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.
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.
Davidson, Roger H., Walter J. Oleszek, and Frances E. Lee. Congress and Its Members. Washington, D.C.: CQ, 2009. Print.
Under the Articles each state could send between 2 and 7 delegates to Congress. In the Constitution each state was allowed 2 members in the Senate and 1 representative per 30,000 people (this number has now increased greatly) in the House of Representatives. As I stated earlier each state wanted to be represented according to different factors. The states with bigger populations wanted representation to be based solely off of population. The states with smaller populations wanted there to be a fixed number of representatives per state, regardless of size or population.
Congressional committees are the part of the iron triangle that puts bills into the legislative process after they work with interest groups. A member of a congressional committee proposes a bill into the committee to be voted on. Members of congressional committees are members of the legislative branch, so when they propose the bill into their committee they work with the other members to get it passed. If one member doesn't like the bill they can try to get the bill maker to change it to his liking so he will vote for it. For example in my congressional committee, the judiciary committee, congressman Mclenan proposed a bill to give tax cuts to banks who approve a certain amount of low income people's loans. We all thought that other people that needed loans might be overlooked just because they were not low income people. We made him make guidelines for that issue, so we could vote for it.
The Constitution gives powers to Congress in order to execute its many responsibilities. These responsibilities are necessary and proper for carrying out its policies such as, imposing taxes and regulating interstate commerce. The constitution has 435 members in the House and 100 more in Senate. Congress faces issues with action problems and the solution to correcting these collective problems are at the expense of the incentive members. The Cabinet, President, state and federal courts, political groups, media, etc. all have input when determining a political decision in the United States. Open arrangement is an objective arranged strategy that the legislature follows in managing an issue or issue in the nation. Open approaches are focused around law; however numerous individuals other than officials set them. People, gatherings, and even government organizations that don 't follow strategies can be punished. This confounded procedure has been concluded with an anticipated arrangement of steps.
Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution states that, “Representatives…shall be apportioned among several states...according to their respective Numbers.” Apportionment is the mathematical process of dividing and allocating the four hundred and thirty five seats in the House of Representatives among the fifty states based on the population figures collected by the Census Bureau. This process, according to the Constitution, must be conducted “within every subsequent Term of ten Years.” Each of the fifty states is guaranteed one representative. The number of House of Representatives from each state fluctuates every ten years due to population deviation.
MARTIN KELLY, Overview of United States Government and Politics Foundation and Principles, 2011, retrieved February 21st 2011 from http://americanhistory.about.com/od/governmentandpolitics/a/amgovoverview.htm
...eparates congress into the House and Senate. This further provides internal checks on legislative branch. Likewise, in the political science lecture of the Introduction to Political Thought and Theory in the March, Professor Al Schendan explains these structures as the necessary for liberty.
This does not mean that every district has the same number of people. For example, Wisconsin have 8 congressional districts, 33 senate districts, and 99 assembly districts. Then, each of the 8 congressional districts have to have roughly the same number of people as each other, and each of the 33 senate districts have to have roughly the same population, and so on. According to the Wisconsin Constitution, there are some additional rules on reapportionment. The assembly district cannot be divided in the formation of the senate district. That is, the senate district needs to have a full number of assembly districts. In Wisconsin, the ratio is usually three assembly districts to one senate district. The districts need to be as compact as possible, as in the area of the district should be as close together as possible and not spread out in order to prevent political gerrymandering. Lastly, the redistricting needs to rely on previous political divisions such as town and
The legislative branch of America helps create the laws or legislation. Ideally, it works to create a society that is safe for all members. The State of California like the federal government has a bicameral legislature, in other words, composed of two chambers. The upper chamber is called the senate, while the lower is called the assembly. A unique process for the state level is that it allows for the initiative. This process circumvents the state congress and can create laws without their aide. In the state of California, every ten years, following a US census, which collects demographic information, state legislators draw redistricting plans for itself, California seats in the US House of Representatives, and the State Board of Equalization. There have been attempts to create a “non-partisan” redistricting commission, but this has been turned down by voters numerous times. Proposition 14, 39, 118, and 119 were all turned down by voters to create a non-partisan districting commission. Every decade a large portion of the state congress’s energy is spent on redistricting. In fact, two of the last four censuses, Supreme Court has had to step in to break a deadlock. In 1970, Ronald Reagan, a Republican, vetoed all together the Democratic redistricting plan. The Supreme Court had to step in and created its own plans for California to follow. Then in 1981, Democrats proposed redistricting as well as congressional delegation redistricting. The Republicans stopped this by adding referendums to the state ballot. Because it was too close to elections though, Supreme Court overturned these referendums in 1982. In 1984, they officially passed the new redistricting plan which was very similar to the original plans.
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.
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 in September.
In the diet, there are 512 members of the House of Representatives, chosen from 130 election districts, with one exception elects from 3 to 5 representatives. Each voter has one vote, but 3 to 5 candidates who receive the largest amount of votes are elected, and serve for 4 years unless the parliament is dissolved before the term expires. The house of Counselors consists of 252 members who are chosen for 6-year terms, where they most likely will serve their full term.
Byrd, Robert C. The Senate, 1789-1989: Addresses on the History of the US Senate, Vol. 1. (New York: Bernan Associates, 1989).
Light, Paul C., and Christine L. Nemacheck. "Chapter 7 Congress." Government by the People, Brief 2012 Election Edition, Books a La Carte New Mypoliscilab With Etext Access Card Package. By David B. Magleby. 2012 Election Edition ed. N.p.: Pearson College Div, 2013. N. pag. Print.