6.1 Organization of Congress

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6.1 Organization of Congress
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A Bicameral Legislature

• The Great Compromise established Congress as a
  two-part or bicameral body

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A Bicameral Legislature

• In the Upper House (Senate) each state would have
  an equal number of representatives- two, in the
  lower house (House of Representatives) each
  states population would determine representation

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A Bicameral Legislature

• The legislative branch is described in Article I
  of the Constitution and our Congress includes 535
  members

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Terms of Congress

• Each term of Congress lasts 2 years and starts on
  January 3rd of odd-numbered years, each new
  Congress is given a number to identify its
  two-year term

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Terms of Congress

• Each term is divided into two sessions Congress
  may meet during special sessions or in times of
  crisis, a joint session occurs when the House and
  Senate meet together

In 2008 a joint session of Congress counted
electoral votes.
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The House of Representatives

• The House of Representatives has 435 voting
  members allotted according to population, the
  Constitution guarantees each state at least one
  representative

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The House of Representatives

• After each 10-year census Congress adjusts the
  number given to each state, they serve 2 year
  terms and focus on the concerns of their districts

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The House of Representatives

• State legislatures draw boundaries so districts
  include roughly the same number of constituents,
  or people represented

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The House of Representatives

• Sometimes states abuse this process by
  gerrymandering, a gerrymander is an oddly shaped
  district designated to increase the voting
  strength of a particular group

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The Senate

• The Senate has 100 members, 2 from each of the 50
  states each senator represents the entire state,
  they serve 6 year terms

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The Senate

• Elections are staggered so no more than one-third
  are up for reelection at any one time this
  ensures a certain amount of stability and
  continuity

In 2008 Kay Hagen (D) was elected Senator in
2010 Richard Burr (R) is up for re-election
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Leaders in Congress

• In the House and Senate the political party to
  which more than half the members belong is known
  as the majority party the other party is called
  the minority party

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Leaders in Congress

• The leader of the House of Representatives is
  known as the Speaker of the House, the Speaker
  steers legislation through the House and leads
  floor debates if anything happens to the
  President and VP the Speaker is next in line to
  become President

John Boehner (R) from Ohio Speaker after 2010
midterm elections
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Leaders in Congress

• The Vice President presides in the Senate but
  only votes to break a tie the President Pro
  Tempore acts as chairperson for the Senate

VP Joe Biden- President of the Senate
Senator Daniel Inouye- Hawaii President Pro
Tempore
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Leaders in Congress

• Other powerful leaders are the majority and
  minority floor leaders in each house, they speak
  for their parties on issues Party Whips help the
  floor leaders, they make sure legislators are
  present for key votes

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer- MD
House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy- CA
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Committee Work

• Each house must consider thousands of bills, or
  proposed laws, in the course of a session to
  make it possible to handle so many bills each
  house developed a system of committees
• Congress has three types of committees standing
  committees, select committees, and joint
  committees

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Committee Work

• Standing Committees are permanent committees
• Select Committees are temporary committees that
  deal with special issues, they meet for a limited
  time until they complete their assigned task
• Joint Committees include members of both houses,
  they meet to consider specific issues

• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TemplateUSCongressCo
  mmittees

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Committee Assignments

• Party leaders make committee assignments, they
  consider members preferences, expertise, and
  loyalty to the party another key factor is
  seniority or years of service
• The longest-serving committee member from the
  majority party traditionally becomes chairperson
  they decide when and if a committee meets, what
  bills are studied, and who will serve on which
  subcommittee

Representative Edward J. Markey of
Massachusetts Chairman of the Select Committee on
Energy Independence and Global Warming