The Organization of Congress Ch. 5

1. The Organization of CongressCh. 5 SECTION 1 Congressional Membership

2. The Legislative Branch • Congress Overview • Term begins Jan. 3rd of odd numbered years and last two years. • Structure • 535 total members • SC- 6 Reps/ 2 Senators- who are they? • 2 houses- bicameral

3. The Legislative Branch • A termis the length of time that officials serve after an election, as in a two- or six-year term. • 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.

4. The Legislative Branch • A session is the regular period of time during which Congress conducts business-lasts 1 year • Congress adjourns,or suspends until the next session, each regular session as it sees fit. Can’t for more than 3 days unless other house approves. • If necessary, the President has the power to prorogue, or adjourn, a session, but only when the two houses cannot agree on a date for adjournment. • Only the President may call Congress into a special session—a meeting to deal with some emergency situation.

5. The Legislative Branch • House of Representatives (Lower House) • 435 members-based on population (1912) • 4 non-voting members- DC, Guam, Samoa, Virgin Islands • Can propose legislation but can not vote • Members are selected by a direct popular vote every two years on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November of even numbered years • 25 years old, citizen 7 years, legal resident of state that elects them

6. The Legislative Branch • House of Representatives (Lower House) • Representation Census- every ten years (next is 2010)

7. The Legislative Branch • Apportionment/Reapportionment • Article I of the Constitution directs Congress to reapportion—redistribute—the seats in the House after each decennial census. • As the United States grew in population, the number of representatives in the House also grew. • The Reapportionment Act of 1929 set the “permanent” size of the House at 435 members, and provided for “automatic reapportionment.”

8. The Legislative Branch • Apportionment/Reapportionment • Each state is guaranteed 1 representative • Each representative represents about 550,000 people

9. The Legislative Branch

10. The Legislative Branch • Senate (Upper House) • 100 members • Elected for six year terms • Elections are staggered so that only 1/3 are up for reelection at one time. This makes it impossible to have a completely new congress • 17th Amendment changed the election of Senators to a direct popular vote • Requirements-30 years old, citizen 9 years, legal residents of the state

11. The Legislative BranchSec. 2—The House of Representatives • Rules for Lawmaking • Each representative can only speak for 5 min. during a debate. • Debates rarely last more than a day, designed to move quickly • Leaders in House have more power. Ex. Making key decisions w/o consulting other members in House. • Most members in House are divided into committees. • Usually specialize in areas that are important to their constituents. (people in their district)

12. The Legislative BranchSec. 2—The House of Representatives • House Leadership • Speaker of House: leader of house, a caucus (closed meeting) of majority party chooses speaker, entire house approves. --Duties • Decide what members to recognize first • Appoints members to some committees • Refers Bills to proper committee • Next in line behind V.P. to President • Votes in a tie

13. The Legislative BranchSec. 2—The House of Representatives • House Leadership • House Floor Leaders • Majority Leader- speakers first assistant --job is to plan legislative program, steer bills through the House, oversee leaders of the committees. --also floor leader of his party, elected by his party. • Majority Whip-assistant to floor leader (monitors how party will vote)

14. The Legislative BranchSec. 2—The House of Representatives • Lawmaking in the House • Quorum- minimum number of members who must be present to take action • Laws start as bills • Drop in hopper • Committee discusses it • Next step would be put it on one of five calendars. • The Rules Committee • Traffic officer of house; move ahead, hold back, stop completely • Resolve disputes between other committees

15. The Legislative BranchSec. 3—The Senate • Moves slower, more informal, not limited on debate time…may discuss for days or weeks • Leaders • Vice President • President of the Senate • Four major differences • He is not a member of congress • He can not debate on any bill • He can not vote on any bill unless there is a tie • Because of the limited role of the vp he does not attend unless a tie is expected, thus they choose a president pro tempore who is usually, by tradition, the member of the majority party with the most seniority

16. The Legislative BranchSec. 3—The Senate • Filibuster- delay the legislative process and prevent a vote. • Isn’t used a lot today • If Senate votes 3/5 to stop the filibuster (cloture) it forces a Senator to limit its debate to 1 hour.

17. The Legislative Branch

18. The Legislative BranchSec. 5—Staff and Support Agencies • Personal vs. Committee Staff • Support Agencies • Library of Congress • Congressional Budget Office • General Accounting Office • Government Printing Office

19. The Legislative Branch • Legislative Immunity – The Constitution gives members of Congress certain privileges to enable Congress to function properly. • Members may not be taken to court for anything they say while Congress is meeting. (Prevents cases of slander) • Members may not be arrested for minor “breaches” of the law while performing official Congressional business.

20. The Legislative Branch • Congressional Discipline – The members of Congress create and abide by a set of rules called the “Code of Ethics.” Each house of Congress (House of Representatives and Senate) is responsible for disciplining its own members. • Reprimand – needs majority vote – (least severe discipline) • Censure – needs majority vote • Expulsion – needs 2/3 vote (most severe discipline)