Differences and Likeness of the House of Representatives and Senate

Table of Contents

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

The U.Southward. Congress is often referred to as a single entity, only it'southward actually a combination of two distinct groups: the Business firm of Representatives and the Senate. While both houses of Congress work together to advise and enact the laws that govern our country, the differences between the House and Senate ensure that each chamber in this bicameral ("two room") organisation has distinct roles and responsibilities.

Together, the House and Senate grade the legislative branch of regime. They collaborate with the executive and judicial branches to implement the checks and balances that keep all iii branches operation and forestall any single branch from abusing its power.

Commodity I of the U.South. Constitution: Deviation 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 beingness overshadowed past their more populous counterparts. They hoped that past dividing legislative ability betwixt two houses, they'd be able to ensure equal representation for residents of all states, as the U.S. Capitol Visitor Heart explains.

At the Ramble 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 land. The Great Compromise (or Connecticut Compromise) gives each land equal representation in the Senate while ensuring equal representation per denizen in the House.

Commodity I, Department 2: Composition and Function of the House of Representatives

Article I of the Constitution specifies the powers, duties, and responsibilities of each of the 2 houses of Congress. Information technology lays out the rules for qualifying as a representative, too every bit the method past which the seats in the Business firm of Representatives are assigned to united states and how vacancies are filled.

The Constitution affords the House — known as the lower chamber because it has more than members than the Senate — much elbowroom in deciding how it will operate.

Age, citizenship, term duration, and residency requirements

Representatives:

• Must be at least 25 years one-time.
• Must exist citizens for at least seven years.
• Are elected to a ii-year term.
• Must be residents of us they represent.

Allotment of representatives based on population

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

The Apportionment Act of 1911 and its successor, the Permanent Circulation Act 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 district is virtually 710,000. The House of Representatives Athenaeum 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.

Ability to devise its own rules of operation

The Constitution allows each business firm 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 processed quickly. By contrast, Senate votes typically require a three-fifths majority, or 60 votes in favor.
• Bulk political party leaders in the Business firm control the priority of various policies and determine which bills make their way to the House floor for debate. In the Senate, minority party leaders accept more influence over such procedures, so 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 have the sole power of impeachment." This power 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, blackmail, or other high crimes and misdemeanors."

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

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Commodity I, Section 3: Limerick and Function of the Senate

Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution calls for two senators from each state to exist selected by a country's legislature to represent that state. However, the 17th Amendment, approved in 1913, mandates the direct election of U.Southward. senators, which means that they're elected by direct vote of the people rather than by state legislators.

Equally 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 every bit the upper sleeping accommodation of Congress considering it has fewer members than the House.

Age, citizenship, term elapsing, and residency requirements

The Constitution requires that senators be at least thirty years erstwhile, U.S. citizens for at least nine years, and residents of the states they'll correspond. Senate terms are for half dozen years; the terms are staggered then that approximately a tertiary of all senate seats are upwards for ballot 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 past upheaval.

Allotment of Senators: 2 per Land

As the Senate website indicates, the reason the framers decided to let each country to exist represented by two senators was to foreclose the large states from overpowering their smaller counterparts. Benjamin Franklin believed that states should have equal votes in all matters except those involving coin. (Commodity I, Section 8 assigns to the House the ability to taxation and spend; this clause is described in the following section.)

Ability to devise its own rules of performance

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

• In the Senate, individual senators accept more options to slow the progress of a bill by making procedural requests, such as keeping floor debate open up on the matter at hand. This is intended to encourage deliberation, or the careful discussion and consideration, of issues.
• Bulk party leaders in the Senate propose the priority of items to be debated, but they must work with minority party leaders — and often all senators — to determine the floor agenda: the order in which items are brought before the Senate.

Vice president equally president of the Senate

The Constitution makes the vice president the president of the Senate, but the vice president is immune to vote only to break a tie. 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 chapters, they serve under "oath or affidavit." In the case of a president's impeachment, the chief justice of the United States presides. An impeachment confidence requires a 2-thirds bulk vote of the full Senate.

If the impeachment trial leads to a conviction, the punishment is removal from office and disqualification from "any office of honour, trust or profit under the Usa," according to Article I, Department 3. Notwithstanding, the impeached person is "liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and penalty, according to law."

