House of Representatives in Congress
Chapter 5:
Congress: The Legislative Branch
Section 3:
The House of Representatives
(pg.137-142)
Membership in the
House
•
The Framers intended the
House of Reps. To be the
chamber most closely in
touch with the people.
•
The House was the only
part of the Federal Gov.
directly elected by the
people.
•
The House was to be kept
in check by the Senate
which was to be elected
by state legislatures.
House of Representatives: Terms,
Salary, Benefits, & Privileges
•
Term- 2 years
•
Salary for a member- $174,000
•
Salary for Majority & Minority
leaders $193,400
•
Salary for Speaker of the House
$193,400
•
Tax deduction for two residences
•
Travel allowances
•
Staff
•
Health and retirement
•
Franking privileges
•
Free printing
•
Use of gym, restaurants, and other
amenities in the Capital
•
Legal immunity for statement
made while Congress is in session
Formal & Informal Qualifications
•
Formal
•
25 years old
•
A U.S. Citizen for 7 years
•
A resident of the state he or
she represents
•
Congress can expel a sitting
member for any reason w/
two-thirds vote (5 times)
•
Informal
•
Appeal to voters
•
Military background
•
Being a lawyer or politician
•
Being famous (actors, athletes)
•
Ability to raise a lot of money,
in 2010 candidates for the
House spent $1.5 million
The First Woman Speaker Nancy Pelosi 2007-2011
Reapportionment & Redistricting
•
435 member with over 320
million people in the U.S., that
is an average of around
700,000 people per
representative
•
Every 10 years, the House must
undergo reapportionment, in
which seats are redistributed
among the states based on the
census
•
In 1929, Congress fixed the
number of seats in the House
to 435, which means that
states that add population get
more representatives and the
states that lose population lose
seats.
Redistricting
•
The Congress allows state
governments to draw the district
boundaries within their states.
•
Not surprisingly, the party in
power tends to draw the
boundaries to its political
advantage: this is called
gerrymandering.
•
Over the last 50 years the
Supreme Court has placed
restrictions on this practice. The
Court has tried to make one
person’s vote be worth as much as
another’s.
•
T/f the Court has ruled that
districts within a state should be
roughly equal.
•
Even so gerrymandering is still
alive today b/c the control of the
House is at stake.
Leadership in the House
•
The most powerful member is
the Speaker of the House. The
Speaker is elected from the
majority party.
•
The Speaker’s powers come
from House rules and
tradition.
•
The Speaker presides over
debates, recognizes speakers,
rules on points of order,
assigns bills to particular
committees, and the speaker
assigns members to certain
committees.
•
The Speaker of the House is
also 2
nd
in line of succession to
the presidency.
Speaker John Boehner 2011-2015
Other Leadership Posts
•
Each party also elects a floor
leader
•
The
floor leader
of the majority
party is called the
majority leader
& is the assistant to the Speaker
•
The floor leader of the minority
party is called the
minority leader
& acts as a spokesperson for the
minority
•
Both parties also elect
whips
.
Their job is to encourage fellow
party members to vote with their
party
•
Elections take place at the
beginning of the congressional
term at the
party caucus
, which is
a meeting of all the members
from a particular party.
Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy
House Rules
•
The House can issue a reprimand
or a stronger statement of House
disapproval of a member’s
actions is called a censure.
•
As noted before the House can
expel a member for almost any
reason.
•
The House also has a Rules
Committee, which acts as the
“traffic cop” for the House,
setting the rules for when, how,
and under what conditions
debate on a bill will take place.
•
The Rules Committee controls
how long debate can last on a
bill, t/f effecting the speed a bill
can be passed.
Chair of Rules Committee Pete Session R-TX
The Role of Committees
•
No member could possibly
have the knowledge needed
for all the topic that come
before the House t/f there are
Committees.
•
Standing Committees are
permanent committees that
address issues like
agriculture, the budget, &
armed services.
•
An example is the House
Committee on Ways and
Means, which deals w/ taxes
and other revenue raising
measures.
•
Standing Committees typically
have at least four
subcommittees.
Other Committees
•
The House sometimes creates
select committees to carry out
specific tasks not already covered
by existing committees such as
investigations. They usually only
serve for a limited time.
•
The House and Senate sometimes
form joint committees and they
address issues that affect both
chambers, ex. tax policy.
•
Each committee has a chair and the
chair comes from the majority
party. In the past the job went to
the most senior person on the
committee but now the chair can
only hold the post for six years.
•
Members of the House ask to be on
committees that effect their district
and each committee has their own
staff.
The House of Representatives, as a key part of the US Federal Government, serves as a direct link to the people. Explore its membership, terms, benefits, qualifications, reapportionment, and redistricting processes.
