY
• Facts of Congress
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
• 435 members based
on state population
• 2 year terms
• No term limits
• Elections held in
November of even
numbered years
• Off-Year electionsoccurring during
nonpresidential
years
HOUSE CONT.
• Salary of Members:
$174,000
• Debate in house is
limited to 1 hour
• All tax and revenue
bills originate in the
House
• Lower turnout
during elections
• 90% reelected
QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS
1. 25 years old
2. Citizen of the
US for 7 years
3. Legal
residents of
the state that
elects them
QUALIFICATIONS OF HOUSE
• http://video.about.com/usgovinfo/What-Are-theRequirements-to-be-a-Representative-.htm
OATH OF OFFICE FOR MEMBERS
• I, (Name of Member), do solemnly swear (of
affirm) that I will support and defend the
Constitution of the United States against all
enemies, foreign or domestic; that I will bear
true faith and allegiance to the same; that I
take this obligation freely, without any
mental reservations or purpose of evasion;
and that I will well and faithfully discharge
the duties of the office on which I am about
to enter. So help me God.”
OATH OF OFFICE VIDEO
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8cGgELJzBw
REPRESENTATION AND
REAPPORTIONMENT
• Reapportionment Act of 1929- sets House at 435
total seats for 50 states
• Reapportionment- reassigning representation
based on new number of population for each state
• Based on census- population count every 10 years
• Each state can gain/loss seats based on population
but cannot go above 435 seats
• State legislatures sets up congressional districts for
each representative and draws boundary lines
• Redistricting- setting up/drawing new district lines
after reapportionment has taken place
WESBERRY VS. SANDERS 1964
• “One person, One vote” rule, each vote in a
congressional district should be worth about the
same
• Today each district has around 710,000 people
REDISTRICTING VIDEO
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r7qJvprHXw
2010 CENSUS AND HOUSE DISTRICTS
2010 KENTUCKY
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS
GERRYMANDERING
• Process of drawing
district lines to gain
an advantage for
one group or
another; abuse of
state redistricting
power
• Elbridge GerryGovernor of
Massachusetts
• District shapes usually
very irregular
4 TYPES OF GERRYMANDERING
1. Incumbent- agreement by both
major parties to create safe districts
for incumbents in office
2. Partisan- Benefits one political party
over the other (usually whom every is
in office during redistricting phase)
3. Racial-district lines drawn to either
favor or harm ethnic/racial groups
GERRYMANDERING VIDEO
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mky11UJb9AY
&feature=endscreen&NR=1
• Animal Kingdom video
POTENTIAL GERRYMANDERING
GERRYMANDERING CONT.
• Packing- drawing lines so they include as many
of the opposing party’s voters as possible
• Cracking- dividing an opponent’s voters into
other districts, weakens opponents voter base
REDISTRICTING VIDEO
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh4qAJDUOcc
• Gerrymandering, Packing, and Cracking
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnQTE1zhXgU&
feature=related
• Gerrymandering and Redistricting for women
RULES AND COMMITTEES
• Aimed at defining that
actions an individual
representative can take
• Rules are geared to
move legislation quickly
once it reaches the floor
• Committees do most of
the work (especially in
House)
• Membership is larger,
organize into smaller
groups to accomplish
work more efficiently.
