1. The Senate

2. The Senate The senate has two members for every state.
100 senators
Senators represent the entire state and not just specific districts.
Prior to 1913 the state legislature would select senators.
It would take the 17th amendment to have the states voters elect U.S. Senators
A senator’s term is six years
Senator’s may be elected to any number of terms.

3. Strom Thurmond Longest serving Senator, severed for almost 50 years.
Was elected to office nine times.
Retired from the Senate in 2003 at the age of 100.

4. Continuous Body
All of the seats are never up for election at the same time.
Senate terms are staggered 33 or 34 terms are up every two years.

5. Constituencies
The people and interests that a politician represents.

6. Qualifications for Senators
Must be at least 30 years of age.
Must have been a citizen of the United States for at least nine years.
Must be an inhabitant of the State from which they are elected from.

7. Members of Congress
Although, the members of Congress represent the American public they are not an accurate portrait of the nation.
The average member is a white male in their 50’s
Women represent over half the population, but there are only 101 members of Congress that are women.
Demographics of Congress U.S. Population
8.6% African Americans % African Americans
6.9% Hispanic % Hispanic
2.1% Asian % Asian
82.4% White % White

8. The Job of Congress Legislators for their constituents
Representatives of their constituents
Committee Members
Servants of their constituents
Politicians

9. Types of Politicians Trustee Partisans Politicos
Believe that each question they face must be decided on its merits.
Partisans
Are lawmakers that owe their political allegiance to the party.
Politicos
Try to combine the elements of the trustee, delegate, and partisan roles. They try to balance these often conflicting factors: their own views of what is best for their constituents.

10. Committees
Bills are referred to committees in each chamber before they are sent to the floor.
Members screen these bills in both the House and Senate before they go to the floor.
Oversight Function
Oversight is the process by which Congress, through its committees, checks to see that the various agencies in the executive branch are working effectively and following the policies that congress has set by law.

11. The party with the majority choose the committee chairman for each committee.

12. Compensation
The constitution states that members of Congress shall receive compensation.
Annual pay for Congress is $174,000 a year.
Positions such as Speaker of the house and the Minority and Majority leaders make more than the standard pay for the other members.
Other Compensation
Special tax deduction to maintain two residencies
Travel Allowances
Life and Health Insurance
Retirement plan
Social Security and Medicare

13. More Compensation Franking privilege
Benefit that allows them to mail letters and other materials postage-free by substituting their facsimiles signature for the postage.
Members of Congress were allowed to use insider information to buy stocks. In April of 2013, President Obama wanted to pass a bill that required disclosure of stock information for members of congress.
Congress removed this privilege shortly after this was passed.

14. p 276 Why is it important to write while a bill is still in committee?
A bill in committee can still be changed. Also, most bills die in committee, so the opportunity to make one’s voice heard needs to be taken early in the process.

15. p 278
Why does the candidate deposit his money in a box labeled “State Legislature?”
The candidate increases his chances of being elected by buying the votes of State legislators.

16. Why is the senate called a continuous body?
Senate terms are staggered and they are never all up for reelection at the same time.

17. How is a typical Senator’s constituency different from the typical House member?
The senator’s constituency is generally much larger than that of a representative, because a senator represents an entire state.

18. p 280
How does racial and ethnic diversity differ between the House and the Senate?
The House has a higher percentage of non-Caucasian members.

19. p 283
Why are voters reluctant to see members of Congress increase their benefits and pay?
They resent the fact that their tax dollars are used to pay members of Congress more than the salary of most average Americans.