US Gov Ch. 10

538

# of current electoral votes (including 3 for the District of Columbia) representative of our 435 House members and 100 Senators + D.C.

Nancy Pelosi

(D-San Francisco) became the first woman Speaker of the House in 2007; and is currently Minority Leader.

House of Representatives: How can we describe a typical congressional election and congressional district?

- Congressional elections are held on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November of each even-numbered year - Under the single-member district arrangement, the voter's in each district elect one of the State's representatives. -Districts that have unusual shapes or even defy description have sometimes been gerrymandered (the act of drawing congressional districts to the advantage of the political party that controls the State legislature)

Members' Experience in the 113th Congress

- Most members of Congress have considerable political experience. The average Senator is serving a second term. And the typical representative has served four terms. -Approximately 50% of the senators once sat in the House. Several senators are former governors. -A few senators have held Cabinet positions or other high posts in the executive branch. - The House includes a large number of former State legislators and prosecuting attorneys among its members.

Senate: How have States elected senators in the past and present?

- Originally, the Constitution provided that senators were chosen by the State legislatures. - In 1912 the Seventeenth Amendment was passed and called for the popular election of senators. - The Senate is a continuous body, meaning that all of its seats are never up for election at the same time. This is different from the House of Representative where all 435 seat are up for elections every two years

House of Representatives: How are House seats reapportioned (redistributed) among the States after each census?

-After each decennial census, the new population counts are used to reallocate the number of districts per state, according to a mathematical formula set by law, based on the population of that state. - Article I of the Constitution directs Congress to reapportion—redistribute—the seats in the House after each decennial census. -The Reapportionment Act of 1929 set the "permanent" size of the House at 435 members, and provided for "automatic reapportionment."

Members' Salaries in the 113th Congress

-House members currently earn: $174,000 per year, the Speaker earns $223,500. Senators earn $193,400; all Congressmen/women enjoy many fringe benefits; i.e. lifetime health care, pension plans, franking privilege, etc...

Senate: What are the qualifications for serving in the Senate?

-The requirements for the U.S. Senate are higher than for the House of Representatives. - The Constitution says that a Senator (1) must be at least 30 years of age, (2) must have been a citizen of the United States for at least nine years, and (3) must be an inhabitant of the State from which he or she is elected.

National Legislature: Why does the Constitution divide power between the two houses of Congress?

1. Historical reason: The British Parliament consisted of two houses since the 1300s, and many colonial assemblies were similar in form. 2. Practical reason: A bicameral legislature was necessary to compromise the Virginia and New Jersey plans of representation. 3. Theoretical reason: The Framers favored a bicameral Congress in order that one house might act as a check on the other.

Senatorial Composition

20 women sit in today's Senate, whereas only 39 women served in all previous years combined!

House of Representatives: What are the formal and informal qualifications for serving in the House?

FORMAL: The Constitution says that a member of the House (1) must be at least 25 years of age, (2) must have been a citizen of the United States for at least seven years, and (3) must have been an inhabitant of the State from which he or she is elected. INFORMAL: The realities of politics also require some informal qualifications, such as party identification, name familiarity, gender, ethnic characteristics, and political experience.

Ethnicity/religion/gender/married/education/welth in The 113th Congress

Is remarkable for its inclusion of the first two women combat veterans in history. • Today, there are now 42 African Americans, two Native Americans, and one Pacific Islander. Three Hispanics and one Asian sits in the Senate, including the first ever Asian-American woman. -One African American serves in the upper house today, but only six have ever held seats in that body. -Nearly all members are married, a few are divorced, and they have, on average, two children. -Only a very few members say they have no religious affiliation. Over 50% are Protestants, nearly three in ten are Roman Catholics, less than one in ten are Jewish, three are Buddhists, two are Muslims, one is a Quaker, and one is Hindu. - Well over 1/3rd of the members of the House and over half the senators are lawyers. 94% have a college degree and 2/3rds have advanced degrees. - Most senators and representatives were born in the States that they represent. Only a handful were born outside the USA. *Sprinkled among the members of Congress are several millionaires. A surprisingly large number of the men and women who sit in the House depend on their congressional salaries as their major source of income, however. - Again, Congress is not an accurate cross section of the nation's population. Rather, it is made up of upper-middle class Americans, who are, on the whole, quite able and hard working people.

