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Chapter 10 Congress
Why Was Congress Created?
The founders of the American Constitution believed that the bulk of government power should be in the
hands of the legislative branch. The large and small state division at the constitutional convention
created a bicameral Congress, with one house, the House of Representatives, based on population and
the other, the Senate, based on equality. A significant difference between the institutions is a two-year
term for Representatives in the House and a six-year term for Senators.
House-Senate Differences
Congress is composed of two very different but coequal chambers. The House is much larger at 435
members. The Senate has 100 members, with each of the fifty states having two members. The major
differences between the House and Senate are presented in Table 11-1. The hefty size of the House of
Representatives requires the Rules Committee to impose considerable procedural requirements and
limited debate. The Senate allows unlimited debate, which sometimes gives rise to the filibuster, a
delaying tactic designed to block legislation. The Senate, with its smaller size and impressive slate of
constitutional powers, is considered the more prestigious of the institutions.
Congressional Elections
The process of electing members of Congress varies according to the election laws of each state. Many
congressional candidates are self-recruited and have ties to the local district. In recent years, the costs
of campaigns have greatly escalated. Congressional elections may be influenced in presidential election
years by the coattail effect. However, midterm elections frequently go against the congressional
candidates from the presidents party. Incumbents, those who occupy the seat in Congress, enjoy
enormous advantages and usually parlay those benefits into reelection. The incumbent can take
advantage of name recognition, claim credit for government programs that benefit the constituents, and
usually have more money than their challengers. In spite of the advantage of incumbency, voters
occasionally grow disenchanted with incumbents and replace them with challengers from the other
party. This happened in 1994 as voters swept the Democratic majority in Congress out of power and
again in 2006 as the Republicans lost control of both the House and Senate.
Congressional Apportionment
After the census is conducted every ten years, the seats in the House must be reallocated according to
the latest population figures, a process called reapportionment. The state legislatures will redistrict or
redraw the political boundaries to match the changes that have occurred in population. Legislatures
have not always carried out this responsibility in a fair and acceptable manner. In Baker v. Carr (1962),
the Supreme Court ruled that this matter could be reviewed by the court and that the legislatures had to
use the principle of one person, one vote to redistrict. Even though the issue is reviewable by the
judiciary, nevertheless the Supreme Court has been reluctant to become involved in these matters.
Thus, gerrymandering, the drawing of legislative lines for partisan advantage, continues.