Chapter 10 Test Flashcards
How many officials make up the House of Representatives?
435
How long are representatives elected for?
2 year term
What does the House of Representatives reflect?
the size of each states population
What is each state divided into?
districts
What is each district allowed to elect?
its own representative
What is the leader of the House of representatives called?
Speaker of the house
How is the speaker of the house elected?
by a majority of party members in the house
What is the speakers of the houses job?
runs the house business
What are some of the tasks the speakers leads?
sessions, decides who speaks, calls for votes, places members of the house on communities
How often is a census taken?
every ten years
What happened to the house as the states grew?
more seats were added
What stopped the House from growing?
Reapportionment Act of 1929
What does at large mean?
that people can choose their representative from the whole state
How many states have only one district for the whole state?
7
What is a census?
a count of population
What is reapportionment?
to distribute differently
What is an off year election?
an election for congress that takes place between presidential election years
What is at large mean?
describes an election of a candidate by the whole state rather than a single district.
What’s Gerrymandering?
the drawing of district lines to the advantage of a party or group
What supreme court ruling put an end to states drawing boundaries to put votes in certain districts.
Westberry vs. Sanders
Why is gerrymandering done?
to help one party elect a number of representatives
What are the qualifications for House members?
Must be 25
must be citizens of US for 7 years
must be representatives of the state
How much of the senate once served in the house of representatives
over a third
How many senators did the First federal congress have?
26 senators
How many senators did each state get?
2
How many senators are serving today?
100
How many terms do senators serve for?
6 years
Why did the framers make the senate smaller?
it would be a more responsible body than the house
What do senators represent?
the entire state and need a range of knowledge to serve
what issues are senators concerned with?
matters that affect the entire country
what topics are senators interested in?
social security, national healthcare, international issues
What are the qualifications for senators?
must be 30
must be citizens for 9 years
must be residents of state
how many senate members can be elected at any one time?
1 third of the state
What is a continuous body?
one in which all the seats are never up for election at the same time.
what does expelled mean?
forced to leave
how many members of the senate have been expelled?
15
Who resigned in 1995?
Senator Bob Packwood
How many members are there in all of congress?
535 members
what is the average age of house members?
age of 55
What is the average age of senators?
age of 60
what is true about most members of congress?
They are well educated with college degrees
born ins states they represent
married and have families
more than half are lawyers
What have most congress members served as before being elected?
state officials, governors, cabinet members, members of federal agencies
What is a bill?
a suggested new law
What is a trustee?
a person who is given power to act for others
What is a partisan?
a person that votes by the party line
What is a politico?
a person that tries to balance being a delegate, trustee, and partisan
What is floor consideration?
the consideration of and action on a bill by the full membership of the house or senate
Who do senators and representatives work for?
the people who elect them
what is the most important job of senators and representatives?
voting
What are the four options congress has when casting a vote?
can vote as delegates of the people of their state
can vote as trustees according to personal opinion. can vote as partisans in line with the ideas of their party.
vote as a politico and combine their own views, opinions of people, and parties’ views.
When can a bill be acted on by the full membership?
only when it is chosen for floor consideration.
What’s franking privilege?
a benefit for members of Congress to mail letters and other materials for free.
who much are members of congress paid each year?
169,300 a year