United States Congress

The House of Representatives

Overview

• Examine the House of representatives and
its membership

• Determine how the House of Representatives
operates

• Vocab

 Apportioned

 Census

Who Votes? Who Counts?

What type of democracy do we have in the United States? REPRESENTATIVE

 Citizens elect officials to make public

policies that reflect the will and needs of
the people

 Each state gets a number of
representatives in Congress, but not
all states get an equal number of
representatives.

Because each representatives vote counts, the
states with more reps have more power and a
louder “voice” in Congress.

Congressional
Representation

Which state should send the most representatives to
Congress?

Remember, the Framers struggled with
determining representation in Congress
House of Representatives is the chamber in Congress
where representation is determined by population.

​Who should get the most representatives? Second most? Third most? The least?

Most -

2nd Most -

2nd Fewest -

Fewest -

People vote, not land

Qualifications to be a member of the U.S. House of Representatives

• Remember - Framers wanted the House of Representatives to be responsive to the popular will of the people, rather than the broader interests of the state.

• What are the qualifications to be a member?

 25 years of age

 U.S. citizen for no less than 7 years

 A legal resident of the state where you’re elected

• Term?

 2-year terms and run for re-election every other year.

 Congressional elections take place in every even-numbered year on the first Tuesday after November 1st

 In each congressional election, every seat in the House is up for grabs.

 Members need to be responsive to their constituents.

Elections and
Incumbents

 Off-year elections/midterm elections- congressional
elections that occur in years when there is no
presidential race

 Can be more difficult for candidates who belong to the
same political party as the U.S. president.

 Voters tend to participate in off-year elections in lower
numbers than they do in presidential election years.

Size of the House of Representatives

•The Constitution requires that the House’s seats be distributed, or apportioned, among the states on the basis of their total population.

•This is determined every 10 years by the U.S. census.

House of
Representatives,
2010 Census
Reapportionment

Size of the House of Representatives

•Constitution requires that
the House’s seats
be apportioned,
or distributed, among the
states on the basis of their
total population.

•Determined every 10 years
by the U.S. census.

House of
Representatives,
2020 Census
Reapportionment

Source: https://www.house.gov/leadership

X

How the
House
Operates

Multiple Choice

Who determines how debate occurs in the House?

• The President

• The minority leader

• The Rules Committee

Multiple Choice

What group/person controls most of what happens in the House of Representatives?

• The majority party

• The majority whip

• The minority party

Multiple Choice

Who is considered the most influential person in the House and possibly the government outside the president?

• Speaker of the House

• Vice President

• Minority Leader

Speaker of the
House
Removed
10/3/2023

'say' something: Make a
comment or observation,
Ask a Question, Make a
connection, or Make a
prediction

How did this
happen?

What is a
motion to
vacate?

 "WASHINGTON — In his bid to become speaker of the House, Rep.
Kevin McCarthy agreed to a number of concessions to secure the
support of Republicans who originally opposed him. One was a rule
change to allow just a single member to try to force him from office.

 Under the new House rules passed Monday, only one member of Congress
— Democrat or Republican — is needed to bring a "motion to vacate,"
which forces a vote on removing the speaker. That would need only a
simple majority of the House to pass to oust McCarthy."

 The Constitution says nothing about ousting a speaker. In fact, “The
House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker,” is the only
mention of the top job in the entire document. What the Constitution
does say is that the House makes its own rules.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/speaker-of-the-house-ousted-motion-to-vacate-rcna64902

If you were a voting-age citizen today –how would these actions
impact your trust in government to do what's right?

% of Americans who say they trust the government to do what is right just about always/most of the time

Pennsylvania's 18 Representatives

Pennsylvania's 18 Representatives

District Map of Pa

Why do
some
districts
appear
bigger?

Why do some districts appear bigger?

People vote, not land

Who is your representative?

•Please go to https://www.house.gov/
•Look in the top right hand corner and locate Find Your Representative
•Please enter your zip code to find your U.S. House Representative
•On the next slide, in the pear deck, please report the following:

•The name of your representative
•What party your representative belongs to
•What congressional district you are located in.

Homepage | house.gov

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Who is YOUR Representative

 The name of your representative

 What party your representative belongs to

 What congressional district you are located in

Upcoming

Tomorrow

• Wednesday: Gerrymandering and Reapportionment

Senate

•Thursday: Federalism Review

• Friday : Federal and State Powers

Why do some districts appear bigger?