Resources on the construction and function of the House of Representatives and Senate

• Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute offers a fully annotated version of the Constitution and an explanation of the Constitution compiled past the Congressional Inquiry Service.
• The S. Capitol Visitor Centre features a written report guide that explains the difference between the Firm and Senate. It poses six questions near the constitutional basis for the two houses of Congress and provides sample answers.

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U.S. House of Representatives: Roles and Responsibilities

The duties of the House of Representatives are stated in Article I, Sections 7 and 8 of the Constitution. Withal, the powers granted to both houses of Congress are derived from Commodity I, Section 1, as the Legal Information Institute explains.

In the early Supreme Court case McCulloch v. Maryland, Main Justice John Marshall wrote that the government is "one of enumerated powers," which means that it 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 non be delegated to any other branch of government.

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

Enumerated, implied, resulting, and inherent powers

Marshall's decision expanded the scope 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 8.

This gives Congress the correct to exercise any "ways which are advisable" 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 regime assumes these powers are granted to it by inference based on prior Supreme Court decisions, as the Legal Dictionary explains.
• Resulting powers are those that Congress has because they're needed for it to fulfill its duties. They're derived from other powers specifically granted to the government and so that it can exercise its enumerated powers. The Legal Information Institute gives every bit an example the power to acquire territory, which results from the enumerated powers to make state of 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 tax internet service providers.

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

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

In improver, Congress' state of war powers have created a lot of friction betwixt the executive and legislative branches. For example, presidents have tried to aggrandize their power to engage the U.S. armed services in overseas conflicts, equally the Firm of Representatives Annal describes. For example, in the flow after Globe War II, presidents committed troops to the Dominican Republic, Lao people's democratic republic, and Vietnam, among 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 raise revenue must originate in the House. This is 1 of the major differences between the House and Senate. The Senate is allowed to propose amendments to spending and taxing legislation, only every bit information technology can with other bills sent to it from the House.

Bills require only a numerical majority vote

The decision of the framers to allow bills to pass the House later on getting a simple majority of votes was motivated past the desire to permit legislation to be enacted rapidly. The responsibleness for assessing and developing bills belongs to standing committees that are chaired by members of the majority party, but are made upwardly of members of both parties, as the Congressional Enquiry Service explains.

Majority party powers and prerogatives

The important role of political parties in the organization and performance of the House is described by the House of Representatives Archive. The majority party elects a speaker of the house and chooses other leadership positions, including the chair of all Firm committees. There are more members of the House than of the Senate, so the bulk party wields more power in the lower bedroom.

Prepare policy calendar

The speaker of the business firm usually selects the Firm majority leader. The House majority leader is charged with formulating the party'south legislative agenda, as described by USHistory.org. The minority political party chooses a minority leader whose bear upon on the House policy agenda is much more limited.

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

Amidst the duties of the speaker of the house are presiding over all House proceedings, determining which bills go 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 body of representatives.

Chair all committees

While majority party members are chosen to chair all Business firm committees, they must work with the ranking fellow member of the minority political party to fix bills for deliberation by all Business firm members. The Business 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, usually to written report 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 viii, including the types of taxes permitted and limits imposed on the ability to tax and spend.
• The Business firm of Representatives website explains the composition and functions of the House, 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 limerick, operation, and duties of the Senate, although the Constitution grants the Senate leeway in determining how information technology will acquit its business. The Senate website describes the powers and procedures of the legislative body, which include trying impeachments, reviewing and approving presidential nominees, blessing treaties, and managing internal matters.

Powers

The Senate receives all its authority from the Constitution. As described in a higher place 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, Section 8 necessary and proper clause.

Only 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 U.s.a.." Nonetheless, the Constitution requires that nominations and appointments be made "with the Advice and Consent of the Senate."

Similarly, the Senate is empowered to approve treaties proposed by the president by a two-thirds majority vote. The Senate as well has the power to alter 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 chamber of Congress after early land senates and the governor's councils of the Colonial era. To shield senators from curt-term political pressure, their terms were set at 6 years rather than the two-year terms of Business firm representatives.

The Senate was intended to act more than deliberately than the House. This emphasizes the Senate's duty to advise on and consent to deportment taken in the House and by the executive branch of regime. In this role, the framers expressed their "suspicion of the presidency" by allowing the Senate to serve as a check on executive powers. It also serves as a check against the impulsiveness of the House.

