The Legislative Branch

House of Representatives

• Members

• Terms

• Leaders

• Qualifications

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Senate

• Members
• Terms
• Leaders
• Qualifications

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• Salary and Benefits
• Congressional Committees
  

Members

• 435
  

• Based on size of the state

Terms

• 2 years
  

Leaders

• Speaker of the House

            - Always a member of the majority party (The                                 political party with the most seats)
            - Voted to the position by party members

• Majority Leader

            - Spokesperson for their party
            - Guide party favored bills through Congress

• Minority Leader

            - Same job as Majority Leader

• Majority Whip
  

            - Makes sure that party members vote the                                        way the party wants them to

• Minority Whip
  

            - Same job a Majority Whip

Qualifications

According to the Constitution, Representatives must:

• Be 25 years old
• Have been a U.S. citizen for 7 years
• Live in the district they are running in
  

Members

• 100
• 2 from each state
  

Terms

• 6 years
  

Leaders

• President of the Senate

            - Vice President of the U.S.
            - Only gets to vote when there is a tie

• President Pro Tempore

            -Longest serving member (not necessarily the oldest)
            - Presides over the Senate when the President is                             absent

• Majority Leader
  

            - Same job as in the House

• Minority Leader
  

            - Same job as in the House

Qualifications

According to the Constitution, members of the Senate must:

• Be 30 years old
• Have been a citizen for 9 years
• Live in the state they are running in
  

Salary and Benefits

• Congress sets their own salary

• Right now they are paid around $176,000 every year

On top of their salary, Congress members enjoy other benefits:

• Private gym membership
• Free medical care
• Cannot be arrested at, on the way to, or on the way home from work
• Cannot be sued for what they say in Congress
• Franking Privilege - Do not have to pay for postage
• Free travel home and abroad
• Retirement plan of $46,000 a year
• Discounted haircuts
  

Congressional Committees

Standing Committees - Permanent committees within the Senate and the House
                - House=22
                - Senate=16
Sub Committees - Standing Committee broken down even smaller
                - EX: The Standing Committee of Agriculture has a sub committee called                     "Dairy Farming".
Select Committees - Temporary committees that deal with specific issues
                - EX: A Select Committee was formed for only 7 days when Missouri                                                                                                                             wanted to become a state.
Joint Committees - Made up of people from the House and the Senate
Conference Committee - Joint Committee put together when the Senate and House pass similar bills
                - Their job is to reach a compromise between the two bills
                - Usually end up adding to the bill

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