1. Legislative Branch

2. Bicameral-Two Houses of Congress
Senate-(originally meant to be the body that represented the states)
Each state gets two Senators regardless size or population
House of Representatives-House of the people
Each state gets a number of representatives based on population
Each state is guaranteed at least one representative

3. House of Representatives
435 Voting Members
5 non voting members for:
Washington D.C.
Puerto Rico
Guam
American Samoa
U.S. Virgin Islands
Qualifications
25 Yrs Old
Citizen for 7 Years
Legal resident of the state they represent
2yr terms

4. House of Representatives
Leadership
Speaker of the House (elected by congress)Paul Ryan
Majority Leader (elected by the majority party) Kevin McCarthy
Majority Whip (Appointed by speaker) Steve Scalise
Minority Leader (elected by the minority party) Nancy Pelosi
Minority Whip (Appointed by minority leader) Steny Hoyer

5. House of Representatives distribution
Congress added new representatives with every new state until 1913 when the capped the size of the House at 435
Temporary increases with the addition of Alaska and Hawaii one each

6. Representation in the House

7. Ohio’s Districts

8. Ohio’s Old Districting

10. Senate 100 Members Qualifications: 2 per state 30 yrs old
Must be citizen for 9 year
Legal Resident of the State they represent
Elected to 6 year terms
Senate is split into thirds for voting purposes so that no more than 1/3 of the senate is up for reelection in any given year.

11. Senate Leadership
President of the Senate: Vice President of the United States
(Votes only in a tie, the position is now largely ceremonial) Joe Biden
President Pro Tempore (Orin Hatch)
Presides when the VP isn’t there (Which is nearly always)
Elected from the majority party (Usually is the longest serving member of that party)
Majority Leader- Mitch McConnell
Majority Whip-John Comyn
Minority Leader- Harry Reid
Minority Whip-Richard Durbin

12. The Filibuster
Senatorial Procedure used to delay or prevent a vote on a bill
If a Senator doesn’t want a bill to become law they just continue to talk about it
As long as a Senator has the floor (is speaking) no one can interrupt them without their permission
So as long as they can talk (about anything they want) no one else can propose a vote
Longest filibuster was 24 hrs 18 minutes
3/5’s of senators can vote to shut up another senator (end the filibuster)60

13. Congressional Salary and Benefits
Congress sets their own salary (174,000$)
Leadership positions get a bit more
27th Amendment prevents Congress from giving themselves a raise without allowing an election first.
This allows the people to vote out their congressman if they don’t agree with the pay raise
Benefits:
Free: Office supplies, stationary, postage, office, staff, gym
Allowances for travel and other expenses
Pension (retirement) plan