Who Makes Up the House of Representatives and the Senate

Tabular array of Contents

1. Divergence Between House and Senate
2. House: Roles and Responsibilities
3. Senate: Roles and Responsibilities
4. How a Neb Becomes Law
5. How Their Differences Make the House and Senate Stronger

The U.S. Congress is often referred to every bit a unmarried entity, simply it'south actually a combination of two distinct groups: the Business firm of Representatives and the Senate. While both houses of Congress work together to propose and enact the laws that govern our country, the differences betwixt the Firm and Senate ensure that each chamber in this bicameral ("ii room") system has distinct roles and responsibilities.

Together, the House and Senate form the legislative branch of government. They collaborate with the executive and judicial branches to implement the checks and balances that keep all three branches operation and foreclose any single branch from abusing its ability.

Article I of the U.S. Constitution: Difference Between Business firm and Senate

The framers of the Constitution knew that it was important to protect the smaller states of the newly formed Union from being overshadowed by their more populous counterparts. They hoped that by dividing legislative power betwixt two houses, they'd be able to ensure equal representation for residents of all states, equally the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center explains.

At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, delegates from Connecticut proposed that the seats in the House be assigned based on population, while the seats in the Senate be assigned two per state. The Nifty Compromise (or Connecticut Compromise) gives each state equal representation in the Senate while ensuring equal representation per citizen in the Firm.

Commodity I, Section 2: Composition and Office of the House of Representatives

Article I of the Constitution specifies the powers, duties, and responsibilities of each of the ii houses of Congress. It lays out the rules for qualifying as a representative, as well as the method by which the seats in the House of Representatives are assigned to the states and how vacancies are filled.

The Constitution affords the House — known as the lower chamber because information technology has more members than the Senate — much leeway in deciding how it volition operate.

Age, citizenship, term duration, and residency requirements

Representatives:

• Must be at least 25 years old.
• Must be citizens for at least 7 years.
• Are elected to a two-year term.
• Must exist residents of the states they represent.

Allocation of representatives based on population

Originally, the number of representatives was set at 1 per 30,000 inhabitants, merely the representative count has since increased, as the U.Due south. House of Representatives History, Fine art, and Archives website describes. The apportionment was to be based on an enumeration (population demography) that was to be fabricated within 3 years of the Constitution being ratified (approved) by the 13 states, and then every 10 years thereafter.

The Apportionment Act of 1911 and its successor, the Permanent Circulation Human action of 1929, capped the number of representatives at 435. For this reason, as of the 2010 Census, the average number of inhabitants in a congressional commune is about 710,000. The House of Representatives Archives states that the number of representatives was limited to 435 because the U.Due south. population was growing faster in urban states than in rural ones, which gave large states a higher proportion of representatives than smaller states.

Power to devise its ain rules of operation

The Constitution allows each house of Congress to set its ain rules. This has led to divergent practices and procedures in the House and Senate. The Library of Congress summarizes the operating rules of the House of Representatives:

• Only a numerical majority is required to pass legislation in the House, which allows bills to be candy apace. By dissimilarity, Senate votes typically crave a 3-fifths majority, or threescore votes in favor.
• Majority party leaders in the Business firm control the priority of various policies and determine which bills make their way to the Firm floor for debate. In the Senate, minority party leaders accept more than influence over such procedures, and then the majority leaders must work more than closely with them.

Power of impeachment

Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution states that the House "shall accept the sole power of impeachment." This power applies to the offices of president, vice president, federal judges, and other federal officers, equally the Library of Congress' Constitution Annotated explains. Grounds for impeachment are "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors."

The House determines whether to impeach and if an impeachment is called for; the Senate decides whether to convict and remove the official from role. This follows a design established in the British government and American colonial governments dating back to the 17th century, equally the Senate website explains.

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Commodity I, Section three: Limerick and Function of the Senate

Article I, Section iii of the Constitution calls for two senators from each state to be selected by a country's legislature to correspond that state. All the same, the 17th Amendment, approved in 1913, mandates the direct election of U.S. senators, which means that they're elected by direct vote of the people rather than by state legislators.

Every bit the Senate website explains, the subpoena was in response to corruption and other problems that prevented state legislatures from choosing U.S. senators. The Senate is known as the upper sleeping accommodation of Congress because it has fewer members than the Firm.

Age, citizenship, term duration, and residency requirements

The Constitution requires that senators be at least 30 years old, U.S. citizens for at least nine years, and residents of usa they'll represent. Senate terms are for six years; the terms are staggered so that approximately a third of all senate seats are up for ballot every 2 years. This is intended to protect the Senate from short-term political force per unit area and to ensure that turnover in the Senate occurs evenly, rather than having stasis for six years followed by upheaval.

