4. House Office Buildings Virtual Tour of the Senate Chamber The Well in the House Chamber Why TWO Houses? Senate Office Buildings Capit o l Hill House Wing Senate Wing
7. Key Functions of Congress Representation: expresses the diverse views of the American people Law Making: creates bills to address issues and solve problems in American society Consensus Building: reconciles competing interests Oversight: ensures that laws passed by Congress are effectively carried out by the executive branch Investigation: investigates government agencies, including the White House---impeachment Approval: confirms presidential appointees and treaties (Senate Only)
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18. Congressional Districts for PA http://www.govtrack.us/congress/findyourreps.xpd?state=PA Which congressional district are we in? So who is the Representative from OUR district??
21. Activity: Gerrymander Island You are part of the government of Gerrymander Island. You have taken the ten year census and found out how many people live on the island. Now you must REAPPORTION the island’s districts. There used to be five districts, now there are only four. YOU want to make sure the ____________(fill in your party here) party gets an advantage in every election for the next 10 years. To do so, you need to draw new district borders that will make sure YOUR party has more votes in each district than the other party. HOWEVER: a couple rules apply Districts must be contiguous – you can’t have an “island” from one district inside another. Each district must have approximately the same NUMBER of people in them.
22. D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D R R R R R R R R D D D R R R R R R R R D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R Gerrymander Island D=57 R= 54 D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
29. Filibuster A senator refuses to give up the floor in order to prevent a vote. If 60 senators vote to end a filibuster, a vote on the bill must be held within 30 hours. (cloture) Strom Thurmond (1957) 24 hours against civil rights legislation Huey Long filibustered on behalf of the poor Is the filibuster democratic? You tell me.
![The U.S. Congress: The People’s Branch ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)