House Of Representatives: Similarities Between The United States And The US

However, when it comes down to passing legislation the two chambers have mostly equal powers, as neither chamber can overturn the decision made by the other, therefore the senate cannot dominate the House. Along with the ruling that both chambers must approve constitutional amendments, the House does however have exclusive powers over money bills, but this is overshadowed by the Senates ability to ratify or even reject a

As with the U.S., bills may be introduced by any member of either house, and approved by both houses. The existence of an upper house (Senate) in both Constitutions permits useful participation in public affairs to those who might not wish to run for election. Senate also encourages the patronage offerings of the major political parties.

The Senate and House of Representatives both need to be on the same page. No bill will be passed if there is a disagreement between the two. However, they both have different abilities. For example, the House initiates revenue bills and can implement impeachment procedure which the Senate cannot do. The Senate can approve treaties and can provide insight to the President’s actions. It seems as though the Senate has more weight, being casually called the “upper” house, and the House of Representatives called the “lower” house.

The Role of the Senate and House of Representatives The Congress of the United States consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives which means the USA is bi-cambial. The Congress of the United States was created by Article I, Section 1, of the Constitution, adopted by the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787. The Senate is composed of 100 Members, 2 from each State, who are elected to serve for a term of 6 years.

and congress have in our democracy. The people elect members of the House while members off the senate are chosen by state legislators and how members are the house serve a term of two years while members of the senate have a term of 6 years. How congress have the power to rise and regulate the army and the navy, and declare war while the power of the senate can only ratified treaties, accept or reject presidential nominations. The congress and the house of representatives are significant in our democracy and how they continue to play a significant role in our democracy.

In 1787, one of the most debated issues was the size of the House of Representatives. During the Constitutional Convention, the delegates proposed that 40,000 citizens should be represented by one congressional district. However, George Washington intervened and argued that 40,000 was too high, and reasoned that 30,000 was more reasonable and allow people to be represented adequately Washington’s proposal was incorporated in Article One, Section Two of the Constitution which states “representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State.” While the number of representatives did increase throughout the history of the United States, the number has been set at 435 members since 1929. Congress in 1929 passed the Permanent Apportionment Act that set the number of representatives at 435, which was set after a 1910 census. Currently each representative represents 700,000 citizens and congressional seats are redistricted around the nation based on population changes. But the currently number of representatives does not adequately represent the present population and a single district cannot represent a huge number of people. Therefore, the current number of representatives must be increased.

This two house system ensures that each state has fair representation in congress. Document D states that the House of Representatives is based off of the population, while the Senate has equal representation from each state. In the House of Representatives, larger states, such as virginia and Massachusetts have more representatives than a small state such as Rhode Island or Delaware. The Senate, however, is made up of 2 senators that are chosen by the people of each state. Although bigger states have more representatives in the house, smaller states don’t feel threatened because they have fair representation in the Senate. The bicameralism system keeps America protected from tyranny by keeping the representatives fair and not allowing different states to hold more

The number of representatives in the house is based on a state's populous, each state gets a minimum 1 representative and 1 more for the allotted amount of people in the state. This came from the virginia plan, to make it fair to big states to gain more representation in congress, the New Jersey plan favored small states and is featured in the senate where each state gets 2 representatives. Small states wanted an equal say and a voice in congress so two senators were elected in each state (Doc D). No senator can serve in both senate and house at the same time in order to keep them separate and no Congress member can be a judge or president while still serving as the elected official (Doc B). When the senate or house wants to pass a bill it must pass both the Senate and the House and then will be sent to the president to check, and it will be either signed or vetoed, so that congress cannot pass laws that are in favor of their power (Doc

