Essential Question
Section 1: Congressional
Membership
Section 2: The House of
Representatives
Section 3: The Senate
Section 4: Congressional
Committees
Section 5: Staff and Support
Agencies
Chapter Summary
What is the basic structure
and organization of Congress
as it represents the interests
of the voters?
Content Vocabulary
• bicameral
legislature
• session
• census
• reapportionment
• redistrict
• gerrymander
• at-large
• censure
• incumbent
Academic Vocabulary
• formulate
• occur
• trace
Reading Strategy
As you read, complete a table like the one
below to help you compare the qualifications for
representatives and senators.
Does gerrymandering have
a positive or negative affect
on the process of
reapportionment?
A. A
B. B
0%
B
0%
A
A. positive
B. negative
Congressional Sessions
• The U.S. Congress is a bicameral
legislature, meaning it is made up of two
houses:
– the Senate, and
– the House of Representatives.
• Each Congressional term is two sessions, or
meetings.
– A session lasts one year and includes
breaks for holidays and vacations.
The U.S. Congress is a bicameral legislature,
meaning
0%
C
A
0%
A. A
B. B
C.0%C
B
A. it is made up of two
houses.
B. its term is made up of
two sessions.
C. it is made up of two
political parties.
Membership of the House
• The House of Representatives has 435
members.
• Members of the House must be:
– at least 25 years old,
– citizens of the U.S. for at least 7 years, and
– legal residents of the state that elects them.
• Members of the House are elected for twoyear terms.
Membership of the House (cont.)
• To assign representatives on the basis of
population, the Census Bureau takes a
national census, or population count, every
10 years.
• Each state’s population determines the
number of representatives it will have for the
next 10 years through the process of
reapportionment.
Congressional Apportionment, 2000
Membership of the House (cont.)
• Redistricting is the process of setting up new
district lines within each state after
reapportionment.
• State legislatures have abused their power to
divide the state into congressional districts by
gerrymandering—drawing distinct
boundaries to give one party an electoral
advantage.
North Carolina Congressional
Districts, 2002
Each state’s number of representatives is
based on
A. geographical size.
B. historical precedent.
C. population size.
D. the House Speaker’s
preference.
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
Membership of the Senate
• The Senate is composed of 100 members–
two from each state.
• All voters of each state elect senators atlarge, or statewide, with no particular district.
• The Senate and the House set their own
salaries.
Swings in Control of Congress
Membership of the Senate (cont.)
• Members enjoy benefits and resources such
as stationery, postage for official business, a
medical clinic, and allowances to pay for staff,
trips, telephones, telegrams, and newsletters.
• Both the House and Senate may judge the
qualifications of new members and decide
whether to seat them.
• Each house may punish its members for
disorderly behavior by censure—a vote of
formal disapproval of a member’s actions.
What constitutional requirement is needed for
election to the Senate?
A. must be at least 25
years of age
B. must be a U.S. citizen
for 7 years before the
election
C. must be at least 30
years of age
D. must be a natural-born
U.S. citizen
0%
A
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
B
C
0%
D
The Members of Congress
• Congress includes 535 voting members—
100 senators and 435 representatives.
• There are 4 non-voting 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.
Profile of the 111th Congress
The Members of Congress (cont.)
• In recent years, Congress has slowly begun
to reflect more racial, ethnic, and gender
diversity.
• Membership in Congress changes slowly
because incumbents—members who are
already in office, often win reelection.
• The Internet has joined TV
and radio as an important
campaigning tool.
The Power of Incumbency
Why might an incumbent win reelection?
A. an increase in new
voters
B. voter recognition
C. the inability to raise
campaign funds
more easily
D. constituents want
political change
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
Content Vocabulary
• constituent
• calendar
• caucus
• quorum
• majority leader
• whip
• bill
Academic Vocabulary
• available
• parallel
• constitute
Reading Strategy
Use a graphic organizer similar to the one below
to help you take notes about the organization of
leaders in the House.
Which is the most important power held by the
Speaker of the House?
0%
D
0%
C
B
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
0%
D. D
A
A. influencing proceedings by
deciding which members to
recognize first
B. appointing the members of
committees
C. scheduling bills for action
D. following the vice president
in the line of presidential
succession
Rules for Lawmaking
• The House and Senate have organized
themselves in a way that will help them carry
out their obligation to make the laws.
• House rules are aimed at defining the actions
an individual representative can take.
• Committees of Congress perform most
legislative activity.
• Representatives tend to specialize in issues
that are important to their constituents—the
people in the districts they represent.
Rules for Lawmaking (cont.)
• In each house, the majority party gets to
select the leaders to control the flow of
legislative work and appoint the chairs of all
committees.
Who gets to select the leaders of the House
and Senate?
