Chapter 10- Congress

Delegate

a lawmaker who acts as the agent of the people who elected him or her, even if it means going against his or her own views

Trustee

a lawmaker who acts based on their personal convictions and judgment

Partisan

a lawmaker who acts in accordance with their party platform and party leaders

Politico

a lawmaker who tries to combine the approaches of the delegate, trustee, and partisan

Bicameral

a legislature made up of two houses. Congress is an example of a Bicameral legislature because it is made up of the (1) House of Representatives and the (2) Senate.

continuous body

a political body in which all of the seats are never up for election at the same time. The Senate is an example of this.

Single- Member district

an election district from which voters elect a single state representative to the House of Representatives

At-large

an election system in which all candidates are elected from the state as a whole, rather than from a single district

Reapportionment Act of 1929

created permanent size of the House of Representatives at 435

Gerrymandering

drawing the boundaries of an election district so that it gives an advantage to the political party that controls the state legislature

Session

for the U.S. Congress, the period of time during which Congress assembles and conducts business; there are two sessions in each term. During a session, Congress can choose to adjourn, or suspend its operations, until the next session.

Each state is equally represented in the ___

Senate

How long is a term for a Member of the House of Representatives?

2 years. There are no limits on how many two-year terms representatives can serve. Each state holds elections in November of even-numbered years.

What are the four broad ways in which lawmakers choose to represent the people when they vote?

1. Delegates 2. Trustees 3. Partisans 4. Politicos

What are the three reason the Framers established a bicameral legislature?

1. HISTORICAL- it is modeled on the two houses of the British Parliament and colonial legislatures. 2. PRACTICAL- two houses were adopted as part of the Great Compromise, which solved the dispute between large and small states at the Constitutional Convention over how they would be represented in the national legislature. 3. THEORETICAL- having two house of Congress means that one house can check the powers of the other.

What roles and functions do members of Congress perform?

1. Legislators 2. Representatives of their constituents 3. Committee members 4. Servants of their constituents 5. Politicians

How does the Senate differ from the House?

1. The Senate has only 100 members, two from each state. 2. Members are elected to six-year terms. 3. Senators must be at least 30 years old, have been a U.S. citizen for at least nine years, and reside in the state they represent. 4. Senators are often seen as less subject to public pressure and more concerned about national issues than members of the House

Every __ years the Census Bureau counts the national population.

10. The Census figures are then used to decide how many representatives each state will have until the next Census is taken. Currently, each seat in the House represents about 700,000 people

In 1913, the ___ amendment changed the way Senators were elected.

17th- Senators were originally elected by state legislatures rather than by popular vote. Senators are now elected by popular vote in statewide elections.

Name five "fringe benefits" for members of Congress.

Benefits include access to inexpensive health care, fine dining, free parking, and generous pensions. Members receive funds to hire staff and run their rent-free offices. They can mail letters and other materials without postage, print items for free, and produce radio or television tapes at low cost.

Each state is represented by population in the ___.

House of Representatives

How are the seats in the House distributed and what qualifications must members meet?

There are currently 435 seats in the House. Seats are distributed based on the population of each state, with each state guaranteed at least one representative. Representatives must be at least 25 years old, have been a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and reside in the state that they represent.

Off Year Election

a Congressional election that takes place in-between presidential elections

special session

a Congressional meeting called to deal with some emergency situation. These are rarely called today since Congress meets for most for the year.

Constituency

the people and interests represented by a politician

Term

the two-year period during which the U.S. Congress meets, starting on noon of the 3rd day of January of each odd-numbered year. Beginning in 1789, Congress has met for two-year terms. Originally congressional terms began and ended in March. This start date was changed to January 3rd of every odd-numbered year by the 20th Amendment.

Convene

to begin

Apportion

to distribute seats in the House of Representatives among the States on the basis of their populations

Reapportion

to redistribute the seats in the House every ten years, after each census

adjourn

to suspend operations until the start of the next Congressional session

recess

to temporarily suspend business, such as a session of Congress