What Is the Residency Requirement for the House of Representatives

Table of Contents

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

The U.S. Congress is often referred to equally a single entity, but information technology'south really a combination of two distinct groups: the Business firm of Representatives and the Senate. While both houses of Congress work together to suggest and enact the laws that govern our country, the differences between the House and Senate ensure that each chamber in this bicameral ("two room") system has distinct roles and responsibilities.

Together, the House and Senate form the legislative branch of government. They collaborate with the executive and judicial branches to implement the checks and balances that proceed all three branches functioning and prevent any single branch from abusing its power.

Commodity I of the U.S. Constitution: Departure Between House and Senate

The framers of the Constitution knew that it was important to protect the smaller states of the newly formed Union from being overshadowed by their more populous counterparts. They hoped that past dividing legislative power between 2 houses, they'd be able to ensure equal representation for residents of all states, equally the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center explains.

At the Constitutional Convention of 1787, delegates from Connecticut proposed that the seats in the Firm be assigned based on population, while the seats in the Senate exist assigned 2 per state. The Great Compromise (or Connecticut Compromise) gives each state equal representation in the Senate while ensuring equal representation per citizen in the House.

Article I, Department 2: Composition and Office of the House of Representatives

Commodity I of the Constitution specifies the powers, duties, and responsibilities of each of the two houses of Congress. It lays out the rules for qualifying as a representative, besides every bit the method by which the seats in the Business firm of Representatives are assigned to the states and how vacancies are filled.

The Constitution affords the Firm — known as the lower chamber because information technology has more members than the Senate — much leeway in deciding how it will operate.

Age, citizenship, term elapsing, and residency requirements

Representatives:

• Must exist at least 25 years old.
• Must exist citizens for at least seven years.
• Are elected to a two-year term.
• Must be residents of united states they represent.

Resource allotment of representatives based on population

Originally, the number of representatives was set at ane per 30,000 inhabitants, simply the representative count has since increased, as the U.S. House of Representatives History, Fine art, and Archives website describes. The circulation was to exist based on an enumeration (population demography) that was to be made within three years of the Constitution being ratified (approved) by the 13 states, and then every ten years thereafter.

The Circulation Human activity of 1911 and its successor, the Permanent Circulation Act of 1929, capped the number of representatives at 435. For this reason, equally of the 2010 Census, the boilerplate number of inhabitants in a congressional district is about 710,000. The House of Representatives Archives states that the number of representatives was limited to 435 because the U.S. population was growing faster in urban states than in rural ones, which gave large states a higher proportion of representatives than smaller states.

Power to devise its own rules of operation

The Constitution allows each house of Congress to set its own 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 apace. Past dissimilarity, Senate votes typically require a three-fifths majority, or 60 votes in favor.
• Bulk party leaders in the Firm command the priority of various policies and determine which bills make their way to the House floor for argue. In the Senate, minority party leaders have more influence over such procedures, so the bulk leaders must piece of work more closely with them.

Power of impeachment

Article I, Department 2 of the Constitution states that the Business firm "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, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors."

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

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Commodity I, Department 3: Composition and Function of the Senate

Article I, Department three of the Constitution calls for two senators from each land to be selected by a state'southward legislature to stand for that state. However, the 17th Amendment, canonical in 1913, mandates the direct election of U.S. senators, which means that they're elected by direct vote of the people rather than by state legislators.

Every bit the Senate website explains, the amendment was in response to abuse and other problems that prevented state legislatures from choosing U.Due south. senators. The Senate is known as the upper sleeping accommodation of Congress considering it has fewer members than the Business firm.

Age, citizenship, term duration, and residency requirements

The Constitution requires that senators be at least 30 years old, U.South. citizens for at least nine years, and residents of the states they'll represent. Senate terms are for six years; the terms are staggered so that approximately a tertiary of all senate seats are up for election 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 six years followed by upheaval.

Allotment of Senators: Two per State

As the Senate website indicates, the reason the framers decided to allow each state to be represented by ii senators was to prevent the large states from overpowering their smaller counterparts. Benjamin Franklin believed that states should accept equal votes in all matters except those involving money. (Article I, Section 8 assigns to the House the power to revenue enhancement and spend; this clause is described in the following section.)

Ability to devise its ain rules of operation

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

• In the Senate, individual senators have more options to tiresome the progress of a nib by making procedural requests, such as keeping floor contend open on the affair at hand. This is intended to encourage deliberation, or the conscientious discussion and consideration, of issues.
• Majority party leaders in the Senate propose the priority of items to be debated, but they must work with minority party leaders — and frequently all senators — to determine the floor calendar: the order in which items are brought earlier the Senate.

