Mr. McCormack
American Government
Central Dauphin High School
Chapter Ten – Congress
I. The National Legislature
A. The United States’ government is a representative democracy, which means the people’s representatives rule
B. The national government is divided into three co-equal branches
1. Legislative – make the laws
2. Executive – enforce the laws
3. Judicial – interpret the laws
C. The legislative branch of the national government is called Congress
1. Congress is bicameral (divided into two houses)
a. The Senate and the House of Representatives
b. Congress was modeled on the British parliament, which was also bicameral
i. House of Lords = Senate
ii. House of Commons = House of Representatives
c. By 1787, only Georgia and Pennsylvania of the original thirteen colonies had unicameral legislatures
i. Georgia’s legislature became bicameral in 1789
ii. Pennsylvania’s legislature became bicameral in 1790
iii. Today, Nebraska is the only state to have a unicameral legislature
d. Bicameralism also helped the Founders settle on the Connecticut Compromise
i. Less populous states wanted equal representation in the national legislature
ii. More populous states wanted proportional representation in the national legislature
iii. The Founders made representation equal in one branch, proportional in the other
iv. Although equal representation is grossly undemocratic, it made the Constitution possible
e. The Founders hoped that bicameralism would create an additional check on the power of the legislature
i. Legislation working through two separate houses would require more time for deliberation
ii. Rivalries between the houses would force more compromise
2. Congressional terms last for two years between general elections
a. Originally, terms started on March 4th, but the 20th Amendment changed the starting date to January 3rd
i. The 20th Amendment also allows Congress to change the start of its term by law
ii. Congress has frequently chosen to open its sessions on different days
b. Each year of the two-year term is a separate session
c. Congressional sessions typically last most of the year before they are adjourned (officially ended)
i. Prior to WWII, Congress typically met for only four or five months of every year
ii. Sessions are frequently suspended for holiday and summer recesses
d. Congress’ ability to adjourn is limited by Article I, Section 5, Clause 4 of the Constitution
i. Neither house may adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other
ii. Neither house may adjourn to meet in a place apart from where the other is meeting
iii. The President may prorogue (discontinue) a session if the houses cannot agree to adjourn, but no president has ever used that power
e. The President may call a special session of Congress or either of its houses alone
i. These are only supposed to deal with emergency situations (“extraordinary occasions”)
ii. There have been 26 emergency sessions, most recently in 1948
iii. The Senate has been convened separately on 46 occasions to consider treaties or appointments, most recently in 1933
iv. The House of Representatives has never been convened separately
II. The House of Representatives
A. The House of Representatives has 435 members
1. The exact number of representatives is fixed by law, not the Constitution
2. The Constitution (Art I, Sec 2, Clause 3) requires that the total number of representatives be apportioned (distributed) among the states on the basis of their respective populations
3. Every state is guaranteed at least one member in the House no matter how small its population
a. Seven states have just one representative
i. Alaska
ii. Delaware
iii. Montana
iv. North Dakota
v. South Dakota
vi. Vermont
vii. Wyoming
b. Several non-states elect non-voting members to sit in the House
i. District of Columbia elects a Delegate
ii. Guam elects a Delegate
iii. Virgin Islands elects a Delegate
iv. American Samoa elects a Delegate
v. Puerto Rico elects a Resident Commissioner
B. The Representatives’ term in office is only two years, making them extremely conscious of the voters’ desires
1. There is no limit on the number of terms a particular representative can serve
2. Efforts to impose term limits would require a Constitutional amendment (United States v. Thornton, 1995)
C. The Constitution requires reapportionment (reallocation) of seats based on the decennial census
1. For many years, Congress merely added additional seats to accommodate the growing population
a. 65 members, 1789-1793
b. 106 members, 1793-1803
c. 142 members, 1803-1813
d. 186 members, 1813-1823
e. 435 members in 1913
f. Congress briefly increased the number of seats in 1959 to accommodate the admission of Alaska and Hawaii
2. Congress decided it could not continue to grow after the 1920 Census, but could not make the politically painful choice to shift seats between states until 1929
3. The Reapportionment Act of 1929 set up automatic reapportionment
a. The Census Bureau determines how many seats a state will have based on its population
b. The Bureau’s plan becomes law 60 days after submission by the President provided neither House rejects it
4. Recently, states in the Midwest and Northeast (including Pennsylvania) have been losing seats to the faster growing states of the South and Southwest
D. Congressional Elections
1. The Constitution requires each state to permit citizens who vote for the more numerous branch of the state legislature to vote for Congress
2. The Constitution gives Congress the power to set the times, places, and manner of holding federal elections
3. Date
a. Congressional elections are held on the same day in every state
i. Alaska has the option of holding its elections separately, in October
ii. Alaska has never exercised its option
b. Election Day has been the Tuesday after the first Monday in November since 1872
c. Special elections to fill inter-term vacancies may be called by the state’s governor for another date
4. Place
a. There are 435 Congressional districts in the US, one for each member of the House
b. Until 1842 Congress let the states determine how they would elect their Congressmen
i. Some states favored the single-member district, much as we do today
ii. Other states used the general ticket system
1. All candidates for Congress appear on the same ballot
2. Each voter casts votes for a number of candidates equal to the state’s number of representatives
3. The top vote-getters win the seats
4. These at-large elections proved grossly unfair because a party with even just a small plurality could win all of the seats in Congress
c. Also in 1842, Congress required each state to draw the district lines so that they would be contiguous
d. In 1872 Congress required each state to ensure that the districts were roughly equal in population
e. In 1901 Congress demanded that the districts be as compact as possible
f. Many states disregarded the requirements of continuity, population equality, and compactness
g. Congress didn’t do much to enforce its requirements
