1.

Structure of Congress

structure of
congress
Key facts and terminology:
● Each representative = about 700,000 people
● Bicameral - two chambers
● Divided government - the party in control of the executive branch and the
legislative branch are two entirely separate parties.
● Gridlock - the situation that arises when legislation faces difficulties in being passed
due to different party control in the legislature or executive.

House of Representatives Senate

435 voting congress- Total membership 100 senators with the vice
(wo)men, plus six non-voting president casting the
members including the deciding vote in the event of
member for Washington DC a tie.
and those representing the
American protectorates such
as Guam.

Reflective of the population Number per state 2 senators, the longer-

of each state, in the 115th serving senator from a state
congress, seven states have is referred to as the ‘senior
only one member as their senator’ and the shorter
populations are 1 million serving as a ‘junior senator’.
people or fewer.
California has the most
members, with 53 members
and a population of 40
million.

Congressional district, as Constituency Each senator represents the

drawn by the state whole state
government and redrawn
every 10 years after the
census.

The whole house is up for
election every two years.
There is no limit for the
number of terms that can be
served
Term length Each senator serves six
years, with one-third of the
senators up for election
every two years. Senators
are known as Class I, II or III
with each ‘class’ up for
election at the same time. In
2022, all class III senators
were up for election. There
is no limit for the number of
terms that can be served

1
 1. Structure of Congress

● Speaker of the Key leadership roles ● Vice president

house (elected by (preside over the
whole house from senate)
majority party) ● President pro
● Majority and minority tempore
leaders ● Majority and minority
● Majority and minority leaders
whips

Election cycles
Congressional elections take place every two years in November. All members of the House
are on the ballot but only one-third of the senators, so the party majority in either chamber
can change every two years.
Some congressional elections take place at the same time as the presidential election,
however midterm elections take place in the middle of a presidential term and occur every
four years.

1. What are midterm elections?

● These elections are for Congress - the House of Representatives and the Senate.
● They are held every two years and when they land in the middle of the president's
four-year term of office, they are called the midterms.
● Congress makes national laws. The House decides which laws are voted on while
the Senate can block or approve them, confirm appointments made by the president
and, more rarely, conduct any investigations against him.
● Each state has two senators, who sit for six-year terms. Representatives serve for
two years, and represent smaller districts.
● All the seats in the House of Representatives go up for election in November,
alongside one-third of the Senate.
● Several major states also have elections for their governor and local officials.

2. What is meant by divided government and what are the implications?

● A divided government is a type of government in presidential systems, when the
party in control of the executive branch and the legislative branch are two entirely
separate parties.
● In semi-presidential systems, divided government is when the executive branch itself
is split between two parties - congress and senate are different parties
● The former can also occur in parliamentary systems but is often not relevant since if
the executive does not satisfy or comply with the demands of parliament, parliament
can force the executive to resign via a motion of no confidence.
● Such separations encourage more policing of those in power by the opposition, as
well as limiting spending and the expansion of undesirable laws. Opponents,
however, argue that divided governments become lethargic, leading to many
gridlocks.

3. What is the make-up of the Senate and the House in 2023?

● 118th Congress
● 100 senators
● 435 representatives

2
 1. Structure of Congress

● 6 non-voting delegates
● HoR
○ 221 Republicans (plus 2 Delegates and the Resident Commissioner of Puerto
Rico)
○ 213 Democrats (plus 3 Delegates)
○ 2 vacant seats
● Senate
○ 49 Republicans
○ 48 Democrats
○ 3 Independents, who all caucus with the Democrats.

