What Is the Leader of House of Representatives

Table of Contents

Departure Betwixt House and Senate
House: Roles and Responsibilities
Senate: Roles and Responsibilities
How a Nib Becomes Police force
How Their Differences Make the House and Senate Stronger

The U.S. Congress is frequently referred to as a unmarried entity, just information technology's actually a combination of two distinct groups: the 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 House and Senate ensure that each chamber in this bicameral ("two room") system has distinct roles and responsibilities.

The U.S. Capitol building's east facade is shown with the U.S. flag flying in front of it.

Together, the House and Senate course the legislative co-operative of authorities. They collaborate with the executive and judicial branches to implement the checks and balances that proceed all three branches functioning and prevent whatsoever single co-operative from abusing its power.

Commodity I of the U.South. Constitution: Difference Between House and Senate

The framers of the Constitution knew that information technology was important to protect the smaller states of the newly formed Union from existence overshadowed past their more than populous counterparts. They hoped that by dividing legislative power between 2 houses, they'd be able to ensure equal representation for residents of all states, as the U.Due south. Capitol Visitor Center explains.

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

Article I, Section 2: Composition and Function of the House of Representatives

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

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

Historic period, citizenship, term duration, and residency requirements

Representatives:

Must exist at to the lowest degree 25 years one-time.
Must be citizens for at to the lowest degree seven years.
Are elected to a two-year term.
Must be residents of the states they represent.

Allotment of representatives based on population

Originally, the number of representatives was fix at 1 per 30,000 inhabitants, simply the representative count has since increased, equally the U.S. House of Representatives History, Art, and Archives website describes. The apportionment was to exist based on an enumeration (population demography) that was to be fabricated within three years of the Constitution being ratified (approved) by the 13 states, then every 10 years thereafter.

The Circulation Act of 1911 and its successor, the Permanent Circulation Deed of 1929, capped the number of representatives at 435. For this reason, every bit of the 2010 Census, the average number of inhabitants in a congressional commune is about 710,000. The House of Representatives Athenaeum states that the number of representatives was express to 435 considering 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 own rules of performance

The Constitution allows each house of Congress to set up 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 Business firm, which allows bills to be processed quickly. By dissimilarity, Senate votes typically crave a iii-fifths bulk, or 60 votes in favor.
Bulk party leaders in the House command the priority of various policies and make up one's mind which bills make their way to the House flooring for debate. In the Senate, minority political party leaders have more than influence over such procedures, so the bulk leaders must work more than closely with them.

Ability of impeachment

Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution states that the House "shall have the sole ability of impeachment." This ability applies to the offices of president, vice president, federal judges, and other federal officers, as 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 part. This follows a pattern established in the British government and American colonial governments dating back to the 17th century, as the Senate website explains.

Dorsum To Top

Article I, Section 3: Composition and Function of the Senate

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

As the Senate website explains, the amendment was in response to corruption and other bug that prevented land legislatures from choosing U.Southward. senators. The Senate is known as the upper bedchamber 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.South. citizens for at least nine years, and residents of the states they'll represent. Senate terms are for six years; the terms are staggered then that approximately a 3rd of all senate seats are up for election every two years. This is intended to protect the Senate from short-term political pressure and to ensure that turnover in the Senate occurs evenly, rather than having stasis for half dozen years followed by upheaval.

Allotment of Senators: Two per State

As the Senate website indicates, the reason the framers decided to allow each state to be represented by two senators was to forbid the big 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 8 assigns to the House the power to tax and spend; this clause is described in the following section.)

Ability to devise its own rules of operation

The Senate has the constitutional say-so to set its own rules, just as the House does. The Senate website quotes George Washington every bit 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 options to slow the progress of a neb past making procedural requests, such equally keeping floor argue open on the matter at hand. 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, just they must work with minority political party leaders — and often all senators — to determine the flooring agenda: the lodge in which items are brought before the Senate.

Vice president every bit president of the Senate

The Constitution makes the vice president the president of the Senate, just the vice president is allowed to vote just to intermission 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.

Ability to endeavor and pass judgment on all impeachments

Senators are empowered to try and judge impeachments; in this chapters, they serve nether "oath or affidavit." In the instance of a president'south impeachment, the chief justice of the United states of america presides. An impeachment confidence requires a two-thirds bulk vote of the total Senate.

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

Resources on the structure and office of the Firm of Representatives and Senate

Cornell Police force School'due south Legal Information Plant offers a fully annotated version of the Constitution and an explanation of the Constitution compiled by the Congressional Inquiry Service.
The S. Capitol Company Centre features a study guide that explains the deviation between the House and Senate. It poses 6 questions well-nigh the constitutional footing for the 2 houses of Congress and provides sample answers.

