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Learn about the roles of Congress, Senate, and House of Representatives, their functions, elections, qualifications, and rules. Explore the importance of a bicameral legislature and its impact.
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SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1. The government is divided into three branches. a. Legislative b. Executive c. Judicial 2. Each branch has a different function. 3. The members of each branch are chosen in different ways. 4. Each branch has the same amount of power.
5. Congress is the legislative branch. a. Established by Article 1 of the Constitution. 6. Law MAKING branch of government. 7. Congress is bicameral - made up of two houses. 8. Bicameral legislature a. Provides a system of checks and balances. (Slows law making) b. Compromise between large and small states.
IN YOUR SMALL GROUPS DISCUSS WHY IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR SMALL AND LARGE STATES TO COMPROMISE. WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE DIFFERENT? LIST SOME ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES HAVING A BICAMERAL LEGISLATURE.
B. House of Representatives (435 members) 1. Elections are held first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, even numbered years. 2. Number of Representatives is based on state population. a. Based on census - official counting of the people every 10 years. b. Each state must have at least one representative. (Minnesota has 8)
c. Congressional Districts - each Representative is elected by the people in a separate geographical location. d. Greenbush-Middle River is located in District 7. (Collin Peterson representative) e. Reapportionment - rearranging of congressional districts to allow for changes in population.
f. This can often lead to fighting between the two parties. g. Gerrymandering - process of drawing district lines to favor a certain party. - Is legal but very hard to do.
C. Senate (100 members) 1. Each state chooses two Senators. a. Senators were chosen by the state legislature until the 17th amendment. b. Hold office for six years. c. Terms are staggered - terms of office do not begin at the same time. d. Elections are held every two years. - Same date as the House. -1/3 of the seats are up for reelection.
e. Are chosen by the whole state. f. Minnesota’s two Senators are Al Franken and Amy Klobucher. 2. Incumbents are hard to beat in any election. a. Incumbent - person who currently holds office and is up for reelection.
D. Qualifications of Members 1. Representatives - 25 years old, U.S. citizen for 7 years, legal resident in state he/she represents. 2. Senators - 30 years old, U.S. citizen for 9 years, legal resident in state he/she represents.
E. Salary and Benefits 1. Salary ($141,300/ year) for both House and Senate members. a. Can Congress set its own salary? - 27 amendment says that no increase in congressional pay can take effect until after the next congressional election.
2. Benefits - retirement plan, low-cost insurance policies, free office space, free use of postal service to send mail to people they represent (franking privilege), funds to travel home to meet with people they represent. 3. Members can not be arrested when they are in Congress or are on their way to or from a meeting. 4. Can not be sued for anything they say while speaking in Congress.
F. Rules of Conduct 1. Code of Ethics - Set of guidelines for the behavior of members of Congress. 2. 3 types of punishment for members of Congress who are accused of breaking the Code of Ethics. a. Reprimand - scolding (mildest form) b. Censure - condemnation of the member’s behavior. (Newt Gingrich)
c. Expel or remove from membership. - Most extreme case - 2/3 vote needed - Limited to serious crimes such as treason and murder. 3. It is not easy for any group of people to punish one of its own members. a. Most wrongdoing takes place because of money.
4. List and Describe Abscam: a. Early 1980’s arrest of six representatives and 1 Senator. FBI agents pretended to be Arab businessmen and offered bribes to certain members of Congress. b. Bribe - an illegal payment in order to obtain a special favor.
IN YOUR SMALL GROUPS DISCUSS 4 WAYS IN WHICH CONGRESS HAS TRIED TO LIMIT THE MONEY RECEIVED MY A MEMBER OF CONGRESS.LIST 4 WAYS IN WHICH YOU WOULD HANDLE THE PROBLEM(YOU HAVE 5 MIN.)
HOW CONGRESS IS ORGANIZED 1. Beginning with the first Congress in 1789, each Congress has been identified by number. a. Congress that began in 2011 was called the 112th Congress. A. Terms and Sessions 1. Each term of Congress there are two regular terms or sessions.
a. The first session begins on January 3 in the odd-numbered year following the congressional election. b. The second session begins on January 3 of that following year. c. Sessions usually last from January to September. - President can call a special session of Congress at any time. - Joint session - House and Senate meet together.
