Introducing 

Prezi AI.

Your new presentation assistant.

Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.

Loading…
Transcript

Dummies Guide to Congress

By Jack Morgan and Joaquin Zarazua

The House of Representatives

  • Size of the House : 435 Representatives with full voting rights. The number of voting representatives in the House is fixed by law with no more than 435. Six non voting members.
  • Formal Qualifications to become a House member: A representative must be at least 25 years old, a United States citizen for at least seven years and an inhabitant of the state he or she represents.
  • Terms for Representatives/when are they elected/term limits: Members of the House of Representatives serve two-year terms and are considered for reelection every even year. No term limits.

The House of Representatives

  • How are seats determined? Seats are determined by apportionment, the process of dividing the 435 memberships, or seats, in the House of Representatives among the 50 states. The Census Bureau conducts this process using Census every 10-year interval.

How are Seats Determined?

  • The power to initiate revenue bills
  • Power to impeach federal officials
  • Election of the President in the case of an Electoral College tie

Constitutional Powers of the House

Other interesting information

  • House of Rep Salary: 174,000
  • The House represents citizens based on district populations.
  • The speaker of the house is second in line for the Presidency.
  • The House of Representatives meets in the House Chamber in the United States Capitol.

The Senate

Size of the Senate

There are 100 Senators. Two senators from each state.

At least thirty years of age, U.S. citizenship for a minimum of nine years, and residency in the state a senator represents at the time of election.

Formal Qualifications needed to become a Senator

Senators are elected for six year terms. No term limits.

Terms for the Senators/Term Limits

When are Senators elected

The Constitution requires the Senate to be divided into three classes for the purpose of elections. Every two years the members of one class, or about one-third of the Senate, face election or reelection.

Congressional Powers of the Senate

1. They have the power to confirm those of the President's appointments that require consent

2. They have the power to ratify treaties (however, the House must also approve appointments to the Vice Presidency and any treaty that involves foreign trade)

Fun Facts

1. Senate Salary: 174,000

2. The Senate represents citizens equally across every state.

3. The longest serving member of the Senate is Robert C. Byrd who served for 51 years, 5 months, and 26 days

4. The House of Representatives meets in the Senate chamber in the United States Capitol.

Differences:

1. The Senate represents citizens in each state equally whereas the House of Representatives represents each state based on population.

2. The Senate has 100 members that have to be at least 30 whereas the House of Representatives has 435 members that have to be at least 25 years old.

3. Senate members serve 6 year terms whereas representatives of the House only serve two year terms.

Similarities:

1. Both Congress and the House of Representatives have a salary of 174,000.

2. Both Congress and the House of Representatives meet in the US Capitol in their respective chambers.

Differences and similarities between the House and Senate.

Colorado's Representatives

  • Who are the House Members that represent Colorado and what party and district do they represent? Diana DeGette represents the 1st district and the Democratic Party. Joe Neguse represents the 2nd district and the Democratic Party. Lauren Boebert represents the 3rd district and the Republican Party. Ken Buck represents the 4th district and the Republican Party. Doug Lamborn represents the 5th district and the Republican Party. Jason Crow represents the 6th district and the Democratic Party. Brittany Petterson represents the 7th district and the Democratic Party. Yadira Caraveo represents the 8th district and the Democratic Party.

Our House of Reps Member's Viewpoints

Our House of Reps Member's Viewpoints

1. Jason Crow supports access to abortion. He stated that, "Passing the Women's Health Protection Act will help ensure every person—regardless of who they are or where they live—is free to make the best health care decisions for themselves, their families, and their lives."

2. Jason Crow supports universal healthcare. He stated on his website that, “The Affordable Care Act increased coverage so that 90% of Americans can access health care, but we cannot settle for anything less than full coverage for all Americans. That’s why I believe that we must not only protect the hard-won gains of the ACA, but also work towards universal health care.”

Our Senators' Viewpoints

1. Michael Bennet

a. Michael Bennet supports access to abortion. He stated on his website that, “The intensely personal choice about whether or not to have an abortion should be made by a woman and her doctor – not politicians. If individual liberty means anything, it has to include the freedom of every woman, no matter where she lives, to make her own reproductive and health choices.”

b. Michael Bennet supports universal healthcare. It is stated on his website that, “Michael strives to make our nation's health care system work better for Coloradans. Michael believes every American should have an affordable, high-quality health care plan

2. John Hickenlooper

a. John Hickenlooper supports access to abortion. He states on his website that, “Republicans voted today to put politics between women and their doctors. We aren’t giving up; women’s rights must be protected.” after senate Republicans refused to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would codify Roe v. Wade into law.

b. John Hickenlooper supports universal healthcare. He states on his website that, “Everyone should have access to high-quality, affordable health care.”

United States Congress (118th Congress)

  • How many Democrats, Republicans, and Independents are in the House? How many in the Senate? In the Senate, there are 49 Republican seats, which is the minority party. There are 48 Democratic seats, which is the majority party, and three Independent seats. There are 223 Republicans in the House, and 213 Democrats.
  • How many males and females are in the House? How many in the Senate? There are 25 females in the Senate and 75 males in the Senate. There are 125 females in the House of Representatives and 310 males.

