1. How Congress is Organized
Chapter 6, Section 1

2. Section 1 Vocabulary Bicameral Census Constituents Gerrymander
Majority Party
Minority Party
Speaker of the House
President Pro Tempore
Standing Committees
Select Committees
Joint Committees
Conference Committees
Seniority

3. Terms of Congress
The framers of the Constitution intended the Legislative Branch to be the most powerful.
Each term starts January 3rd of odd numbered years
Each term lasts 2 years
Each term has 2 sessions
Congress holds special sessions in times of crisis.
When both houses meet together it is called a joint session

4. A Bicameral Legislature
The Great Compromise established Congress as a two house, or bicameral, body.
The House of Representatives
435 members, based on population
Congress adjusts the number of representatives based on each census, or population count.
States are divided into districts, with 1 representative from each district. States draw districts to include, roughly, the same number of constituents, or people represented.
Some abuse the process by drawing a gerrymander, or oddly shaped district designed to increase the voting strength of a particular group
House members focus on concerns of their district

5. A Bicameral Legislature
The Senate
100 members – 2 from each state
Represent their entire state
Serve 6 year terms
Elections are staggered to ensure some stability

6. Congressional Leaders
Majority Party
The political party to which more than half the members belong
Minority Party
The political party to which less than half the members belong
Party members choose the leaders at the beginning of each term
Floor leaders try to make sure the laws Congress pass are in the best interest of their own party.

7. Congressional Leaders
House of Representatives
Senate
The Speaker of the House is the most powerful leader in the House of Representatives
The speaker always belongs to the majority party
The speaker is in charge of floor debates and influences most House business.
If something happened to the president and vice president, the speaker would become president
The leader of the Senate is technically the vice president.
He rarely attends and only votes in the case of a tie
The person who acts as the chairperson id the president pro tempore
He is a member of the majority party, and the position is mostly ceremonial

8. Committees: Little Legislatures
The detailed work of lawmaking is done in committees.
Each house has permanent standing committees that continue their work from session to session.
Most are divided into smaller subcommittees that deal with specialized issues
Both houses also have select committees that are created to do a special job for a limited period.
They disband after completing the task

9. Committees: Little Legislatures
Joint committees include members of both houses.
Temporary conference committees help the House and Senate agree on details of a proposed laws
Members of Congress try to get assigned to important committees that affect the people who elected them.
Party leaders make committee assignments based on members’ preferences, expertise, party loyalty, and seniority, or years of service.
Members with the most seniority usually get the preferred committee spots