Allotment of Senators: Two per Land

As the Senate website indicates, the reason the framers decided to let each state to exist represented by two senators was to foreclose the large states from overpowering their smaller counterparts. Benjamin Franklin believed that states should accept equal votes in all matters except those involving money. (Commodity I, Section eight assigns to the House the power to tax and spend; this clause is described in the following section.)

Power to devise its ain rules of performance

The Senate has the constitutional authority to set its own rules, simply as the House does. The Senate website quotes George Washington as explaining to Thomas Jefferson that the framers intended the Senate to "cool" legislation passed by the House "just every bit a saucer is used to cool hot tea."

• In the Senate, individual senators have more than options to ho-hum the progress of a nib by making procedural requests, such equally keeping floor fence open on the matter at mitt. This is intended to encourage deliberation, or the careful discussion and consideration, of problems.
• Majority party leaders in the Senate propose the priority of items to be debated, but they must work with minority political party leaders — and often all senators — to determine the floor agenda: the society in which items are brought earlier the Senate.

Vice president as president of the Senate

The Constitution makes the vice president the president of the Senate, merely the vice president is allowed to vote merely to pause a necktie. The Senate is empowered to choose its own officers and president pro tempore to preside over the Senate when the vice president is unavailable.

Power to try and pass judgment on all impeachments

Senators are empowered to try and approximate impeachments; in this capacity, they serve under "oath or affirmation." In the case of a president's impeachment, the chief justice of the United States presides. An impeachment conviction requires a two-thirds majority vote of the full Senate.

If the impeachment trial leads to a conviction, the penalization is removal from office and disqualification from "any office of honor, trust or turn a profit under the United States," according to Article I, Department iii. All the same, the impeached person is "liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according to police."

Resource on the construction and role of the Firm of Representatives and Senate

• Cornell Law Schoolhouse's Legal Data Plant offers a fully annotated version of the Constitution and an caption of the Constitution compiled past the Congressional Inquiry Service.
• The South. Capitol Company Center features a study guide that explains the departure between the House and Senate. It poses 6 questions about the constitutional footing for the two houses of Congress and provides sample answers.

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U.South. Firm of Representatives: Roles and Responsibilities

The duties of the House of Representatives are stated in Article I, Sections 7 and viii of the Constitution. Even so, the powers granted to both houses of Congress are derived from Article I, Department 1, as the Legal Data Constitute explains.

In the early Supreme Court case McCulloch v. Maryland, Principal Justice John Marshall wrote that the authorities is "ane of enumerated powers," which ways that it tin can exercise only the powers that have been granted to it explicitly by the Constitution. Paired with this doctrine is the ruling that legislative powers may not be delegated to any other co-operative of government.

Subsequent rulings accept modified these two doctrines, resulting in new categories of powers derived from this ramble foundation.

Enumerated, implied, resulting, and inherent powers

Marshall's decision expanded the telescopic of the legislative powers enumerated in the Constitution by including the power to declare war, levy taxes, and regulate commerce. These powers are derived from the Constitution's necessary and proper clause in Article I, Section eight.

This gives Congress the right to exercise any "means which are appropriate" to perform its constitutional duties, unless those means are inconsistent with "the letter and spirit of the Constitution."

• Implied powers are those that aren't explicitly stipulated in the Constitution, but the authorities assumes these powers are granted to it past inference based on prior Supreme Court decisions, as the Legal Dictionary explains.
• Resulting powers are those that Congress has because they're needed for information technology to fulfill its duties. They're derived from other powers specifically granted to the authorities so that it can do its enumerated powers. The Legal Information Institute gives as an example the power to acquire territory, which results from the enumerated powers to make war and treaties.
• Inherent powers are likewise called unsaid powers, as the Constitution Annotated notes. They're powers that Congress possesses fifty-fifty though they've never been explicitly exercised. An example would be the power to revenue enhancement net service providers.

Simply congress may declare war, levy taxes, and regulate commerce

The ability to declare war, levy taxes, and regulate commerce are among the congressional powers enumerated in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. The taxing and spending clause and the commerce clause accept been used to augment congressional authority over federal tax and economical policy.

In addition, Congress' state of war powers accept created a lot of friction between the executive and legislative branches. For case, presidents take tried to expand their ability to engage the U.S. military in overseas conflicts, as the Firm of Representatives Annal describes. For example, in the period afterwards Globe War II, presidents committed troops to the Dominican Democracy, Lao people's democratic republic, and Vietnam, amidst other countries, without requesting or receiving authorization from Congress.

