Week 4- Constitutional: Congress

Directions: View the video below (rough transcript provided) and then take the 10-question quiz. There is no time limit and you may attempt the quiz up to two times. Your highest score will be recorded.

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Talking Points

• Congress is a bicameral (two chambers) legislature.  Why?

• Framers wanted to avoid a concentration of power in a single institution

• Framers made the Great Compromise to balance between large and small populated states

• Congress is considered the “first branch” of government.  Why?

• Framers were skeptical of giving one person too much power; preferred the power should be with the People’s representatives

• Most of the nation’s early political struggles (slavery, tariffs, business regulation, admitting new states) were played out in Congress

• Congress dominated over the presidency until the 20th century

• Membership

• Now, let’s talk about the members of Congress.

• The House of Representatives has 435 members. They are allocated to states based on population size. In Florida, we have 27 representatives. In North Dakota, they only have 3.

• The Senate has 100. Remember: each state is allocated to seats in the Senate. We have 50 states, so 50 times 2 equals 100.

• Please don’t be that person who thinks that we have 52 states. We don’t. We have 50. Hawaii and Alaska are included in the 50. So we don’t have 104 Senators. We have 100. Got it?

• Moving on, our current Congress is notable in that it is the most diverse to date. 535 members of Congress, a record 101 (or 18 percent) are women.

• 44 (or 8 percent) are African Americans; 38 (or 7 percent) are Hispanic or Latino; and 7 are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender.

• And, this is interesting, only 108 (or 20 percent) have ever served in the military, which reflect a steady decline in recent decades in veteran members of Congress.

• Incumbency

• Prior to 1950, many legislators served only one term

• Since then, Congress has become a career, with very low turnover

• Most House districts are safe (elected w/55% + of the vote); Senate seats are less secure

• Gerrymandering has helped make House districts safe

• Incumbents have advantages

• Name recognition

• High media coverage

• Claim credit for projects or funding brought to a state or district (pork)

• Casework staff (helping constituents)

• “Everyone loves their Congressman, but hates Congress” – Ralph Nader

• In what ways is Congress organized? Congress is not a single organization, but a collection of organizations by which legislative business is carried out and through which its members form alliances.  It is important to remember that in Congress, being the majority part (particularly if it is by a wide margin) means power.  The majority party in each chamber controls the leadership positions, the legislative agenda and the committees.

• Committees

• Each chamber of Congress has its own committees, which is where the hard and serious work of Congress is accomplished

• Committees consider bills, maintain oversight of the executive agencies, conduct investigations

• The majority party has the majority of seats on the committees and elects the chair

• Chairmen are usually the most senior members of the committee

• The ratio of Democrats to Republicans on a committee corresponds to their ratio in the House or Senate