The Organization of Congress

Congressional Membership

113th U.S. Congress• Jan. 3, 2013 – Jan. 2015• Each term of Congress has 2 sessions

(years)• Bicameral

House of Representatives

435 members voting members

25 years of age

At least 7 years a citizen

Resident of the state

2 year term (no limit)

Senate

100 members

30 years of age

At least 9 years a citizen

Resident of the state

6 year term (no limit)

House of Representatives

Each state has a minimum of 1 elected Representative

Additional seats for a state is based upon apportionment

1 seat= 711,000 in population on average across the nation

OHIO HAS 16 SEATS

Senate

Each state has 2 elected Senators

Each Senator represents the whole state in its

entirety.

Jim Renacci (OH 16th R) Rob Portman (R) Sherrod Brown (D)

Non-voting members in HRNon-voting members in HR

• Puerto Rico - 1901Puerto Rico - 1901• District of Columbia – 1970District of Columbia – 1970• Guam – 1972Guam – 1972• U.S. Virgin Islands – 1972U.S. Virgin Islands – 1972• American Samoan Islands – 1978American Samoan Islands – 1978• Northern Mariana Islands - 2009Northern Mariana Islands - 2009

House of RepresentativesHouse of Representatives• Directly elected by popular vote• All seats elected at the same time• Special duties include:

–Initiates all revenue bills $$$–Charges for impeachment–Selects President if there is no

majority winner or a tie in the electoral vote.

SenateSenate

• Originally selected by state legislatures; changed with 17th amendment- direct election by popular vote (1913)

• 33% or 34% of seats elected every 2 yrs (staggered terms)

• Special duties include:– Ratifies treaties and Presidential appointments– Votes for removal of office in impeachment

cases– Selects the Veep if there is no majority winner

or a tie in the electoral vote.

Congressional SalariesCongressional Salaries • Current salary is $174,000$174,000• No honoraria $$honoraria $$ allowed to be collected • 2727thth amendment amendment added in 1992 prohibits

a sitting Congress from giving itself an immediate pay raise. Any increase in salary will take effect afterafter an intervening election.

Websites Members of CongressWebsites Members of Congress

• http://renacci.house.gov/http://renacci.house.gov/• http://www.brown.senate.gov/http://www.brown.senate.gov/• http://www.portman.senate.gov/public/http://www.portman.senate.gov/public/

Characteristics of Congress• 535 votingvoting members• Occupations- lawyers,

public service/politics, business, banking, education

• Typically white, middle-aged males• Average age is over 50 • Slowly beginning to reflect the racial,

ethnic and gender diversity of the nation (descriptive representation).

• Article from Ch 11 Packet…

Leadership of Congress

House Senate*Speaker *Vice President*Majority Leader *Pres. Pro Tempore*Minority Leader *Majority Leader*Majority Whip *Minority Leader*Minority Whip *Majority Whip

*Minority Whip

House of Representatives

Presiding Officer is the Speaker of the House

Selected by majority party members of HR & is after

the VP in line of succession to the presidency

Rep. John Boehner (R) OHRep. John Boehner (R) OH

SenatePresiding Officer is the VP

(when in attendance). VP can only vote to break a tie!President Pro Tempore is the presiding officer when VP is

absent & is selected by members of the Senate

Pro Temp is after the Speaker in the succession to the presidency

VP Joe Biden (D)VP Joe Biden (D)

Sen. Patrick Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT)Leahy (D-VT)

Speaker of the HouseSpeaker of the House

Can influence proceedings by deciding which members to recognize first – Appoints the members of some committees– Schedules bills for action– Refers bills to the proper House

committee

House LeadersHouse Leaders The Speaker’s top assistant is the

Majority LeaderMajority Leader who helps plan the party’s legislative program, steer important bills through the House, and make sure the chairpersons of the many committees finish work on bills important to the party.

Eric Cantor (R) VA Eric Cantor (R) VA Majority LeaderMajority Leader

• Majority/Minority Leaders have help from the WhipsWhips who serve as assistant floor leaders

• Whips try to know how party members intend to vote on bills, persuade them to vote as the party wishes and push for party members to be present to vote

Nancy Pelosi (D) Nancy Pelosi (D) Minority Leader of HRMinority Leader of HR

Minority Party LeadersMinority Party Leaders exist in both chambers to organize the opposing party’s positions and steer and negotiate legislation.

Minority Whip Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D) MDSteny Hoyer (D) MD

Majority Whip Kevin Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R) CAMcCarthy (R) CA

The Senate Majority LeaderSenate Majority Leader is responsible for guiding bills through the Senate; the Minority LeaderMinority Leader develops the criticisms of majority party bills and tries to keep the opposition party members working together.

