112TH CONGRESS

The House of Representatives And The Senate

Congressional Sessions

Each term of Congress has two sessions

Sessions last until Congress votes to adjourn

The House of Representatives # of members:

Length of term:

Age

435 Based on states’

population (census)

Serve for 2 years

25 years old

House of Reps (cont.)

Residency:

Leader

7 years a U.S. citizen

Live in the state you represent

Speaker of the House (next in line behind VP)

John Boehner

The Senate

# of members:

Length of term:

Age:

100 (two for each state)

Serve for 6 years (1/3 elected every two years)

30 years old

The Senate (cont.)

Residency:

Leader

9 years a U.S. citizen

Live in the state you represent

Vice President Also, floor leaders

and whips

President ............................................... $400,000  Vice President ........................................

$227,300  

Speaker of the House ............................. $223,500  House Majority & Minority Leaders .......... $193,400  House / Senate Members & Delegates .... $174,000  Chief Justice, Supreme Court .................. $217,400  Associate Justices, Supreme Court .......... $208,100

Majority Leader/ Minority Leader

Eric Cantor Nancy Pelosi

Whips Secretary

Steny Hoyer (D) Maryland

Kevin McCarthy (R) California

Benefits for Both Set their members’ salaries, they

receive numerous benefits, allowances for office staffs & business trips, tax breaks for maintaining two residences and pensions when retire

Immune from arrest – if not a felony or treason

Can not be sued for libel when in session

May refuse to seat a member and may censure or expel members

A & B Conversation

If you were a politician, would you rather be a member of the House or the Senate? Why?

Are the qualifications strict enough? Explain.

Member Characteristics

½ are lawyers Most white, middle-aged males, but

increasingly starting to reflect the ethnic, racial and gender of nation.

Incumbent members win reelection to office b/c they’re well known, easier to raise campaign funds, and often represent gerrymandered districts

Starting to use internet as campaign tool

How a Bill Becomes a Law Complete “How a Bill becomes a Law” graphic

organizer.” Define – Bicameral Legislature, Session, Census,

redistrict, filibuster, gerrymandering, and incumbent

ADD to vocabulary list Define 27th Amendment Define the following types of committees

Standing Committee Select Committees Joint Committees Conference Committees

Conference Committee

Temporary joint committee set up when the House and the Senate have passes different versions of the same bill.

Select Committee

A Temporary Committee formed to study one specific issue and report its findings to the Senate or the House

Organized Crime, Public Concern, or Interest Groups

Standing Committee

A permanent committee in the Congress that oversees bills that deal with certain kinds of issues.

Rules, Ways and Means, Appropriations, Transportation, and Foreign Relations

Joint Committee

A committee of the House and the Senate that usually acts as a study group and reports its findings back to the House and Senate.

Economics, Printing, and the Library of congress