representing the people section 3. key terms franking privilege: the right of senators and...
TRANSCRIPT
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Representing the People
Section 3
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Key Terms
• Franking Privilege: The right of senators and representatives to send job-related mail without paying postage
• Lobbyist: Representative of an interest group who contacts lawmakers or other government officials directly to influence policy making
• Casework: The work that a lawmaker does to help constituents with a problem
• Pork-Barrel Project: Government projects and grants that primarily benefit the home district or state
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Requirements and Benefits of Congress
• Legal qualifications:
Constitution
• Senator: 30 yrs old– Live in state you represent
– U.S. citizen 9 yrs
• House of Reps: 25 yrs old– Live in state you represent
– U.S. citizen 7 yrs
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Requirements and Benefits of Congress
• Salary for Congress:– $165,200 (`07)
• Senators and reps.
Free– Office space
– Parking
– Trips to home states
– Franking privilege
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Congressional Staff: Behind The Scenes Helpers
• Congress: Full-time job
• Need help with workloads– Hire staff of clerks,
secretaries, and special assistants
• Personal Staff
• Committee Staff
• Support Services
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Personal Staff
• Gather info. on new bills and issues that will be discussed in Congress
• Write speeches
• Arrange meetings
• Deal with reporters
• Deal with lobbyist
• Work for reelection
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Personal Staff
• Members of Congress also hire students from home state or district to serve as pages or interns
• Interns: help with research and office duties
• Pages: deliver messages and run errands
• Gives them first-hand look at political process
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Committee Staff
• Congressional Committees need staff
• Every Committee and Subcommittee as staff members
• Many have knowledge about special topics– Taxes– Military defense– Health care
• Member duties:– Draft bills– Gather info.– Organize committee hearings– Negotiate with lobbyists
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Support Services
• Congress has created agencies to support its work:– Library of Congress
• One of largest libraries in world
– Congressional Research Service
• Looks up facts
• Creates arguments for and against proposed bills
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Support Services
– General Accounting Office• Reviews spending of
federal agencies• Studies federal programs• Recommends ways to
improve govt. spending
– Congressional Budget Office
• Provides info. And analysis for making budget decisions
• Estimates costs and economic effects of programs
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Members of Congress at Work
• Sessions begin Jan. 3rd– Continue throughout year
• Members represent the people of their state or district• Members perform 3 major jobs:
1. Lawmaking2. Casework3. Helping the District of State
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Lawmaking
• Most known task of Congress
• Write and introduce bills
• Committee work
• Listen to input of people on bills
• Vote
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Casework
• Members of Congress perform Casework– Requests come by mail or e-mail– Congress gets 80,000 e-mails daily– Some offices average 10,000 requests for help yearly
• Most requests are handled by Congress person’s staff
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Helping the District or State
• Members need to protect the interest of their state or district
• Securing projects and grant money– Billions of $$$$ yearly
• Post offices• Dams• Military bases• Veteran’s hospitals• Mass transit • Contracts to make things• etc..
• Pork-Barrel Projects
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Homework
• Worksheets #71-74