What Is the House of Representatives Based on

• Introduction
• What is the Legislative Branch?
• What does the Business firm of Representatives do?
• Additional Resources
• Ways to Get Involved/What You Tin can Do
• Suggestions for Your Next Conversation

Introduction

The United States spent eight long years of desperate fighting for independence from 1775 to 1783. By 1789, the Founding Fathers had set about amalgam a government "congenital on the cardinal conviction of revolutionary-era republicanism: that no cardinal authorisation empowered to coerce or subject field the citizenry was permissible , since information technology merely duplicated the monarchical and aristocratic principles that the American Revolution had been fought to escape. The United States is at present the oldest indelible republic in world history, with a fix of political institutions and traditions that take stood the test of time."

According to Business firm.gov , "To ensure a separation of powers, the U.S. Federal Government is made up of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. To ensure the authorities is effective and citizens' rights are protected, each branch has its ain powers and responsibilities, including working with the other branches." This is often referred to as " checks and balances ," and prevents any one part of government from wielding too much political power.

Why information technology Matters

America benefits from a judicial branch positioned to halt executive branch overreach. The President of the United States cannot stay in power indefinitely and is unable to force the U.Due south. Congress to laissez passer laws. From the very get-go, and still to today, the American people have access to and influence over their elected representatives.

The House of Representatives virtually directly reflects the desires of the American public due to the ratio of American citizens to U.Due south. Representatives and the constant election cycle every two years. Much of the deadlock of the U.S. government that we witness today reflects a divided American people.

This brief focuses on the Legislative branch of the U.Due south. government, in particular the Firm of Representatives, including the nuts and bolts of how its inner workings, and how everyday citizens can influence the legislative process. For a brief on the U.S. Senate, click hither .

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What is the Legislative Branch?

The legislative branch is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate , known collectively as the Congress. Amongst other powers, the legislative co-operative "makes all laws, declares state of war, regulates interstate and strange commerce and controls taxing and spending policies."

CrashCourse U.S. Authorities and Politics, produced in collaboration with PBS, explains the Bicameral Congress (nine min):

Of all federal government institutions, the House of Representatives is designed to exist closest to American voters, most closely reflecting the individual cares and concerns of American taxpayers. In fact, the Firm is the only institution that has been direct elected by American voters since its formation in 1789.

"'If proportional representation takes place, the small States debate that their liberties will exist in danger. If an equality of votes is to be put in its place, the large States say their money will be in danger,'" explained Benjamin Franklin . What somewhen "emerged from weeks of stalemate was called the 'Neat Compromise' and created a bicameral legislature with a House, where membership was determined by state population, and a Senate, where each state had two seats regardless of population."

Size and Structure of the Firm

There are 435 representatives in the House , and accept been since the number was fixed by law in 1911. Each Business firm representative is elected to a two-yr term serving the people of a specific congressional district in a state. "Each state receives representation in the House in proportion to the size of its population simply is entitled to at least ane representative." This means that states with large populations have more than representatives than pocket-size states take. Representation based on population was "i of the about of import components of the Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787," as ane of the founders' greatest concerns was designing a system of government that would improve represent the public than did the British model from which they had won independence.

In addition to the 435 representatives from united states, there is a Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico and Delegates from Washington D.C., American Samoa, Guam, The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands. The Resident Commissioner and Delegates are able to serve and vote on committees, merely do not take the same total voting rights equally the 435 state representatives.

The Function of the Demography

Specifically, seats in the Business firm " are apportioned based on state population co-ordinate to the constitutionally mandated Census."  The Census, which occurs every x years and is overseen by the Agency of the Census, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Tying representation to Demography data allows the number of each state'due south representatives to increase or decrease along with fluctuations in state population. The Census data is and so used to determine congressional districts, areas in the state from which representatives are elected to the Firm. This procedure is called redistricting. For more on redistricting and the Census, see The Policy Circle's Decennial Demography Brief.

