1. The Legislative Branch of Government: Function, Qualifications & Duties PICTURE: The U.S. Capitol Building in Washington DC.

2. I. Congress A.Described in Article I of the Constitution. B.Function: Write, make and pass laws. C.Bicameralism: 1. Definition: Two House Legislature 2. Senate with equal representation. 3. House with representation based on population. PICTURE: Bicameralism means “two houses.” Our legislature has an upper house and a lower house. Which house is the upper house? Why? Which house is the lower house? Why?

3. II. House of Representatives A.Size and Terms: 1. Apportionment of population into districts. 2. Reapportionment: increasing and decreasing the amount of seats each state gets due to population growth. 3. Reps serve a two year term. 4. Do not have term limits. 5. Represent a portion of a state’s population. 6. Today there are 435 members of the House of Reps.

4. B.Qualifications and Requirements. 1. Must be at least 25 years old. 2. Must be residents of the U.S. for 7 years. 3. Traditions in both houses: 1. Most reps have been males. 2. Reps and Senators typically are not younger than 40. C. Led by the Speaker of the House. LEFT: Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich Left: Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert LEFT: Current Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the first woman Speaker of the House

5. LEFT: 1960’s pro quarterback turned member of the US House of Reps… Jack Kemp (was a VP candidate with Bob Dole in 1996) LEFT: John Quincy Adams (Sixth President), became a member of the House of Reps after his Presidency. LEFT: Former Arizona Rep. Jim Kolbe (a Republican from district 8) LEFT: “I Got You Babe,” Sonny Bono from Sonny and Cher became a Representative from California after his singing career. Tragically died when he ran in to a tree skiing.

6. III. Senate A.Size and Terms: 1. Senators serve a six year term. 2. Every two years, 1/3 of the Senate is up for re-election. 3. Do not have a term limit. (ex. Robert Byrd, Strom Thurmond) 4. Each state is given two senators. 5. Represent the entire population of a state. 6. There are 100 senators in the U.S. today.

7. B.Qualifications and Requirements: 1. Must be at least 30 years old. 2. Must be a resident for at least 9 years. C.Senate Leadership. 1. President of the Senate. 2. President Pro-Tempore of the Senate. 3. Majority and Minority Party Floor Leaders. 4. Majority and Minority Party Whips.

8. LEFT: Democratic Senator John Kerry from Massachusetts. (Ran for President against President Bush in 2004). LEFT: Democratic Senator John Edwards from South Carolina. Ran to be the Democratic nominee in the 2004 and 2008 Democratic primaries. RIGHT: Ted Kennedy- Democratic Senator from Massachusetts. Kennedy is the younger brother of the late President John Kennedy and the late Senator Robert Kennedy. RIGHT: Bill Bradley (a Senator and former Presidential nominee in the 2004 Democratic primary election) drives to the hole during a during his long career with the New York Knicks.

9. ABOVE: Strom Thurmond – deceased Senator from South Carolina. Thurmond was first elected to the Senate in 1948 and served until his death in 2002. At the time of his death, Thurmond was 100 years old. Many people believed that while he was serving, Thurmond showed signs of senility. ABOVE: Robert Byrd – the oldest Senator that is currently serving. He was born in 1917. Byrd is a controversial character because in his younger years he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan.