Congress – Article I

VII Congress – Article I A. 2 House Legislature – Bi-Cameral 1. The House of Representatives a. Qualifications 1. 25 years at time sworn in 2. 7 year citizen 3. Live in the state represented ( Members are called Congressmen/Congresswomen or Representative)

b. Term : 2 years. There are no term limits (vacancy: when there is a vacancy then the Governor of that state schedules a special election) c. Officials i. The Speaker of the House: elected by the majority party ii. House Majority Leader iii. House Majority Whip iv House Minority Leader v. House Minority Whip

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy

House Majority Whip Steven Scalise

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer

Special Things the House gets to do i. All bills concerning money start here ii. House has sole power to impeach iii. House has sole power to admit or kick out own members iv. The House makes up its own rules to conduct business

E. Representation in the House of Representatives is based on the population of each state. States are carved into Congressional districts based on a ratio of 1 representative for about every 750,000 persons. 1. However, each state is guaranteed at least one representative. 2. Every 10 years the population of the United States is counted to determine how many representative each state gets. (Census) 3. The process of redrawing Congressional district lines is known as Redistricting. Redistricing is done by the state legislatures.

Example: Which state has more representatives? Alaska Population: 710,000 1 Representative Rhode Island Population: 1,550,000 2 Representatives

Question How many Representative are in the House of Representatives fro Puerto Rico with a population of 3,458,000? How many Representatives are in the House of Representatives from Washington DC with a population of 601,000?

Gerrymandering: To draw district boundaries for the purpose of making sure one party or the other is elected or stays in office or to draw district boundaries to discriminate against a particular group.

PA Congressional Map

Pennsylvania 7th Congressional District Congressman Pat Meehan Pennsylvania 7th Congressional District

Pennsylvania 1st Congressional District Congressman Bob Brady Pennsylvania 1st Congressional District

2. The Senate A. Qualifications 1. 30 years old 2. 9 year citizen 3. Live in state represented Term: 6 years – No term limits. 1/3 of the Senators are elected every 2 years. ( Vacancy: When there is a vacancy the Governor of that state appoints a replacement until the next election.)

C. Officials i. The President of the Senate ii. The President Pro Temp. iii The Senate Majority Leader iv The Senate Majority Whip v. The Senate Minority Leader vi. The Senate Minority Whip

President of the Senate Joe Biden - The Vice President of the United States is the President of the Senate.

President Pro Tempore President Pro Tem Orrin Hatch

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid

Senate Minority Whip Richard Durbin

Special Things the Senate gets to do 1. Approve all appointments to high executive jobs (Cabinet Secretaries) and federal judges 2. Approve all treaties 3. Tries all impeachments by acting as a jury 4. The Senate makes its own rules to conduct business

Pennsylvania – U.S. Senator Bob Casey

Senator Pat Toomey

Impeachment: 1. How Impeachment works – a. Who may be impeached? 1. President 2. Vice president 3. Cabinet level positions in Executive department 4. Federal Judges

the House votes to charge a crime c. the trial takes place in the Senate. The Senate acts as the jury.

d. When the president is impeached, the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court is the judge of the trial. e. The Senate is the jury. f. It takes a 2/3 vote to remove an official from office. g. When another government official is impeached, the presiding officer of the Senate acts as the judge. – Can you see the hole in the Constitution?

Committees – Almost all work in Congress is done in committees Committees are run by Chairpersons and Chairpersons are very powerful. They have the ability to stop a bill by pigeonholing it.

Pigeonhole

Types of Committees Standing Committees – Permanent Select Committees – Temporary, formed for a special purpose Joint Committees – Committees formed that includes members of the House and the Senate Conference Committee (Joint Conference Committee) – a Standing (permanent) Committee of House and Senate members that meet to resolve differences in a bill.

House Committees House Committee on Agriculture House Committee on Appropriations House Committee on Armed Services House Committee on the Budget House Committee on Education and Labor House Committee on Energy and Commerce House Committee on Financial Services House Committee on Foreign Affairs House Committee on Homeland Security House Committee on House Administration House Committee on the Judiciary House Committee on Natural Resources House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform House Committee on Rules House Committee on Science and Technology House Committee on Small Business House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure House Committee on Veterans' Affairs House Committee on Ways and Means House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming

Senate Committees Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Senate Committee on Appropriations Senate Committee on Armed Services Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Senate Committee on the Budget Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works Senate Committee on Finance Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Senate Committee on the Judiciary Senate Committee on Rules and Administration Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs Senate Select Committee on Ethics Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Senate Special Committee on Aging United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control