A. the minority party
B. the Speaker of the
House
C. the majority party
D. the president
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
House Leadership
• Leaders of the House coordinate the work of
435 individual members by meeting six goals:
– organizing and unifying party members,
– scheduling work,
– making certain that lawmakers are present
for key floor votes,
– distributing and collecting information,
House Leadership (cont.)
– keeping the House in touch with the
president, and
– influencing lawmakers to support their
party’s positions.
• The Speaker of the House is the presiding
officer and its most powerful leader.
• A caucus, or closed meeting, of the majority
party chooses the House Speaker at the start
of each session of Congress.
House Leadership (cont.)
• The Speaker has several powers, including:
– influencing proceedings by deciding which
members to recognize first,
– appointing the members of some
committees,
– scheduling bills for action and referring bills
to the proper House committee, and
– following the vice president in the line of
succession to the presidency.
House Leadership (cont.)
• The majority leader, the Speaker’s top
assistant, is responsible for:
– helping plan the party’s legislative program,
– steering important bills through the House,
and
– making sure the chairpersons of the many
committees finish work on bills that are
important to the party.
House Leadership (cont.)
• The majority leader is the floor leader of his or
her political party in the House and is elected
by the majority party.
• Majority whips and deputy whips are
assistant floor leaders in the House.
• The majority whip’s job is to monitor how
majority-party members vote on bills.
• The minority party in the House elects its own
leader and whip with responsibilities that
parallel the duties of the majority party.
The presiding officer and most powerful
leader of the House is
A. the majority leader.
B. the president pro
tempore.
C. the Speaker of the
House.
D. the vice president.
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
Lawmaking in the House
• A proposed law is called a bill until both
houses of Congress pass it and the president
signs it.
• The Speaker of the House sends bills to the
appropriate committee for review.
• Only 10 to 20 percent of bills ever get to the
full House for a vote.
• Bills that survive the committee process are
put on one of the House calendars, which list
bills that are up for consideration.
Lawmaking in the House (cont.)
• After a committee has considered and
approved a major bill, it usually goes to the
House Rules Committee.
• Major bills that reach the floor of the House
do so by a special order from the Rules
Committee.
• The Rules Committee has the power to delay
or block bills that representatives and House
leaders do not want to come to a vote on the
floor.
Lawmaking in the House (cont.)
• A quorum is the minimum number of
members needed for official legislative action.
• For a regular session, a quorum requires a
majority of 218 members.
The House calendar that deals with money
issues is the
A. Discharge Calendar.
B. Consent Calendar.
C. Private Calendar.
D. Union Calendar.
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C0%
D
C
0%
D
Content Vocabulary
• president pro tempore
• filibuster
• cloture
Academic Vocabulary
• specific
• assistant
• devote
Reading Strategy
Use a graphic organizer like the one below to
list the differences in the everyday operations of
the House and the Senate.
Is employing a filibuster an effective way of
preventing a bill from coming to a vote?
0%
C
A
0%
A. A
B. B
C.0%C
B
A. yes
B. no
C. sometimes
The Senate at Work
• The Senate deliberates, or formally
discusses, public policies.
• The vice president presides over the Senate
but cannot vote except to break a tie.
• In the absence of the vice president, the
president pro tempore—elected by the
Senate from the majority party—presides.
The Senate at Work (cont.)
• The Senate majority leader steers the party’s
bills through the Senate and makes sure that
party members attend important sessions and
gets support for key bills.
• The Senate minority leader critiques the
majority party’s bills and keeps his or her own
party united.
• The Senate brings bills to the floor by
unanimous consent.
The Senate at Work (cont.)
• To filibuster means to extend debate to
prevent a bill from coming to a vote.
• A vote for cloture limits the debate by
allowing each senator only one hour for
speaking on a bill.
• The majority party controls the flow of bills in
the Senate.
How does a vote of cloture limit debate on the
Senate floor?
0%
C
B
A. A
B. B
0%C. 0%
C
A
A. It allows one senator to
speak endlessly.
B. It prevents Senators
from the minority party
from speaking.
C. It allows each senator
to speak for no more
than one hour.
Content Vocabulary
• standing committee
• subcommittee
• select committee
• joint committee
• conference committee
• seniority system
Academic Vocabulary
• issue
• investigation
• temporary
Reading Strategy
Use the graphic organizer below to take notes
about the different types of congressional
committees.
Which type of committee has the greatest
effect on the passing of a bill?
A. standing committee
B. select committee
C. joint committee
D. conference
committee
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
Purposes of Committees
• The committee system serves three important
purposes:
– It allows members of Congress to divide
their work among many smaller groups.
– Committees select which of the bills
introduced into Congress are to receive
further consideration.
– By holding public hearings and
investigations, committees help the public
learn about key problems facing the nation.
How does dividing work into congressional
committees help members of Congress?
0%
C
B
A. A
B. B
C. C0%
0%
A
A. allows members to
become specialists on
topics
B. lets members ignore the
beliefs of constituents in
favor of special-interest
groups
C. committee members have
less responsibilities
Kinds of Committees
• Congress has four kinds of committees:
– Standing committees are permanent
groups that oversee bills that deal with
certain kinds of issues.
