Welcome to Congress First of all – Congress is Bi-cameral (two houses) Senate is called the Upper House and equally represents the states House of Representatives is called the Lower House and is based on state population

Bi-cameral you say?? We have two houses because it is historically based on British Parliament (House of Lords and Commons) and it seems to have worked pretty well… and remember the Virginia Plans and New Jersey Plans? They had to make two houses to make the Great Compromise… and remember that a system of checks and balances requires two houses… so there…

Parliament vs Congress Parliament candidates chosen by party, they choose the Prime Minister, must remain loyal to party, main job is debating national issues and members have very little actual power, pay or staffs Congressional candidates are chosen by voters, members are independent of party, members main job is representation and action, and they have lots of power, money and staff resources

Evolution of power Framers didn’t want power concentrated in a single institution so… bi-cameralism (two houses) Centralization vs decentralization trends: Centralization allows congress to act quickly, requires strong central leadership and little committee interference Decentralization allows protection of members, requires weak leadership, allows delay and MUCH committee activity So smart folks, which trend has congress been heading in recently???? Hmmm…

Changes over the years The six phases of House history: 1.Powerful house leadership from first presidents 2.The House divided especially over slavery 3.Around 1900 power in Speaker of the House 4.The House revolts against Speakers power 5.Members choose committee leaders and committee power enlarged 6.Speaker leadership returned by 1990s because congress was slowed by committees (Newt )

Evolution of the Senate Framers viewed Senate as an “enlightened body” not subject to the “fickleness and passion” of the House Has escaped many of the problems of the House Smaller group Before 1913 state legislatures picked Senators so they could only focus on jobs and state needs 17 th Amendment created direct election of Senators

More Senate stuff… Senate is a “continuous body” which means that all of its seats are never up for election at the same time Every two years only 1/3 of its seats are up for election Senators represent entire state, not just one area within the state like a congressman

Okay, back to Congress A congressional term last 2 years (Senate 6 years) Congress meets in January each year. It is in “session” however long it needs to complete work – used to be a few months, now almost all year!! The president can force congress to end its session using his power of “prorogue” – never been done! President can also call a “special session” for congress to meet about an important matter – not done since 1948!

Who are these people? The House has become less white and less male Senate changes have been slower Incumbents still have huge advantage and being in Congress is almost a career (term limits??) Capital Dome Who are these guys??

Congressional member behavior Members may be devoted to constituents, their own views, pressure groups, or party leaders… Representational view: members vote to please their constituents, often to win reelection Organizational view: if not voting for their constituents, vote along party lines, committees Attitudinal view: members ideology determines members vote. Members of House more along lines of average voter, Senators less so… Either way, member behavior is not usually obvious

Organization of Congress Whip – assists floor leaders, responsible for getting votes from members Floor leaders – party position, tries to carry out wishes and decisions of party President pro tempore – runs the Senate when the Vice President is away President of Senate is the Vice President of the United States

The states and their reps You must remember “reapportionment” and 435 seats in the House… Most states are divided into districts with ONE representative from each district – called single member districts A few states choose members “at large” – from entire state (like senators) Districting can lead to “gerrymandering”

Problems with that??? In 1964 Georgia violated the Constitution with how they chose representatives so… Supreme court case of Wesberry v Sanders created the concept of “one person, one vote” What happened with Wesberry is that urban areas were now more evenly represented (where, by the way, more people and more minorities live) and notice how after 1964 public policies suddenly started to change (old days rural areas, with a lower population, had as much voting power as rural areas, but no more!!)

Qualifications one more time 25 years old – 30 for senate US citizen for 7 years – 9 for senate Live in state and district elected from – state only for senate Informal qualifications include party affiliation, name familiarity (Goldwater), gender (men), ethnic characteristics (white, but changing) and political experience