Why Are the House of Representatives and the Senate Different
The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government and consists of two houses: the lower house known as the Firm of Representatives and the upper firm known as the Senate. The words "Congress" and "House" are sometimes used colloquially to refer to the House of Representatives. At that place are 535 members of Congress: 100 senators and 435 representatives in the House.
Republicans currently command the Senate (54 to 44 Democrats) and the House (246 to 188).
Comparison nautical chart
 | House of Representatives | Senate |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction | The Us House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Us Congress. It is frequently referred to as the House. | The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the U.s. Congress. |
| Blazon | Lower house. Responds to the needs of the people faster since representatives only accept a two year term. Laws dealing with revenue must start in the Business firm. | Upper house. The 6 yr term means the Senate can be slower and consider the long-term effects of laws. |
| Seats | 435 voting members, 6 non-voting members: 5 delegates, one resident commissioner | 100 |
| Seats apportioned | Based on the population of each state | Two for each land |
| Length of term | 2 years. All 435 seats are up for reelection every ii years. | 6 years. Hither there is a continuous body idea. Just ane/iii of the senate seats are elected every two years. Then just 34 or 33 senators are up for ballot at one time. |
| Term limits | None | None |
| Leadership | Nancy Pelosi (D) (Speaker); elected past the House of Representatives. | The President of the Senate [currently Kamala Harris (D) only votes in case of a tie. When he or she is not available, the President pro tempore, a senator elected by the Senate [currently Patrick Leahy (D)] takes over on his behalf. |
| Majority Leader | Steny Hoyer (D) | Chuck Schumer (D) |
| Minority Leader | Kevin McCarthy (R) | Mitch McConnell (R) |
| Majority Whip | James Clyburn (D) | John Thune (R) |
| Minority Whip | Steve Scalise (R) | Dick Durbin (D) |
| Political groups | Democratic (219), Republican (211), five vacant seats | Republican (48), Democratic (48), Independent (2) |
| Voting organisation | Commencement-past-the-postal service | Showtime-past-the-post |
| History | Based on Virginia Program | Based on New Jersey Plan |
Size of Senate vs. House
While there are 100 seats in the Senate (two senators from each country), there are 435 seats in the House of Representatives (one representative from each of the various congressional districts, with the number of congressional districts in each state determined by the population).
The Reapportionment Act of 1929 prepare the last number of the Business firm at the current 435, with commune sizes adjusted according to population growth. However, as district borders were never defined definitively, they can and often do stretch into peculiar shapes due to a practice known as gerrymandering.
Gerrymandering is used at the state legislature level to create districts that overwhelmingly favor one party. Federal and Supreme Courtroom rulings have overturned gerrymandering efforts that have been perceived to be based on race, simply otherwise some districts have been reconfigured to give one or another political party an extreme political reward, thus assuasive that party to secure more power in the country and in the House of Representatives.
A line graph showing which political parties have controlled the U.S. Firm of Representatives and Senate over the years. Click to enlarge.
Roles of Representatives and Senators
The House plays a major role in authorities, mainly that of initiating all revenue-based legislation. Any proposal to heighten taxes must come from the Business firm, with Senate review and approving. The Senate, on the other manus, has sole ability of approval on foreign treaties and cabinet and judicial nominations, including appointments to the Supreme Court.
In cases of impeachment (eastward.grand., Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998), the Firm determines if charges can be brought confronting the official, and a unproblematic bulk vote approves or rejects the filing of charges (the impeachment process). If approved, the Senate then serves as the investigative/judicial body to determine if the charges merit removing the defendant official from his or her office. However, the vote in the Senate has to represent "a significant bulk," usually taken to mean 67 of the 100 votes.
Members of Congress are accounted to be "across the power of arrest" while in office, except in cases of treason, murder, or fraud. This stipulation has been used by representatives and senators to avoid subpoenas and other judicial procedures. A senator can waive the privilege at any time, but a member of the House has to submit his or her petition to a general vote. If a simple majority approves, the privilege can be waived.
Congress has the power to subpoena any citizen. Noncompliance with a congressional subpoena can carry up to a one-year jail sentence. The case is heard in a judicial forum, and punishment (a sentence) for those found guilty of "contempt of Congress" is handled strictly past the judicial system.
