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Organization of Congress

Organization of Congress. Chapter Five. Congressional Membership. Chapter Five, Section I. Congress. Bi-Cameral Legislature House & Senate Terms January 3 rd of odd years Two year terms Term broken into two sessions (one year each). The House of Representatives.

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Organization of Congress

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  1. Organization of Congress Chapter Five

  2. Congressional Membership Chapter Five, Section I

  3. Congress • Bi-Cameral Legislature • House & Senate • Terms • January 3rd of odd years • Two year terms • Term broken into two sessions (one year each)

  4. The House of Representatives Membership of the House

  5. Membership of the House • Qualifications • 25 years old • Citizens of the U.S. for at least 7 years • Legal resident of the state that elects them • Term of Office • Two years

  6. Membership of the House • Representation & Reapportionment • Based on census taken every 10 years • Population of each state determines the amount of representatives each state is entitled (reapportionment) • House was limited to 435 members in 1929 • This means we have a constantly declining representation • Why?

  7. Membership of the House • Redistricting • One representative for one district • State legislatures set up boundary lines for each district (redistricting) • League of Latin American Voters v. Perry • Gerrymandering • Video

  8. Membership of the House

  9. The Senate Membership of the Senate

  10. Membership of the Senate • Qualifications • Must be at least 30 years old • Citizen for at least 9 years • Legal resident of the state you represent • Elections are state-wide

  11. Membership of the Senate • Term of Office • Elections are November of even numbered years (like House) • Senators serve 6 year terms • One-third of Senators run for re-election every two years • Appointments or special elections for vacated seats

  12. Membership of the Senate • Salary & Benefits • $174,000 per year • 27th amendment limits congress’ ability to vote itself pay raises • Franking privilege (all postage for official business) • Medical clinic • Gymnasium • Allowances for: • staff and assistants • Trips home • Telephones, telegrams, newsletters • Tax deduction to maintain two homes • Pension that can top out at $150,000 per year FOR LIFE

  13. Membership of the Senate • Privilege of Members • Free from arrest! (except for treason, felonies, or breach of peace) • Free from lawsuits! (while speaking on the floor) • Exclusion – refusal to seat a member (majority vote) • Punish members (majority vote) • Expel members (two-thirds vote) • Censure – vote of formal disapproval of a members actions

  14. Members of congress 113th Congress

  15. Members of Congress • 535 voting members • 100 senators • 435 representatives • Also one from DC, Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands, plus one resident commissioner from Puerto Rico who cannot vote

  16. Members of Congress • Demographics of the 113th Congress: • 13 - New senators. • 84 - New House members. • 98 - Women in the new Congress: 78 in the House, 20 in the Senate. • 38 - Years in office of the longest currently serving senator, Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont. • 53+ - Years in office of the longest currently serving congressman, John Dingell, D-Michigan. • 5 - Net gain in number of seats women hold in 113th Congress over 112th. • 3 - States with two women senators: California, New Hampshire, and Washington. • 95 - Percent of the U.S. Senate that is white. • 19 - Percent of the U.S. House of Representatives that belong to minority groups. • 89 - Age of the oldest-ever member of the House, Ralph Hall, R-Texas. He broke the previous record on Christmas Day. • 8.5 - Percent of the U.S. House under 40. • 27 - Percent of the Senate that is Catholic. • 4 - The number of new U.S. House seats in Texas created by reapportionment; out 12 total. Texas gained more new seats than any other state. • 5 - Members of the 113th Congress who had previous careers in professional sports. • 7 - Members who are openly gay or bisexual. • 12 - New members who have served in the U.S. military. • 2 - Physicists in Congress: Rep. Bill Foster, a Democratic congressman-elect from Illinois, and Rep. Rush Holt, Jr., a New Jersey Democrat. • 6 - Number of reindeer owned by Kerry Bentivolio, a congressman-elect from Michigan. He has worked as a Santa impersonator since the 1980s before running for Congress.

  17. Members of Congress • Success of Incumbents: • Between 1945 and 1990 – 90% were reelected • Easier time raising money • Gerrymandering • Name recognition • Working with many people • Belief that incumbents represent voters views

  18. Representative Pat Meehan • Constituent Services • Visit’s to Washington • Help with a Federal Agency • Flag Request • Academy Nominations • Internships • Passports and Visas • WEBSITE

  19. Constituent Services • First and foremost, members of Congress represent their constituents, the residents of their district or state who vote them into office. Senators and representatives assist constituents who have problems with Social Security payments, Medicare, veterans' pensions, or with other federal programs and agencies. Constituent needs vary widely, depending on whether a member represents a farming district or a densely populated city and depending on the social, cultural, and political leanings of the people in that district or state. Members cast their votes on national issues with an eye to how the legislation will affect their own constituents.Constituent services offer members much visibility in their district or state. “I sent all graduating high-school seniors in the Sixth District a certificate to mark their commencement,” Bob Dole (Republican-Kansas) recalled of his service in the House. “No bride walked down the aisle without a copy of The Congressional Cookbook.I once mistakenly extended congratulations on the birth of a baby to a couple observing their golden wedding anniversary.”Members of Congress now maintain offices in their home state as well as in Washington. Recesses of Congress are called “district work periods.” Members return home as often as possible to gauge their constituents’ opinions on national issues and to determine their needs. They employ caseworkers to handle mail and telephone requests from constituents. “Some members devote nearly all of their personal energies to such matters and little or none of their time to legislation beyond answering roll calls,” Representative Richard Bolling (Democrat-Missouri) observed. But members of Congress can also use their staff to attend to their constituents, freeing them to devote more of their time to legislation.

  20. House Leadership Speaker of the HouseJohn Boehner (R) Ohio Minority LeaderNancy Pelosi (D) California

  21. House Leadership Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R) Virginia Democratic House WhipSteny Hoyer (D) Maryland

  22. Senate Leadership Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) Nevada Minority LeaderMitch McConnell (R) Kentucky

  23. Senate Leadership President Pro Tempore Pat Leahy (D) Vermont President of the SenateJoe Biden (VP of the U.S.)

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