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Congress Mind Map (Characteristics of Congress and Reelection (half of the…
Congress Mind Map
Characteristics of Congress and Reelection
half of the members of congress are lawyers
others come from other fields of business like banking or education
they used to always be white middle aged men, but its becoming more diverse now
it is now 19% women.
congress members rarely lose reelection
people dont like to challenge seats in congress because they think they will not have a chance at winning
people already in congress stay easily because they have unlimited networking possibilities
Qualification and terms of the U.S. Senate
senators must be at least 30
they must be citizens of the US for 9 years
they must be legal residents of the state they represent.
elections are in November during even numbered years
they have six year terms
one third of the senators run for reelection every 2 years
salary and benefits of congress
now salary is about $174,000
they get money for speeches
congress cannot give themselves raises
they receive stationary, postal services, medical clinic and their own gym.
they receive allowances to pay for staff trips, phones, and newsletters.
they are entitles to a tax deduction and have a generous 401K plan.
senate at work and senate leadership
all states are equal in the senate
each state has 2 senators no matter what
senators handle issues that are of specific interest of their committees
usually only a few senators attend sessions, unlike the house
the rules are very flexible and senators have maximum freedom of expression
the senate has no speaker, it labels the vice president as their president
representation and reapportionment
the census bureau takes a census every 10 years
reapportionment is when we have to change the number of representstives in each state.
states that lose population can lose representatives
HOR originally had 64 members and now has 435
rules of the house and house leadership
Thomas Jefferson created a rule manual for congress.
these are created to avoid angry confrontations
they can disagree but not question eachothers motives.
they are not allowed to criticize each other
they print their rules every 2 years
bicameral legislature
senators have 6 year terms and
representatives have 2 year terms
organization of congress
the house and the senate pass similar laws with small variations
formulates national policies
there is a senate and a house of representatives
Qualifications and Terms of the House of Representatives
every 2 years, all 435 members must run for reelection
representatives must be at least 25, be US citizens, and have lived in the US for the last 7 years
they live in the districts they represent
if a member dies, there is a special election to fill the vacancy
purpose and kinds of committees
The senate and house use committee rooms to craft a bill, consider bills proposed. Committees help ease the workload and are the key power centers in congress.
A standing committee is a permanent group to oversee bills that dealt with certain kinds of issues.
A subcommittee is a different little part of a big committee. Each subcommittee specializes in a subcategory of its standing committees standing.
Select committees are temporary committees that study one specific issue and report their findings to senate or the house.
A joint committee can be permanent or temporary and is made up of both members of senate and the house. This committee would ask as a study group and then report back.
A conference committee is a temporary committee that is set up when the house and senate have passed different versions of a bill.