B. Organization 1. The Constitution provides for three directing officers. a. Speaker of the House, President of Senate and President Pro Tempore. 2. Shortly after a session begins members of the two parties have private meetings. a. Caucuses - members of each party choose their own leaders.
3. Majority Party - party with the most members in each house. 4. Minority Party - party with fewer members than the majority in each house. 5. Majority Leader - Leader selected by the majority party in each house. 6. Minority Leader - Leader selected by the minority party in each house. 7. Whip - Assistant to the majority and minority leader of each party.
a. Responsible for seeing that members of his\her party are present when a vote takes place. b. Persuades members to vote one way or another.
C. Leaders in the House 1. Speaker of the House - Presiding officer of the House of Representatives. ($171,500) a. He or she may vote on all matters. b. Is selected by majority party of House.
D. Leaders of the Senate 1. Vice-President of the U.S. is also president of the Senate. a. Vice President only votes in case of a tie. b. Vice President rarely attends Senate meetings.
2. President Pro Tempore - Serves as President of the Senate if the Vice President is absent or becomes President of the U.S. a. Is selected by the majority party of the Senate.
E. The Double Personality of Congress 1. House has many more rules than the Senate. 2. Power in the House is more tightly concentrated in the hands of House leaders. 3. Senators are much more nearly equal in power.
4. Senators are much more independent. a. Amount of debate time spent in the House is more closely monitored. b. In the House discussion of a proposal for a law must come to an end if a majority votes to end it. c. In the Senate 2/3 vote is needed in order to stop discussion. d. A minority of the Senate can stop a bill from going to vote by “talking it to death”. (filibuster)
5. Reporters pay more attention to senators. (They are more powerful) a. Why?? 6. Senators are more likely to run for President.
ASSIGNMENT: FIND THE FOLLOWING: 1. Majority and minority parties. 2. Majority and minority leaders in both House and Senate. 3. Majority and minority whip leaders in both the House and Senate. 4. Speaker of the House 5. President of the Senate 6. President Pro Tempore of the Senate. 7. Longest standing member in the House or Senate.
F. Committees 1. Most Congressional work is done in committees. a. Committees - groups of senators and representatives who study bills. -bill - proposed law b. Standing committees - permanent committees in each house. (pg. 78) c. Standing committees are often divided into subcommittees.
d. Subcommittees - study particular details and problems associated with the various standing committees e. Joint committees - committees that include members from both houses of Congress. f. Select Committees - temporary committees set up for special purposes. g. Conference committees - formed from members of both houses in order to iron out disagreements.
(Disagreements arise when different versions of the same bill are passed) 2. Since 1960 the power of standing committee chairpersons has been greatly reduced by a number of events. a. Johnson Rule - President Lyndon Johnson ruled that no one could hold more than one chair of an important committee.
b. Weakening of the Seniority Rule - chair of each standing committee no longer goes to the most experienced. c. Increasing number of subcommittees - Chair people of committees have no power on their own. d. The rise of party caucuses - Congress people who form their own informal groups to try to persuade members of Congress to vote one way or another.
G. Committee Membership 1. Each member of the House usually serves on only one of the major standing committees. a. Ways and Means is the most prestigious. 2. Each Senator stands on at least two standing committees. a. Appropriations is most prestigious.
3. Membership of the standing committees is divided in proportion to the number of members each party has in each house. a. Ex. 100 members in the Senate 60 Republican 40 Democrat 10 member committee would have 6 republican and 4 democrats.
H. Committee Chairpersons 1. Are very powerful 2. Since seniority system was done away with, majority party chooses by secret ballot. a. Longest service people are almost always chosen. I. Congressional Staff 1. Are very important because they do most of the “grunt” work.
POSSIBLE ASSIGNMENTS 1. Case Study (pg. 25-27) 2. Find the various officers of government. 3. Section Review (pg. 75-79) 4. Building Your Portfolio (pg. 91) 5. Citizenship in Your Community (pg. 91) 6. Have Students Write a Code of Conduct for the School. (pg. 73 TA) 7. Reteaching (pg. 9-10) 8. American Gov. wks pg 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 9. Chapter 14 wks. EXTRA CREDIT (5 pts.) 1. Voc. Workshop, Reviewing Main Ideas, Thinking Critically.
