The Organization of Congress Unit 3: The Legislative Branch Chapter 5 The Organization of Congress

General Info Senate House of Representatives Constitution calls for a 2 houses of legislature BICAMERAL Senate House of Representatives Reapportionment a census of the population is taken every 10 years to determine the # of representatives for each state Georgia has 16 in U.S. Congress 14 in House of Representatives 2 in Senate

Gerrymandering Gerrymandering: Political parties that hold majority in State Legislatures will often redraw district lines to help their party and hurt their opposition:

Sessions Congressional Sessions Last for about a year. 2 per (Presedential term) Sessions held in odd # years in January They stay in session until both houses vote to adjourn Pres. Can call them into session if they are on break

General info cont… Salary Currently $174K a year. And they vote for their own pay raises but 27th amendment limited this. Benefits: Franking Privilege: free stationary & postage for official business allowances to pay for staff, trips home, phones, newsletters Tax break to help maintain 2 residences Good pension Free from arrest except for treason, felonies, breach of peace when attending congress or on their way to or from congress Cannot be sued for anything they say while on House/Senate floor May remove a member from office or Censure give a public reprimand of a member Most are lawyers (over ½)

House of Representatives Members: 435 based on population + (1 rep each from DC, Guam, Samoa, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico but they can’t vote) Qualifications: 25 yrs old, US citizen for 7 years, legal residents of the state they represent. Term of Office: 2 year terms. Elections in November of even # years. This means the entire House must be re-elected every 2 years. (Although almost 90% get re-elected)Why do incumbents get re- elected so often? Gerrymandering Easier to raise $ to campaign b/c of connections Better known to voters & have helped to solve voters (constituents) problems If someone dies in office or resigns, the state must have a special election to elect a new member.

House Organization/structure Constitution only calls for the leader of the House, other than that, the House chooses all it own leaders Speaker of the House presiding officer of the House & most powerful -chosen by a caucus- a closed meeting of the majority party then the entire House approves - appoints committee members, schedules bills, refers bills to committees, follows Vice President in succession of president. Majority Leader is the Speaker’s top assistant. He is the floor leader of his party in the House and helps plan the party legislative plan Whips assistant floor leaders in the House. Their main job is to watch how majority party members intend to vote on bills and to steer them to vote how the party wants, & to make sure they show up to vote. Minority Leader & Whips basically do the same thing as the Majority leader/Whips but for the party who is the minority in the House.

The Senate 100 Members: 2 from each state Qualifications: 30 yrs old US citizens for at least 9 years legal resident of their home state. Term of office: 6 yrs. Elected in even # years in Nov. Only 1/3 are elected at one time (unlike the House).

The Senate Leadership in Senate: Vice President presides over the Senate but does not have same power as Speaker of the House. He does not vote unless there is a tie. He cannot take part in debates. President Pro Tempore presides when the VP is not present. He is elected by other senators from the majority party. Majority Leader & Minority Leader similar job as in House

The Senate B/c is it smaller and more informal, there is nothing like the House Rules Committee B/c the Senate allows unlimited debate on bills, sometimes a Filibuster IS USED, Definition - an action such as a prolonged speech that obstructs progress in a legislative assembly while not technically contravening the required procedures.. The record is 24hrs 18 min by Strom Thurmond of South Carolina over Civil Rights Act of 1957 – Congratulations South Carolina – You hold the record for one of the worst actions U.S. Senate history!

Congressional Committees Committee Purpose allows members to divide workload and become specialists hash out or debate the issues in the massive amount of bills introduced each year. educate the public in Committee hearings Key committees House: Ways & Means, Rules, Appropriations Senate: Foreign Relations, Finance, Appropriations

Types of Congressional Committees Standing Committees: permanent committees that oversee certain issues. Membership is usually on party lines. If Rep have 60% in House, then 60% Rep will make up standing committees and 40% from Democrats. Problems – Most standing committees have several Subcommittees which break up the workload and specialize in an aspect of the standing committee’s issues

Types of Congressional Committees Select Committees: Temporary committee set up to deal with special issues. Joint Committees: made up of members of both House & Senate (can’t propose bills) Conference Committees: Set up when the 2 houses pass different versions of same bill

Who are your representatives??? Either individually or with a partner find the answers to the following questions… 1. How many congressional districts does Georgia have? 2. Who is currently representing your district? 3. Choose any representative serving in your state and locate the committees and subcommittees they are serving on using the website http://clerk.house.gov Be prepared to share with the class!!!

Georgia House of Representatives

Georgia House of Representatives 6th Congressional District * Tom Price – Roswell, GA

What does this cartoon represent?

Review Terms and Concepts Bicameral Reapportionment Gerrymandering Franking privilege Censure How many House of reps? How long is term of office? When are elections held? When does congress meet?

Review Terms and Concepts Benefits of congressmen/women Qualifications of the House 5 areas that have a member but they cannot vote Incumbent Why do so many incumbents get re-elected? 90% Who is head of the House? How is he elected? Who is the party leader in the house for the party in control? Whip

Review Terms and Concepts How many members in senate? How long is term? Qualifications of senators Presides over senate? Limits on him Who is 2nd in charge

Review Terms and Concepts What is a filibuster? What are the limits on a filibuster? What is the purpose of committees? Standing committee? Example Select committee Joint committee Conference committee