Difference Between The House And The Senate

662 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Compare and contrast the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives

When it comes to Congress, there are multiple differences between House and Senate. A few smaller ones would be how the House has 435 members with two-year terms, while the Senate only has 100 members with six-year terms. There are so many other things that are different about the two. The Constitutional Powers of the House are very important to the country. The House initiates all revenue bills and initiates (and passes or defeats) articles of impeachment. Other structural differences that are important about the House is that it is more hierarchically organized (more centralized, more formal, stronger leadership.) than the Senate. Power is also distributed less evenly because of the large number of members. The members themselves are highly specialized. The House also emphasizes tax and revenue policy. The big difference between the House and Senate is that the House has way more committees and subcommittees. Like, a lot more. Another interesting thing about the house is that it introduces new bills by putting them into “the hopper.” (The representatives introduce bills by placing them in the bill hopper attached to the side of the Clerk’s desk in the Chamber. The term derives from a funnel-shaped storage bin filled from the top and emptied from the bottom, which is often used to house grain or coal. Bills are retrieved from the hopper and referred to committees with the appropriate jurisdiction.) …show more content…

(Debate limits are set by the Rules Committee.) The last few notes about the House before i move on to the Senate is the changes in the institution since the 1990’s. Power has become more centralized in the Speaker’s inner circle of advisors, House procedures are quickly becoming more efficient, and anyone seeking reelection almost always

Show More
Related

  • Congressional Committees: The Workhorse of Legislature

    638 Words  | 2 Pages

    Most individuals with a general background knowledge of the United States Federal Government system are aware that in order for a bill to become a law, it must first pass a majority vote in Congress. There is, however, a very important step in the legislative process that sometimes goes unnoticed. The committee system of the legislation process ensures that the appropriate attention is given to each bill introduced to Congress. Each member of both chambers are assigned to committees and subcommittees, and are expected to become subject matter experts in their respective roles as committee members.

    Read More

  • Checks and Balances

    850 Words  | 2 Pages

    The legislative branch is responsible for making laws and includes Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate has 100 members, two from each state. The house of representatives is made up of 435 members, and the larger the population of the state is, the more representatives it will have. The House and the Senate are also known as Congressional Chambers, and they both have particular exclusive powers. The consent of both chambers is required to pass any legislation. But it can only become law if it is signed by the President. The President has the power to veto a bill though, which will deny the legislation and kick the bill back to Congress. It may then only be passed if 2/3 of both houses of Congress vote to pass the bill.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Constitution And California Constitution

    1210 Words  | 3 Pages

    Starting in the legislative branch, some minor differences include the federal bicameral legislature containing the Senate and the House of Representatives (U.S. Const. art. I, § 2&3), whereas ...

    Read More

  • Three Branches of the Texas Government

    1619 Words  | 4 Pages

    Our Legislative Branch has two chambers or as some will call it bicameral. The chambers consist of the Senate and the House of Representatives just like the National Legislative Branch. In our Senate we currently have a total of 31 members and there are 150 members in the House of Representatives. Senators hold their seat for 4 years and their election years are spread out while the House of Representatives are elected for two-year terms. In our Texas Legislature we have a few authority figures. “The Texas Constitution provides that the lieutenant governor shall serve as president of the senate, the presiding officer of that body. The lieutenant governor is elected statewide by voters of Texas and is the second-highest ranking officer of the executive branch of government”. (Texas Medical Associaton) In the House of Representatives we have a Speaker of the House who is chosen in each time a new legislature starts by its own members. “The speaker maintains order during floor debate, recognizing legislators who wish to speak and ruling on procedural matters.” (Joe Straus Speaker) There are also many committees who act as important gatekeepers and shape the proposed legislation. (University of Texas at Austin). The main pu...

    Read More

  • External Factors In Congress

    908 Words  | 2 Pages

    Special rules and new floor procedures have been institutionalized. Although the external political environment of the House is as electrifying as that of the Senate, it is based on a very different body of basic rules. The individualist Senate, a body in which senators aggressively exploited the great Congressional privileges these rules gave them, as she argues, to further their own individual ends. In fact, nowadays, the process of lawmaking in a chamber with non-majoritarian rules and with members so accustomed to exploiting those rules fully is reasonably expected to drag on for months, if not

    Read More

  • The Structure Of Congress And Affects It Has On Its Policy Making Role

    969 Words  | 2 Pages

    Contrasts in the lawmaking methodology utilized as a part of the House and Senate reflect the distinctive size of the two chambers and individual terms of its parts. In the House, the dominant part gathering is inflexibly in control, stacking advisory groups with lion 's share party parts, and utilizing principles to seek after enactment supported by its parts. In the Senate, singular parts are better ready to hold up the procedure, which prompts lower similarity costs, however higher exchange costs. The complication of the lawmaking procedure gives rivals different chances to murder a bill, making a solid predisposition for the present state of affairs.