Vice president as president of the Senate

The Constitution makes the vice president the president of the Senate, but the vice president is allowed to vote only to pause 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.

Ability to try and pass judgment on all impeachments

Senators are empowered to try and approximate impeachments; in this capacity, they serve nether "adjuration or affirmation." In the instance of a president's impeachment, the chief justice of the U.s.a. presides. An impeachment confidence requires a 2-thirds majority vote of the total Senate.

If the impeachment trial leads to a conviction, the penalization is removal from office and disqualification from "any office of honour, trust or profit nether the United States," according to Article I, Section three. Even so, the impeached person is "liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and punishment, according to police force."

Resource 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 caption of the Constitution compiled by the Congressional Research Service.
• The Southward. Capitol Company Center features a study guide that explains the difference between the House and Senate. It poses half dozen questions about 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 Firm of Representatives are stated in Article I, Sections 7 and eight of the Constitution. However, the powers granted to both houses of Congress are derived from Article I, Section 1, as the Legal Information Plant explains.

In the early Supreme Court case McCulloch v. Maryland, Master Justice John Marshall wrote that the government is "one of enumerated powers," which ways that it tin 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 not be delegated to whatsoever other branch of authorities.

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

Enumerated, implied, resulting, and inherent powers

Marshall'due south 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 eight.

This gives Congress the right to exercise any "means which are appropriate" to perform its constitutional duties, unless those means are inconsistent with "the letter and spirit of the Constitution."

• Unsaid powers are those that aren't explicitly stipulated in the Constitution, but the government assumes these powers are granted to it by inference based on prior Supreme Court decisions, as the Legal Lexicon explains.
• Resulting powers are those that Congress has considering they're needed for it to fulfill its duties. They're derived from other powers specifically granted to the government so that it can exercise its enumerated powers. The Legal Information Plant gives as an example the power to larn 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 case would be the ability to tax internet service providers.

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

The power to declare war, levy taxes, and regulate commerce are amidst 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 authorisation over federal tax and economical policy.

In improver, Congress' war powers accept created a lot of friction between the executive and legislative branches. For example, presidents have tried to expand their power to engage the U.S. war machine in overseas conflicts, every bit the House of Representatives Archive describes. For case, in the period after World 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 acquirement legislation

Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution states that bills intended to raise acquirement must originate in the Business firm. This is one of the major differences between the House and Senate. The Senate is immune to suggest amendments to spending and taxing legislation, just as it tin can with other bills sent to it from the House.

Bills crave simply a numerical majority vote

The decision of the framers to permit bills to pass the House later on getting a simple majority of votes was motivated by the want to allow legislation to be enacted quickly. The responsibility for assessing and developing bills belongs to standing committees that are chaired by members of the bulk political party, merely are made up of members of both parties, every bit the Congressional Inquiry Service explains.

Bulk party powers and prerogatives

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

Set policy agenda

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

Determine which legislation reaches the House flooring

Amidst the duties of the speaker of the house are presiding over all House proceedings, determining which bills become to which committees, influencing commission assignments for new House members, and deciding the priorities for bills to be debated and voted upon past the unabridged body of representatives.

Chair all committees

While majority party members are chosen to chair all Business firm committees, they must piece of work with the ranking member of the minority party to prepare bills for deliberation by all House members. The House of Representatives Archives describes the iii types of House committees:

• Standing committees are permanent; their jurisdiction is defined in the House rules.
• Select committees are temporary; they're created past resolution and charged with conducting investigations or researching specific topics.
• Articulation 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 Business firm derives from the taxing and spending clause of Article I, Section 8, including the types of taxes permitted and limits imposed on the power to taxation and spend.
• The House 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.S. Senate: Roles and Responsibilities

Commodity I, Section iii 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 conduct its business. The Senate website describes the powers and procedures of the legislative body, which include trying impeachments, reviewing and approving presidential nominees, approval treaties, and managing internal matters.

Powers

The Senate receives all its authority from the Constitution. As described in a higher place for the Business firm, 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

Commodity Ii, Section 2 of the Constitution grants the president ability to nominate and appoint ambassadors, Supreme Courtroom justices, and "other officers of the United States." However, 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 bulk vote. The Senate also has the ability to change a treaty's terms. (The president's power to establish executive agreements with other nations doesn't crave Senate approval.)

Senate rules and procedures encourage deliberation rather than speed

The Senate website explains that the framers modeled the upper bedroom of Congress later early country senates and the governor's councils of the Colonial era. To shield senators from curt-term political pressure level, their terms were ready at six years rather than the two-yr terms of House representatives.

