1 2 Congress Chapter 10 Article I of the US Constitution The National Legislature Bicameralism Congress consists of two houses (Bicameral), the House of Representatives and the Senate The British Parliament was bicameral as were most of the colonial assemblies Reflects federalism and was a compromise b/w the Virginia and New Jersey Plans of 1787 In theory each house could act as a check and balance on the other. (preventing Congress from becoming more powerful that other branches) 3 4 Terms and Session of Congress A term is the length of time between elections in Congress (two years). Originally beginning in March, changed by the 20 th Amendment to January 3 rd (unless Congress decides to make it later- which they often do in the 2 nd session of a term. Each term of Congress consists of two sessions, the regular period of time during which a legislative body conducts business. Neither house of Congress can adjourn sine die (finally end a session) without the consent of the other house. (Article I, Section5, Clause 4) The President may call a special session, an extraordinary meeting of a legislative body to deal with a pressing issue. Rarely needed now because Congress meets nearly yearround as opposed to the in past when they only met for 4-5 months. The President can prorogue, or adjourn Congress. He has never used this power. 1
never used this power. 5 6 7 8 The House of Representatives The size of the House is not fixed by the Constitution is fixed by the Reapportionment Act of 1929 Today there are 435 members The seats are apportioned, distributed, among the states on the basis of their respective populations. Each state is guaranteed at least one seat in the House. 7 States have only one (AK, DE, MT, ND, SD, VT, WY. DC & the territories have a delegate in the House, but they are not full members Term- 2 years Kept short on purpose so reps would be held more accountable by the electorate No limit Reapportionment, the redistribution of the seats in the House as a result of the decennial (every 10 years) census Reapportionment Act of 1929 set the # of seats in the House to 435, to be redistributed every 10 years according to the census The Census Bureau is responsible for redistributing the seats of the House Congressional Elections The Tuesday following the first Monday in November of each even-numbered year. Alaska is allowed to hold its elections in October (due to its winter weather), but have never done so. Off-year elections- Congressional Elections occurring in nonpresidential election years are called off-year elections. The party holding the presidency has lost seats in Congress in the off-year election for the last 40 years, except during Bill Clinton s 2 nd term (when the democrats gained seats) Districts While there is no mention of districts in the Constitution, all states that have more than one representative, have divided the state into districts (equaling the number of representatives 2
states that have more than one representative, have divided the state into districts (equaling the number of representatives the state has) These are called, single-member districts, meaning each district is represented by one House member. Congressional districts are drawn by state legislatures. We live in district. In states with only one representative, the Rep is elected, atlarge, meaning by the whole state 9 Gerrymandering, drawn to the advantage of the faction (Political party) that controls the state legislature. There are two ways to do this: Concentrate the opposition s voters in 1 or 2 districts Spread the opposition thinly in each district so they cannot win any district. The result is the same, the faction that draws the lines gets more reps in the House. Wesberry v. Sanders, 1964 Required that the states draw Congressional districts so they are approximately equal in population. Did not end the debate about gerrymandering. 2006- Texas districts were found to be gerrymandered. 2012- Ohio there was an issue on the ballot to create a nonpartisan group to decide the districts in OH- it failed Reynolds v. Sims, 1964- required the same thing for state legislature districts 10 Qualifications for House Members At lest 25 years old Have been a citizen for at least 7 years Inhabitant of the state he/she represents By custom- be a resident of the district he/she represents The House judges the acceptability of individual members and may vote or censure (reprimand) or remove members 3 were removed for supporting Confederacy, Michael Myers (D-PA) was expelled after being convicted for accepting bribes-1980, James Traficant (D-OH) expelled in 2002 after 3
