Legislative Unit

Organization of Congress Bicameral System- Congress is made of two parts or “houses”. The Senate has 100 members. 2 representatives from each state. The House of Representatives. Has 435 members. Amount of Representatives from each state varies depending on state population.

Congressional Sessions Each term of Congress begins on January 3rd in years ending in odd numbers and lasts for two years. Key point- Congressional term lasts for exactly two years. Each congressional term has two sessions or meetings. These sessions include breaks for holidays and vacation. Congress to vote to adjourn itself. This has brought criticism from people outside of politics in regard to the work ethic of congress.

House of Representative qualifications Age- 25 years old. Citizenship- must be a citizen for at least 7 years. Different than president where you must be born in the U.S. Example Arnold Schwarzenegger. Must be legal resident of the state in which they represent. Must own property or live within the actual district they represent. House members serve 2 year terms. 90% of house members get re-elected. Special elections are held when a member passes away or resigns.

Determination of state representatives The amount of representatives given to each state is determined by the United States Census Bureau who takes a Census of the U.S. every ten years. Last Census was in 2010 and then next one that will be taken will be in 2020 which will affect the amount of representatives per state for the house of representatives. Define Census* This process is called reapportionment.

Gerrymandering Drawing districts in a way that only benefits a certain political party and attributes to minority groups having lesser representation in that state. Gerrymandering is now illegal and some politicians would tell you most instances of gerrymandering have been removed and districts have been redrawn. Some people still believe that gerrymandering exists though due to the irregular shape of certain districts that seem to put certain political groups in power over others. It is hard to argue that gerrymandering does not exist in modern politics. ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnhFm5QVVTo

Senate Membership Qualifications- Constitution requires that members must be 30 years old. Must be a citizen for at least 9 years prior. Senators serve 6 year terms. Elections are on a two year cycle where 1/3 of senators run for reelection every 2 years. The founding fathers created this method in order to ensure continuity within congress to try and avoid constantly having new people getting used to the job. Senators do not have to live in a certain district within the state. They simply must be a resident of that particular state. If a senator passes away or reigns the Governor of that state has the choice to pick someone to fill the vacancy until the next election or he may declare a special election to fill the spot.

Senator pay The 27th amendment was passed in 1992 that stated congress is not allowed to give themselves a pay raise. Before then congress was able to vote on giving themselves a pay raise. Since 2009 most members of congress make $174,000 a year. They also receive a large allowance to pay for staff, trips home, telephones, and other things deemed necessary by the congressman. Possible to get 80% pension. This equals $139,000 for life after retirement in certain situations.

Congressional characteristics Of the 535 members of congress nearly 50% of them are former lawyers. Minority representatives and women have seen an increased role in congress over the previous decades. In 1959 only 15 total women (3%) were represented in congress. By 2013 there were 100 representatives (19%) who were represented.