10.4 Flashcards
(30 cards)
WHat is the average member of congress like? (age, race wise)
He is a white male in his late 50s.
What is the median age of the members of the House? Senate?
It is just over 58 for the house and 64 for the Senate
How many women are there are in the House?
there are 78 Women in the house and 17 in the SEnate
What are other ethnic groups that are present in Congress?
42 African Americs, 25 Hispanics, Seven Asian Americans, One Native American
What is the marital/religious status of all the members of Congress?
Nearly all are married (some are divorced), some form of Christianity, 10 are Jewish, 2 are Buddhist, and 2 MUslim
What are five roles that members of both houses of Congress play?
- Legislators
- Representatives of their constituents
- Committee Members
- Servents of their own Constituents
- Politicians
How can each law maker vote?
- Delegate
- Trustee
- Partisan
- Politico
The four voting options for the lawmakers…what question do they answer
How are the lawmakers representing the people?
Delegates are…
they seem themselves as the angents of the people who elected them. They believe that they should discover what their constituents think about an issue and vote that way.
Often willing to suppress their own views and ignore their own party’s leadership
Trustees believe
that each question they face must be decided on its merits. Conscience and judgement are their guides. They call issues as they see them,regardless of views held by the majority of the constituents
Partisans
Believe that they owe a first alleigance to their political party. They feel duty bound to caste their votes in line with party platform
Politicos
attempt to combine the basic elements of the delegate, trustee, and partisan roles. THey try to balance these factors: their own views/nation’s/constituents
What are bills?
They are propsed laws
As committee members, what must senators and representatives do?
They have to screen the proposals. They decide in committee which measures will go on floor consideration
What is the oversight functions>
The process by which COngress, through it’s committees checks to see that executive branch agencies are carrying out the policies that Congress set by law
How are members of the house and the senate servents of their constituents?
They try to help people in various dealings with the federal bureaucracy. These can include a social security benefits, a passport application, a small business loan, etc.
What do most members know about requests?
They could loose votes
How much are senators and represetatives paied?
174000
HOw much is the Speaker of the House paid?
223500
How much is the Vice President paid?
227300
Speakers on the floor recieve how much
193400
What ar fringe benefits?
Each member has a special tax deduction. That deduction recognizes the fact that most members of Congress must maintain two residences
What are other benefits that Congressmen have?
They pay small amounts of life and health insurance, and for outpatient care by medical staff. they can get full medical care at very low rates at any military hospital. THey also have a very generous retirment plan.
The retirement lan from Congress is based on what?
It is based on how many years of service a person has put in. They can retire with an income of 15000 or more a year
