House of Representatives

Speaker of the House

The leader of the House of Representatives is the Speaker of the House. The Speaker of the House is always a member of the majority party in the House. Their position is the only legislative office mandated by the Constitution. The Speaker is usually a more experienced member of Congress, having held office for a long time. The Speaker is third in line to succession. Their responsibilities include:

• Presiding over the House
• Assigning members to Committees
• Helping to assign bills to committees
• The Speaker has informal and formal clout. When the Speaker’s party is out of power in the Presidency, the Speaker is often seen as their party's highest ranking leader.

Majority and Minority Leader

The Majority leader is a member of the majority party and is the political ally of the Speaker of the House. They have the power of assigning bills to committees and scheduling bills. Along with the whips, they work to round up votes on their party’s legislation.

The Minority Leader is a member of the party out of power in the House. They are the leader of their party in the House of Representatives.

Whips

Both the majority and minority parties have whips. Whips are responsible for counting votes before the formal votes in the House. They lean on members of their respective parties to make sure they vote the way the party leaders want them to.

Fig 2. House Chamber, Wikipedia

Role of the House of Representatives

Members of the House of Representatives represent the people of their districts, and they are policymakers. They are empowered to create laws that are in the interest of the public good. There are more than 11,000 bills introduced in Congress every term. Very few become law. Members of the House serve on committees that best reflect the interests of themselves and their constituents.

All bills related to taxation must start in the House of Representatives. The House, along with the Senate, also has the job of legislative oversight. As a check on the executive branch, Congress can monitor the bureaucracy through committee hearings. The House of Representatives is the government institution closest to the people. They are supposed to reflect and be responsible to the will of the people.

House of Representatives Term

The term for a member of the House of Representatives is two years. There are no term limits in Congress; therefore, members of the House can run for reelection repeatedly.

Congressional Session

A session of Congress lasts two years. A new Congress begins on January 3 of odd-numbered years and each Congress has two sessions, and they last one year each.

House of Representatives Election

The entire membership of the House of Representatives is up for reelection every two years. Running for a congressional office is an expensive, stressful, and time-consuming task. It typically costs millions of dollars to run successfully for a seat in the House of Representatives. Members of Congress earn $174,000 per year. Incumbents often win elections.

Incumbents have name recognition and can claim credit for successes that occurred while they were in office. Incumbents can more readily raise money for campaigns than a candidate who has never held office before. Because incumbents typically win elections, this allows for a level of stability in Congress. At the same time, because there are no term limits, and many people criticize longevity in Congress as resulting in a legislative body insulated from change.

Difference between the Senate and House of Representatives

The framers of the United States Constitution intended the legislative branch to be both a representative and policymaking body. Members of Congress have difficult jobs, and Representatives and Senators have a responsibility to the people of the U.S. Although they both focus on creating legislation, the two chambers vary in different ways.

The Senate of the United States is intended to represent states as a whole on an equal basis, as each state, no matter the size, is allotted two Senators. The House of Representatives was created to represent the population of the states; therefore, each state has a different number of representatives.

The Senate has 100 members. The House of Representatives has 435. The difference in numbers allows for differences in the formality of rules in each chamber. For instance, The House of Representatives has stricter rules for debate. The House is more institutionalized and more formal.

Senators run for reelection every six years. Representatives are up for reelection every two years. The difference in term length results in different abilities to build coalitions and relationships. Representatives must focus attention on campaigns on a more regular basis than their counterparts in the Senate.

The House of Representatives is often referred to as the “People’s House” because the House more closely represents the people than any other branch of government. While both chambers must work together to create legislation, The House of Representatives has distinct constitutional responsibilities such as taxation, while the Senate has other duties, such as the power of confirmation and treaty ratification.

The Senate is seen as the “upper house.” Senators must be at least 30 years of age, and have been a citizen of the United States for at least 9 years. Representatives must be 25 years of age or older and have been a citizen for at least 7 years. They both must live in the state they represent. Senators serve longer terms and are typically older.

The House of Representatives has the sole power to bring charges of impeachment. The Senate conducts trials in impeachment cases. This is an example of both a check on another branch and an intra-branch check.

House Rules Committee

A unique characteristic of the House is the House Rules Committee. The Rules Committee plays a central role in lawmaking. Membership in the Rules Committee is considered a powerful position, as the Rules committee reviews bills out of committee before they go to the floor for full debate and vote. The Rules Committee schedules bills on the full House calendar and has the power to determine rules of debate and the number of amendments allowed on a bill.