Elections

Members of the House of Representatives " must stand for ballot every two years , subsequently which it convenes for a new session and essentially reconstitutes itself – electing a Speaker, swearing-in the Members-elect, and blessing a slate of officers to administer the establishment." Biennial elections are held in November, and the Congress commences in the post-obit January. To exist elected, a representative must be at least 25 years old, a Usa denizen for at to the lowest degree seven years, and a resident of the state he or she represents. U.S. House candidates are not required to live in the congressional district they represent.

The Life of a Representative

Co-ordinate to Congressional Management Foundation's Life in Congress written report , when representatives are in Washington, D.C., they report spending their time as follows:

• 35% on "Legislative/Policy Piece of work"
• 17% on "Constituent Services Work"
• 17% on "Political/Campaign Work"
• nine% on "Press/Media Relations"
• 9% on "Family unit/Friends"
• 7% on "Authoritative/Managerial Work"
• 6% on "Personal Time"

When in their home district, they reported spending fourth dimension as follows:

• 32% on "Constituent Services Work"
• 18%  on "Political/Campaign Work"
• 14% on "Press/Media Relations"
• 12%  on "Legislative/Policy Piece of work"
• 9% with "Family unit/Friends"
• viii% on "Personal Time"
• seven% on "Authoritative/Managerial Work"

Compensation

Article I, Department 6 of the Constitution requires Congress to determine its own pay. Congress's " current automated aligning formula , which is based on changes in private sector wages," was established by the Ethics Reform Act of 1989. The last pay aligning was in January 2009. Since, most representatives earn $174,000 annually, while the majority and minority leaders make $193,400. The Speaker earns the largest salary at $223,500. Additionally, representatives "are subject to some specific laws and regulations regarding the acceptance of gifts ," particularly gifts from registered lobbyists or from individual entities that retain or apply a lobbyist.

What does the Firm of Representatives do?

Responsibilities of the Firm

Per the Constitution , the House and Senate together make and pass federal laws, introduce bills and resolutions, offering amendments, and serve on committees that enable members to develop specialized noesis on the matters under that commission'southward jurisdiction. Though both make upwardly Congress, at that place are a few distinctions betwixt the two. In particular, the Constitution "provides that simply the House of Representatives may originate revenue bills, " and past tradition it also originates appropriation bills.

Additionally, while the Constitution does not specifically mention investigations and oversight , "the dominance to conduct investigations is implied since Congress possesses 'all legislative powers'." The Business firm initiates impeachment proceedings and passes articles of impeachment (the Senate sits as a courtroom to attempt the impeachment).

Finally, during a presidential election, the Business firm of Representatives steps in if no candidate receives a majority of the total electoral votes. Each state delegation has one vote to cull the President from amongst the top three candidates with the largest number of electoral votes.

Leadership in the Business firm

Afterward each election, the political party that wins the almost representatives is designated the " Majority ." The other political party is the " Minority. " The bulk party holds key leadership positions, such as Speaker of the Firm. The same party can have the majority in both the Firm of Representatives and the Senate, or the chambers can be divide. Third parties rarely have enough members to elect their ain leadership, then independents generally bring together one of the larger party organizations to receive committee assignments.

The House is run by majority rule.  When a majority of members vote to practise something in the Business firm, it gets done. Majority rule makes passing legislation relatively efficient, and that means that the party in the minority has less ability to ready the agenda or pass its proposals. This contrasts with the Senate, where a unmarried senator – in the bulk or the minority – can generally force a vote or stop a bill in its tracks.

House Leadership includes the Speaker of the House, Majority and Minority Leaders, and Majority and Minority Whips.

The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the Firm, and is elected past the members of the House. The Speaker administers the Oath of Office to House members, chairs certain committees or nominates committee chairs (namely the chairs of the House Administration Committee and the Rules Commission ), and appoints members of various committees and House staff. After the Vice President, the Speaker is second in line to succeed the Vice President.

Majority and Minority Leaders stand for their corresponding parties on the Firm floor. Each is elected by his or her respective party. The majority leader is second to the Speaker and schedules legislative business concern, planning legislative agendas rather than serving on committees. The minority leader serves every bit the minority party's spokesperson, essentially the minority political party's counterpart to the Speaker. He or she also chairs the minority political party's committee assignment panel.

