Lesson 1 Congressional Membership ESSENTIAL QUESTION What is the structure and organization of Congress Organization of Congress Founders gave more power to Congress than to any other branch ID: 717374
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Slide1
CHAPTER 5
STRUCTURE OF CONGRESSSlide2
Lesson 1: Congressional Membership
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
What is the structure and organization of Congress?Slide3
Organization of Congress
Founders gave more power to Congress than to any other branch.
Article I of the U.S. Constitution – legislative body
Bi-cameral Legislature
– two different houses
Senate
House of Representatives Slide4
Organization of Congress
SENATE
Serve 6 year terms; represent the entire state
Smaller number of Senators (100 – 2 per state)
Gives more power to minority
Less restrictive
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESServe 2 year terms; represent districts
Larger number of Representatives (435 – population)
Gives more power to the majority
Limits debatesSlide5
Organization of Congress
Congressional Sessions:
Each term of Congress begins on January 3 in odd number years
Lasts for 2 years (term)
Divided up into two (2)
sessions
– or meetings.Neither house can adjourn for more than three (3) days without the approval of the other house. Slide6
Membership of the House
House – 435 members
Seats are apportioned, or divided, bases on population
Each state has at least one seat
Qualifications and Term of Office
At least 25 years old
Be a citizen of the United States for at least seven (7) yearsBe legal resident of the state that elects them
All 435 members are reelected every two (2) yearsSlide7
9 ASIAN-AMERICANS 44 AFRICAN-AMERICANS 31 HISPANICS 2 NATIVE-AMERICANSSlide8
Membership of the House
Representation and Reapportionment
National
census
, or population count, taken every ten (10) years
State’s population determines the number of representatives – a process called
reapportionment Congressional RedistrictingEach state legislature draws the congressional districts
Representatives are elected from these districts
Redrawing district lines after reapportionment is called
redistricting
Gerrymandering
– redrawing district lines to benefit one political partySlide9Slide10
CONGRESSIONAL REAPPORTIONMENT (2010)Slide11
Redistricting Cases
Tennessee
Baker v.
Carr
(1962)
– Supreme Court held that federal courts could decide conflicts over drawing district boundariesAlabamaReynolds v. Sims (1964) – required that seats in both houses of the state legislature be apportioned on a population basis
Georgia
Wesberry
v. Sanders
(1964)
–
ruled that a vote in one congressional district is worth as much as a vote in another districtSlide12
Gerrymandering
Term is traced to Elbridge Gerry, an early Massachusetts governor who singed a redistricting plan that gave his party an advantage over the Federalists.
“Packing” and “Cracking”
Packing a district means drawing the lines so they include as many of the opposing party’s votes as possible
Crowding the opposition’s voters into one district makes the remaining districts safe for the majority party’s candidates
Cracking means dividing an opponent’s voters into other districts to weaken his/her voter baseSlide13
Membership of the Senate
Qualifications and Term of Office
Must be at least thirty (30) years old
Citizen of the United States for nine (9) years
Legal residents of the state they represent
Elected
at-large, or statewide – no particular districtOne-third (1/3) of senators are reelected every two years
Salary and Benefits - $174,000 per year salary
27
th
Amendment – Congress cannot give itself a pay raise; the raise become effective only after another elections
Franking
privilege; staff; trips home; medical clinicSlide14
1 ASIAN-AMERICAN 2 AFRICAN-AMERICANS 3 HISPANICSSlide15
Membership of the House
Privileges of Members
Free from arrest when they are attending Congress or on the to or from Congress
Cannot be sued for anything they say on the House or Senate floor.
Each house may punish its own members for disorderly behavior by a majority vote and expel a legislator by a two-thirds vote.
May
censure
, formal disapproval of a member’s actionsSlide16
The Members of Congress
535 voting members – 100 senators and 434 representatives
Non-voting member - 5 delegates in the House – District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Marianas, and the Virgin Islands; 1 resident commission from Puerto Rico
Characteristics
Mostly lawyers; white, middle-aged males
Increases number of women and minorities
Reelection to Congress
Incumbents
– members who are already in officeSlide17Slide18
Twitter and Congress
Elected officials strive to stay current with trends in technology, especially when those tools help them communicate with their constituents, potential donors, and voters. Analyze the Twitter communications of a congressional representative. The address is likely to being
https://twitter.com/
followed by that person’s name. Then answer the questions on
PAGE 140
in the Government Textbook.
