1. The House of Representatives
What are the duties and responsibilities of the House of Representatives in the American System of Government?

2. Today, Congress is divided up into a bicameral, or two house, legislature. One house is the Senate and the other is called the House of Representatives.

3. House of Representatives – Quick Facts
Representatives are elected every TWO YEARS
Members are elected by direct popular vote
Majority wins
Supposed to act as the most direct channel to citizens of the U.S.

4. Districts
Each state is divided into districts based on population and, unfortunately, political affiliation
Usually One representative is assigned to one district

5. How Many Citizens Per Representative?
Approximately 710,000 people are allotted per representative
Wyoming:
Population: 550,000 gets 1 representative
South Dakota:
Population: 865,000 gets 1 representative
Florida:
Population: 20,610,000 gets 27 representatives

7. https://dunn.house.gov/contact

9. Reapportionment and Redistricting
Every 10 years the U.S. conducts a census and the number of representatives each state is assigned may shift because of a change in population.
Reduced population = less seats
Increased population = more seats
Redistricting or re-drawing the lines of each district within a state is left to the states

10. Redistricting
The political party that is currently a majority in the House would like to stay a majority
Majority party = POWER
This causes the redistricting to become unfair in order for certain political parties to win as many districts as they possibly can…
This phenomenon is called…

11. Gerrymandering
Gerrymandering – Drawing district boundaries for political advantage
Gerrymandering is used to create “safe” districts that allow a political party to win more votes in a state

12. Work in partners
On a sheet of paper, answer the following:
If you were the purple party, which of these district set ups would allow you to win?
What if you were the green party?
HINT: The black lines are the district boundaries

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14. Leadership In The House
Speaker of the House –
Most powerful member of the House of Representatives
Elected by members of the majority party
Constitution does not specify the speaker’s powers
However, due to tradition and House rules, speaker presides over debates inside the house
speaker assigns bills to particular committees
Assigns representatives to particular committees
Who is the Speaker of the House under the Trump administration?

15. Committees
No member of Congress could possibly have or acquire all the knowledge needed on the topics the House covers
Health care, agriculture, transportation, commerce, etc.
The House has a system of committees that concentrate on a specific area of public policy

16. Committees
Standing Committees: Permanent committees that address major areas where laws are most frequently proposed
Agriculture, Foreign affairs
Complete list will be on pg. 142 of your book
Select Committees: Carry out specific tasks not already covered by existing committees
Joint Committees: Address broad issues that affect both the House and the Senate
For example, the joint committee on tax policy