• Subcommittees specialize in a
subcategory of its standing committee’s
responsibilities.
Standing Committees of Congress
Kinds of Committees (cont.)
– Select committees are temporary
committees that study one specific issue
and report their findings to the Senate or
the House.
– Joint committees are committees that are
made up of members from both the House
and the Senate.
– Conference committees are temporary
committees that are set up when the House
and Senate have passed different versions
of a bill.
Which type of committee studies one
specific issue and reports findings to the
Senate or the House?
0%
D
A
B
C
0%
D
C
A
0%
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A. standing committee
B. joint committee
C. subcommittee
D. select committee
Choosing Committee Members
• In the House and Senate the parties must
assign members to the standing committees.
• Each member can serve on only limited
number of standing committees and
subcommittees.
• The chairpersons of the standing committees
make key decisions about the work of
committees and manage floor debates that
take place on bills that come from their
committees.
Choosing Committee Members (cont.)
• The seniority system is the unwritten rule
that implies that the majority party member
with the longest uninterrupted service on a
committee is the appointed leader of the
committee.
The “seniority system” is based on
0%
D
C
A
0%
A. A
B. B
C.0% C0%
D. D
B
A. age.
B. uninterrupted service
to a committee.
C. longest during of
service in Congress.
D. qualification.
Content Vocabulary
• personal staff
• committee staff
• administrative assistant
• legislative assistant
• caseworker
Academic Vocabulary
• complex
• expert
• coordinate
Reading Strategy
As you read, create a table like the one below to
describe the functions of congressional support
staff.
What is the most significant responsibility of
committee staffers?
B
A
A. A
B. B
C
0%C. 0%
0%
C
A. drafting bills
B. studying and
collecting
information on
specific issues
C. preparing committee
reports
Congressional Staff Role
• Lawmakers rely on congressional staffers to
help them:
– handle the growing workload of Congress,
– communicate with voters,
– run committee hearings and floor sessions,
– draft new bills,
– write committee reports, and
– attend committee meetings.
Congressional staffers help lawmakers
A. draft bills.
B. plan committee
hearings.
C. prepare committee
reports.
D. A, B, and C
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
Congressional Staff Growth
• Congressional staffs grew as lawmaking
became more complex after the early 1900s.
• Members of Congress needed a large office
staff to deal with the many letters from people
in their states or congressional districts.
What is the primary reason for the growth of
congressional staffs?
A. growing complexity of
lawmaking
B. increase in population
C. gradual simplification of
lawmaking processes
D. congressional
preference
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
A
A
B
C
0%
D
B
0%
C
0%
D
Personal Staff
• Personal staff members work directly for
individual senators and representatives.
• Committee staff members work for the many
House and Senate committees.
Personal Staff (cont.)
• There are three types of personal staff
members:
– The administrative assistant runs the
lawmaker’s office, supervises the
lawmaker’s schedule, and gives advice on
political matters.
– The legislative assistants make certain
that the lawmaker is well informed about
the many bills with which she or he must
deal.
Personal Staff (cont.)
– Caseworkers handle the many requests for
help from a member’s constituents.
Which type of personal staff member is
responsible for keeping lawmakers informed
on relevant bills?
B
A
A. A
B. B
C. 0%
C
0%
0%
C
A. administrative
assistant
B. legislative assistant
C. caseworker
Committee Staff
• The committee chairperson and the senior
minority party member of a committee are in
charge of committee staff members.
• Duties of committee staffers include:
– drafting bills,
– studying issues,
– planning committee hearings, and
– writing memos and reports.
Who is in charge of committee staff
members?
0%
D
A
B
0%
C
D
C
A
0%
A.
B.
0%
C.
D.
B
A. the committee
chairperson
B. the senior majority
party member
C. the legislative assistant
D. the caseworker
Support Agencies
• Congress created several important support
agencies, including:
– The Library of Congress is the largest
library in the world, containing more than
100 million books, journals, music pieces,
films, photographs, and maps.
– The Congressional Budget Office
coordinates the budget work of Congress,
studies budget proposals put forward by the
president, and projects the costs of
proposed programs.
Support Agencies (cont.)
– The Government Accountability Office
(GAO) reviews the financial management of
government programs that Congress
creates, collects government debts, settles
claims, and provides legal service.
– The Government Printing Office (GPO)
does the printing for the entire federal
government, including the daily
Congressional Record and the annual
Statistical Abstract of the United States.
To which support agency does a comptroller
general belong that oversees congressional
appropriations?
A. the Government Printing
Office
B. the Library of Congress
C. the Congressional
Budget Office
D. the Government
Accountability Office
A. A
B. B
C. C
0%
D. 0%D
A
B
0%
C
0%
D
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