CHAPTER 13
CONGRESS
A bicameral Congress
I. Bicameral Congress: 2 houses
WHY???
A. Historical reasons: British parliament had two
house and so did most of colonies.
B. Practical reasons: Only way to get the
Constitution passed was to go along with both
the large states and small states
C. Theoretical reasons: Two houses would diffuse
the power of Congress. (It was suppose to be
the ruling body with the power of governing.
Terms and Session
Term: = 2 years
112th Congress
will go until 2013
Session: = l year
2 sessions = 1 term
Each session and
term starts
January 3rd
B. GERRYMANDERING
1. Drawing district lines
in a strange shape
to guarantee a party
wins or to prevent a
party from winning
2. This act keeps most
seats as “safe” in
elections
Barney Frank’s 4th District
C. Misc. House Info
1. Wesberry vs. Sanders (1964): important
court case that said all congressional
districts must be equal in population.
Moved control of Congress from rural
America to the cities (urban).
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A. SIZE OF HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES: 435 set by
Congress.
Each District = about 700,000 people
MATH?: If Virginia has 11 congressional
districts, what is the population of Virginia
_________________
The Bureau of the Census takes the Census
every ten years and tells each state how
many districts it has. State legislatures draw
the lines
2. Formal and informal qualifications for
Representatives
a. Formal: 25, 7 years citizen, resident of state
b. Informal:
a) Being an incumbent helps (90% of those
seeking re-election succeed.
b) Fundraising abilities: Cost over $1 million
to run
c) Name familiarity
d) Political experience
e) Ethnicity/gender
f) Party identification
or lack thereof
THE SENATE
“a necessary fence” against the “fickleness and passion” of
the House of Representatives – James Madison
A body which has time and security enough to keep its
head. Woodrow Wilson
A. Size, election and terms
1. 100 = 2 from 50 states
2. Each serve 6 years: 1/3rd of Senate is
is elected every 2 years so it is called
a “continuous body” or “rotating” body.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
B. Formal and informal qualifications for
office.
1.Formal: At least 30, 9 years citizen,
resident of state
2. Informal: Same as House
a. Party, b. Name familiarity, c. gender,
d. ethnicity, e. political
experience, f. incumbency
I. Organization of Congress
A. Leaders of Congress
1. Speaker of the House – Paul Ryan
a. recognizes who speaks
b. assigns bills to
committee
c. appoints members
to select
committees
2. President of the
Senate
a. Is the current VicePresident
b. It is a
Constitutional
position, not an
elected position.
c. Only powers is to
recognize who
speaks and vote in
case of a tie.
3. President Pro Tempore
of Senate
a. Presiding officer in
absence of VP
b. Given to majority
party leader with most
years of membership
4. Majority/minority leaders
Senate: Harry Reid D/Mitch McConnell
House: R/Nancy Pelosi D
a. Quarterback whose job is to get a bill over
the goal post. Plans strategies to get all
party’s bills through
b. First to speak on any bill
c. Grants favors with extra office space,
helps with choice committee
assignments
5. Majority/Minority Whips
a. Liaison between leaders and members
b. Keeps tracks of votes
c. Takes care of “pairing” – members of
opposite party pair up when missing a vote
6. Committee Chairmen
a. Decide when committees meet
b. Assign staff, money research
c. Call witnesses
B. Committee Structure
1. Where most of the work is done and
where most bills die
2. Each committee same ratio of the party
make-up in both houses. The majority
party rules each committee is chaired by
the majority party.
3. Seniority Rule: Chairmen of committees
are chosen by seniority. The majority
member who has served longest gets to
be the chairman.
4. Pros and Cons of Seniority Rule
Pros
1 Guarantees experience
2 Prevents intraparty
fighting
3 Smooth transition of
power
Cons
1. Best person does not
get the position
2. New ideas have hard
time getting heard
3. Chairmen come from
single-party districts
B.PRIVILEGES OF
CONGRESS
1. Free from arrest going to and from Congress and
during a session of Congress. Why?
2. Speech and Debate Clause: Cannot be sued for
anything said in Congress or committee. Article
1, Section 6, Why?
3. Franking privilege: Means free use of the mail.
Why?
4. Free trips home
and around the
world
C. Compensation
• Pay
– Fixed at $174,000
– Speaker of the House$223,500
– Senate president pro
tem, majority and
minority floor leaders –
$193,400
• Federal tax deduction
• Travel allowances
• Pay little for life and
health insurance
• Funds to hire staff
• Offices provided in one
of the buildings near the
capitol