The filibuster, a result of following Vice President Aaron Burr’s request to clean up the Senate’s rule book in 1805, once used to hold procedure by Senators to allow them time to arrive and debate or vote on legislation has been hijacked by minority Republicans into indefinite vetoes of legislation and administration nominations. While scarcely used by Senators to block legislation - President Woodrow Wilson attempt to prepare the U.S. for WWI found it difficult to pass legislation in preparation of the war introduced the cloture rule to close debate by a two-thirds majority vote that was modified in 1975 to a only three-fifths majority - Republicans have exploited this procedure to where even just the threat of a filibuster can block legislation and nominations creating mass gridlock. It was once required, if a Senator wanted to filibuster a bill, to stand on the Senate floor and speak nonstop in an attempt to coerce his cohorts to alter their stance. The filibuster has given a minority in the Senate the ability to veto legislation even if a majority of legislators in both houses and the president approve of the bill. The filibuster, with no precedent in the U.S. Constitution, has given a small minority of 41 the power to control and sway critical legislation in a way not envisioned by the founding framers as they constructed the United States governmental

The filibuster continues to be an area of controversy in the United States Senate. Critics of the rule claim that it has corrupted and even broken the institution, while proponents claim that the rule is a savior for the minority against unpopular laws instituted by the majority. Throughout history, the filibuster has shown its potentially dangerous side as well as its positive benefits. After any major party shift in the Senate, it seems that there is always talk of filibuster reform by the new majority. Although reform debates persist, rules and procedures regarding the filibuster have yet to be significantly changed since 1975, when the cloture rule was last amended. The debate has been revived

The US Constitution created the simple format of Majority Rule and Minority right. The minority has the right to express their beliefs, it is the majority that creates the legislation. However, the minority's has the power of filibustering and the ability to block legislation. In the video by Moyers & Company the video talks about the subject of how the rules of filibuster in the senate have changed throughout the years and the different senate majorities have made those different changes. Filibusters create partisanship and are frustrating, especially to the majority party, but they are necessary and acceptable tool for the lawmakers to use against the majority.

In the United States government, the legislative branch is a very complex system. Congress was made into a bicameral, or two-house system. The framers of the constitution did this because they believed that it was in the best interest of this new nation. These two separate houses would help aid the democratic process and make the system less corrupt and fair for all the states.

A balance of wisdom and consent in the legislature is addressed by the very nature of the rules in the House and Senate, and will be described in further detail respectively. Basically, the House, being the more organized and less deliberative of the two chambers, would be quicker in voting on what their constituents would want due to the close relationship a representative would have with the people. Their terms are shorter, and this is what drives representatives to be out amongst voters more frequently and more responsive to their concerns. The Senators, however, have longer terms and established rules that allow for long, deliberative debate

The Organizational Structure of congress in the United Stated is demonstrated through the fact that we have a House and a Senate that are separated from each other. Congress is a very complex structure that possesses many committees that all handle a variety of topics. The United States Senate is composed of only 100 members that serve six year terms. Some refer to the senate as the “upper house”, and only 1/3 of the members of the United Senate are re-elected every two years. The House of Representatives is composed of 435 members that each serve two year terms. The HOR is known as the “lower house” and all 435 members are up for re-election every two years. The top two leadership roles in the Senate are The Vice President of the United States who presides over the Senate, and required to vote when there is a tie in Senate. Also in the case of a death of a president, the Vice president must step up and preside over the nation. The second most vital role in Senate is the President Pro-Tempore. The President Pro-Tempore is the highest ranked senator as elected by the Senate. The top two positions in the House are The Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader. The Speaker of the House is arguably the most influential single legislator in both houses. The Speaker presides over proceedings on the House floor, designates which bills go to which committees, designates committee assignments for new members, appoints the party 's other leaders , and

The Constitution gives Congress all of the legislative powers of the national government. The House and Senate share most of these powers. This includes the broad enumerated powers in Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution—for example, coining money, regulating interstate and foreign commerce, raising and equipping a military, and declaring war. The House and the Senate share most lawmaking powers. Bills must clear both chambers in exactly the same form before they are sent to the president for approval or veto.