1 / 14

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH CH 10

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH CH 10. The basics of Congress Senate House of Representative Members of Congress. The Legislative Branch. Basics. Our Congress is a Bicameral legislature Meaning: it is made up of 2 houses Senate House of Representatives

terra
Download Presentation

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH CH 10

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH CH 10 The basics of Congress Senate House of Representative Members of Congress

  2. The Legislative Branch

  3. Basics • Our Congress is a Bicameral legislature • Meaning: it is made up of 2 houses • Senate • House of Representatives • There was a Compromise between the Virginia and New Jersey Plans • The Senate is based on equal representation (2 per state) • The House is based on the population of the State (the more people, the more Representatives)

  4. Basics • A term of Congress lasts 2 years. • Starts at “Noon of the 3rd day of January” • We are in the 112th term of Congress that will expire on January 3rd of 2013. • A session of Congress is the period of time where they conduct business • 2 sessions per Term, 1 each year • Congress suspends work when they see fit (it used to be 4 or 5 months, but now a lot longer) • A Special Session of Congress is called by only the President, in times of emergency • This has only happened 26 times, the last was 1948

  5. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES • At least 25 years old • Have been a citizen of the US for at least 7 years • Must be an inhabitant of the State from which he or she is elected • Serve 2 year terms • 435 members of the HOUSE • 7 states have 1 representative

  6. SENATE • At least 30 years old • Have been a citizen of the U.S. for at least 9 years • Must be an inhabitant from the State from which he or she is elected • Serve 6 years • Always 100 senators

  7. ILLINOIS’ UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVES U.S. REPRESENTATIVE – from ILLINOIS 18TH DISTRICT Dick Durbin (D) Mark Kirk (R) Aaron Schock(R) ILLINOIS’ U.S. SENATORS

  8. Congressional Duties: (5) 1. Legislator 2. Representative 3. Servant 4. Committee Member 5. Politician • Voting Options: (4) • 1. Trustee – Rep. judges by his/her conscience if the bill has merit. • 2. Delegate – Rep. is an “agent”, votes according to the constituents. • 3. Partisan – B/c of allegiance to the party the Rep. votes along party lines. • 4. Politico – Rep. attempts to combine all three methods when voting.

  9. Benefits:I. Compensation - • $174,000 (for both Senators/Reps.) • Majority/Minority Leaders = $193,400 • Speaker = $223,500 II. Non-salary – • Travel allowance, franking privilege, pension plan, etc.

  10. Congressional Districts Q: How many districts are there in the U.S.? Q: How are they apportioned? • Reapportionment Act of 1929: • Permanent size = 435 • Census Bureau determines new numbers • Pres. Sends it to Congress. • If neither House rejects the Census Bureau’s plan after 60 days, it become effective • Types of Districts: 1. Single-Member Districts (ex: 18th IL) 2. At-Large Districts (ex: Montana, Alaska)

  11. GERRYMANDERING • To draw a district to the advantage of the political party that controls the State’s legislature. • WHY? • To concentrate the opposition’s voters in 1 or fewer districts, thus leaving the other districts comfortably safe for the dominate party • To spread the opposition as thinly as possible among several districts, limiting the opposition’s ability to win anywhere in the region • The GOAL is to create “safe” districts – districts almost certain to be won by the line-drawing process.

  12. GERRYMANDERING • District Requirements: 1. Contiguous Territory (all one piece) 2. Nearly equal # of inhabitants 3. Compact Territory (small in area)

More Related