Sure! Let's work through this step-by-step to determine the controlling parties of the Senate and the House of Representatives during the 112th Congress (2011-2012), as well as the likely scenario for legislative productivity.
1. Senate Control:
- Democrats: 53
- Republicans: 45
- Independents: 2
To determine which party controls the Senate, we need to compare the number of Democrats (including Independents who generally caucus with them) to the number of Republicans:
- Democrats + Independents: 53 + 2 = 55
- Republicans: 45
Since 55 (Democrats + Independents) is greater than 45 (Republicans), the Senate was controlled by the Democrats.
2. House Control:
- Democrats: 200
- Republicans: 232
- Independents: 0
To determine the controlling party of the House, we compare the number of Democrats to the number of Republicans:
- Democrats: 200
- Republicans: 232
Since 232 (Republicans) is greater than 200 (Democrats), the House of Representatives was controlled by the Republicans.
3. Legislative Productivity:
Given that the Senate was controlled by the Democrats and the House of Representatives was controlled by the Republicans, this situation often leads to difficulties in passing legislation due to the divided control. Therefore, it is likely that the houses of Congress will face gridlock.
So, the complete solution is as follows:
The Senate was controlled by the Democrats.
The House of Representatives was controlled by the Republicans.
Because of this, the houses of Congress likely will face gridlock.
