By Phyllis Naegeli /
1 When the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution, they envisioned that the Legislative Branch would be the foundation of the government. There was a great deal of discussion and arguing over its structure. Eventually, the Great Compromise was reached dividing Congress into two houses - the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate was created to satisfy the demands of the smaller states for equal representation among the states. The House, with its membership based on population, was formed to satisfy the larger states who wanted equal representation for its citizens.
2 The Senate is the upper house of Congress and has one hundred members - two from each state. Senators serve six-year terms and must be thirty years old, have been a citizen of the United States for nine years, and must be a resident of the state where they were elected. Every two years, one-third of the Senate comes up for re-election. These rotating elections help to maintain stability in this more distinguished house of Congress.
3 The vice-president is the president of the Senate. As president of the Senate, the vice-president decides who will speak to the Senate and casts a deciding vote when a tie occurs. However, the vice-president is not a member of the Senate and does not participate in debates about bills. The true leadership in the Senate is held by the floor leaders. Each of the two political parties has a leader. The majority leader is appointed from the party holding the most seats in this house of Congress. He or she works with the minority leader to set the agenda for the Senate. In addition, each party also has whips who assist the leaders by informing other members of the Senate about upcoming bills and encouraging their party members on how to vote for particular bills.
4 The House of Representatives is the lower house of Congress. Representatives serve two-year terms and must be 25 years old, have been a citizen of the United States for seven years, and must be a resident of the state where they were elected. Every two years the entire House of Representatives is up for election. Representatives must be careful to be the voice of the people for their state. The shorter term gives their constituents the opportunity to vote out a representative who does not follow their wishes.
5 The House has a capped number of four hundred and thirty five members. Every ten years, the government takes a census to apportion representatives based on current population. State leaders form districts in each state based on the census results and each district is allotted one representative. No matter how small their population may be, every state receives at least one representative.
6 The Leader of the House of Representatives is the Speaker of the House. The person chosen for this position is a member of the majority party in the House. The Speaker holds several significant powers including deciding who will speak during a debate, sending bills to committees, and making procedural decisions. The Speaker is assisted by the majority leader who helps to get bills to the proper committees and guide these bills to the House floor for debate. Meanwhile, the minority leaders organize the opposition to the majority party's agenda.
7 Whips in the house assist the leaders by keeping other Representatives informed, tallying expected votes on bills, and pressuring members to vote in certain ways. In the House, it is rare to call for a vote on a bill without knowing the outcome. This keeps the whips busy discussing bills and persuading other Representatives to follow the wishes of their leaders.
8 Many hours of planning went into setting up the Congress of the United States. Formed as the foundation to our government, it is the representative body for the citizens of our nation. Its bicameral structure helps to give equal representation to all.
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Two Houses of Congress
1. / What did The Great Compromise decide?The three branches of government
The age requirement for Senators
The location of the country's capital city
The division of the Congress into two houses
/ 2. / Whose demands for equal representation did the Senate satisfy?
The northern states
The southern states
The larger states
The smaller states
3. / Who is the true leader of the Senate?
The minority whip
The majority leader
The vice-president
The Speaker of the House
/ 4. / Which house of Congress is called the upper house?
5. / Who chooses the Speaker of the House?
The president
The majority leader in the Senate
The vice-president
The majority party in the House
/ 6. / Every two years the entire Senate is up for re-election.
False
True
7. / Senators and Representatives must be citizens of the states they represent.
False
True
/ 8. / How is the allotment of the four hundred thirty-five seats in the House of Representatives determined?
By a government census performed every year
By the president
By a government census performed every ten years
By dividing the states into districts
Name ______/ / Date ______
Two Houses of Congress
Why do you think the two houses of Congress are called the upper and lower houses?
In order to serve in Congress a person must be a citizen of the United States for a certain number of years. Why do you think this is important?
Do you think the elastic clause gives too much power to the Congress? Why or why not?
Two Houses of Congress
Why would the president meet with Congressional leaders before vetoing a bill? Why do you think it is important for the president to do this?
Two Houses of Congress
Why do you think the House has such strict rules for debating bills? Explain your answer.
Two Houses of Congress
Do you have an idea for a law? Write a letter to your congressional representative explaining your idea and why it should be a law.
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9 / / / / / 10 / / / / / / / / /
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/ / / / / 12 / / / / / / / / /
FILIBUSTER / CONSTITUENTS / ELASTICCLAUSE / CLOTURE
IMPEACHMENT / CONGRESS / MILITARY / DEBATE
FISCAL / CENSUS / TABLED / VETO
WHIP
Down
1. / presidential rejection of a bill passed by Congress
3. / the process of openly discussing a bill in Congress
5. / the process of bringing charges against a government official in order to remove them from office
6. / the debating of a bill by one Senator to delay a vote on a bill
8. / a formal calculation of the population in a country
/ Across
2. / when a committee finishes studying a bill but does not send it for a vote
4. / the armed forces of our country
6. / having to do with the financial policy of the government
7. / the portion of the Constitution that gives implied powers to Congress (2 words)
9. / an assistant to the leaders in Congress who discuss bills with other members
10. / an agreement made by sixty Senators to set a time limit on debating a bill
11. / the people who live in a district of a state and have one representative to the House
12. / the lawmaking body of the United States made up of the Senate and House of Representatives
Two Houses of Congress
By Phyllis Naegeli /
Directions: Fill in each blank with the word that best completes the reading comprehension.
Copyright © 2012 edHelper
Name ______/ / Date ______Two Houses of Congress
1. / What did The Great Compromise decide?The three branches of government
The age requirement for Senators
The location of the country's capital city
The division of the Congress into two houses
/ 2. / Whose demands for equal representation did the Senate satisfy?
The larger states
The smaller states
The northern states
The southern states
3. / Who is the true leader of the Senate?
The majority leader
The Speaker of the House
The vice-president
The minority whip
/ 4. / Which house of Congress is called the upper house?
5. / Who chooses the Speaker of the House?
The vice-president
The president
The majority leader in the Senate
The majority party in the House
/ 6. / Every two years the entire Senate is up for re-election.
False
True
7. / Senators and Representatives must be citizens of the states they represent.
False
True
/ 8. / How is the allotment of the four hundred thirty-five seats in the House of Representatives determined?
By a government census performed every ten years
By the president
By dividing the states into districts
By a government census performed every year
Two Houses of Congress - Answer Key
1The division of the Congress into two houses
2The smaller states
3The majority leader
4 the Senate
5The majority party in the House
6False
7True
8By a government census performed every ten years
By Phyllis Naegeli /
Answer Key
Answers to Reading Comprehension Questions
1The division of the Congress into two houses
2The smaller states
3The majority leader
4 the Senate
5The majority party in the House
6False
7True
8By a government census performed every ten years