Back To Elevation

U.S. Business firm of Representatives: Roles and Responsibilities

The duties of the Firm of Representatives are stated in Commodity I, Sections seven and 8 of the Constitution. However, the powers granted to both houses of Congress are derived from Article I, Section 1, as the Legal Information Constitute explains.

In the early on Supreme Courtroom case McCulloch 5. Maryland, Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that the government is "one of enumerated powers," which means that it tin can practise only the powers that have been granted to it explicitly by the Constitution. Paired with this doctrine is the ruling that legislative powers may non be delegated to whatever other branch of government.

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

Enumerated, implied, resulting, and inherent powers

Marshall'due south conclusion expanded the scope of the legislative powers enumerated in the Constitution past including the ability to declare war, levy taxes, and regulate commerce. These powers are derived from the Constitution'due south necessary and proper clause in Article I, Section eight.

This gives Congress the right to practice whatever "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 government assumes these powers are granted to it by inference based on prior Supreme Court decisions, as the Legal Lexicon explains.
Resulting powers are those that Congress has considering they're needed for it to fulfill its duties. They're derived from other powers specifically granted to the government so that it can exercise its enumerated powers. The Legal Information Institute gives as an case the power to acquire territory, which results from the enumerated powers to make war and treaties.
Inherent powers are also called implied powers, as the Constitution Annotated notes. They're powers that Congress possesses even though they've never been explicitly exercised. An example would exist the power to revenue enhancement cyberspace service providers.

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

The ability to declare war, levy taxes, and regulate commerce are amongst 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' war powers accept created a lot of friction betwixt the executive and legislative branches. For instance, presidents have tried to expand their power to engage the U.S. military in overseas conflicts, as the House of Representatives Annal describes. For example, in the period after World War Two, presidents committed troops to the Dominican Republic, Lao people's democratic republic, and Vietnam, amid other countries, without requesting or receiving authorization from Congress.

The House originates all revenue legislation

Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution states that bills intended to enhance revenue must originate in the House. This is one of the major differences between the Business firm and Senate. The Senate is allowed to suggest amendments to spending and taxing legislation, simply as it can with other bills sent to information technology from the House.

Bills require but a numerical majority vote

The decision of the framers to permit bills to pass the House after getting a simple majority of votes was motivated past the desire to allow legislation to be enacted chop-chop. The responsibility for assessing and developing bills belongs to standing committees that are chaired by members of the bulk party, merely are made up of members of both parties, as the Congressional Research Service explains.

Majority party powers and prerogatives

The important office of political parties in the system and performance of the House is described by the House of Representatives Archive. The majority party elects a speaker of the business firm and chooses other leadership positions, including the chair of all House committees. In that location are more than members of the House than of the Senate, so the majority party wields more power in the lower bedroom.

Set up policy agenda

The speaker of the business firm ordinarily selects the House majority leader. The Business firm majority leader is charged with formulating the party's legislative agenda, as described by USHistory.org. The minority party chooses a minority leader whose bear on on the Firm policy agenda is much more express.

Decide which legislation reaches the House floor

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

Chair all committees

While majority party members are called to chair all Firm committees, they must work with the ranking member of the minority political party to prepare bills for deliberation by all House members. The House 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 Firm and Senate, usually 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 ability to tax and spend.
The House of Representatives website explains the composition and functions of the Business firm, including its leadership, committees, commissions, schedule, rules, and history.

U.S. Senate: Roles and Responsibilities

Commodity I, Department 3 of the Constitution describes the basic limerick, operation, and duties of the Senate, although the Constitution grants the Senate elbowroom in determining how information technology will conduct its concern. The Senate website describes the powers and procedures of the legislative torso, which include trying impeachments, reviewing and approval presidential nominees, approving treaties, and managing internal matters.

Powers

The Senate receives all its dominance 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.

But the Senate confirms presidential nominations and treaties

Article Ii, Section two of the Constitution grants the president power to nominate and appoint ambassadors, Supreme Court justices, and "other officers of the United States." Nevertheless, the Constitution requires that nominations and appointments be made "with the Advice and Consent of the Senate."

Similarly, the Senate is empowered to corroborate treaties proposed past the president by a ii-thirds majority vote. The Senate as well has the power to change a treaty's terms. (The president's power to establish 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 bedroom of Congress after early state senates and the governor'south councils of the Colonial era. To shield senators from short-term political pressure, their terms were set at six years rather than the two-yr terms of House representatives.