h. The three requirements were left out of the Reapportionment Act of 1929
i. The Supreme Court ruled that the requirements had been repealed by that omission (Wood v. Broom)
5. Manner
a. Written or printed ballots have been required since 1872
b. Voting machines have been permitted since 1899
6. Off-Year Elections
a. Off-Year Elections are also called Midterm Elections because they are held halfway through the presidential term
b. The party in power (the party that holds the presidency) typically loses seats in off-year elections
c. This is particularly true in the sixth year of a two-term president’s tenure (so-called “Six Year Itch”)
E. Gerrymandering
1. Congressional district maps sometimes show districts of very peculiar shapes
2. These peculiar shapes are usually the result of efforts to draw districts that favor a particular political party or racial minority
a. Concentrating your opponents’ voters in a few districts leaves the rest to your party
b. Widely dispersing your opponents’ voters in many districts leave them uncompetitive in any
3. These districts often differed greatly on the basis of population until the Supreme Court began to enforce the “one man, one vote” principle behind the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause
a. Reynolds v. Sims (1964) The Supreme Court ruled that state legislative districts had to be apportioned on the basis of population equality
b. Wesberry v. Sanders (1964) The Supreme Court ruled that Georgia’s congressional districts had to be apportioned on the basis of population equality to comply with the spirit of the apportionment clauses of Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution
4. Gerrymandering solely on the basis of race is supposed to be unconstitutional because of the 15th Amendment (Gomillion v. Lightfoot, 1960)
a. The Supreme Court will allow race to be one of a mix of factors that shape districts, but not the controlling factor
b. The desire to create districts that guarantee minority representation in Congress now drives most of the racial gerrymandering, and does not look likely to fade away
F. Qualifications for House Members
1. Formal Qualifications – Article I, Section 2, Clause 2 of the Constitution
a. Must be at least 25 years old
b. Must have been a citizen of the United States for at least seven years
c. Must be an inhabitant of the state from which he is elected
2. Custom dictates that the representative must also live in the district he wishes to represent
3. The Constitution makes Congress judge of the qualifications of its own members (Article I, Section 5, Clause 1)
a. The House may refuse to admit a member by majority vote
i. Historically, the House has used this power to set additional qualifications for membership
ii. In 1900 it refused to admit Brigham H. Roberts because he was a polygamist
iii. In Powell v. McCormack, 1969, the Supreme Court ruled that the House could not exclude members-elect who met the formal qualifications
b. The House may expel a member by a two-thirds vote
i. Only five members have been expelled in the history of the House
ii. Most members resign rather than face expulsion
c. The House may reprimand members by a majority vote
4. Informal Qualifications
a. Additional expectations of voters can be considered informal qualifications
b. These vary from time to time and place to place
c. Examples may include party identification, name familiarity, gender, ethnicity, and political experience
III. The Senate
A. Considered the “upper house” in Congress
1. Nearly a third of Senators were formerly Representatives
2. No Representative was formerly a Senator
3. Senators represent larger constituencies than Representatives
4. Belonging to a smaller, more exclusive group, Senators with presidential ambitions find it easier to become nationally known
B. Size of the Senate
1. The Constitution states that the Senate shall be composed of two senators from each state
2. The Framers hoped that the smaller senate would be a more detached, enlightened body than the House
C. Election
1. The Constitution originally required Senators to be chosen by their state legislatures
2. The 17th Amendment has provided for the direct election of senators since 1913
3. Senate elections are staggered so that no state will have two senatorial elections in the same year unless they are filling a vacancy created by death, resignation, or expulsion
a. The 17th Amendment allows vacancies to be filled either by a special election called by the governor or by the governor’s appointment until the next general election
b. Most states use the appointment-election method to fill vacancies
D. Term
1. Senators serve for six year terms
2. The Senate is a continuous body
a. Only one third of its members are ever up for election at one time
b. The fact that only a minority is concerned about campaigning at one time was designed to insulate the Senate from popular passions
E. Qualifications for Senate
1. Must be at least 30 years old
2. Must have been a citizen of the US for at least nine years
3. Must be an inhabitant of the State from which he is elected
4. The Senate is the judge of the qualifications of its own members
a. The Senate may refuse to admit a member by majority vote
b. The Senate may expel a member by a two-thirds vote
i. Fifteen senators have been expelled
ii. William Blount of Tennessee was expelled in 1797 for conspiring to invade Florida
iii. Fourteen Southern senators were expelled during the Civil War
c. The Senate may punish its members for disorderly behavior by a majority vote
IV. The Members of Congress
A. Personal and Political Backgrounds
1. The 535 members of Congress are not a representative sample of the American people
2. The average member is a White male in his 50s
3. The House includes more women and minorities than the Senate
4. Most members claim some religion
a. Sixty percent are Protestant
b. Thirty percent are Roman Catholic
c. Six percent are Jewish
5. Nearly all are married, and only a few have ever divorced
6. Over a third of the House and half of the Senate are lawyers
7. Nearly all went to college, and most have advanced degrees
8. Most are upper middle class or wealthy
B. The Job
1. Members of Congress perform five major roles
2. Legislators – making laws
3. Representatives of their Constituents
a. Each lawmaker has potential roles to play
b. Trustees
i. Trustees vote on each question as dictated by their conscience and judgment
ii. Trustees do not attempt to follow the majority opinion of their constituents
c. Delegates
i. Delegates see themselves as agents of the people who elected them
ii. Delegates try to follow the majority opinion of their constituents
d. Partisans
i. Partisans try to follow the dictates of their political parties
ii. Most studies suggest this is the most important role on important issues
e. Politicos attempt to balance the other three roles
4. Committee Members
a. Congressmen deliberate on bills in committees before considering them as a whole
b. Most important legislative compromises and decisions are made in committee