1. Unit 3 – Legislative Branch/Congress

2. The Capitol Building

3. The Capitol Building

4. Main Ideas
Congress is bicameral, meaning divided into two houses/chambers.
In the House of Representatives, the States are represented according to population.
In the Senate, each State has 2 Senators.
Congress meets for two-year terms

5. Two Houses of Congress
House of Representatives
Senate

6. The Constitution Congress is head of the Legislative Branch
Congressmen have the job of translating the will of the public into public policy in the form of law
James Madison called it “the first branch” of the National Government
Article I of the Constitution created the Legislative Branch.

7. Bicameralism Why is Congress divided into two houses?
Because founding fathers saw bicameralism as a way to diffuse the power of Congress, which prevented it from overwhelming the other two branches of government.
NJ Plan & VA Plan

8. Congressional Terms Each term of Congress lasts 2 years.
Beginning of each 2 year term is “noon of the 3rd day in January” of every odd numbered year.
So Congressmen elected in November don’t start until January 3rd.
While each term is 2 years, there are no term limits in Congress.
This means the same Senator or Representative can stay in Congress for life as long as he/she keeps getting reelected.

9. Sessions
A session of Congress is that period of time during each year when Congress assembles and conducts business.
There are two sessions to each term of Congress, with one session each year.
These sessions usually last most of the year, with several short weeklong breaks during a session.

10. Term Limits: Videos
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11. Special Sessions
A special session is a meeting of Congress or an individual house to deal with some emergency situation.
Only 27 special sessions of Congress have ever been called by the President.
Most recent: President Truman in 1948 in the aftermath of WWII.
Senate alone has been called into special session 46 times to consider treaties or presidential appointments, but not since 1933.
President may call Congress into a special session, however Congressional leadership has as well…though their authority is not supreme.

12. House of Representatives
Representation based on population
Each state guaranteed 1 seat in the House.
Example: Alaska & Delaware each have 1 representative.
435 Representatives total.
Redistribution of the number of members takes place every 10 years, which coincides with the census.

13. Qualifications for the House
Must be at least 25 years old
Citizen of the U.S. for at least 7 years
Must be an inhabitant of the State from which he or she is elected

14. Reapportionment Act of 1929
In 1920, The House kept getting bigger & bigger. Conducting business became difficult.
1920 census comes out & if Congress were to reapportion seats in the House, then some States would have to lose seats if every State were to be represented according to its population.
The Answer? : The Reapportionment Act.
Set the “permanent” size of Representatives at 435.

16. Districts Each Representative in the House represents their district
We are in VA’s 10th Congressional district.
Republican Barbara Comstock is our Rep.
In small states with only one Representative, the district is the whole state, and the entire population votes – not just a district (Ex: Delaware & North Dakota).

17. The Senate Equal Representation (NJ Plan!) 6 year terms
All time record – Republican Strom Thurmond was elected to the Senate 8 times, and served for 48 years.
Each state gets 2 Senators
That means, 100 Senators total.
50 x 2 = 100
Above: (D) Mark Warner
(D) Tim Kaine 

18. Qualifications for the Senate
At least 30 years old
Citizen of the U.S. for at least nine years
Must be an inhabitant of the State from which he or she is elected

19. The Senate
The Founding Fathers hoped that the smaller Senate would be a more enlightened and responsible body than the House.
They thought the House would be too often swayed by the immediate impact of events and by the passions of the moment
“The World’s Greatest Deliberative Body”

20. The Senate The Senate is a “continuous body”
This means that all of its seats are never up for election at the same time.
6 year terms give Senators some job security
Since they represent an entire State, they have a huge constituency, which means the people and interests the Senators represent.

21. Comparing both Chambers of Congress
House of Representatives
The Senate
Larger body (435 members)
Smaller body (100 members)
Shorter term (2 years)
Longer term (6 years)
Smaller constituencies (elected from districts within States)
Larger constituencies (elected from the entire State)
Younger members
Older members
Less prestige
More prestige
Most work done in committees, not on the floor
Work is split more evenly between committees & the floor
Strict rules, limited debate
Flexible rules, nearly unlimited debate
No power over treaties/presidential appointments
Approves/rejects treaties & presidential appointments

22. Gerrymandering Happens today!
Gerrymandering – District lines that have been drawn to the advantage of the political party that controls the State’s legislature
Most often gerrymandering takes one of two forms:
Lines are drawn to concentrate the oppositions voters in one or a few districts, thus leaving the other districts comfortable safe for the dominant party
Or to spread the opposition as thinly as possible among several districts, limiting the oppositions ability to win anywhere in the region
Happens today!

23. The Profile of Congress
The average member is a white male in his early 50s.
There are more women in Congress today than ever
There are 46 African Americans, 32 Hispanics, 11 Asian Americans, and 2 Native American in the House. (most diverse in history)
There is 2 African American, 3 Hispanics, 1 Asian American, and 0 Native Hawaiian in the Senate.

24. The Profile of Congress
Well over 1/3rd in the House and well over ½ in the Senate are lawyers, and nearly all went to college.
There are several multi-millionaires
However, a surprisingly large number of the men and women who sit in Congress depend on their congressional salaries as their major source of income.
So do these people represent the people?

25. How They Cast Their Votes
Our representatives can vote on four different views
1.) Trustees – These representatives vote on the basis of themselves. They don’t represent their constituency.
2.) Delegate – These representatives vote on the basis of their constituency only. They vote on what “the folks back home would want.”
3.) Partisans – These representatives vote in line with the political party they identify with
4.) Politicos – A combination of all the above.

26. Salary and Benefits
Senators and Representatives make $174,000 per year.
A few make more: The Speaker of the House makes $223,500 per year
House Minority/Majority floor leaders in both houses make $193,400 per year.
They also receive special tax deductions
They receive travel allowances to go to Washington
Franking Privilege: Allows them to mail letters and other materials postage-free by substituting their signature instead of the postage.