Bicameral Legislature: Requirements & Congressional Districts

The Bicameral Legislature - Requirements

• The Senate is referred to as the "Upper House" and the House is referred to as the "Lower House".
• The Senate has 100 members.
• The House has 435 members.
• The Senate has equal representation per state.
• The House has proportional representation.
• Senators serve 6 year terms.
• House members serve 4 year terms.
• 1/3 of Senators are elected every 2 years.
• All House members are elected every 2 years.
• The State is represented in the Senate.
• The District is represented in the House.

How Are Congressional Districts Created?

• The Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929 permanently set the maximum number of representatives at 435.
• Reapportionment is the process of reallocating all 435 seats in the House of Representatives based on population.
• Redistricting is the process of dividing states into districts.
• The states determine the boundaries of the districts; usually, the state legislature.
• Each district must have approximately the same number of people.
• Following the 2020 Census, Texas gained representatives, making the new total of US House Representatives 38.
• In Texas, 25 out of the 38 districts have a Republican representative.

119th Congress (Senate)

• There are 53 Democrats in the US Senate.
• There are 45 Republicans in the US Senate.
• There are 2 Independents in the US Senate.
• The Vice President votes in case of a tie and presides over the Senate.
• In the VP's absence, a President Pro Tempore will preside.
• At the beginning of each Congressional Session (every 2 years), party leaders are elected by a majority vote of all the senators of their party assembled in a conference or caucus.
• Ultimate power belongs to the Majority Leader, who acts as the party's spokesperson and makes decisions related to legislation and committee membership.
• John Thune is the current Senate Majority Leader.

119th Congress (House of Representatives)

• There are 215 Democrats in the House.
• There are 218 Republicans in the House.
• There are 2 vacancies.
• At the beginning of each Congressional Session (every 2 years), the House votes on the position of Speaker of the House.
• The Speaker of the House serves the role of presiding officer and administrative head of the House and leader of the majority party in the House.
• The Speaker assigns bills to committees and decides when a bill will be presented to the floor for a vote.
• Mike Johnson is the current Speaker of the House

Congressional Committees

• Congressional committees are small groups oriented around policy or procedural issues.
• Committees divide up the work of Congress.
• Committees exist in both the House and Senate.
• Committee membership and Chairs are determined by the majority party leadership.
• Party members who do not have a good relationship with their party leadership may not get the committee assignments they desire.

What Are Various Types of Committees?

• Standing Committees are permanent committees responsible for a particular policy area.
• The House Rules Committee determines how and when debate on a bill will take place.
• Select (special) Committees are committees appointed to deal with an issue or problem not suited to standing committees.
• Joint Committees are committees made up of members from the House and Senate.
• Conference Committees are formed to reconciled differences in the House and Senate versions of a bill.

Roles of Congress

• Congressional oversight refers to the efforts of Congress, through committees, to monitor agency rule-making, enforcement, and implementation of congressional policies.
• In 2024, House Committees are trying to investigate Hunter and Joe Biden for illegal business dealings.
• In 2021, Congressional Committees investigated the events of Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
• Mark Zuckerberg testified before committees regarding social media and privacy concerns in 2018.
• Impeachment is a formal charge by the House on the president (or other members of the executive branch) for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes, misdemeanors” which may result in removal from office.
• The House votes to impeach.
• The Senate votes to convict/acquit.
• Andrew Johnson (1868), Bill Clinton (1998), and Donald Trump (2019) were impeached.
• Nixon resigned before a full House vote on impeachment in 1974.