Is The congress representative of the composition of the country? Non-representative

Our current 535 members of Congress are NOT a representative cross-section of the American people

Senate: How and why does a senator's term differ from a representative's term?

Senators serve for six-year terms. while the House of representatives server for two-year terms

The House of Representatives What are the size and terms of the House of Representatives?

Size: 435 members, the number is determined by Congress. Terms: - The Constitution provides that the total number of seats in the House shall be apportioned (distributed) among the States on the basis of their respective populations. - Members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms. - There are no limits set on the number of terms a representative may serve. Although there have been recent discussions to limit terms,

Senate How does the size of the Senate differ from the size of the House?

The Constitution says that the Senate "shall be composed of two Senators from each State." Today's Senate consists of 100 Senators. This is different from the House where the number of representatives is based on the size of population of the states

National Legislature: Who may call Congress into a special session?

The President for emergencies

National Legislature: Who has the power to prorogue, or adjourn, a session of congress?

The President, but only if the two houses cannot agree on a date for adjournment

National Legislature: How have sessions of Congress changed over time?

The date for the start of each new term has been set by the Twentieth Amendment (1933) as "noon of the 3d day of January" of every odd-numbered year.

Bill

a proposed law presented to a legislative body for consideration

Recess

a time when both houses of Congress temporarily suspend business

Extralegal

adj. informal, not covered by law

Susceptible

adj. likely to be affected by, vulnerable

Contentious

adj. likely to cause argument

Peculiar

adj. unusual, odd, unique, special, particular

Populous

adj. with many people

Prorogue

adjourn/suspend, as in a legislative session

Grossly

adv. Obviously

Bicameral

an adjective describing a legislative body composed of two chambers

Special session

an extraordinary session of a legislative body, called to deal with an emergency situation

Franking privilege

benefit allowing members of Congress to mail letters and other materials postage-free

Off-year election

congressional election that occurs between presidential election years (example: 2014, 2018, 2022, etc..)

Apportion

distribute, as in seats in a legislative body

At-large election

election of an officeholder by the voters of an entire governmental unit (e.g., a State or country) rather than by the voters of a district or subdivision

Single-member district

electoral district from which one person is chosen by the voters for each elected office

Continuous body

governing unit (e.g. the United States Senate) whose seats are never all up for election at the same time

Term

is the length of time that officials serve after an election ( -(2-years for representatives and 6-years for senators)

Politico

lawmaker who attempts to balance the basic elements of the trustee, delegate, and partisan roles

Partisan

lawmaker who owes his/her first allegiance to his/her political party and votes according to the "party line"

Trustee

lawmaker who votes based on his or her conscience and judgment, not the views of his or her constituents

Concurrence

n. agreement

Sedition

n. attempt to overthrow the government by force

Fringe benefits

n. compensation in addition to a base salary

Maneuvering

n. deal-making or strategy

Agenda

n. list of things to be done; as in legislation

Composition

n. political makeup. Today's Congress (2014+) includes the largest # of women in history. 81 women now serve in the House of Representatives, up from 23 in 1988.

Clout

n. power, influence

Incumbency

n. the current holding of the office

Session

period of time during which, each year, Congress assembles and conducts business

To Appropriate

provide funds for a public purpose

Reapportion

redistribute, as in seats in a legislative body

Delegate(s)

representatives; members of Congress who cast votes based on the wishes of their constituents

Oversight function

review by legislative committees of the policies and programs of the executive branch

Adjourn

suspend, as in a session of Congress

Congressional "characteristics"

the "average" member of Congress is a white male in his late 50s. The average age of the members of the House is 57 and about 62 for those in the Senate

Incumbent

the current officeholder

Gerrymandering

the drawing of electoral district lines to the advantage of a party or group

Constituency

the people and interests that an elected official represents

Floor consideration

the process by which proposed laws are considered and acted upon by the full membership of the House or Senate

Convene

to begin a new session of Congress

Gouging

v. cheating, swindling

Predominates

v. holds controlling power or influence

To Offset

v. to balance, counteract, or compensate for

Diffuse

v. to spread out