Name ______

Better Know a Senator

Members

Click on the tab labeled “Members” and then click “Senate” to view the map of Senators. Choose a senator that you will research for the assignment.

  1. Identify the person you are researching: ______
  2. What state are they in? ______
  3. What party are they in? ______

Biography

Go to “Official Bio” and “Official Website” (under their picture) to find out more about their personal biography.

  1. What year was the Senator first elected to the Senate? ______
  2. What jobs did the Senator have before they were elected? ______
  3. What college(s) did the Senator go to? ______
  4. What family does the Senator have? ______
  5. What is another interesting fact about the Senator’s personal life? ______
  6. What is the Senator’s Twitter handle? ______
  7. What is their Twitter feed mostly about? ______

Committees

At the bottom of the page, look at “Committees” to see the committees your Senator serves on in the 114th Congress.

  1. On how many committees does the individual serve? ______
  2. List three committees on which the individual serves:
  3. Based on the title of the committee (or by researching further), what issues do you think your Senator cares most about or knows most about?

Votes

Look at the “Votes” section to see the most recent votes for your Congress member for the 114th Congress. Click “See Votes>” for more information.

  1. How many times did your Senator vote? ______
  2. How many did he/she vote against the majority of their party? ______What were these bills about? ______
  3. Click “See Votes>” and look at the right side showing the party votes. On most votes, did the Republicans and Democrats vote along party lines or was it mixed? Explain. ______

Bills

Look at “Bills” to see the most recent bills sponsored by your Congress member for the 114th Congress. Then click “See Bills>” for more information.

  1. What is a bill? ______

______

  1. How many bills has your Congress member sponsored this year? ______
  2. How many bills passed? ______
  3. Read through the bills sponsored by the individual. Write down the topics of three that you find interesting/think is important.
  4. Do the bills your Congress member sponsored have anything to do with the committees on which he/she is serving? Explain. ______

Issues

Go to the Senator’s official website. Find where they describe their views on certain issues.

  1. What are the issues listed on the website? These are ones they feel most strongly about. ______
  2. Choose one issue to read more about. Describe what your Senator thinks about the issue. ______
  3. What laws are they trying to pass about the issue? ______
  4. Do you agree or disagree with the Senator on the issue? Why? ______

Evaluation

  1. Would you vote for this individual for Congress? Explain why or why not using the information you learned about their core issues, work on committees, voting record, and bill sponsorship.

______