The Senate was intended to act more deliberately than the Firm. This emphasizes the Senate's duty to suggest on and consent to deportment taken in the House and by the executive branch of government. In this function, the framers expressed their "suspicion of the presidency" by allowing the Senate to serve equally a cheque on executive powers. It as well serves as a check confronting the impulsiveness of the Business firm.

Individual senators have meaning procedural leverage

The standing rules of the Senate promote deliberation by allowing senators to "argue at length" and by requiring greater than a simple majority to end argue on a matter, as the Congressional Inquiry Service explains. The rules also let Senators advise floor amendments to pending bills that are exterior of the bailiwick matter of the bills themselves. For example, the Existent ID Human activity of 2005 passed as a "passenger": an additional provision to a military spending deed that in its original version made no reference to traveler identification, as ThoughtCo explains.

The result is an unpredictable daily floor schedule for Senate business and the possibility that bills will be proposed whose subjects oasis't been researched or debated in committee. To bring some order to Senate proceedings, the majority leader is given priority in beingness recognized to speak and to propose the bills and legislation that the body will consider.

Bulk party powers and prerogatives

In improver to the Senate majority leader's ability to control debates on the Senate floor, the bulk political party is granted other rights in the operation of the Senate.

Proposes items for consideration

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

Negotiates with the minority political party to conduct Senate floor action

Nearly Senate actions crave greater than a simple bulk to pass. Therefore, the majority party must work more than closely with the Senate minority party than is typical in the House, which needs only a simple bulk to approve measures. The Senate website describes the relationship between the majority and minority parties in the Senate as "one of compromise and mutual forbearance" that's intended to forestall stalemates from arising on important matters of legislation.

Chairs all committees

Similarly, members of the Senate majority party are called to chair all committees. However, the nature of the Senate requires that the majority leaders of committees work with the ranking member of the minority political party to accomplish the commission's goals. The Senate website explains that the bulk political party controls most committee staff and resources, but the minority political 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'south history and operation, including biographies of past senators, historical highlights, and a consummate chronology.
The Library of Congress profiles electric current members of the Senate and explains the body'due south policies and procedures. The site links to agile legislation and floor activeness, besides as specific committees, leadership, and officers.

Back To Height

How a nib becomes constabulary

The procedure that Congress must follow to enact legislation is described in Commodity I, Department 7 of the Constitution. USA.gov explains that anyone who has an idea for a new law is encouraged to contact their U.S. representative or senator to suggest information technology. However, most bills originate in the offices of 1 or more than of their legislative sponsors.

Step ane: The nib is introduced in either the House or the Senate

A bill can be introduced past a representative or a senator; that person becomes the neb's sponsor (note that bills tin have multiple sponsors). After meeting in modest groups to discuss the neb's claim, representatives or senators assign the pecker to a committee for further research, discussion, and potential amendments.

Step 2: The bill is debated and put to a vote

Once the pecker is released by the commission, representatives or senators fence it and propose amendments or other changes prior to putting the bill to a vote. After passing in the initial body (Business firm or Senate), the bill goes to the other trunk, where it'southward researched, discussed, and amended further.

Afterward both chambers take the nib, joint committees work out the differences between the 2 versions. Both houses so vote on the exact aforementioned bill. If the nib passes, it's sent to the president for approving.

Pace iii: The president considers the bill

The president has 10 days to sign or veto bills that Congress sends to the White Firm for approval. (A presidential veto prevents the legislation from taking effect.) If the president approves the beak, it's signed into police. If the president rejects the bill, it'due south returned to Congress with an explanation for the veto.

If Congress adjourns before the ten-day flow for signing the neb expires, the president tin can only choose non to sign the neb, and the neb won't become law. This is called a "pocket veto."

Step 4: 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 House and Senate. If the veto is overridden, the bill becomes constabulary. A pocket veto by the president can't be overridden past Congress.

Resources on how a bill becomes law

The Business 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 stride in the process of a bill condign law in both the Firm and Senate, including committee action, floor activity, conference committees, and presidential review.

Determination: How Their Differences Brand the House and Senate Stronger

The framers of the Constitution worked carefully to ensure that the powers wielded by the three branches of government — legislative, executive, and judicial — were advisedly balanced and so that the duties of each branch were clear and no one branch would overpower the other ii. The bicameral legislature that splits legislative duties between a big House of Representatives and a smaller Senate is a key component of the framers' power-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 effectively more than two centuries after the Constitution was written. While few constitutional experts and political scholars would argue that the bicameral legislative arrangement works perfectly, most would concur that the conception has stood the test of fourth dimension.