Who Can Serve?
What is the minimum age to serve in the House of Representatives?
25 years old.
How long is a representative’s term?
2 years
What is the title of the presiding officer of the House of Representatives?
Speaker of the House.
What is reapportionment?
Redistributing House seats among the states based on population.
What is the minimum age to serve in the Senate?
30 years old.
How long is a senators term?
6 years
Which executive branch official serves as president of the Senate?
The vice president of the United States.
What is redistricting?
Redrawing electoral district boundaries.
How many years must someone have been a U.S. citizen to serve in the House?
At least seven years.
What do we call powers specifically written in the Constitution? Give one example belonging to Congress.
Expressed powers. Examples include taxing, declaring war, coining money, or regulating interstate and foreign commerce.
When may the vice president vote in the Senate?
When the senators’ votes are equally divided to break a tie.
Who generally handles redistricting within a state?
The state legislature, although some states use commissions.
What are the citizenship and state residency requirements for a senator?
A U.S. citizen for at least nine years and an inhabitant of the state represented when elected.
What are implied powers? Give one example belonging to Congress.
Powers not explicitly listed but reasonably connected to carrying out expressed powers. Examples include creating a national bank or establishing a military draft.
A committee receives a bill but never takes action on it. How can this prevent the bill from becoming law?
The bill can remain stalled in committee and die when that Congress ends.
What is gerrymandering, and what advantage does it create?
Drawing electoral district boundaries to unfairly benefit a political party, group, or incumbent in elections.
Jordan is 29, has been a U.S. citizen for eight years, and lives in the state Jordan wants to represent. Which chamber’s qualifications does Jordan meet? Explain.
The House only. Jordan meets the House’s age, citizenship, and residency requirements but does not meet the Senate’s minimum age or citizenship requirement.
The Constitution gives Congress the power to raise armies. Congress establishes a military draft to carry out that responsibility. Identify the expressed power and the implied power.
Raising armies is the expressed power; establishing a military draft is the implied power.
The House and Senate pass different versions of a bill. What must happen before it can go to the president, and what happens if they never agree?
Both chambers must pass identical text. If they never agree before that Congress ends, the bill dies.
After population changes, a state gains a House seat. It then redraws its congressional district boundaries. Name each process in order.
Gaining the seat results from reapportionment; redrawing the boundaries is redistricting.