ABSTRACT
Jewish members have taken particular interest in American foreign policy in the Middle East and have strenuously backed continuing aid to Israel, while Catholic Congressmen have vigorously opposed the use of federal hinds for abortion operations. In terms of age, the members are generally older than the average age of the American population because of the constitutional restrictions, and because one can usually only obtain election after some considerable experience in politics or business. The Constitution established the bicameral legislature as one of the compromises necessary to secure the agreement of the thirteen states. It was essential that, if the House of Representatives was to have its membership apportioned according to the size of a state’s population, this should be balanced by having a second chamber, the Senate, which would represent all the states equally with two members each.