The Senate was intended to human activity more deliberately than the House. This emphasizes the Senate's duty to advise on and consent to actions taken in the House and by the executive branch of government. In this role, the framers expressed their "suspicion of the presidency" by allowing the Senate to serve as a check on executive powers. Information technology also serves every bit a check confronting the impulsiveness of the House.

Individual senators have significant procedural leverage

The standing rules of the Senate promote deliberation by assuasive senators to "debate at length" and by requiring greater than a simple majority to end debate on a matter, equally the Congressional Research Service explains. The rules too allow Senators suggest flooring amendments to pending bills that are outside of the subject matter of the bills themselves. For example, the Existent ID Deed of 2005 passed as a "rider": an additional provision to a military spending act that in its original version made no reference to traveler identification, as ThoughtCo explains.

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

Bulk party powers and prerogatives

In addition to the Senate majority leader'due south power to control debates on the Senate flooring, the bulk party is granted other rights in the operation of the Senate.

Proposes items for consideration

The duties of the Senate bulk leader include treatment all procedural matters that arise on the Senate floor and informing members of the majority political party nigh the content, implications, and status of all pending legislation. In collaboration with Senate committee chairs, the majority leader addresses any conflicts that may preclude proposed bills from being passed.

Negotiates with the minority party to acquit Senate floor action

Almost Senate actions require greater than a elementary 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 majority to corroborate measures. The Senate website describes the relationship between the bulk and minority parties in the Senate as "1 of compromise and mutual abstinence" that'due south intended to prevent stalemates from arising on important matters of legislation.

Chairs all committees

Similarly, members of the Senate majority political party are called 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 attain the committee's goals. The Senate website explains that the majority party controls almost committee staff and resources, only the minority political 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'due south history and operation, including biographies of by senators, historical highlights, and a consummate chronology.
• The Library of Congress profiles electric current members of the Senate and explains the body's policies and procedures. The site links to active legislation and flooring activity, 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 Commodity I, Section 7 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 it. Withal, most bills originate in the offices of one or more than of their legislative sponsors.

Step 1: The bill is introduced in either the House or the Senate

A bill can exist introduced by a representative or a senator; that person becomes the bill's sponsor (notation that bills can have multiple sponsors). Afterward meeting in small groups to talk over the bill's merits, representatives or senators assign the bill to a committee for farther research, discussion, and potential amendments.

Footstep 2: The pecker is debated and put to a vote

Once the bill is released by the committee, representatives or senators fence information technology and propose amendments or other changes prior to putting the bill to a vote. After passing in the initial trunk (House or Senate), the neb goes to the other trunk, where information technology'due south researched, discussed, and amended further.

Later on both chambers accept the bill, joint committees work out the differences between the ii versions. Both houses then vote on the exact same neb. If the bill passes, information technology's sent to the president for approval.

Step three: The president considers the nib

The president has x days to sign or veto bills that Congress sends to the White House for approval. (A presidential veto prevents the legislation from taking event.) If the president approves the nib, information technology's signed into law. If the president rejects the beak, it's returned to Congress with an explanation for the veto.

If Congress adjourns earlier the 10-24-hour interval period for signing the bill expires, the president tin can simply choose non to sign the bill, and the bill won't become law. This is called a "pocket veto."

Footstep 4: Congress may vote to override a presidential veto

Congress has the power to override a presidential veto by a two-thirds bulk vote of both the House and Senate. If the veto is overridden, the bill becomes law. A pocket veto by the president can't exist 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 step in the process of a bill becoming police force in both the House and Senate, including committee action, floor action, briefing committees, and presidential review.

Conclusion: How Their Differences Brand the House and Senate Stronger

The framers of the Constitution worked carefully to ensure that the powers wielded by the iii branches of government —  legislative, executive, and judicial — were carefully balanced so that the duties of each co-operative were articulate and no one branch would overpower the other 2. 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 state'southward history and persist today, the division of responsibilities and sharing of ability have succeeded in keeping the wheels of government turning relatively effectively more two centuries after the Constitution was written. While few ramble experts and political scholars would argue that the bicameral legislative system works perfectly, almost would concur that the conception has stood the test of fourth dimension.

Dorsum To Superlative

Boosted Resources

The New York Times, "When the House and the Senate Are Controlled past Two Different Parties, Who Wins?"

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

U.S. National Athenaeum, "The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription"

U.S. Senate, "Constitution of the United states"

Vote Smart, "Authorities 101: Congress"

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

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