(D-PA) was expelled after being convicted for accepting bribes-1980, James Traficant (D-OH) expelled in 2002 after being convicted of corruption 11 Limits on reprimand The House is not allowed to exclude any member-elect who meets the Constitutional requirements. Powell v. McCormack. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. was involved in a scandal (refusing to pay a judgment order by a NY court, misappropriation of congressional travel funds, and illegally paying his wife a congressional staff salary for work she had not done. Speaker of the House, John William McCormack asked Powell to not take the oath of office, Powell refused. H. Res. 1 was adopted. Stripped Powell of his House Committee chairmanship, excluded him from taking his seat and created a select committee to investigate Powell. H Res 278, excluded Powell from Congress, censured him, fined him $25,000, took away his seniority, and declared his seat vacant. Powell filed suit. Supreme Court decision: Congress may not in any way alter the qualifications of its members from the exclusive list given in the Constitution (age, length of citizenship, and inhabitant of state where elected). Therefore, "excluding" a Congressman by a two-thirds majority vote is not allowed although the Constitution allows expulsion by a two-thirds vote. 12 13 14 15 Senate 100 members, 2 from each state Before 1913, Senators were chosen by state legislatures. 17 th Amendment, 1913, changed it to be chosen directly by the people. Also required a vacancy to be filled by special election asap. Governors can appoint a temp until the election. 4
election asap. Governors can appoint a temp until the election. 6 year terms that are staggered, so only 1/3 of the members are up for election every two years. Making the Senate a Continuous body, all of its seats are never up for election at the same time 16 17 18 19 20 21 Members of Congress Congress is not a representative cross section of the US Average member is Congress is a white male in his mid-50s. The House has a higher % of women, minorities, and tends to be younger than the Senate (not only bc of the age requirement) Most are married, have children, and attend Christian churches Most are lawyers. Many have backgrounds in business, education, agriculture, journalism, or professional politics b/c Senators represent an entire state they are supposed to be less focused on local issues and more focused on the big picture or statewide issues Senators tend to be more well known b/c the Senate is so much smaller than the House, they serve longer terms, and also have alrger staffs Senate Qualifications At least 30 years old Be a citizen for 9 years Live in the state he/she represents The Senate judges the qualifications of its members & may exclude a member-elect by a majority vote. They may punish members with a majority vote or expel with 2/3 vote 5
members with a majority vote or expel with 2/3 vote 22 Duties of Congress Members of Congress must act as legislators, committee members, representatives of their constituents, servants of their constituents, and politicians. The oversight function of a member of Congress is to check to see if agencies in the executive branch are working efficiently and according to law. Congressmen fulfill the obligations of their job based on how they see their role: trustee, delegate, partisan, or politico. 23 24 Trustees - Many members see themselves as holders of the public trust who must decide issues based on merit alone, and not based on the opinions of constituents or any other groups. Constituents are people in a Congressman's State or district. Delegates - Many members see themselves as agents of those who elected them and believe they should suppress their own views in favor of those of the electorate. Partisans - Many members see themselves as bound to vote on issues according to the party platform and the wishes of party leaders. Politicos - The role of a member of Congress as a balancer of conflicting factors. Other Roles - All members of Congress also must act as servants of their constituents, providing the people back home with a wide range of services, from making appointments to military academies to helping companies in their districts obtain government contracts. 25 Compensation Senators and representatives receive salaries of $174,000 per year. Nonsalary Compensation - Members of Congress receive a wide range of fringe benefits, from free parking, low-cost medical care, generous pension plans, to free printing and 6
wide range of fringe benefits, from free parking, low-cost medical care, generous pension plans, to free printing and distribution of speeches, newsletters, and other materials. Also included is the franking privilege, or the ability to send job-related mail for free. 26 27 The politics of pay Congress sets its own pay and benefits. Reasons for high salaries include making public service appealing to qualified people; allowing people to move away from their home states; and as a guarantee that the most able people will run for Congress. Although Congress sets its own pay, there are three checks that prevent them from going overboard. First, the President may veto their pay-raise, and second, the fear of voter backlash. The Twenty-seventh Amendment (Amendment XXVII) prohibits any law that increases or decreases the salary of members of the Congress from taking effect until the start of the next set of terms of office for Representatives 28 Member Privileges Members may not be arrested for misdemeanors while Congress is in session. Members are immune from court action because of any speech they may make in Congress. Freedom of speech is vital to legislative debate. 7