What do the most recent 20 tweets tell you about the representative?Are the tweet interesting to you? Would you follow this representative if you also had a Twitter account?What could this representative do to make his or her tweets more compelling to people like you? What can elected officials say in 140 characters that is meaningful?Do voters need special skills to interpret this kind of brief but nearly continual contact?Slide19
Chapter 5, Lesson 1 Activity – complete questions on handoutSlide20
Lesson 2: The House of Representatives
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
What is the structure and organization of Congress?Slide21
Rules in the House
Article I, Section 51 – each House may determine its own rules and proceedings
Complex Rules – defines individual actions
Limiting speaking for five minutes or less during debate
Tries to move legislation quickly
Leaders have more power in the House
Committee Work – perform most legislative activity
More important due to size
Serve on committees that are important to their
constituents
, or the people they representSlide22
Rules in the House
Importance of Party Affiliation:
Republicans and Democrats sit on opposite sides
Majority party decides legislative action
Majority selects leaders
Majority appoints committee chairsSlide23Slide24
House Leadership
Organizing and unifying party members
Scheduling work
Making certain that lawmakers are present for key floor votes
Distributing and collecting information
Keeping the House in touch with the president
Influencing lawmakers to support their party’s positions
The Speaker of the House
– presiding officer
Most powerful leader
Chosen by a
caucus
, or closed meeting, of the majority partySlide25
House Leadership
House Floor Leaders
Majority Leader
– Speaker’s top assistant & Floor Leader
Help plan party’s legislative program
Steer important bills through the House
Make sure the chairpersons finish work on important billsWhips – helps the majority leader
Watch how majority-party members intend to vote on bills
Persuade them to vote as the party wishes
To see that party members are present to voteSlide26
Lawmaking in the House
The House is normally in session from Monday through Friday but most work is done from Tuesday through Thursday
All laws start as bills – or proposed laws
Representatives drop bills in the hopper
Speaker then sends bill to appropriate committee for study, discussion, and review
Only about 10 to 20 percent of bills make it to the floor for a vote
Bills that survive the committee process are placed on the House calendars
.Slide27
Lawmaking in the House (cont.)
The House Rules Committee
Very powerful; considered the “traffic officer”
Can move bills quickly, hold them back, or stop them completely
Can say how long a bill can be debated or revised
Settles disputes among other House committees, especially when they have concurrent jurisdiction
Often delays or blocks bills that representatives and House leaders do not want to come to a vote on the floorQuorum
– minimum number of members needed for official legislative action (218 members);
Committee of the whole = 100 membersSlide28
Chapter 5, Lesson 2 activity – complete questions on handoutSlide29
Lesson 3: The Senate
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
What is the structure and organization of Congress?Slide30
The Senate at Work
All states are equal in the Senate (each has two senators)
Often called a
deliberative body
because it formally discusses public policies.
Senate chamber is smaller with 100 desks
Rules are more flexible
Usually allows for unlimited debate on billsSlide31
Leadership in the Senate
Vice President
presides over the Senate but cannot vote except to break a tie.
Senate party leaders do not have as much influence
The
president pro tempore
– “for the time being”Presides over Senate most of the timeFrom majority party with most seniorityMajority and Minority Leaders
Steer bills through the Senate
Makes sure party members attend important sessions
Gets support for key bills
Whips and assistant whips make sure legislators are present in the chamber when key votes come upSlide32Slide33
Lawmaking in the Senate
Supermajority (2/3 vote) to approve treaties, overturn presidential vetoes, and remove federal officials from office if they have been impeached in the House
50 senators plus 1 to pass a proposed bill (simple majority)
Procedures are less formal than in the House
No need for a Rules Committee
Only has two (2) calendars:
Calendar of General Orders – lists bills to considerExecutive Calendar – schedules treaties & nominationsSlide34
Lawmaking in the Senate
Unanimous Consent
A motion by all members present to set aside formal rules and consider a bill from the calendar
Senators can place
holds
on a bill and object
The FilibusterMany important bills need sixty senator to pass
Tactic used by senators to prevent a bill from coming to a final vote
“talk the bill to death” using unlimited debate and speaking continuously
Cloture resolution
can end a filibuster (60 votes needed)Slide35
Interpreting Political Cartoons
What do the expressions on the faces of the audience suggest about the speaker?
What will happen if rain comes from the cloud?Slide36
FILIBUSTER VIDEOSlide37
Chapter 5, Lesson 3 activity – complete questions on handoutSlide38
Lesson 4: Congressional Committees
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
What is the structure and organization of Congress?Slide39
Purpose of Committees
Where most of the real work on bills takes place
Members hear testimony from experts
Propose amendments
Vote on whether to send the bill to the full House or Senate
Help ease the workload
Allows members to divide their work among smaller groupsSelect the bills that are to receive further consideration
Help the public learn about key problems and issues facing the nationSlide40
Kinds of Committees
There are FOUR (4) basic kinds of committees:
Standing Committees
Select Committees
Joint Committees
Conference CommitteesSlide41
Kinds of Committees (cont.)
