How many
members of Congress are there?
There are 535 Members of Congress: 435 Representatives in the
House, usually called Congressmen or Congresswomen, and 100 Senators
in the Senate.
The House used to expand as the population of the country grew
until 1913, when it was set at the current number of 435. There have
always been two Senators for every state.
What
is the current split between Republicans and Democrats in Congress?
In the House, currently there are 229 Republicans, 205 Democrats,
and one Independent. In the Senate, there are 51 Republicans,
48 Democrats, and one Independent.
How
often do Members of Congress switch parties?
Not very often. In the last few years, only one Senator has
switched parties. Senator James Jeffords switched from being a
Republican to being an Independent aligned with the Democrats. In
the House, since January 1, 1999, one Republican became a Democrat
(Michael Forbes, NY, was who defeated for re-election in 2000) and
one Democrat became an Independent who later officially became a
Republican (Virgil Goode, VA, who was re-elected).
How
often are Representatives and Senators up for re-election?
All 435 House seats - Representatives or Congressmen/women -- are
up for election every two years (in even numbered years, 2002, 2004,
2006, etc.).
Senators are elected for six-year terms. Unlike the House where
everyone is up for re-election at the same time, every two years
about 1/3 of the Senators are up for re-election. In 2004, 34 seats
are up for election.
How many people do Congressmen/women and
Senators represent?
Members of the House each represent part of their state, a
Congressional District, which average about 600,000 people. There
are 100 Senators, two per state. Both represent the entire state.
This never changes.
The number of Representatives each state has is based on
population, but each state has at least one.
What's the biggest
difference between the House and the Senate in how they operate?
In the House, the party with the majority number of seats has the
power. The House conducts most of its important business by passing
rules bills. These are literally bills that determine how the
House will consider a bill. Because a rule requires only a
simple majority, the party with the most votes has the upper hand.
In the Senate, while the majority still enjoys a tremendous
advantage, any single Senator has immense power and can stop
anything on their own. As a result, the Senate conducts a great
amount of its business through something called unanimous consent
agreements. Everyone must agree or things can't move forward.
How
much do Representatives and Senators get paid?
The current salary is $155,100. The only exceptions are the
Speaker, who makes over $194,000 and the Majority and Minority
Leaders who make approximately $167,000.
Every year, Congressmen and Senators get an automatic "cost
of living adjustment" - a boost in their salary equal to
inflation - unless they vote to deny themselves the raise.
How much
do they get to spend on expenses?
Every member in the House and the Senate gets an allotment
(called a Members Representational Allowance in the House) which
they can use to hire and pay staff, buy office supplies, lease
office space in their home state or district, mail official
documents, answer mail, travel back and forth between Washington and
their home, and generally try to serve their constituents. The
amount each office gets is based on a formula, but generally it's
around $1 million. There are limits on how many people you can hire
(18 permanent, 4 part time) and on how much you can pay people (max
is $151,000). It varies from member to member, but most offices
spend the most on staff salaries, then mail, then office rent,
travel, supplies, etc.
Members are expressly prohibited from using their
taxpayer-financed office money for campaign activities, personal
expenses, or primarily social activities. Members also can't accept
support from private sources for their official duties (except for
travel).
Isn't Congress full of
attorneys?
There are quite a few attorneys in Congress. However, there
are also schoolteachers, scientists, doctors, talk-show hosts, and
farmers.
How does a bill become a law?
See our How a Bill Becomes a Law section.
Whenever
I turn on C-SPAN, it doesn't look like anyone is there? Why?
Visitors to the House Gallery or Viewers of C-SPAN are often
surprised to see that a majority of Members of the House are not
present during debate, speeches or other business conducted on the
floor.
There are several reasons that this situation exists. While
Representatives are required to be on the floor of the U.S. House in
order to cast their votes - which are collected and tallied
electronically - House rules allow for certain types of business to
be conducted with the consent of a majority of Members, even though
they may not be present for the entire process. This is often the
case when Members are allowed to speak in favor or against
legislation that may be voted upon at a later time.
Representatives must also spend time each week in committee
hearings or meetings and attending to other official duties which
may prevent their presence on the House floor. Legislation that is
voted upon by the House of Representatives must be approved, in most
instances, through the committee process before it can be considered
before the full body.
In addition to votes, you will see Members of both the Senate and
the House gathered in one chamber to listen to the President’s
annual State of the Union Address. Debate and discussion on major
events such as the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the
war in Iraq are also occasions where one is likely to see nearly
every Member of the House filling their respective seats.
Does
it make any difference if I email, write, or call Congresswoman
Berkley?
Yes, Contacting your representative makes a difference. Any form
of correspondence is an additional piece of information your Member
of Congress may use to make their decision when voting. With the
number of issues before Congress, your email, letter, or phone call
could be the only way that your Member knows how their constituency
feels about a particular issue.
Emails are the most preferable way of contacting the
Congresswoman. Since September 11th, it can take up to four weeks
for our office to receive mail, delaying the conveyance of your
opinions and concerns as well as our response. Emails are the
fastest and most efficient form of communication and are treated in
the same manner as "normal" mail.
For more information., see our Contact
Shelley section.
Why does
Congress use a Committee System?
Congress deals with too many things for individual Members of
Congress to debate everything, and so many things are
non-controversial that they don't need much time or debate. Every
year a member will vote about 600 times on dozens of issues. It's
impossible for any one person to know every issue in the detail that
is necessary to make an informed decision. The Committee System
helps members specialize in certain areas and gain expertise, while
still allowing the entire House or Senate to work its will.
What
committees does Rep. Berkley sit on?
Congresswoman Berkley sits on three committees:
Committee
on Transportation and Infrastructure
- Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
- Subcommittee on Aviation
Committee on
Veterans Affairs
Committee
on International Relations
- Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia
- Subcommittee on International Terrorism, Nonproliferation,
and Human Rights
How many
bills are introduced every year?
In 1999, there were 5,514 bills introduced in Congress (not
counting procedural and internal Congress housekeeping bills).
Almost 2000 in the Senate and about 3500 in the House. Less than 300
became law.
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