demographics of congress is the average congressperson similar to the average person they represent?
TRANSCRIPT
DEMOGRAPHICS OFCONGRESS
Is the average Congressperson
similar to the average
person they represent?
House of Representatives
Congress (113th) (114th)
Republicans 234 246
Democrats 201 189
114th House of Reps
SenateCongress
(113th) (114th)
Republicans 45 54
Democrats 53 44
Independent 2 2
114th Senate
INDEPENDENT
DEM
REP
1 EACH
Ethnicity
U.S. House U.S. Senate
White 355 (82%) 94
Black 44 (10%) 1
Hispanic 28 (6%) 2
Asian 7 (2%) 3
American Indian 1 0
RELIGION
Women in Congress
House (82) Senate (20)
Democrats Republicans Democrats Republicans
61 (32%) 21 (9%) 14 (30%) 6 (11%)
EDUCATION
Occupations
• Congress tends to have a few major occupational backgrounds:– Business– Lawyers– Public service/politics– Education
AGE
SENATE HOUSEDiane Feinstein (D CA) 81 John Conyers (D MI)
85
Tom Cotton (R AR) 37 Elise Stefanik (R NY) 30
AVERAGE
61 YEARS 57 YEARS
10.2 YEARS SERVED 9.1 YEARS SERVED
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/07/most-diverse-congress_n_6430840.html
Congress’s Wealth
http://www.moneychoice.org/rich-congress/
Is the average Congressperson
similar to the average
person they represent?
Is this good or bad?
Pay for Congressmen
• $174,000 per year– Leadership position earn up to $233,000
• Retirement • Health Care• Franking privilege• Travel stipend• ETC.
Idaho’s Current LegislatorsRaul Labrador (R) District 1
Elected in 2010
Mike Simpson (R) District 2Elected in 1998
Mike Crapo (R) SenatorElected in 1998
Jim Risch (R) Senator
Elected in 2008
Chapter 11 Section 3
1. What is the role of the Legislative and Executive Branches in foreign affairs?
2. Who has power to declare war?
3. What “other” powers does Congress have?
4. The Constitution specifically mentions what 4 types of federal crimes?
5. Which branch has power to create and organize federal courts?