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Inception- They needed to propose change from the Articles of Confederation, but they decided to throw them out the window and start over. They proposed the Virginia Plan (Proposed by James Madison), and the New Jersey plan (Proposed by William Patterson). Two different ideas for the new government. In the Virginia Plan, they wanted to give power to the large states. They gave more delegates in the Virginia Plan to the larger states. They did this in the lower house because the lower house. The Lower house represents all the people, which is why they will have more delegates there. The Upper house is the Senate and the Lower House is the Reps. In the Virginia Plan, the House of Reps will elect the Upper House (Senate). The New Jersey Plan, was the opposite. It wanted to protect small states. The New Jersey plan wanted a unicameral. Which had one house and every state had one vote. They decided to make the “Great Compromise” it was proposed by Roger Sherman. He combines these two to form a Bicameral legislature: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Reps is based on population. In the House of Reps, bigger states have a bigger influence. The senate, will allow two representatives from every state. All states have just as much of a say in the Senate. It also determined the length of terms for representatives and senators. In the original Great Compromise, they left it so that the House of Reps would elect the Senate. We later changed that to what we have now. They found out that there was a lot of corruption that was happening with it. We have Congress setup and ready to go. First Congress- They met in New York City in 1789. The next year in 1790, they went to Philadelphia. Then, finally in 1800, they went to Washington D.C. The House of Reps- The seats are filled based on population. Reapportionment takes place every ten years. The process in which decides on how many reps you have is called reapportionment. Every ten years there is a census so they get the population based on that. Congressional District is our entire state for South Dakota. For a state like California, they have 53 Congressional Districts, it’s based off your Representatives. Gerrymandering- drawing Congressional Districts to favor a political party. They cut out some votes that may be the opposite of what they want voted. Qualification for House Membership- Must be at least 25 years old. Must live in the state he or she represents. You also must have been a citizen for at least 7 years. Naturalization is the process of becoming a citizen of the United States. Those are the three qualifications. House Officers- The leader of the house is known as the Speaker of the House. The speaker of the house is generally whatever the majority party is in the house. US Representatives serve for two year terms and then they are up for re-election. Underneath the Speaker of the House is the Majority Floor Leader. This is the next most powerful person in the house. The majority floor leader are going to try and push bills that they want their party to be heard. The majority is just representing the majority party. They are pushing their platform. They want the speaker of the house to put these things out there so they get voted on. Under the Majority Floor Leader is the Majority Whip. The Majority Whip is figuring out where their party is going to vote on different issues. Standing Committees = Agriculture, Appropriation, Armed Services, The Budget, Education and the Work Force, Energy and Commerce, Financial Services, Government Reform, Homeland Security, House Administration, International Relations, The Judiciary, Resources, Rules, Science, Small Business, Standards of Official Conduct, Transportation and Infrastructure, Veterans Affairs, Ways and Means. Every representative must serve on at least 2 committees. Standing Committee- permanent committees that debate proposed bills, after they introduce a bill on the house floor they send it to the appropriate committee. Select Committees: temporary panels created to address a specific issue or situation. Committee chairmen- oversees the meetings, this person is determined by the most seniority, most people in republican and democrat. This chairmen decides several bills in each committee, decides when they will meet, and how its going to be presented to the rest of the house. The Senate – 2 senators for every state. 17thamendment- until the 17th amendment we didn’t vote for senators, so this made it so the people chose our senators, passed in 1913. The first 100 years, we let out state legislature elect our national senators. Senate is considered a “continuous body”. 1/3 of the Senate comes up for reelection every two years. Senators can run for reelection as often as they desire. Qualifications- at least 30 years old, live in the sate he or she represents, must have been a U.S. citizen for at least nine years. Sanate Officers- Vice President is the President of the senate, has one job and that is to break a tie when there is a vote. President Pro Tempore- comes from the majority party and person with the most seniority. Majority Floor Leader- has the most power and sets the agenda for the senate. Majority Whip- They are figuring out where their party is going to vote on different issues. Joint Committees and Conference Committees- Joint Committees deal with issues of concern to both houses of Congress. Most are temporary and they usually settle issues of the immediate future. (things coming up and needs to be settled) A conference committee: Created to reach a compromise on the wording of a bill that has passed both the House and the Senate. The senate can change the wording of a bill and passed it. If they change the wording, they have to form a compromise to have the same exact wording before they send it off to the president. Conference Committees are not temporary. Most of the time, the Conference committee include the most senior members of the House or Senate. Congressional Bills: Bills are named accordingly whether they originated in the House Resolution (HR), the Senate Resolution (SR), or the White House (WHR). They then receive a number. The number is the identification number of the bill. If it’s HR 408, then it is the 408th bill to be represented in the House. It is put on a calendar and schedule so they know when it is ready to be talked about. How a Bill Becomes a Law: Introduction to Committee- 1st: Introduced to the House or Senate 2nd: introduced to a committee 3rd: possibly sent to a subcommittee depending on importance 4th: Completed in the House or Senate. While in the committees, they have to vote what they are going to do with it.