Majority and Minority Whips serve as middlemen to between their party leaders and members. They "maintain communication between the leadership of the party and its members, marshal support for party positions on the flooring, count votes on cardinal legislation, and persuade wavering Members to vote for the party position."

The Speaker of the Firm is elected by the entire Firm of Representatives, while the Republican Briefing and Democratic Conclave elect the other leadership positions. The Republican Briefing is the formal organization of Republican Members in the Business firm, and the Democratic Caucus is that of the Autonomous Members.

Meet current House Leadership positions hither.

The Office of Committees

Committees " are permanent panels governed by Business firm bedroom rules, with responsibility to consider bills and bug and to have full general oversight relating to their areas of jurisdiction." Committees have dissimilar legislative jurisdictions, but each considers, shapes, and passes laws related to its jurisdiction, and monitors agencies, programs, and activities inside their jurisdiction. Each committee has a chair that leads the total committee, and a ranking member who leads the minority members of the committee. Committee assignment straight affects a representative'due south work in Congress. After a Congressional election, political parties assign newly elected representatives to standing committees

Crash Form U.South. Government & Politics explains what Congressional committees exercise (8 min):

Some of the nigh well-known committees include:

• The Business firm Committee on Ways and Means , which oversees all taxation, tariffs, and other acquirement-raising measures.
• The House Committee on Appropriations , which has jurisdiction over setting specific government expenditures.
• The House Commission on Strange Diplomacy , which has jurisdiction over foreign assistance and oversees national security developments affecting foreign policy.
• The Firm Commission on the Judiciary, which oversees the judiciary and civil and criminal proceedings.

Almost committees are regular standing committees, which go along from i Congress to the next. There are also select committees, special committees formed for a short period of time for a specific purpose such as an investigation, and there are several joint committees with the Senate. See a full list of all Firm Committees here .

Legislation in the House

Legislation begins with an idea . It may come from a Congressman, a staffer, a constituent, or a thought leader or expert on a given subject. You may remember the School Business firm Stone video , which walks through the legislative process in an accessible way and is great to share with your kids (3 min):

Drafting Legislation

Working with House parliamentarians —  lawyers and clerks who provide nonpartisan guidance on rules and procedures — and other Congressional staff on Capitol Loma, the Congressional representative's staff drafts the pecker. The parliamentarians have specific expertise; they piece of work closely with staff in a non-partisan mode to draft the specific language of the neb. Staff works to build sponsors and cosponsors earlier the neb is introduced.

Introducing a Bill

Any Fellow member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner can innovate a nib when the house is in session by " placing it in the 'hopper, '" a box on the House Clerk's desk in the Capitol building. The Member who introduces the bill is known every bit the principal sponsor. The beak is so formally assigned a number past the Clerk. A nib originating in the House will start with "H.R." (for the Business firm of Representatives, as opposed to "S." for the Senate). The Speaker'due south office then assigns that nib to its commission(due south) of jurisdiction, which then assigns the bill to a subcommittee(s).

Commission Procedure

The Subcommittee seeks input from relevant departments and agencies and holds public hearings. After hearings, there is a markup on the legislation , in which "views of both sides are studied in particular and at the conclusion of deliberation a vote is taken to determine" whether or not the subcommittee recommends the beak to the total committee. In the total committee, the subcommittee reports on the bill; this coming together provides an opportunity for Members to ameliorate the legislation. At that place is also the possibility that the committee tables the nib or fails to accept activity , which prevents the bill from reaching the total House. You can watch House Committee hearing videos hither .

To get to the total House, the commission staff writes a report describing the purpose of the pecker, why the bill is recommended, and an analysis of each part of the beak and how the bill may touch existing law. A full committee marking-upward and the decision of what legislation makes information technology to the House floor is tightly controlled by the Commission Chairman's office and leadership. When the legislation is reported favorably out of the full committee it awaits a conclusion by leadership to schedule fourth dimension for it to be debated on the House floor. This decision is a negotiation based on priorities of the committee and of leadership.

After a commission has reported a beak, the bill is placed on the calendar . This means the pecker is eligible for floor consideration, just not that it volition necessarily arrive to the floor. In the House, it is upward to the bulk party leadership to decide which bills the House volition consider on the floor, and in what society.