Standing Committees
– continue from one legislative session to the next
Permanent committees to oversee bills that deal with certain kinds of issues
Controlled by the majority party
Subcommittees
– specializes in a subcategory of its standing committee’s responsibilityEx. Appropriations (12 subcommittees); Armed Services (7 subcommittees); Oversight and Government ReformSlide42
Kinds of Committees (cont.)
Select Committees
– temporary committees
Study one specific issue and report their findings to the Senate or the House
Lasts no more than one term of Congress
Ex. Permanent Select Intelligence Committee
Joint Committees – made up of members from both the House and the SenateCan be temporary or permanent
Acts a study group to report findings
Do not have the authority to deal directly with bills or to propose laws to CongressSlide43
Kinds of Committees (cont.)
Conference Committees
–
temporary committee
Set up when the House and Senate have passed different versions of a bill
Resolves differences between the two versions of the bill
Conferees must accept the final compromise bill called a conference report before sending it to the floor of the House and SenateCan then send the one final bill to the president Slide44Slide45
Choosing Committee Members
Assignment to Committees
Increase member’s chance of reelection
Influence national policies
Influence other members
Parties have the job of assigning members to committees
Role of the Committee ChairMake key decisions about the work of committeesDecide when hearings will be held
Manage floor debates
Seniority System
–
majority party member with the
longest uninterrupted service appointed leaderSlide46
Lesson 5: Staff and Support Agencies
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
What is the structure and organization of Congress?Slide47
Chapter 5, Lesson 4 activity – complete questions on handoutSlide48
Congressional Staff Role
Lawmakers rely on their staffs to…
help them handle the workload of Congress
communicate with voters.
run committee hearings and floor sessions.
draft new bills.
write committee reports.
attend committee meetings.
help members get reelected.
help raise funds for political campaigns.
meet with lobbyists and visitors from home
.Slide49
Congressional Staff Growth
Congress has not always relied on staff to accomplish its work. For almost 100 years, senators and representatives had no personal aides.
After the Legislative Reorganization Act in 1946, the number of personal staff members went from 2,000 in 1947 to more than 10,600 in 2009.
Congressional staffs grew because lawmakers could not be experts on all the issues that came before their committees or upon which they voted in Congress.Slide50
Personal Staff
Congress includes two types of staffs:
Personal staff
members work directly for individual senators and representatives.
Committee staff
members work for the many House and Senate committees.
Senators receive a yearly budget to operate their offices and to pay staff salaries.Each member of the House has an allowance to pay for a personal staff that includes administrative assistants, legislative assistants, and caseworkers.Slide51
Personal Staff (cont.)
Administative assistants
– called the AA
Serves as chief of staff; runs the lawmaker’s office; supervises the lawmaker’s schedule; gives advice on political matters
deals with influential people from the lawmaker’s congressional district or state.
Legislative Directors – establishes the legislative agenda and briefs the lawmaker on all legislative matters
Legislative Assistants - make certain that the lawmaker is well informed about the many bills with which she or he must deal; do research, draft bills, and study bills currently in Congress; write speeches and articles for the lawmaker. Slide52
Personal Staff (cont.)
Press Secretaries
– communications director
Draft press releases for media; schedule press conferences; answer questions from the media
Assists with websites, blogs, tweets, and videos
Help shape the lawmaker’s public images, publicize their policy positions, and help citizens follow their legislative activitiesCaseworkers handle the many requests for help from people in a lawmaker’s state or congressional district.
usually staff the home district offices of the lawmaker. Slide53
Committee Staff
Every committee and subcommittee in Congress has staff members who work for that committee.
Committee staffers draft bills, study issues, collect information, plan committee hearings, write memos, and prepare committee reports.
Some senior committee staff members are experts in the area their committee covers
.Slide54
Support Agencies
The
Library of Congress
is one of the largest libraries in the world with more than 100 million items.
is the administrator of the copyright law.
has a Congressional Research Service (CRS) that answers thousands of requests for information from lawmakers, congressional staff, and committees.
Congressional Budget Office (CBO) – established in 1947coordinate the budget-making work of Congress.study the budget proposals put forward by the president each year.
make cost projections of proposed new programs.
General Accounting Office (GAO)-
the nation’s watchdog over the spending of funds Congress appropriates.
reviews the financial management of government programs that Congress creates.
Government Printing Office (GPO) -
does the printing for the entire federal government and prints the
Congressional Record