LEADERSHIP IN THE HOUSE: 6
PURPOSES
1. Organizing and unifying party members
2. Scheduling the work of the House
3. Making certain that lawmakers are present
for key floor votes
4. Distributing and collecting information
5. Keeping the house in touch with the
President
6. Influencing lawmakers to support the
polices of their political party
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
• Presiding officer and
most powerful leader
• Chosen by caucus
from majority party
• Follows VicePresident in line of
succession
• Salary- 223,500
• John Boehner (ROH)
ROLES OF THE SPEAKER
• Chooses chairperson
and majority party
members to Rules
Committee and other
committees
• First to speak on
legislation and
recognizes members
to speak on legislation
• Schedules bills for
action and refers bills
to proper committees
HOUSE FLOOR LEADERS
• Majority/Minority
Leaders- a party,
not House official,
who carry out party
agendas, plan
legislative
programs, and steer
important bills
through Congress
HOUSE FLOOR LEADERS
• Majority/Minority
Whip- Assistant floor
leaders whose goal
is to watch how
party members
intend to vote,
encourage them to
vote with the party,
and see party
members are
present to vote
LEADERSHIP VIDEO
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgB6pVzOp4&feature=relmfu
• Facts of Congress: Congressional Leaders
VIDEO TOUR OF HOUSE
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gADaGOSYe
A&feature=relmfu
LAWMAKING PROCESS
• To introduce a bill, it
must be placed in the
Hopper, a mahogany
box near the front of
the room
• Only 10 to 20 percent
of bills introduced ever
make it to the full house
for a vote
• Those that survive
committees are put on
a Calendar, listing the
bills up for
consideration
THE HOPPER
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq_hOx8E2uo
5 CALENDARS OF THE HOUSE
1. Union- lists bills dealing with money
2. House- Most other public bills
3. Private- bills dealing with individual people
or places
4. Consent- any bill the House gives
unanimous consent to debate out of
regular order
5. Discharge- petition to discharge a bill from
committee
HOUSE RULES COMMITTEE
• Provides “rule”, or special
order, for each bill
• When will bill be
debated, how long
debate can last, and
can the bill be amended
• Resolves disputes
between two
committees
• Controlled by majority
party and so reflects their
priorities
HOUSE QUORUM
• Minimum number of
members who must be
present to permit a
legislative body to take
official action
• 218 members are
needed for a majority
• Committee of the
Whole will sometimes
meet and only 100
members are needed
to move a bill to the
whole house floor
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES VIDEO
• http://video.about.com/usgovinfo/United-StatesHouse-of-Representatives.htm
WHY WE HAVE A SENATE
• http://video.about.com/usgovinfo/About-the-U-S-Senate.htm
• Facts of Congress Senate
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj4aMGlf6bA
SENATE
• 100 Senators
• 6 year terms
• No term limits
• Run at-large
elections,
meaning they are
statewide and
cover a larger
constituent base
SENATE CONT.
• Continuous bodyportion of members
retain their seats
during elections
• Fewer rules than in
House
• More informal
atmosphere
• Usually allows
unlimited debate
SENATE BILLS SCHEDULED
• Senate Leaders
control the flow of
bills to committees,
floor debates and
vote
• Runs day to day
operations on
unanimous consentset aside rules and
consider bill from
calendar.
TWO SENATE CALENDARS
1. General Orderslists all bills the
Senate will
consider
2. Executive
Calendarschedules
treaties and
nominations
BILLS CONT.
• Filibuster- stall or
block legislation
and prevent a vote
from occurring
• Can only be
stopped by invoking
cloture- cuts
debate to 1 hour on
a bill and then have
a vote
• Takes 3/5 (60) votes
to enact cloture
FILIBUSTER VIDEOS
•
•
•
•
•
•
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQIG-kfT9bI
Facts of Congress
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVc2kMXF_8c
George Mitchell on Filibuster
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a94cm4Fv_34
History of the Filibuster
SENATE LEADERSHIP:
VICE PRESIDENT
• President of the
Senate
• Votes in case of a
tie
• May recognize
members, put
questions to a vote,
but may not take
part in Senate
debate
PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE
• Means “for the time
being”
• Presides in absence
of the Vice
President
• Elected by the
Senate and usually
senior member of
the majority party
• 4th in line of
succession
SENATE MAJORITY/MINORITY
LEADERS
• Most important
officers in the
Senate
• Sets agenda for
Senate
• Oversees and
manages floor
debates
• Steer the party’s bills
through the Senate
WHY WE HAVE A HOUSE AND SENATE
• http://video.about.com/usgovinfo/Why-We-Havea-House-and-a-Senate.htm
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuFRqkw5KoI&
feature=related
• Legislative Powers and Principles
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqRxNnjUEtM&
feature=related
• Congressional Pork and Earmarks