The Business firm originates all revenue legislation

Article I, Department 7 of the Constitution states that bills intended to raise acquirement must originate in the House. This is i of the major differences between the House and Senate. The Senate is allowed to advise amendments to spending and taxing legislation, but equally it can with other bills sent to it from the House.

Bills require merely a numerical majority vote

The decision of the framers to permit bills to laissez passer the Business firm subsequently getting a simple majority of votes was motivated by the want to allow legislation to be enacted quickly. The responsibility for assessing and developing bills belongs to standing committees that are chaired by members of the majority party, but are made up of members of both parties, equally the Congressional Research Service explains.

Majority political party powers and prerogatives

The of import office of political parties in the arrangement and operation of the House is described by the Business firm of Representatives Archive. The bulk political party elects a speaker of the house and chooses other leadership positions, including the chair of all House committees. In that location are more members of the House than of the Senate, so the majority party wields more ability in the lower sleeping accommodation.

Ready policy calendar

The speaker of the house usually selects the House bulk leader. The House bulk leader is charged with formulating the political party's legislative agenda, as described by USHistory.org. The minority party chooses a minority leader whose impact on the Business firm policy agenda is much more limited.

Make up one's mind which legislation reaches the Firm floor

Among the duties of the speaker of the firm are presiding over all Firm proceedings, determining which bills get to which committees, influencing committee assignments for new House members, and deciding the priorities for bills to be debated and voted upon by the entire body of representatives.

Chair all committees

While majority party members are chosen to chair all Firm committees, they must work with the ranking member of the minority political party to prepare bills for deliberation by all Firm members. The Firm of Representatives Archives describes the three types of House committees:

• Standing committees are permanent; their jurisdiction is defined in the House rules.
• Select committees are temporary; they're created by resolution and charged with conducting investigations or researching specific topics.
• Joint committees include members from the House and Senate, commonly to study specific matters rather than to consider a piece of legislation.

Resources on House of Representatives roles and responsibilities

• The legal site Justia details the powers that the House derives from the taxing and spending clause of Article I, Section 8, including the types of taxes permitted and limits imposed on the power to tax and spend.
• The House of Representatives website explains the composition and functions of the Firm, including its leadership, committees, commissions, schedule, rules, and history.

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U.South. Senate: Roles and Responsibilities

Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution describes the basic composition, operation, and duties of the Senate, although the Constitution grants the Senate leeway in determining how it will conduct its business. The Senate website describes the powers and procedures of the legislative body, which include trying impeachments, reviewing and approving presidential nominees, approving treaties, and managing internal matters.

Powers

The Senate receives all its authority from the Constitution. As described above for the House, the Senate's powers are either enumerated, or expressly stated in the Constitution, or derived from the enumerated powers through the Article I, Department 8 necessary and proper clause.

Only the Senate confirms presidential nominations and treaties

Commodity II, Section 2 of the Constitution grants the president power to nominate and appoint ambassadors, Supreme Court justices, and "other officers of the United States." However, the Constitution requires that nominations and appointments exist made "with the Communication and Consent of the Senate."

Similarly, the Senate is empowered to approve treaties proposed by the president by a two-thirds bulk vote. The Senate also has the power to change a treaty's terms. (The president'southward power to institute executive agreements with other nations doesn't require Senate approval.)

Senate rules and procedures encourage deliberation rather than speed

The Senate website explains that the framers modeled the upper chamber of Congress after early state senates and the governor's councils of the Colonial era. To shield senators from short-term political pressure, their terms were set at six years rather than the ii-year terms of House representatives.

The Senate was intended to act more deliberately than the Firm. This emphasizes the Senate'south duty to advise on and consent to actions taken in the House and by the executive branch of government. In this role, the framers expressed their "suspicion of the presidency" by assuasive the Senate to serve as a check on executive powers. It also serves equally a check confronting the impulsiveness of the House.

Private senators have meaning procedural leverage

The standing rules of the Senate promote deliberation by allowing senators to "debate at length" and by requiring greater than a simple majority to end fence on a affair, as the Congressional Research Service explains. The rules also allow Senators suggest flooring amendments to pending bills that are outside of the bailiwick matter of the bills themselves. For case, the Real ID Human action of 2005 passed as a "rider": an additional provision to a military spending act that in its original version made no reference to traveler identification, as ThoughtCo explains.

The effect is an unpredictable daily flooring schedule for Senate business and the possibility that bills will exist proposed whose subjects haven't been researched or debated in committee. To bring some gild to Senate proceedings, the majority leader is given priority in being recognized to speak and to propose the bills and legislation that the body volition consider.

Bulk party powers and prerogatives

In addition to the Senate majority leader's power to control debates on the Senate floor, the majority political party is granted other rights in the performance of the Senate.