Senate LeadersSenate Leaders

Harry Reid (D) NEVHarry Reid (D) NEV

Majority Leader of Majority Leader of SenateSenate

Mitch McConnell (R) KY Mitch McConnell (R) KY

Minority Leader of Minority Leader of SenateSenate

Senate Whips Senate Whips

Senate Majority Whip Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D) ILDick Durbin (D) IL

Senate Minority Whip Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R) AZJon Kyl (R) AZ

Congressional Codes of EthicsCongressional Codes of EthicsCongress has a number of ways of dealing with the

misconduct of its members…• ReprimandReprimand = a public statement of displeasure about a

member’s behavior/action. This requires a simple majority vote (51%) by the members.

• CensureCensure = a written condemnation stating strong disapproval with the behavior/action. This requires a simple majority vote by the members.

• ExpulsionExpulsion = to remove from office. This requires a 2/3rds vote by the members.

The House of Reps has only expelled 5 members; the most recent was in 2002 with James Traficant (D-OH)

The Senate has expelled 15 members (14 of them removed during the Civil War because they sided

with the Confederacy).

Congressional Apportionment 2012

Congressional Redistricting• One congressional district for each

Representative of the House. • Redistricting- the process of setting up new

district lines after reapportionment has been completed

• State legislatures are responsible for the redistricting. Can become a problem if redrawn to benefit an incumbent of one or both parties (gerrymandering).

Timeline for Redistricting• Census begins April 1, 2020• President receives population counts from Census Bureau by

December 31, 2020 and informs Congress (Census Bureau in Executive Branch)

• Congress determines which states gain/lose seats based on census counts by the first week of January 2021

• The House of Reps informs the states by the end of January 2021• State Legislatures receive Census Bureau info by April 1, 2021• States redistrict in time for the November 2022 elections• November 2022 all seats of the House of Representatives are on

the ballot• January 2023 each district per state sends their Reps to D.C. to

begin the new term of Congress

Census 2010: What is reapportionment? - USATODAY.com

http://youtu.be/RUCnb5_HZc0

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/

Gerrymandering• State legislatures have

abused their power when they divide the state into districts unfairly

• Gerrymandering!! Unethical and illegal!

• The political party controlling the state government draws the district boundaries to gain an advantage“Gerry-Meander”

1812 political cartoon

2 Ways Gerrymandering Can Occur2 Ways Gerrymandering Can Occur

The essence of a partisan gerrymander is The essence of a partisan gerrymander is manipulating district lines around a set of voters that manipulating district lines around a set of voters that will elect your party's candidate. The two tactics used will elect your party's candidate. The two tactics used in gerrymandering are in gerrymandering are "cracking" and "packing"cracking" and "packing..

• Cracking:Cracking:Spreading like-minded voters apart across multiple Spreading like-minded voters apart across multiple districts to districts to dilutedilute their voting power in each. This their voting power in each. This denies the group representation in multiple districtsdenies the group representation in multiple districts..

• Packing:Packing:ConcentratingConcentrating like-minded voters together in one like-minded voters together in one district to reduce their voting power in other districts. district to reduce their voting power in other districts. This gives the group representation in a single district This gives the group representation in a single district while denying them representation across districtswhile denying them representation across districts.

Gerrymandering

Cracking Spreading like-minded

voters apart across multiple districts to dilute their voting

power in each

Packing Concentrating like-minded

voters together in one district to reduce their voting power in

other districts

The “rabbit on a skateboard” district…. Drawn in Illinois 2011

Is it a contiguous and compact district????

Supreme Court CasesSupreme Court Cases• Baker v. Carr (1962)

– US Supreme Court ruled that federal courts can rule on disputes over the drawing of district boundaries (it is not just the state’s power!)

• Wesberry v. Sanders (1964) – Ruled that the Constitution intended that a vote in

one district should be worth just as much as a vote in another district (“one person, one vote”)

– “Malapportionment” is not democratic2012 maps = 711,000 people per district please!!!

Racial Gerrymandering• The concept of favoring descriptive

representation was evident in a series of cases ruled upon by SCOTUS to allow for some racial districting. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was amended in 1982 by Congress to encourage the states to draw districts that concentrated minorities together for a better chance to win seats.

• Shaw v. Reno (1993) says states can take race into account… as long as it was not the “dominant and controlling” factor.

Reelection to Congress• Since 1950 more than 90% of all incumbents

in the House won reelection. Senate elections have been more competitive but still have high reelection rates

• In some elections, many seats go unchallenged because opponents know that they would have little or no chance of winning.

Ralph Regula had 18 terms!!

Incumbency Effect• Incumbents remain protected by the redistricting

process; gerrymandering may protect them or the dominant party.

• Name recognition, largely through media exposure, contributes to voters’ familiarity with the incumbent. Business mailings using the franking privilege also helps.

• Casework for constituents also provides for electoral advantage for the incumbent

• Incumbents have an advantage with PAC’s and interest groups who raise campaign funds for them because they are familiar with what the incumbent supports

All members of Congress live in two worlds…

In Washington, D.C. they spend time In Washington, D.C. they spend time dealing with the great issues of national dealing with the great issues of national concern. But they also spend much of concern. But they also spend much of their time traveling back to their district their time traveling back to their district or state, where they meet with or state, where they meet with constituents and deal with local constituents and deal with local concerns.concerns.