Committee on Rules

Once leadership has decided that a specific slice of legislation will receive floortime, the Business firm Majority Leader alerts the committee of jurisdiction that the bill will be considered on the House Floor, and this kicks off the Rules Committee process.

The Committee on Rules , or Rules Committee, is one of the oldest standing committees in the House. The Committee is ordinarily known as "The Speaker's Committee" – prior to 1910, the Speaker chaired the Rules Committee, and today it is the machinery by which the Speaker maintains control of the House Floor. The Rules Committee is sometimes besides referred to every bit " the traffic cop of the Business firm ," as it determines how much time will be allowed for debate on each slice of legislation considered on the Business firm floor, and if whatever (and which) amendments will be allowed to exist considered during the argue.

Most bills are considered under a procedure known every bit interruption of the rules , "which limits argue to xl minutes and does not let amendments to exist offered by members on the floor." Otherwise, the nib is considered under terms tailored for the detail bill. In this case, the House adopts a resolution chosen a special rule from the Rules Committee. After the Rules Committee reports the rule for because the neb and the Firm votes to adopt the dominion, the House can then proceed to the floor debate.

Floor Debate

In one case the rule has been adopted, the House usually considers the bill "in a procedural setting called the Committee of the Whole , which is essentially "the House assembled in a unlike grade; information technology is a committee of the House composed of every Representative that meets in the Firm bedchamber." This process "allows members an efficient mode to consider and vote on amendments."

After the flooring debate on amendments and the underlying legislation, the Committee of the Whole reports to the full House, which then votes on the nib. The bill passes the House by a unproblematic majority , 218 votes of the 435 total. It then goes to the Senate and waits to be scheduled for floor time.

See The Policy Circle's Senate Cursory to see how the process continues.

Additional Resources

Glossary of terms

Dissimilar types of legislation

Alternative legislative procedures in the House

Means to Go Involved/What You Can Do

Mensurate & Place : Who are the influencers in your land, county, or community? Larn near their priorities and consider how to contact them

• Do you know who your Congressional Representative is ? What virtually your land elected officials ?
• Track your representatives' votes with GovTrack .

Reach out: You lot are a goad. Finding a common cause is a corking opportunity to develop relationships with people who may be outside of your immediate network. All it takes is a small team of two or three people to gear up a path for real improvement. The Policy Circle is your platform to convene with experts you desire to hear from.

• Notice allies in your community or in nearby towns and elsewhere in the state.
• Foster collaborative relationships with colleagues, neighbors, friends, and local organizations to mobilize an try to bring attention to your outcome to your local Congressional office. As well attain out to community leaders to brainwash them and request their engagement on the issue.

Programme: Set some milestones based on your state's legislative calendar .

• You can observe the legislative agenda for the House of Representatives here .
• Don't hesitate to contact The Policy Circle squad, communications@thepolicycircle.org , for connections to the broader network, advice, insights on how to build rapport with policy makers and establish yourself as a civic leader.

Execute: Requite it your best shot. Yous can:

• Inquiry: Make certain y'all know the facts about the issue you are raising. Government agencies, think tanks, and media outlets can all be skilful resource. Call back to research all sides of the event to make sure you sympathise various angles. You tin too talk with people who are afflicted by the issue with which you are concerned; anecdotal information combined with measured information can be powerful.

• Write: Although nosotros may be more inclined to electronic mail in the digital historic period, writing an old-fashioned letter to your local elected representatives or to members of Congress is still 1 of the near effective ways to influence lawmakers.

• • • See these tips for pace-past-pace instructions to write messages to elected officials, including how to address your representative, reference specific legislation, and properly send your correspondence.

• Organize: Organize people to call in, follow-up on written material, and attain out to other community members to educate them on the upshot. Demonstrating broad support tin can exist very constructive in influencing a legislator to support your position.

Working with others, you may create something great for your community. Hither are some tools to larn how to contact your representatives and write an op-ed .

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Source: https://www.thepolicycircle.org/brief/makes-u-s-exceptional-u-s-house-representatives-explained/