Meet Your Rep. The Constitution states, “The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members chosen every second Year by the People of the several States…” (Art. I, Sec. 2). Contrast this with the original constitutional language for the other house of Congress, “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof for six Years…” (Art. I, Sec. 3). The phrase “chosen by the Legislature” was changed to “elected by the people” by the 17th Amendment, but not until 1912. In other words, from the beginning the House of Representatives was intended to be exactly what its name suggests –representative of the people. (Note that in 2010 the Tea Party, and some Republican politicians, called for repeal of the 17th Amendment, eliminating the popular vote for Senators. While most Republican politicians have backed away from that view, many Tea Party chapters continue to demand its repeal.)…
The Fathers of Confederation conceived of the Senate as a “chamber of sober second thought.” However, almost ever since its creation, as the unelected arm of the legislature, people have suggested ways in which to reform the upper house. Concerns of illegitimate representation, party loyalty, and patronage are the main reasons the argument for change continues. This paper aims to review a couple of recent reform proposals, and then argue, leaving constitutional practicality behind, that the Senate should receive a major overhaul in how it is formed and represented.…
2. House of Representatives: The House of Representatives is one of two houses in Congress, the legislative body of our nation. The 435 members of the House have important duties, including writing, debating, studying, and passing bills by standing committees which eventually become laws guiding our nation. These bills must be signed by the President within ten days of being passed by Congress to become law. If the president chooses to…
Not that they have the same powers, but equal in that neither the Senate nor the House can make a law without the other. Under the U.S. Constitution, the two chambers are equal, however; the Constitution gives certain exclusive powers to each chamber. For an example the Senate has powers to confirm Presidential nominees that they do not share with the House, and the House has powers to originate all tax/spending bills that are not shared with the Senate (Nickels n.d.).…
The American government is divided in three branches. The executive, the legislative, and the judicial branch. The executive branch is that of the President, who acts as the counter piece of power within the nation, even though his powers are limited. The legislative branch consists of the senate and congress, all placed into what we call the House. Congress is there to write up bills, and then pass them over to the senate which is there to either approve or reject the bill. It should be noted that the vice president actually has a place in the senate. Beyond the reach of the vice president, he is also the president of the senate. The legislative branch is a vital part of our government because it puts the executive branch in check. In turn,…
4. In the United States Congress, differences between Senate and House of Representatives versions of a bill are usually resolved by accepting the version that is…
The United States of America is like no other country in the world. Our democracy is confusing to everyone else in the world but makes sense to those born here. But, there is one thing that even confuses Americans, that is, Congress. According to Real Clear Politics, only 15% of Americans approve of job of Congress, while 75% disapprove. This is not surprising, but what is surprising is that even with such low approval ratings, 80% of Senator Incumbents and 95% of Representative Incumbents get reelected. Why? This paradox is the result for multiple reasons. The American people often have presumptuous opinions, are uninformed, or just don’t care. In addition, Congressmen have large influence over outcomes of future elections. Learning why Congressmen…
The fact that there is more than one house is a benefit. With two rooms, (House of Commons and the Senate) you can get work done twice as fast than you could with one house. Once the bill is through the House of Commons, the Senate can take it right away and then the House of Commons can move on to the next bill. Also, the Senate adds…
Both the US Parliament and British Congress consist of two houses and most of members of the US Parliament and British Congress are produced by election. On the other hand, citizens in the country of parliament and congress elect commissaries to compose the representative bodies, participat in politics indirectly, discuss and decide on national affairs in order to reflect the exercise of state power and organizational forms of a democratic system.…
It is comprised of the Senate and House of Representatives or Congress. The Senate is comprised of 100 members, two from each State. In order to become a Senator you must be thirty years of age, must have been a citizen for nine years and live in the state they represent. The President of the Senate is the Vice President and can cast a vote only in the event of a tie. The Senate confirms the President's appointments and his pick for the Supreme Court, they also have the sole power to ratify treaties. The Senate acts as the jury in an impeachment trial. The House is made of 435 members with each State having different amount of members since they vary in population. To become a Representative you must be twenty-five years old, you must be a citizen of seven years and live in the state you represent. The House has the sole power to introduce money bills, and begin the impeachment process. To create a law, a bill must be passed in the house it originated then it must pass in the next house and then finally the President must sign it into law. If the president vetoes the bill then Congress can vote on it again and override his veto and make the bill…
A senator must live in the state from which he is chosen, he must be at least 30 years of age and must have been a citizen of the United States for at least 9 years. Senators are elected for 6-year terms. (2) The House of Representatives is made up of 435 members. A state that has a big population will have many representatives and a state that has a small population will have only a few representatives, but every state must have…
members of both houses meet to iron out differences between their versions of a bill.…
The bicameral Congress is the primary legislative body comprising the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 24 senators in all, who serve a 6-year term each with the half retiring every three years. The House of Representatives houses 250 members with a 3-year term each.…
In order to make a bill become a law a member of Congress or executive branch writes a bill.Then the committee will decide on the bill to be pass to the subcommitted to hear the bill by the excutive branch,supporters and public officals.After the hearing is complete the subcommittee will make some changes which the committee will vote for.Next the bill will be debated by the members.The Senate and House of Representatives have to both approve the bill to then be sent to the president to approve it or veto it.If he veto it Congress may attempt to override the veto. If both the Senate and the House pass the bill by a two-thirds majority, the president's veto is overruled and the bill becomes a law.…
Ideally, the Senate seeks to represent and take into account the views and interests of those elements of society which may be insufficiently reflected in the composition of the elected House. It has been recognized that it makes salutary contributions to parliamentary debates. Generally, Bills can be introduced in the Senate, however, certain Bills defined as "Money Bills" cannot be introduced in the Senate ahead of the House of Representatives.…