    Read More

  • Tyranny Dbq Essay

    705 Words  | 2 Pages

    Senate... senate shall be composed of two senators from each state”, Stated document D. This clearly explains that Representation in Congress should be based on population in the House of Representatives and equality in the Senate by sending two senators from each state no matter the size of the state.*The Great Compromise guard against tyranny by Hensing a double security by having two systems within the

    Read More

  • Congress and The Presidency

    370 Words  | 1 Pages

    Congress and The Presidency Congress as a whole makes laws. When Bills are addressed they must meet the approval of both the House and the Senate in order to become a Law, and then the President can always veto it. Congress also deals with matters of public concern be it something that needs to be investigated or something that needs to be put before the public to raise awareness. Congress is made up of two parts: The Senate and the House of Representatives. Each is granted different powers and responsibilities.

    Read More

  • Congressional Term Limits

    943 Words  | 2 Pages

    Congressional terms have no limits. Controversy exists between those who think the terms should be limited and those who believe that terms should remain unlimited. The group that wants to limit the terms argues that the change will promote fresh ideas and reduce the possibility of decisions being made for self-interest. Those who oppose term limits believe that we would sacrifice both the stability and experience held by veteran politicians. They also point out that our election process allows the voter to limit terms, at their discretion. While experience and stability are important considerations, congressional terms should be limited to a maximum of two.

    Read More

  • How Congress Works And Why We Should Care

    1891 Words  | 4 Pages

    Congress has come a long way since its creation but its role has not changed. Although there is much criticism on the way Congress is run, the system is an integral part of the American government. It's main and most important duty is to portray the wide arrayed views of the American people and this is not as easy as it seems. It can be a difficult process for Congress to come to an agreement on these issues because its members come from all over America with different views on what is right and what is wrong. The majority of American people feel that the public agrees on most issues but this is untrue. America is an extremely diverse nation with differing views on various issues. With all the different people in the country it is not unusual to get different opinions and beliefs.

    Read More

  • How a Bill Becomes Law

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    Depending on the chamber of Congress where the bill exists, the procedures for floor action differ. I...

    Read More

  • Which Branch Of Government Is More Powerful?

    1120 Words  | 3 Pages

    In conclusion, The Legislative Branch is the most powerful branch of the United States government not only because of the powers given to them by the Constitution, but also the implied powers that Congress has. There is also Congress’s ability to triumph over the Checks and balances that limits their power. The only thing truly holding The Legislative Branch back from gaining all the power, is the large amount of people involved in the process and their difference and ideologies, and that Congress is split into multiple houses, with public opinion and elections affecting half of the branch of government. Therefore, The Legislative Branch is the most powerful branch of the United States Government.

    Read More

  • Criminal Justice System and Law

    1239 Words  | 3 Pages

    The legislative branch consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives also known together as Congress is the only branch that has the power to create new laws. Furthermore the legislative branch employs an amazing amount of power. However the members of this branch are likely voted out of office if their objectives are not acceptable to the people. In addition the legislative branch is looked at the branch that is connected to the people. (Phaedra Trethan, 2013)

    Read More

  • Members of Congress Should Have Term Limits

    1810 Words  | 4 Pages

    When the United States was founded, the theme behind the new government was to establish an efficient system without doling out too much power to any one person. The Founders intended to prevent a rebirth of tyranny, which they had just escaped by breaking away from England. However, when members of Congress such as Tom Foley, who served as a Representative from 1964 through 1995, and Jack Brooks, who served as a Representative from 1952 through 1994, remain in the legislative system for over forty years, it is evident that tyranny has not necessarily been eradicated from the United States (Vance, 1994, p. 429). Term limits are a necessity to uphold the Founders’ intentions, to prevent unfair advantages given to incumbents, and to allow a multitude of additional benefits.

    Read More

  • How A Bill Becomes A Law

    1168 Words  | 3 Pages

    First, in the long process of a bill becoming a law is introducing a bill. After someone from Congress in either chamber has come up with an idea for a bill they must introduce it. For members of the House of Representatives this is easy. All they have to do is put their idea in a mahogany box at the front of the chamber called the hopper. Now for a Senator to introduce a bill they must either hand it to the clerk of the Senate or they must talk about it in a presentation to their peers in a floor speech. Sometimes though Senators can cut down this process by adding their bill as an amendment to legislation that is already being processed. This saves them a lot of time. Also, new ideas for bills are labeled depending on what chamber they come from. Bills from the house will always be labeled with an H.R. with its number behind it. Well bills from the Senate will always be labeled with an S. followed by its number.

    Read More

More about Difference Between The House And The Senate

Open Document