Gov. - Notes #5 Review 

Congressional Structure

  • Founders gave Congress more power than any other branch
  • Congress is ==bicameral==
    • bicameral - two chambers
  • Congressional term is two years - each one year long

Membership of the House

  • House
    • 25 years old
    • citizen for at least 7 years
    • legal resident of state electing them
    • 2 year terms
  • Representation based of off population
    • ==Reapportionment== after every ==census==
    • reapportionment - reapportioning the number of representative per state
    • census - official count of national population
    • ==Redistricting== after reapportionment
    • redistricting - done by state; re-drawing of districts based off of population
    • ==Gerrymandering== is fueled by competitive struggle of the two party system
    • gerrymandering - the drawing of district lines to favor one party over the other

Membership of the Senate

  • Senate
    • two per state
    • 30 years old
    • citizen for 9 years
    • legal resident of state they represent
    • 6 year terms

Members of Congress

  • 535 total members of congress
    • 100 senators
    • 435 representatives
  • Membership changes slowly because of ==incumbents==
    • incumbents - person holding a seat in congress that get re-elected

Rules in the House

  • Rules help congress move quickly when bills reach the floor
  • Party distinction and political parties are very important
  • ==Committees== perform most of legislative activity
    • committees - group of people working on a specific topic or function

House Leadership

  • ==Speaker of the House==
    • most powerful position in the House
    • chosen by majority party
    • presiding officer
    • assistants include, majority leader and the majority ==whip==, as well as deputy whip
    • whip - assistant to the party floor leader
<<Majority<<<<Minority<<
Speaker of the HouseMinority Leader
Majority LeaderMinority Whip
Majority Whip

Minority

  • Gets minority leader and minority whip

Lawmaking in the House

  • After a bill is passed → ==Committee==

  • ==The Rules Committee==

    • oldest committee in the House
    • controls major decisions, path, and progress of a bill
  • ==Quorum== needed for official legislative action

    • quorum - minimum number of people needed to vote on a bill; simple majority
    • 51 in Senate
    • 218 in House

Leadership in Senate

  • Senate rules are more flexible
  • Senate has no Speaker
  • Vice President serves as the President of the Senate and breaks a tie
  • When Vice President is gone ==President Pro Tempore== presides
    • president pro tempore - from majority party; presided while VP is gone
<<Vice President<<<<Vice President<<
{{Majority{{{{Minority{{
Majority LeaderMinority Leader
President Pro TemporeMinority Whip
Majority Whip

Lawmaking in Senate

  • Less formal in Senate

  • Brings bill by ==unanimous consent==

    • unanimous consent - emotion by all members to consider a bill
  • ==Filibuster== can kill a bill, but can be stopped by ==cloture resolution==

    • filibuster - a method to kill a bill to prevent a vote
    • cloture resolution - a vote to end a filibuster

Purpose of Committees

  • Crafting of bills takes place in committees
  • Committees divide the work of Congress into smaller groups
  • Committees select a few bills for further consideration and inform the public about the bills

Kinds of Committees

  • ==Standing== - stand from one legislative session to the next; nearly all have subcommittees
  • ==Select== - study one specific committee; not permanent
  • ==Joint== - have members from the House and the Senate
  • ==Conference== - set up when the House and Senate have passed different versions of a bill

Choosing Committee Members

  • ==Chairpersons== are the most powerful people in committees
  • Chairpersons are elected by a secret vote; usually based of off seniority
    • Chairs are always held by the majority party

Congressional Staff

  • Staff help draw bills, stay informed on issues, and represent their ==constituents==
  • Until 1946 congress had no staff, however as lawmaking became more complex they became needed
  • There are two types of staff; personal and congressional

Personal Staff

}}Administrative Assistant}}serves as chief of staff
}}Legislative Director}}establishes agenda and briefs lawmakers on matters
}}Legislative Assistants}}keep the lawmaker informed on bills
}}Press Secretaries}}keep the lawmakers public image
}}Caseworkers}}handle requests from constituents

\