The succession order in the federal government is president, vice president and then Speaker of the House, the leader of the representatives. The vice president is considered the "president" of the Senate, though he or she is non required or even expected to attend nigh Senate sessions. The Senate elects a "President Pro Tempore," often the senior, or longest-serving, senator of the majority party, who is responsible for managing day-to-mean solar day business.
Length of Terms
Senators are elected for a half dozen-twelvemonth term, but House representatives but accept two-twelvemonth terms before they demand to seek reelection. Every fellow member of the House is up for election or reelection every two years, simply the Senate has a staggered system wherein only i-3rd of the Senators are up for election or reelection every ii years. It is possible for the House to change to a large extent (in terms of political party command) every two years, but changes are slower in the Senate. In both chambers, incumbents have a great reward over challengers, winning more than xc% of all contested races.
Qualifications
To be eligible as a representative, a person needs to exist at least 25 years old at the time of the election and have lived continuously in the U.S. for at least 7 years. To become a senator, ane must exist at least 30 years former at the time of the election and have lived continuously in the U.S. for at least ix years. It is not a requirement to be a natural-built-in citizen in order to become a member of Congress.
Committees
Most of Congress' work takes place in committees. Both the Firm and Senate have standing, special, conference, and joint committees.
Standing committees are permanent and provide longer-serving members with ability bases. In the House, key committees include Upkeep, Ways and Means, and Armed forces, while the Senate has Appropriations, Strange Relations, and Judiciary committees. (Some committees exist in both chambers, such as Budget, Armed Services, and Veterans Affairs.) Special committees are temporary, formed to investigate, analyze, and/or evaluate specific bug. Conference committees are formed when legislation is approved in both the House and Senate; they finalize the language in legislation. Joint committees feature members of the Business firm and Senate, with leadership of each committee alternate between members of each chamber.
Committees likewise take subcommittees, which are formed to focus more closely on certain issues. Some accept go permanent, just most are formed for express time frames. Although useful for zeroing in on fundamental bug, the proliferation of committees, and specially subcommittees, has decentralized the legislative process and significantly slowed it, making Congress less responsive to changing trends and needs.
Debating legislation has stricter rules in the House than in the Senate, applicable at both the committee and whole-body levels. In the House, debate time is restricted and topics are gear up beforehand, with discussions limited to the calendar. In the Senate, the tactic chosen filibustering is allowed. One time the flooring is ceded to a senator, he or she can speak for as long as the senator chooses, on any topic; no other business tin exist transacted while the person speaks. A filibuster is used to cake potential legislation or Senate decisions until a favorable vote tin can be called. This has resulted in sometimes comically absurd efforts on the part of senators. For example, during a 2013 filibuster over the Affordable Care Deed, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) read from Green Eggs and Ham.
Origins of Firm and Senate
In full general, the Firm represents the population, while the Senate represents a "landed/large property" populace. In colonial times, the proposed "legislative trunk" had two models. The Virginia Programme, endorsed by Thomas Jefferson, created a grouping of representatives based on population sizes, so that more populous states would have a greater voice in legislative issues. Opposing it was the New Jersey Plan that limited each state to the aforementioned number of representatives; the plan suggested that at that place be something betwixt two to 5 representatives per country. The New Jersey Program was criticized for belongings larger states "hostage" to smaller states, as each would have the same power base. This article in The New Yorker dissects it well:
James Madison and Alexander Hamilton absolutely hated the idea that each state should be entitled to the same number of senators regardless of size. Hamilton was withering on the topic. "As states are a collection of individual men," he harangued his young man-delegates at the Ramble Convention in Philadelphia, "which ought nosotros to respect most, the rights of the people composing them, or of the artificial beings resulting from the composition? Goose egg could exist more preposterous or absurd than to sacrifice the former to the latter."
Per the Connecticut Compromise at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787, the United States adopted the bicameral system of the English Parliament (i.e., House of Lords and House of Commons). The compromise was betwixt the Virginia program (modest land) and the New Bailiwick of jersey proposal (large state), 2 competing ideas on whether each state should get equal representation in the federal government or whether representation should be based on population. The compromise established that representatives in the lower firm (House of Representatives) will exist based on a population number (called a "commune") while the upper house (Senate) would incorporate two representative from each country. It was also decided that all classes would be eligible to become senators, subject field to age and residency restrictions.
References
- Congress.gov
- The Organization of Congress - Cliff Notes
- Wikipedia: United States House of Representatives
- Wikipedia: U.s. Senate
- Wikipedia: Construction of the United States Congress
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