4. What qualifications are needed to become a member of Congress?

● James Madison, one of the Founding Fathers, said about members of the House of
Representatives: "...the door of this part of the federal government is open to merit of
every description, whether native or adoptive, whether young or old, and without
regard to poverty or wealth, or to any particular profession of religious faith."
● HoR
○ Be 25 years of age or older
○ Be a citizen of the United States for at least seven years
○ Reside in the state which he or she wants to represent
○ No educational requirements and no particular professional experience are
mandated
○ There are no racial or gender restrictions
○ It's not even necessary to have a clean record; someone with a criminal past
can serve in the House of Representatives as readily as anyone else – at
least, in principle.
● Senate
○ Be 30 years of age or older
○ Be a citizen of the United States for at least nine years
○ Reside in the state which he or she wants to represent
● Typically, congress(wo)men:
○ are 57.8 years old in the House and 61.8 in the Senate
○ Has a college degree
○ Had a distinguished career as a public servant or politician prior to joining
Congress or as a successful business person or in the legal profession.
Another route to a Congressional seat is through a career in education.

The ‘squad’ of congresswomen

Ilhan Omar ○ won a Minnesota seat in the House of Representatives becoming the first
Somali-American legislator in the US.
○ The 37-year-old mother of three is one of the first of three Muslim women ever
elected to the US Congress.
○ Before her election to Congress, she served in Minnesota's state legislature,
making her the then highest elected Somali-American public official in the US.
○ Shortly after her election, she drew praise for fighting to change a 181-year
ban on headwear in the House, allowing her to wear a hijab for her oath of

3
 1. Structure of Congress

office.
○ She was forced to apologise for a series of antisemitic tweets that suggested
that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac) was buying influence
for pro-Israel policies.
○ She came under fire from Republicans again for comments on 9/11 that
Democrats said were taken out of context.
○ A clip of Ms Omar apparently describing 9/11 as "some people did something"
began circulating online from a point she made about the treatment of US
Muslims in the aftermath of the attacks.

Alexandria ○ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, often referred to as AOC, defeated political veteran

Ocasio Cortez Joe Crowley in their party's primary in a New York district.
○ The 29-year-old went on to beat Republican candidate Anthony Pappas,
becoming the youngest ever US congresswoman.
○ She was born in the Bronx, New York to parents of Puerto Rican descent.
○ She has a degree in economics and international relations from Boston
University, and worked as a community organiser, educator and bartender
before deciding to run for office.
○ Ms Ocasio-Cortez has not shied away from the spotlight, frequently taking to
social media to hit back at Republicans, members of the media and other
critics on a range of issues including immigration, poverty and race.
○ She has earned a reputation for her impassioned testimonies at congressional
hearings, which are often re-circulated among her nearly five million Twitter
followers.
○ She has been particularly vocal in her push for environmental policy, serving
as one of the sponsors of the Green New Deal resolution, which calls upon the
US to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions along with other goals.
○ Ms Ocasio-Cortez has also been outspoken in her criticism of the president,
saying there is "no question" that Mr Trump is racist.
○ And she recently accused Ms Pelosi of "singling out" new congresswomen of
colour following a number of clashes over their policy stances.

Rashida Tlaib ○ The Michigan Democrat is the first Palestinian-American woman to serve in
Congress.
○ Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Ms Tlaib is the daughter of Palestinian
immigrant parents. Her grandmother still lives in the West Bank.
○ She was sworn into office wearing a traditional Palestinian garment stitched by
her mother.
○ Ms Tlaib also joined Ms Omar as one of the first two Muslim women ever
elected to serve in Congress.
○ The eldest of 14 siblings, Ms Tlaib became the first member of her family to
graduate from high school, and then from college and law school.
○ Since assuming office, Ms Tlaib has been an outspoken critic of the president.
She courted controversy when she used explicit language when calling for the
president's impeachment.
○ Ms Tlaib was unapologetic about the furore incited by her remark, tweeting that
she would "always speak truth to power".

4
 1. Structure of Congress

○ After his twitter storm, she said Mr Trump was "the biggest bully I've ever had
to deal with in my lifetime", and said his attacks were a "distraction" from her
job of representing people in her congressional district.

