Understanding the House of Representatives

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House of representative is the result from Virginia Plan in Connecticut Compromise that we learnt from last lecturer. The idea was the representatives should be based on each state’s population meaning larger states have more representation in the government than smaller states. Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government in America; it is divided into the House of Representatives and the Senate (Koestler-Grack, 2007:18). In America, the House of Representatives was originally seen as the body which represented the mass of the people although since the introduction of the direct election of the Senate it has lost that distinctive position. To many people, the U.S. House of Representatives is the greatest decision-making body in history. The House is an extraordinary tool that passes laws for the American people. Because House members serve only two-year terms, new representatives constantly bring in fresh ideas that reflect the popular demands of the people. From the first election in 1789 to the present, all House members have been elected. Not one has ever been appointed. (Koestler-Grack, 2007:17). For this reason, many people refer to the House of Representatives as the “People’s House.” The purpose of the House is to give the American people a voice in Congress.
The member of the House is fixed by law at 435 members, apportioned among the states roughly in accordance with their population. Each state must have at least one representative; how many more it has depends on its population. (Wilson, 2003:181). A Supreme Court ruling requires that within each state, the districts from which representatives are elected be approximately equal in population. According to Wilson (2003:186) these are the qual...

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...aving a supportive staff, a budget, and several subcommittees. (Dewhirst & Rausch, 2007:263-4). The committee and subcommittees determine their own agenda, if they decide that an issue is not a priority, it is unlikely that any bills referred to them for consideration will reach even the hearing stage during that Congress. The committees are also the primary arenas for framing the bills, which eventually become law.

Works Cited

Dewhirst, Robert, E., & Rausch, John, D., 2007. Encyclopedia of The United States Congress. New York: Facts on File, Inc.
English, Ross, M., 2003. The United States Congress. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Koestler-Grack, Rachel. A., 2007. The U.S. Government How It Works: The House of Representatives. New York: Chelsea House Publishers.
Wilson, James, Q., 2003. American Government: Brief Version. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

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