Class Notes: 2/16

The framers of the Constitution created a bicameral legislature in Article I. Members of the House of Representatives serve 2-year terms. There are 435 members in the House, of these 77 are women, 41 African-American.
The majority party in this, the 111th Congress (in both the House and Senate) is the Democratic Party. The Democrats regained this position in the 2006 elections after 12 years of Republican control.
A state's number of Representatives is determined by population. Redistricting is done after each census. Kentucky has 6 Congressional districts, and therefore 6 Representatives: Ed Whitfield, John Yarmuth, Hal Rogers, Brett Guthrie, Geoff Davis, Ben Chandler.
The leader of the House is known as the Speaker. The current Speaker is Nancy Pelosi, the first female Speaker. The current Majority Leader is Steny Hoyer; the Minority Leader, John Boehner.
The Senate is composed of 2 Senators from each state. Senators serve 6-year terms. Kentucky's Senators are Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning. Senators were originally chosen by the House but now are chosen in direct elections (see the 17th Amendment). Of the current 100 Senators, 17 are women. Five African-Americans have served in the Senate; there is currently one African-American Senator.
A 2002 study by the Public Interest Research Group revealed that 42% of the Senate and 23% of the House were millionaires, compared to 1% of the U.S. population.