Unit 3 – Legislative Branch/Congress - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Unit 3 – Legislative Branch/CongressSlide2

The Capitol BuildingSlide3

The Capitol BuildingSlide4

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 termsSlide5

Two Houses of Congress

House of Representatives

SenateSlide6

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. Slide7

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 PlanSlide8

Congressional Terms

Each term of Congress lasts 2 years.

B

eginning of each 2 year term is “noon of the 3

rd

day in January” of every odd numbered year.

So Congressmen elected in November don’t start until January 3

rd.

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.Slide9

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.Slide10

Term Limits: Videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QORVqG3rN5Y&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPRJMGnGrfE&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=activeSlide11

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. Slide12

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.Slide13

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 electedSlide14

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? - 1929: The Reapportionment Act.

Set the “permanent” size of Representatives at 435.Slide15
Slide16

Districts

Each Representative in the House represents their district

We are in VA’s 10

th

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).Slide17

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

Slide18

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 electedSlide19

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”Slide20

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.Slide21

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 appointmentsSlide22

Gerrymandering

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!Slide23

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.Slide24

The Profile of Congress

Well over 1/3

rd

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?Slide25

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. Slide26

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.