Private senators have significant procedural leverage

The standing rules of the Senate promote deliberation past allowing senators to "debate at length" and by requiring greater than a simple majority to end fence on a matter, as the Congressional Enquiry Service explains. The rules also let Senators propose floor amendments to pending bills that are outside of the field of study affair of the bills themselves. For example, the Real ID Human action of 2005 passed as a "rider": an boosted provision to a military spending deed that in its original version made no reference to traveler identification, as ThoughtCo explains.

The upshot is an unpredictable daily floor schedule for Senate business concern and the possibility that bills will be proposed whose subjects haven't been researched or debated in commission. To bring some guild to Senate proceedings, the bulk leader is given priority in being recognized to speak and to propose the bills and legislation that the trunk will consider.

Majority party powers and prerogatives

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

Proposes items for consideration

The duties of the Senate majority leader include handling all procedural matters that arise on the Senate floor and informing members of the majority party nearly the content, implications, and status of all pending legislation. In collaboration with Senate committee chairs, the majority leader addresses any conflicts that may prevent proposed bills from existence passed.

Negotiates with the minority party to conduct Senate floor action

Most Senate actions require greater than a simple majority to pass. Therefore, the majority party must work more 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 "i of compromise and mutual forbearance" that's intended to foreclose stalemates from arising on of import matters of legislation.

Chairs all committees

Similarly, members of the Senate majority political party are chosen to chair all committees. However, the nature of the Senate requires that the majority leaders of committees piece of work with the ranking member of the minority political party to accomplish the commission'due south goals. The Senate website explains that the majority political 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's 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 body's policies and procedures. The site links to active legislation and floor action, as well as specific committees, leadership, and officers.

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How a bill becomes police

The procedure that Congress must follow to enact legislation is described in Article I, Section vii of the Constitution. U.s..gov explains that anyone who has an thought for a new law is encouraged to contact their U.S. representative or senator to propose information technology. Even so, most bills originate in the offices of i or more than of their legislative sponsors.

Stride 1: The neb is introduced in either the House or the Senate

A bill tin be introduced by a representative or a senator; that person becomes the bill's sponsor (note that bills tin have multiple sponsors). After meeting in pocket-sized groups to talk over the bill'south merits, representatives or senators assign the bill to a commission for further research, give-and-take, and potential amendments.

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

Once the bill is released by the commission, representatives or senators debate it and advise amendments or other changes prior to putting the bill to a vote. After passing in the initial torso (House or Senate), the nib goes to the other torso, where information technology's researched, discussed, and amended farther.

After both chambers take the pecker, joint committees work out the differences between the ii versions. Both houses then vote on the exact same nib. If the nib passes, it's sent to the president for approval.

Step 3: The president considers the beak

The president has 10 days to sign or veto bills that Congress sends to the White Firm for blessing. (A presidential veto prevents the legislation from taking outcome.) If the president approves the bill, it's signed into law. If the president rejects the bill, it's returned to Congress with an caption for the veto.

If Congress adjourns before the 10-day flow for signing the bill expires, the president tin simply cull not to sign the beak, 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 past a two-thirds majority vote of both the Firm and Senate. If the veto is overridden, the bill becomes law. A pocket veto by the president can't be overridden by Congress.

Resources on how a bill becomes law

• The House 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 procedure of a beak becoming police in both the House and Senate, including committee activity, floor action, conference committees, and presidential review.

Conclusion: How Their Differences Brand the Firm and Senate Stronger

The framers of the Constitution worked advisedly to ensure that the powers wielded by the three branches of government —  legislative, executive, and judicial — were carefully balanced and so that the duties of each co-operative were clear and no one branch would overpower the other two. The bicameral legislature that splits legislative duties between a large 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 partitioning of responsibilities and sharing of ability have succeeded in keeping the wheels of government turning relatively effectively more than ii centuries later the Constitution was written. While few ramble experts and political scholars would debate that the bicameral legislative system works perfectly, most would agree that the formulation has stood the test of time.

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Additional Resources

The New York Times, "When the Business firm and the Senate Are Controlled by 2 Unlike Parties, Who Wins?"

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

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

U.S. Senate, "Constitution of the U.s.a."

Vote Smart, "Government 101: Congress"

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

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