Sunday, March 17, 2013

Congress: describe the 3 most interesting, remarkable, or "new to you" things you learned about Congress (lean toward vocab?).

40 comments:

Brittany R said...

After research I found a few interesting facts about the Senate.The word “Senator” is an ancient Roman term derived from the Latin “senex,” meaning “old man.” The oldest senator as Strom Thurmond who turned 100 years old on December 5, 2002, just a month before his retirement from the Senate. And also, the annual salary of a U.S. Senator is $174,000.

Unknown said...

I found several interesting facts about congress after some reserach. For the first time, white men will be a minority in the House Democratic Caucus as a majority of Members are now either non-white or female. 3 states are now represented by two female senators: New Hampshire, Washington, and California. Women comprise 20% of the Senate and 18% of the House Members

Jack P. said...

The most interesting thing I have learned about congress is that 1% of Americans are millionaires while 44% of people in congress are millionaires. I have also learned that only the House can impeach the President, but only the Senate can try and remove him from office. Another thing I have learned is that there are currently no Muslim members in Congress.

Unknown said...

After research I have found a few facts about congress: Only two U.S. Presidents have returned to Congress after leaving the presidency. Those two presidents were John Quincy Adams, who returned to the House of Representatives for eight terms and Andrew Johnson, who returned to the Senate for 1 year before he died. Another fact was that The first woman ever to be sworn into the Senate was Rebecca Latimer Felton. She was the U.S. Senator from Georgia whose term ended after one day. She was a temporary replacement for a Senator who prematurely died. The final interesting fact that I found was The first African American to ever serve in Congress was Hiram Revels. Revels served in the United States Senate from 1870 until 1876, ironically representing Mississippi.

Unknown said...

Three interesting facts include that only the House can impeach the President, while only the Senate can try and remove him from office. The Vice President of the United States is President of the Senate and breaks all tied votes, known as the President of the Senate.If the electoral college ends in a tie, the House elects the President.

Unknown said...

the three things i found interesting are one how much power congress has over the president in the case of final decisions, how different tasks are from the senate compared to the house and finally how many rich senators there are, i wonder if people with less money have the same chance of filling a seat.

Jamie Oetting said...

After doing some research I have found some interesting things... there are 174 sub committees in Congress, 23 total active ones between the House and the Senate. In a record since 1964, there has been over an 80% reelection rate in the House. However, the Senate's has varied from 50- 90% reelection rate.

Mike O said...

The most interesting things I have learned about congress is that the Constitution requires Congress to meet at least once each year. Also, I have learned that many members of Congress are very wealthy. Lastly, I have learned that Congress's approval rating has been as low as 10%.

Kyle Johnson-Evers said...

After research on congress I have found out a plethora of new things. Among the most interesting is that in the senate seniority of the members plays a large part. I also learned that there is more media coverage in the Senate than in the House of Representatives. Lastly I learned that in the event of a tie in the electoral college the House of Representatives votes for the President.

Zach Matusinec said...

I learned that:
1. We have a bicameral legislature.
2. The House has 435 members.
3. The demographics of Congress do not match the USA as a whole.

Noah Rusch said...

One thing that I learned is that the 113th congress is the most diverse congress to have convened. When it comes to bills, the Speaker of the House will make bills that are of greater concern to their party leave more quickly and come to an early vote. When these bills are in the process of being passed, the House sends the bill to the Senate, where it is then debated extensively.

Unknown said...

1 Only the House can originate a bill to raise taxes.

2 Vice President of the United States is President of the Senate and breaks all tied votes.

3 The annual salary of a U.S. Senator is $174,000.

Anne L. said...

I learned from my research on congress that currently white males make up the minority in the House democrats. The average age of House members is 58 years old and 61 years old in the Senate, which is one of the oldest in recent history. Only 8.5% is under the age of 40. (http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-10/the-113th-congress-by-the-numbers). I also learned about the President of the Senate, who is the Vice President of the United States (Joe Biden) has the voting power of breaking ties.

Alec J said...

1. The 113th congress is the most diverse ever
2. A senators average salary is 174,000. (seems ridiculous)
3. Their has been only one father and son serving in congress simultaneously. Henry Dodge- Wisconsin and Augustus Dodge- Iowa. 1855-1857

Unknown said...

One: the house has 435 senators

Two: the house spends more time discussing tax legislation

Three: the senate spends more time discussing foreign policy.

Katie Beckman said...

California has the most representatives in the House (53), while Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming only have one representative apiece. Only 17 Senators are women, and that's the highest in history.

Haley S said...

I have learned that if there is an electoral tie, the House of Representatives chooses the President. The Vice President serves as the President of the Senate. The composition and powers of the Congress are established in Article I of the United States Constitution.

Unknown said...

While learning about Congress, I found out that the House is 51.3% Protestant. I kind of thought there would be more Catholics. I also figured out that Congrest is 1.7% Mormon while the US is 2.8% Mormon. The demographics really are not mimicing our own country's demographic. Majority of Congress is very rich as well which is another flaw in mimicing.

Unknown said...

