The members of Congress

1. The members of Congress

2. Who are these people? • House of Representatives • Average age of 57 • Average 9.1 years of service in House (4.6 terms) • 80 are women • 43 are African-American (34 Hispanic) • 247 Protestants (136 Catholic) • 9 are foreign born • Most have bachelor’s degrees • 90 are former educators of some sort • Business and law professions also dominate

3. Who are these people? • Senate • Average age of 62 • Average 10.2 years of service in Senate (1.7 terms) • 20 are women • 2 are African-American (4 Hispanic) • 52 are Protestant (27 Catholic) • 3 are foreign born • All but one have Bachelor’s degree • 55 have experience in Law • 42 list “Politics/Public Service” as their primary job • 51 served in the House before

4. What do they do? • Primary function of Congress is to make laws • Secondary function of congress is to represent the best interests of their constituents • These are often in conflict with each other • Five major roles of Congress • Legislators • Representatives of their constituents • Committee members • Servants to their constituents • Politicians

5. How do they represent us? • There are four ways they can do it • Trustee, Delegate, Partisan, Politico • Trustees: • Each vote is decided on merit • Are not influenced by constituents or other groups • Delegates: • They vote with their constituents in mind • They ignore their party and sometimes their own views

6. How do they represent us? • Partisans: • Allegiance is to their political party • Vote in line with the party platform • Partisanship is the leading factor in voting on “important” issues • Politicos: • Try to mix the other styles into one • Hard to do

7. What are committees? • Committees help to decide what proposed laws (bills) will make it to the floor • Committees also perform the congressional function of oversight • Making sure the executive branch is in line • We’ll come back to committees later

8. How are they servants? • Great question, Mr. Henry • Most often, they help people who have issued with the federal government (from their district) • Examples: • Issues with passports • Issues with benefits (Social Security) • Many representatives and senators receive up to 300 letters per day • Most are smart enough to give some sort of response • Don’t want to lose votes in the next election

9. What do they get paid? • Congress sets their own salaries • 27th Amendment says a change doesn’t take place until the next term • Current salaries in Congress: • Senators and Representatives: $174,000 • Speaker of the House: $223,500 • Majority and Minority Leaders: $193,400

10. They have other privileges? • Of course they do • A certain amount of immunity (civil) • Their rights of free speech are very protected • Protects them from libel and slander • Only speech arising in the course of their job • Idea is to promote and protect lively floor debate

11. What else do they get? • The real question is, what don’t they get? • Generous tax deductions • Travel allowances between their home state • Great insurance for cheap • Incredible retirement plans • Social Security and Medicare, as well • Offices in D.C. as well as at home • Franking privilege • Free printing • Fine dining in the Capitol • Gym membership • Free parking • Etc. etc. etc.