Ayanna ○ Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, 45, is the first African-American woman to

Pressley be elected to the US Congress from Massachusetts.
○ Born in Cincinnati and raised in Ohio, Ms Pressley is the only child of a single
mother.
○ After attending Boston University, she served as a senior aide to Congressman
Joseph P Kennedy II, and worked for Senator John Kerry for 13 years.
○ Her own political career began in 2009 when she waged a successful bid for a
seat on Boston City Council, becoming the first woman of colour elected to the
council in its 100-year history.
○ Similar to Ms Ocasio-Cortez, Ms Pressley's election to the US Congress
involved a major political upset: she unseated 10-term Democratic
congressman Michael Capuano in their party's primary.
○ Ms Pressley has been a vocal advocate of abortion rights, pushing to repeal an
amendment that prevents Medicaid from covering abortions for low-income
Americans.
○ A survivor of sexual violence, Ms Pressley has also spoken up for better
protections for assault victims, writing on her website that "the people closest
to the pain should be closest to the power".
○ She said she could not call Mr Trump the president, only the "occupant" of the
White House.
○ "He does not embody the principles, the responsibility, the grace, the integrity
of a true president," she told CBS.

How representative is Congress?

Characteristic In Congress In population

Male 72% 49%

Female 28% 51%

White 74% 59%

Black 11% 14%

Hispanic 10% 19%

Asian 3% 6%

Native American 1% 1%

Christian 88% 63%

Jewish 6% 2%

Unaffiliated 0.2% 29%

5
 1. Structure of Congress

Democrats Republican

Men 59% 85%

White 59% 89%

Christian 76% 99%

2023 1983

House of Representatives 58 49

Senate 64 54
- Third oldest congress ever had

Concurrent powers (eg. passing laws, taxing, spending)

● refers to powers that are happening at the same time at two different levels of
government: the state government and the federal government.
● During the Revolutionary War, the newly-formed Congress passed the Articles of
Confederation
● Under the Articles, the United States operated as a Confederation, meaning that all
of the original 13 colonies became independent states that formed a union.
● Each state government maintained its original powers, while the federal government
was given a few powers like the ability to declare war and sign treaties.

6
 1. Structure of Congress

● However, the country quickly experienced major problems under the Articles of
Confederation.
● The federal government didn't have any authority to tax people so the debts from the
war piled up to a crisis point.
● The states were also disputing things like slavery and who should own the land to the
west, but the federal government didn't have enough power or influence to manage
the conflict.
● The newly created Constitution sought to address some of these issues.
● The Constitution created a federalist type of government, which meant that instead of
a loose union of independent states, the country would now be united under a strong
central government.
● However, before the war, each colony had operated independently.
● Now that they were states and had their independence, many of them didn't want to
give up that power to a central government.
● So they created a style of government called dual federalism, which created a strong
government while giving the states their own powers.

Exclusive powers (foreign affairs, etc.)

● The exclusive powers definition states that these are powers wielded by either the
federal or state governments.
● Exclusive powers cannot be used concurrently by either government.
● The exclusive powers of the federal government include not only all power over
foreign affairs but also certain domestic powers that affect the whole country. Not all
of the powers granted to the federal government by the Constitution are exclusive in
character; some may be exercised concurrently and independently by both state and
federal governments, or may be exercised by the states until Congress acts.
● The Constitution makes clear the exclusive character of some powers by explicitly
prohibiting the states from exercising them (such as the treaty power). In some other
cases, the courts have held the grant to be exclusive when the subject of the power
is national in character or requires one uniform system or plan. In some cases the
states, with the express permission of Congress, may exercise an exclusive power of
the national government.
● The states also possess exclusive powers. Because the Constitution establishes a
government of limited powers, any domestic governmental power not granted to the
federal government by the Constitution and not prohibited by it to the states remains
an exclusive power of the state government.
● Within the federal government a power may be possessed exclusively by one of the
three branches of government. The separation of powers implies that each branch of
government has its exclusive sphere of power, which it can independently exercise
and from which the other branches are excluded. In theory the legislative power,
executive power, and judicial power each belong exclusively to one branch of
government. This exclusive power is compatible with the influence of other branches
over some part of its exercise. Only Congress may legislate, but legislation may be
affected by the President's veto power and the power of the courts to declare
statutes unconstitutional. Powers not explicitly granted to one branch have been
found by the courts to belong exclusively to Congress, the President, or the courts
when they are in their nature exclusively legislative, executive, or judicial.