1. Congress

2. 2 ★ Senate ★ House of Representatives

3. 3 House of Representatives ★ Representation in the House is based on population - average size of a congressional district is 647,000 people. ★ Congressional Reapportionment Act of 1929 fixed membership at 435.

4. 4 House of Representatives ★ Originates bills for raising revenues. ★ Brings impeachment charges. ★ Chooses a President if no candidate emerges with a majority vote in the Electoral College. ★ House Rules Committee determines when a bill will come up for debate...the time allotted for discussion...and kinds of amendments that can be offered.

5. 5 House of Representatives Organization ★ Presiding officer is the Speaker of the House. Refers bills to committees. Recognizes members to speak. Appoints Chair of the Rules Committee. 5

6. 6 Organization

7. 7 Committees

8. 8 House of Representatives Organization ★ Apportionment - every 10 years Congress reallocates the 435 congressional districts among the states based on gains or losses in population.

9. 9 House of Representatives Organization ★ Redistricting - following reapportionment, state legislatures draw the boundary lines for each congressional district so congressional districts are approximately equal in population.

10. 10 House of Representatives Organization ★ Gerrymandering - a process of drawing boundary lines to help increase the chance that a candidate from a particular political party will be elected.

11. 11 What is gerrymandering?

12. 12 House of Representatives Gerrymandering http://www.c- spanvideo.org/program/287329-5 http://www.c- spanvideo.org/program/287329-5 http://video.pbs.org/video/16286433 60/ http://video.pbs.org/video/16286433 60/

13. 13 Senate ★ The two senators from each state were originally chosen by their state legislatures. ★ 17th Amendment changed the process so they are now chosen at-large by voters in the states.

14. 14 ★ Approves presidential appointments. ★ Ratifies treaties. ★ Holds a trial of an impeached official. ★ Rules allow filibusters - the Senate’s use of unlimited debate as a blocking tactic. Senate

15. 15 ★ Presiding officer is the Vice-President of the U.S.; this is a ceremonial role only with the V.P. voting only in case of a tie. ★ President pro tempore - usually the most senior senator of the majority party. 3 Senate Organization

16. Organization

17. 17 ★ Filibusters in the Senate can be stopped when 60 members vote for a cloture motion. Cloture allows Senators to debate with no one speaking for more than one hour. ★ http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?i d=6297689n http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?i d=6297689n Senate Filibuster

18. 18 Congress - Elections and Terms ★ Elections Held in November of even-numbered years. ★ Senators Serve 6 year terms. 1/3 elected every 2 years. ★ Representatives Serve 2 year terms.

19. 19 Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman How does a bill become a law?

20. 20 How a Bill Becomes Law

21. 21 ★ http://www.centeroncongress.org/intera ctive-learning-modules http://www.centeroncongress.org/intera ctive-learning-modules 3 How a Bill Really Becomes Law

22. 22 ★ Trustees hear constituents and then make their own judgments as to the broad interests of the entire nation. ★ Delegates vote as their constituents want. ★ Most members act as politicos - as a trustee or delegate depending on the issue. 3 Theories of Representation