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The U.S. Senate has 100 members. Each state has to Senators from their state. Each state has a senior Senator and a Junior senator. The Senior Senator is the Senator that has been in the Senate for the longest. They are elected to a 6 year term which allows them to govern more because it allows for more laws and bills to be passed then if they had a shorter term. Senators have fewer rules that Representatives which allows for fillibusters which are deisgned to wreck a bill. The Senator that is doing the fillibuster can talk as long as they want about anything that they wish as long as they remain standing, they can't even lean on anything. They cannot leave the room even to use the restroom and they can't drink or eat anything. This will unlimatly kill the bill they are trying to pass.
To become a Senator you must be 30 years old, be a citizen of the United States for 9 years and be a resident of the state they are representing.
President of the Senate- the vice president of the United States. They can only vote to break a tie and they are not elected because it is their constitutional obligation when you are the vice president to be the President of the Senate.
Majority and Minority leader- they coral votes, schedule the floor action, and they influence the committees assignments. The Majority and Minority leaders are currently the republican as the majority and the minority is the democratic party.
Majority and Minority Whip's count votes beforehand and lean on waverers. The majority and minority whips are the same as the Majority and Minority leaders.
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The House of Representatives has 435 members. The number that each state has is based on there population. For example California has 53 and Montana has only 1. Representatives are elected to a two year term which makes them much more accountable to the people because they need to keep there needs in mind in order to get re-elected every two years.
To get elected into the House of Representatives you need to be at least 25 years old and a citizen for 7 years. You must also be a resident of the district that you represent.
Representatives have the authority to impeach the President or Judges. The senators try the person that they are trying to impeach and the Representatives authorize the impeachment.
Speaker of the House is chosen by the majority party and has great power because he presides over the House, assigns members to committees, and assigns bills to specific committees. They can vote unlike the President of the Senate who cannot vote unless it's to break a tie.
The Majority and Minority Leaders voral votes, they schedule the floor action and influence committees assignments.
The Majority and Minority Whip's count the votes beforehand and then they try to convince the people who are wavering to take their side in an effort to get all the votes to favor their party.
The Committee chair has a very dominant role in the outcomes because they schedule the hearings, hire the staff, appoint subcommittees and manage the committee bills while there on the floor.
House rules committee reviews bills before entering the entire house.
 | Their salary is set at $174,000 per year. Members of the House and Senate have the right to turn down pay increases when they are given and some actually choose to do so becuase it saves tax payers money. Although leadership roles in the House and Senate get paid more than the regular members. In the Senate, the Majority and Minority party leladers get paid $193,400. In the House, the speaker of the House gets paid $223,500 and the Majority and Minority leaders get paid $193,400 per year. Members of Congress recieve the same retirement plan as other government officials and they become vested after five years of full participation. Members of Congress are not eligible for pension until they are 50 years old but they still have to have had a full 20 years of service to get there pension. If they have finished 25 full years they are eligible at any age. Also, if they reach 62 years old they are also eligible for their pension. |
