The U.S. Congress

The United States Congress is composed 535 elected representatives who travel to Washington D.C. to meet in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives

where they make laws and address the greatest issues facing our nation.

The Framer’s IntentionsThe Framers, or the writers, of the United States Constitution wanted the members of the House

of Representatives to be well known by the people in their congressional district and also be focused on working to meet the needs of and solve the problems faced by their districts

constituents.

TermRepresentatives were given a term of office of only two years so that the people had numerous chances to judge their performance.

Congressional DistrictsRepresentatives only represent a congressional district which allows them to be focused on meeting the needs and wants of a smaller group of constituents.

The United StatesSenate

100 elected representatives in the United States Senate

Each of the 50 states receive 2 senators

Each representative is elected to serve a six year term and can be reelected as many times as they chose to run.

Senators are placed into one of three classes upon being elected.

One class of senators comes up for reelection every 2 years so that only about a third of the senators can be replaced in any given election.

The Framer’s IntentionsThe Framers, or the writers, of the United States Constitution wanted the members of the United

States Senate to act as a check on democracy and add a level of stability to the federal government.

TermSenators were given a term of 6 years, 2 years longer than a presidential term, in order relieve them of the constant worry of trying to get reelected.

ElectionsOriginally Senators were chosen by the state legislature, but a constitutional amendment changed this to a popular election

ConstituentsSenators represent the entire state and not simply a small group of constituents.

Qualifications of Senators

• Must live in state• Must be at least 30 • Needs to be a citizen for at least 9 years

Majority Party Minority Party

51 Democratic Senators 47 Republican Senators

2 IndependentsSen. Joseph Lieberman (Conn)

Sen. Carl Levin (VT)

President of the SenateJoe Biden (D)

Votes in case of tie otherwise has little

influence

President pro Tempore

(D)President for the

time

The Speaker of the HouseThe Speaker of the House is the most powerful leader in the House of Representatives and is almost always a highly experienced member of

the majority party.The Speaker is allowed to set the agenda of the House, and can by an large decide what

pieces of legislation will be debated on the House floor and how it will be debated.

The Powers of PersuasionThe Speaker often relies on talking to members of the House, doing favors, and getting favors in return.

“The world is full of little things you can do

for people.”Former Speaker of the House

Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill

The members of the House “shall choose their speaker and

other officers.”

Majority Party Minority Party

241 Republican Representatives 193 Democratic Senators

Party CaucusChooses Candidate

The entire membership of the

U.S. House of Representatives must

approve choice.

Qualifications for House

• Must be at least 25• Must live in District that you represent• Must be a citizen for at least 7 years

• Wisconsin District 3 Representative Ron Kind

• District 2 Representative

Mark Pocan

Harry Reid

Senate Whip

Richard Durbin

Mitch McConnell

Senate Whip

Jon Kyl

Nancy Pelosi

House Whip

Steny Hoyer

Eric Cantor

House Whip

Kevin McCarthy

The Floor LeadersThe most powerful members of the House of Representatives and Senate, beyond the

Speaker of the House, would be the party leaders or floor leaders and the “Whips” who assist them.

Senate and House leaders speak for their parties on issues, and use their “Whips” to push bills along, and try and sway votes by gather opinions of party members and

pushing members to vote a certain way.

Jobs in Congress

• Speaker of the House: Presiding officer of the H of R.

• President Pro Tempore: Presides over the Senate when VP is absent

• Majority Party: Party with more members• Minority Party: Party with fewer members

Jobs in Congress

• Floor Leaders: Chief officers in each party. Responsible for guiding bills through congress.

• Whips: Assist floor leaders