Ethnic and Religious Information

  • What different races, ethnicities are represented in Congress? A combined 133 individuals in the House and the Senate, today, identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian American, and American Indian or Alaska Native. The majority of racial and ethnic minority members in Congress are Democrats with 80% and 20% being Republicans. 75% of the members of Congress are white.
  • What different religions are represented in Congress? Christianity makes up 88% of the voting members of the 118th Congress with 469 of the members being Christian. The percentage of Christians in Congress is decreasing in recent years. With this decrease in the percent of Chrsitians we see an increase in percent of those stating they do not have religious affiliations.
  • Overall - is Congress becoming more demographically similar to the United States population? Why or why not?
  • Yes, because religion in the overall US is similar to the religious representation in the Senate. The US has 46% of people Protestant and the Senate has 56% Protestant. I think that Congress is demographically trending with the changes in the United States population. Although we still see higher averages of specific races and religions in Congress, the changes are similar to that seen in the U.S. population.

Pictures

  • Who are the current leaders of the House and Senate? Republican Congressman Mike Johnson has been elected Speaker of the House. House Majority Leader is Steve Scalise of Louisiana(Republican). House Minority Leader is Hakeem Jefferies of New York(Democratic).
  • The President Pro Tempore is Patty Murray. The Senate Majority Leader is Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York. The Senate Minority Leader is Republican Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Leaders

Current Legislation

Two pieces of legislation that have been proposed/passed:

1. Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act

2. H.Res.27 - Condemning attacks on health care facilities, health care personnel, and patients.

Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act

Who supports/supported this bill? Why do they support the bill?

The Democratic party of the House supports this bill. John Thune and James Lankford presented this bill on January 11, 2023, with a vote of 220 to 210. Thune stated that, “Babies who are born alive during a botched abortion should be given the same basic medical care that would be afforded to any other newborn. “This common-sense bill is a basic standard of decency, and it is an issue that should have overwhelming bipartisan support. I’m proud to lead this effort in the Senate against the injustices of abortion and infanticide, and I will continue to fight until we can ensure that every child is protected.”

Who opposes/opposed this bill? Why do they oppose this bill?

The opposition of this bill is primarily the republican party within the House of Representatives and the republican party of the Senate. They do not support this bill because they believe that abortion is wrong in general and that if a baby somehow survives an abortion, they should not be treated with basic medical care due to its origins of birth involving abortion.

What is your personal feeling on the passing of this bill?

I believe that the bill should not be the first priority when it comes to abortion rights but is a great step along the way for equal access to abortion through the United States of America.

Who supports/supported this bill? Why do they support the bill?

The Democratic party of the House supports this bill. Dian DeGette, a democrat out of Colorado, proposed this bill in order to condemn all acts of political violence, as well as attacks on health care facilities, health care personnel, and patients.

The resolution also states that all people should have the freedom to access reproductive health care services and medical advice without fear of violence, intimidation, or harassment. Finally, the resolution calls on the Biden Administration to use all appropriate authorities to uphold public safety, protect health care facilities, and safeguard health care personnel and patients. DeGette supports this bill because she believes that all citizens in the US should have healthcare no matter background, financial situation, or race.

Who opposes/opposed this bill? Why do they oppose this bill?

The opposition of this bill is primarily the republican party within the House of Representatives and the republican party of the Senate. They do not support this bill because they believe that an increase on universal healthcare will cost too much money.

What is your personal feeling on the passing of this bill?

I believe that the bill should be passed because it targets attacks on health care workers as well as healthcare access in general and is a great step towards true access to healthcare universally.

H.Res.27 - Condemning attacks on health care facilities, health care personnel, and patients.

Midterm Elections 2022 and Predictions for 2024

What party won the House of Representatives?

The Republicans won the house with 222 members compared to democrats 213 members.

What party won the Senate?

The Democrats won the Senate with 50 members (48 Democrat and 2 Independent) versus the Repulbican’s 50 members.

What impact has this had on President Biden and his agenda?

Biden’s impact on the retention of the democratic party win in the Senate has allowed him more power to his agenda with more support in the Senate.

What happened in Colorado?

Yadira Caraveo won the 8th district and she represents the Democratic Party. Jason Crow won the 6th district and he represents the Democratic Party. Democrat Adam Frisch conceded in the race for District 3. However, the race was much closer than expected. The incumbent Lauren Boebert was anticipated to win by a vast majority. 5 of the 8 politicians representing Colorado are democratic and are most commonly based in the cities of Colorado. 3 of the 8 politicians representing Colorado are Republican and are most commonly in rural areas of Colorado. On November 8, 2022, incumbent Democratic Senator, Michael Bennet, defeated Republican businessman, Joe O’Dea. He won reelection to a third full term.

Predictions

Predictions

1. Joe Biden will not be re-elected due to his majority consensus of disapproval and the new President will most likely be Trump despite his slight disapproval among the general population and major disapproval among the democratic party.

2. I predict that Joe Biden will lose the upcoming election due to his increasing disapproval and decreasing approval. I think this would result in Donald Trump once again becoming the president. I think that with this the Senate would be controlled by the Republican Party and the House of Representatives would be controlled by the Republican Party as well.

Learn more about creating dynamic, engaging presentations with Prezi