Proposes items for consideration

The duties of the Senate bulk leader include handling all procedural matters that arise on the Senate floor and informing members of the bulk party nigh the content, implications, and status of all awaiting legislation. In collaboration with Senate commission chairs, the majority leader addresses whatever conflicts that may prevent proposed bills from being passed.

Negotiates with the minority political party to deport Senate floor action

Near Senate actions require greater than a simple majority to pass. Therefore, the majority political party must work more than closely with the Senate minority party than is typical in the House, which needs but a simple majority to corroborate measures. The Senate website describes the relationship between the majority and minority parties in the Senate every bit "one of compromise and mutual forbearance" that's intended to prevent stalemates from arising on important matters of legislation.

Chairs all committees

Similarly, members of the Senate bulk party are chosen to chair all committees. Even so, the nature of the Senate requires that the majority leaders of committees work with the ranking fellow member of the minority political party to reach the committee's goals. The Senate website explains that the majority party controls most committee staff and resources, but the minority party retains a level of control based on its share of Senate seats.

Resources on Senate roles and responsibilities

• The Senate website details the institution'southward history and operation, including biographies of past senators, historical highlights, and a complete chronology.
• The Library of Congress profiles current members of the Senate and explains the torso'south policies and procedures. The site links to agile legislation and floor activity, every bit well as specific committees, leadership, and officers.

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How a nib becomes police force

The procedure that Congress must follow to enact legislation is described in Article I, Department vii of the Constitution. U.s..gov explains that anyone who has an idea for a new police force is encouraged to contact their U.S. representative or senator to propose it. However, well-nigh bills originate in the offices of ane or more of their legislative sponsors.

Footstep 1: The nib is introduced in either the House or the Senate

A bill tin be introduced by a representative or a senator; that person becomes the nib's sponsor (note that bills can take multiple sponsors). Afterwards meeting in pocket-size groups to discuss the bill's merits, representatives or senators assign the neb to a committee for farther inquiry, discussion, and potential amendments.

Step two: The neb is debated and put to a vote

One time the bill is released by the committee, representatives or senators debate it and advise amendments or other changes prior to putting the nib to a vote. Later passing in the initial trunk (House or Senate), the neb goes to the other body, where information technology's researched, discussed, and amended further.

Later both chambers accept the bill, joint committees piece of work out the differences between the two versions. Both houses so vote on the exact same bill. If the bill passes, it'south sent to the president for approval.

Pace 3: The president considers the bill

The president has x days to sign or veto bills that Congress sends to the White House for approval. (A presidential veto prevents the legislation from taking effect.) If the president approves the neb, it'southward signed into law. If the president rejects the bill, it's returned to Congress with an explanation for the veto.

If Congress adjourns before the 10-day period for signing the beak expires, the president tin can simply choose non to sign the neb, and the pecker won't become police. This is chosen a "pocket veto."

Step iv: Congress may vote to override a presidential veto

Congress has the power to override a presidential veto by a 2-thirds majority vote of both the Firm and Senate. If the veto is overridden, the bill becomes law. A pocket veto by the president tin't exist overridden by Congress.

Resources on how a pecker becomes law

• The Firm of Representatives website explains the legislative process, including how bills and resolutions are proposed, introduced, amended, debated, voted on, and enacted.
• Vote Smart examines each step in the procedure of a beak becoming constabulary in both the House and Senate, including committee action, floor action, conference committees, and presidential review.

Decision: How Their Differences Make the House and Senate Stronger

The framers of the Constitution worked advisedly to ensure that the powers wielded past the three branches of authorities —  legislative, executive, and judicial — were carefully balanced so that the duties of each co-operative were clear and no one co-operative would overpower the other 2. The bicameral legislature that splits legislative duties between a big House of Representatives and a smaller Senate is a cardinal component of the framers' ability-sharing strategy.

Despite struggles and challenges that arose early in our country's history and persist today, the division of responsibilities and sharing of power have succeeded in keeping the wheels of regime turning relatively finer more than 2 centuries after the Constitution was written. While few ramble experts and political scholars would contend that the bicameral legislative organisation works perfectly, most would agree that the formulation has stood the test of time.

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Boosted Resource

The New York Times, "When the Firm and the Senate Are Controlled by Two Different Parties, Who Wins?"

U.S. Congress, "The Legislative Process: Overview"

U.S. National Archives, "The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription"

U.Due south. Senate, "Constitution of the Usa"

Vote Smart, "Authorities 101: Congress"

palmerints1937.blogspot.com

Source: https://online.maryville.edu/blog/difference-between-house-and-senate/

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