Personal blog about states
Senators represent their entire states, but members of the House represent individual districts. The number of districts in each state is determined by a state’s population. Today, Congress consists of 100 senators (two from each state) and 435 voting members of the House of Representatives.
114th United States Congress | |
---|---|
Senate Majority | Republican |
Senate President | Joe Biden (D) |
House Majority | Republican |
House Speaker | John Boehner (R) (until October 29, 2015) Paul Ryan (R) (from October 29, 2015) |
The Constitution sets three qualifications for service in the U.S. Senate: age (at least thirty years of age); U.S. citizenship (at least nine years); and residency in the state a senator represents at time of election.
Michael Farrand Bennet (born November 28, 1964) is an American businessman, lawyer, and politician who has served as the senior United States Senator from Colorado since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, he was appointed to the seat when Senator Ken Salazar became Secretary of the Interior.
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives each represent a portion of their state known as a Congressional District, which averages 700,000 people. Senators however, represent the entire state. How do the House and Senate chambers differ?
Article I, section 5 of the Constitution requires that a quorum (51 senators) be present for the Senate to conduct business. Often, fewer than 51 senators are present on the floor, but the Senate presumes a quorum unless a roll call vote or quorum call suggests otherwise.
2016 United States Senate elections
Leader | Mitch McConnell | Harry Reid (retired) |
Party | Republican | Democratic |
Leader’s seat | Kentucky | Nevada |
Seats before | 54 | 44 |
Seats after | 52 | 46 |
2016 United States House of Representatives elections
Leader | Paul Ryan | Nancy Pelosi |
Party | Republican | Democratic |
Leader since | October 29, 2015 | January 3, 2003 |
Leader’s seat | Wisconsin 1st | California 12th |
Last election | 247 seats, 51.2% | 188 seats, 45.5% |
The current leaders are Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
The Constitution prescribes that the Senate be composed of two senators from each State (therefore, the Senate currently has 100 Members) and that a senator must be at least thirty years of age, have been a citizen of the United States for nine years, and, when elected, be a resident of the State from which he or she
Senate Salaries (1789 to Present)
Years | Salary |
---|---|
2017 | $174,000 per annum |
2018 | $174,000 per annum |
2019 | $174,000 per annum |
2020 | $174,000 per annum |
Representatives must be 25 years old and must have been U.S. citizens for at least 7 years. Representatives serve 2-year terms. Read up on the relationship between the two chambers with these essays by the Senate Historian’s Office. Link to tables of information on the history of the House of Representatives.
John Hickenlooper (Democratic Party) Michael Bennet (Democratic Party)
Lawyer Politician
35 years (November 13, 1985)