The vice president is the president of the of the senate. the word senete actually means old man. only the house can impeach the president while the senete can remove him.

Unknown said...

Some interesting facts I have found is that there are 2 senates per state. 7 of the 50 states have one congressman (the most boring states), and for the first time, white people will be a minority in the House Democratic Caucus.

Hannah G. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Hannah G. said...

1.)California has the most representatives in the house with 53

2.) The longest serving Senator ever is Robert C. Byrd, who has served in the Senate continuously since January 3, 1959.

3.)The first female senator was Rebecca Felton, who was appointed in 1922.

Tony M. said...

Things I learned about Congress:
1. Congress does not reflect the Nation as a whole
2. 535 members total in Congress (435 in House and 100 in Senate)
3. The president pro tempore is the senator with the most seniority in the majority party.

Unknown said...

Some things I have learned so far is that the number of constituents a senator has can range anywhere from just under 250,000 to 18.3 million (this is why the house needs proportional representation). Another fact is that prior to the ratification of Amendment 17 in 1912, Senators were chosen by the state legislature, not the citizens. The average age for a congressman is around 60. Is it possible their views can be outdated? yes, however, there are members as young as 29 to provide a fresh perspective.

Brittany R said...

I have learned some more interesting facts about Congress. One being that 44% of people in congress are millionaires. Thats crazy because only 1% of Americans at large are millionaires. I also learned that only the house can impeach the President. And, there are 174 sub committees in Senate.

Unknown said...

I learned that House Representatives do many tasks for their constituents and one of those that is most interesting to me is that they can have it arraged to have a flag flown above the Capital building. They do this and a variety of others so they get reelected. Also, I learned that the House is more democratic because its majority is more representative to the majority rule that our democracy is based on. Lastly, the House not the Senate is allowed to impeach the president.

Nick Berry said...

I learned that senators have much more net worth than House members. I learned that most leadership positions are taken by the Congress members who have the most seniority. I learned that bills are seen by committees before being voted on. I learned what pork legislation is.

Unknown said...

From research I have gathered while making this book, I have learned that the Senate and the House are different but play an important role in passing laws. The House is made up of generalists while the Senate is made up of specialists. The House initiates all revenue bills and approves treaties. The Senate has no rules Committee; limited on debate come through unanimous consent or cloture of filibuster.

jordan Kaminski said...

one new thing that i have learned about congess is hat there are subcommities within the commites of the house of represetatives. another thing is that they can not just propose a bill is has to go through a nub=mber of stages before it can be voted on. the last new thing that i have learned is that the senators can vote on who among there peers will be the president pro tempore of the day in the senate.

Unknown said...

I learned about how the House has 435 members. Also I learned about how incumbents have such a high advantage of winning an election. Lastly, I learned about the structure and organization of Congress.

Unknown said...

I learned about how the House has 435 members. Also I learned about how incumbents have such a high advantage of winning an election. Lastly, I learned about the structure and organization of Congress.

Unknown said...

I learned that representation is very different from state to state in the Senate. For example, in Wyoming each of 2 senators represents about 246,981 people, but in California each senator represents about 18,378,333 people. This is a vast difference in representation for the constituents.

Unknown said...

I learned that we have a budget committee in both the house and the senate, yet we do not have a national budget. I learned that this is because every proposed budget in the house under Paul Ryan is too far right on the political spectrum for the house to find a middle ground on the budget. I learned that both sides claim they really want a budget, but the senate is unwilling to work with the house's "slap in the face" budget. This has taught me about the challenges of having a devided government in congress.

Unknown said...

I've learned the the annual salary of a U.S. senator is around $175,000 . Another interesting fact is that only 9% of Americas citizens approve of congresses actions. Lastly i learned that congress takes a long time with the different bills they go through because if they don't there would be an imbalance in power.

Unknown said...

I've learned the the annual salary of a U.S. senator is around $175,000 . Another interesting fact is that only 9% of Americas citizens approve of congresses actions. Lastly i learned that congress takes a long time with the different bills they go through because if they don't there would be an imbalance in power.

Unknown said...

1: i learned that the average salary is about $175,000.
2:The house usually proposes the bill to raise taxes.
3: The 113th congress is the most diverse ever.

Unknown said...

1. Senators do not have to vote the way that their constituents want them to.
2. Each congressperson represents approximately 570,000 people.
3. Congress has the power to define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas.

Anonymous said...

I have recently learned that senators get elected about every two years but serve for 6 years. The elections are staggered so that approximately one-third of the senate is up for election. Also, the senate ratifies treaties and approves presidential appointments while the house initiates revenue raising bills. Finally, The Congress starts and ends on each third day of January every two years of the odd number year.

Anonymous said...

I have learned that congress is made up of the senate and the house. I learned that the Vice President of the United States is President of the Senate and breaks all tied votes. i have also recently learned each member of the House is elected every 2 years. Each Senator is elected every 6 years. 1/3 of the Senate is elected every 2 years.

Anonymous said...

Things i have learned about congress
1.) there are 435 members in the house
2.) The annual salary of a senator is $174,000
3.) each member of the house is every 2 years and senators are every 6 years.