18.1 - The Structure of Congress

Question 1

What does bicameral mean?

Answer 1

A legislature consisting of two chambers.

Question 2

What does popular sovereignty mean?

Answer 2

The principle that all government authority is derived from the consent of the people being governed, who are the source of political power. This power is most commonly given to the people at election time.

Question 3

What are the two houses of Congress?

Answer 3

The House of Representatives
The Senate

Question 4

Why was the House of Representatives directly elected, and the Senate (initially) appointed?

Answer 4

Due to the Great Compromise.

The House represents popular sovereignty, and the Senate was supposed to act as a safeguard against that in case the people got it blatantly wrong.

Question 5

Why is the Senate no longer appointed?

Answer 5

The 17th Amendment 1913.

There was major concern that big industrial monopolies were controlling state legislatures to appoint senators.

Question 6

What is the total membership of the House of Representatives?

Answer 6

435, with 6 non-voting membership (Washington DC and US protectorates like Guam)

Question 7

What is the term length of the House members?

Answer 7

2 years.

Question 8

What is the term length of Senators?

Answer 8

6 years.

Question 9

How many members are there per state in the House?

Answer 9

It’s reflective of the population in each state. California has 53 members as there are 40 million people living there. 7 states only have 1 member as their populations are below 1 million.

Question 10

What are the key leadership roles in the House?

Answer 10

• Speaker of the House (elected by the whole house from the majority party, also third in line to succeed President)
• Majority and minority leaders
• Majority and minority whips

Question 11

What are the key leadership roles in the Senate?

Answer 11

• Vice-President (the Constitution states that they preside over the Senate, and can vote, but only in a tie)
• President pro-tempore (generally the most senior member of the majority party)
• Majority and minority leaders

Question 12

What election system do federal governmnet elections use?

Answer 12

FPTP

Question 13

What are midterm elections?

Answer 13

When congressional elections take place during a president’s term.

Question 14

What is an incumbent?

Answer 14

The person who currently holds political office. Usually refers to president, Senators or House reps.

Question 15

How much does it cost to win a Senate seat now?

Answer 15

$10.4 million in 2016, up 25% from 2014.

Question 16

How much does it cost to win a House seat now?

Answer 16

> $1 million.

Question 17

What is the difference in fundraising between incumbents and challengers?

Answer 17

In 2016, incumbent Senators raised an average of $12.7 million against $1.6 million for challengers.

Question 18

Why does the difference in fundraising actually matter?

Answer 18

The incumbent Senators have greater name recognition, which they can use to raise more money, which they can spend to increase their name recognition via ads etc., which allows them to raise more money etc. etc.

Question 19

Why does incumbency matter in the Senate?

Answer 19

• You raise an average of 10x more than challengers.
• You are given an official government website to expound on policy beliefs, demonstrate political success and influence etc.
• A clear way for constituents to contact you.
• ‘Franking privilges’ (Congress pays to send mail to constituents)

Question 20

Why does incumbency matter in the House?

Answer 20

• Raise more than challengers.
• You are given an official government website to expound on policy beliefs, demonstrate political success and influence etc.
• A clear way for constituents to contact you.
• ‘Franking privilges’ (Congress pays to send mail to constituents)
• Gerrymandering

Question 21

What is gerrymandering?

Answer 21

The shaping of congressional districts to give one party a political advantage.

Question 22

Why does gerrymandering help in House re-election?

Answer 22

Congressional districtsa are drawn by each state. The party controlling the state legislature has the ability to redraw constituency boundaries every 10 years, after each census. Drawing boundaries like this produces very few swing seats, advantaging the incumbent.

Question 23

What has been the average incumbency rate in the House from the 110th Congress to 115th?

Answer 23

92.5%

Question 24

What has been the average incumbency rate in the Senate from the 110th Congress to 115th?

Answer 24

85.3%

Question 25

What is a Class I, II or III Senator?

Answer 25

Refers to the year in which their seat will be up for re-election.

Question 26

How many seats are up for re-election every two years?

Answer 26

~33.

Question 27

Why did the Founding Fathers introduce 6 year terms?

Answer 27

To prevent Senators gaining too much power and influence. (At the time it was an appointed body)

Question 28

How often was there a divided government from 1901 to 1969?

Answer 28

21%.

Question 29

How often has there been a divided government from 1969 until today?

Answer 29

72%.