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Presentation Transcript
Chapter 5: Congress: The Legislative Branch Section 3: The House of Representatives (pg.137-142)
https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8183/8395638677_18aa761159.jpg Membership in the House The Framers intended the House of Reps. To be the chamber most closely in touch with the people. The House was the only part of the Federal Gov. directly elected by the people. The House was to be kept in check by the Senate which was to be elected by state legislatures. http://www.greenmanspage.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/U.S.-House-of-Representative.jpg
House of Representatives: Terms, Salary, Benefits, & Privileges Term- 2 years Salary for a member- $174,000 Salary for Majority & Minority leaders $193,400 Salary for Speaker of the House $193,400 Tax deduction for two residences Travel allowances Staff Health and retirement Franking privileges Free printing Use of gym, restaurants, and other amenities in the Capital Legal immunity for statement made while Congress is in session http://image.slidesharecdn.com/congress-chapter-11-100310232258-phpapp02/95/congress-chapter-11-52-728.jpg?cb=1268264472
Formal & Informal Qualifications Formal 25 years old A U.S. Citizen for 7 years A resident of the state he or she represents Congress can expel a sitting member for any reason w/ two-thirds vote (5 times) Informal Appeal to voters Military background Being a lawyer or politician Being famous (actors, athletes) Ability to raise a lot of money, in 2010 candidates for the House spent $1.5 million https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Speaker_Nancy_Pelosi.jpg The First Woman Speaker Nancy Pelosi 2007-2011
Reapportionment & Redistricting 435 member with over 320 million people in the U.S., that is an average of around 700,000 people per representative Every 10 years, the House must undergo reapportionment, in which seats are redistributed among the states based on the census In 1929, Congress fixed the number of seats in the House to 435, which means that states that add population get more representatives and the states that lose population lose seats. https://compliancecampaign.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/redistrictinggop.jpg
Redistricting The Congress allows state governments to draw the district boundaries within their states. Not surprisingly, the party in power tends to draw the boundaries to its political advantage: this is called gerrymandering. Over the last 50 years the Supreme Court has placed restrictions on this practice. The Court has tried to make one person s vote be worth as much as another s. T/f the Court has ruled that districts within a state should be roughly equal. Even so gerrymandering is still alive today b/c the control of the House is at stake. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/TravisCountyDistricts.png/800px-TravisCountyDistricts.png
Leadership in the House The most powerful member is the Speaker of the House. The Speaker is elected from the majority party. The Speaker s powers come from House rules and tradition. The Speaker presides over debates, recognizes speakers, rules on points of order, assigns bills to particular committees, and the speaker assigns members to certain committees. The Speaker of the House is also 2nd in line of succession to the presidency. http://1f0hrf3k9u4d4eiecjguy0r1bn5.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/ap-boehner.jpg Speaker John Boehner 2011-2015
Other Leadership Posts Each party also elects a floor leader The floor leader of the majority party is called the majority leader & is the assistant to the Speaker The floor leader of the minority party is called the minority leader & acts as a spokesperson for the minority Both parties also elect whips. Their job is to encourage fellow party members to vote with their party Elections take place at the beginning of the congressional term at the party caucus, which is a meeting of all the members from a particular party. http://a57.foxnews.com/media2.foxnews.com/thumbnails/i/062214/780/438/062214_FNS_McCarthy_640.jpg Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy
House Rules The House can issue a reprimand or a stronger statement of House disapproval of a member s actions is called a censure. As noted before the House can expel a member for almost any reason. The House also has a Rules Committee, which acts as the traffic cop for the House, setting the rules for when, how, and under what conditions debate on a bill will take place. The Rules Committee controls how long debate can last on a bill, t/f effecting the speed a bill can be passed. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Pete_Sessions.jpg Chair of Rules Committee Pete Session R-TX
The Role of Committees No member could possibly have the knowledge needed for all the topic that come before the House t/f there are Committees. Standing Committees are permanent committees that address issues like agriculture, the budget, & armed services. An example is the House Committee on Ways and Means, which deals w/ taxes and other revenue raising measures. Standing Committees typically have at least four subcommittees. http://image.slidesharecdn.com/congress-090326202847-phpapp01/95/congress-54-728.jpg?cb=1238099500
Other Committees The House sometimes creates select committees to carry out specific tasks not already covered by existing committees such as investigations. They usually only serve for a limited time. The House and Senate sometimes form joint committees and they address issues that affect both chambers, ex. tax policy. Each committee has a chair and the chair comes from the majority party. In the past the job went to the most senior person on the committee but now the chair can only hold the post for six years. Members of the House ask to be on committees that effect their district and each committee has their own staff. http://maprx.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/JSCDR-mockup.jpg
