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{{For|the current session|111th United States Congress}}

{{Infobox Legislature
|name = United States House of Representatives
|legislature = ]
|background_color=#3333FF
|text_color=#FFFFFF
|coa_pic = Seal of the House of Representatives.svg
|session_room = Obama Health Care Speech to Joint Session of Congress.jpg
|house_type = Lower house
|structure1 = 111USHouseStructure.svg
|structure1_res = 250px
|leader1_type = ]<br>
|leader1 = ]
|party1 = (])
|election1 = January 4, 2007
|leader2_type = ]
|leader2 = ]
|party2 = (])
|election2 = January 4, 2007
|leader4_type = ]
|leader4 = ]
|party4 = (])
|election4 = January 4, 2007
|members = 435 plus 6 non-voting members
|political_groups1 ={{colorbox|#000090}} ]<br>{{colorbox|#900000}} ]
|last_election1 = ]
|meeting_place = ]<br> ] <br> ]
|website =
}}

The '''United States House of Representatives''', commonly referred to as the "House," is the ] of the ] ], the ] being the ]. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in ] of the ] (which does not use the terms "upper" and "lower"). Each ] receives representation in the House in proportion to its ] but is entitled to at least one ]. The most populous state, ], currently has 53 representatives. The ] is currently fixed by law at 435.<ref name="USPL 62-5">See ] of 1911, though Congress has the authority to change that number</ref> Each representative serves for a two-year term. The presiding officer of the House is the ], and is elected by the members of the House.

The House was granted its own exclusive powers: the power to initiate revenue bills, ] officials, and elect the ] in ] deadlocks.<ref>Exclusive revenue bill initiation in Section 7, Article 1 of the ; and "sole power of impeachment" in Section 2, Article 1; and the power to elect President if no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes in Article 1, Section 2, and in the 12th Amendment.</ref>

The House meets in the south wing of the ].

==History==
{{Politics of the United States}}
{{Main|History of the United States House of Representatives}}

Under the ], Congress was a ] body in which each state held one vote. The ineffectiveness of the federal government under the Articles led Congress to summon a ] in 1787; all states except ] agreed to send delegates. The issue of how Congress was to be structured was one of the most divisive among the ] during the Convention. ]'s ] called for a ] Congress: the lower house would be "of the people," elected directly by the people of the United States and representing ], and a more deliberative upper house that would represent the individual states, and would be less susceptible to variations of mass sentiment, would be elected by the lower house.

The House is often considered to be the "]," with the Senate as the "]," although the ] does not use such language. Both houses' approval is necessary for the passage of ]. The Virginia Plan drew the support of delegates from large states such as ], ], and ], as it called for representation based on population. The smaller states, however, favored the ], which called for a unicameral Congress with equal representation for the states.

Eventually, the Convention reached the ], or the Great Compromise, under which one house of Congress (the House of Representatives) would provide representation proportional to each state's population, whereas the other (the Senate) would provide equal representation amongst the states. The Constitution was ratified by the requisite number of states (nine out of the 13) in 1788, but its implementation was set for March 4, 1789. The House began work on April 1, 1789, when it achieved a ] for the first time.

During the first half of the 19th Century, the House was frequently in conflict with the Senate over regionally divisive issues, including ]. The ] was much more populous than the ], and therefore dominated the House of Representatives. However, the North held no such advantage in the Senate, where the equal representation of states prevailed.

Regional conflict was most pronounced over the issue of slavery. One example of a provision repeatedly supported by the House but blocked by the Senate was the ], which sought to ban slavery in the land gained during the ]. Conflict over slavery and other issues persisted until the ] (1861&ndash;1865), which began soon after several southern states attempted to ] from the Union. The war culminated in the South's defeat and in the abolition of slavery. Because all southern senators except ] resigned their seats at the beginning of the war, the Senate did not have the balance of power between North and South during the war.

The years of ] that followed witnessed large majorities for the ], which many Americans associated with the Union's victory in the Civil War. The Reconstruction period ended in about 1877; the ensuing era, known as the ], was marked by sharp political divisions in the electorate. Both the ] and the Republican Party held majorities in the House at various times.

], occasionally ridiculed as "Czar Reed," was a U.S. Representative from ], and ] from 1889&ndash;1891 and from 1895&ndash;1899.]]
The late 19th and early 20th Centuries also saw a dramatic increase in the power of the Speaker of the House. The rise of the Speaker's influence began in the 1890s, during tenure of Republican ]. "] Reed," as he was nicknamed, attempted to put into effect his view that "The best system is to have one party govern and the other party watch." The leadership structure of the House also developed during approximately the same period, with the positions of ] and ] being created in 1899. While the Minority Leader was the head of the minority party, the Majority Leader remained subordinate to the Speaker. The Speakership reached its zenith during the term of Republican ], 1903 to 1911. The powers of the Speaker included chairmanship of the influential ] and the ability to appoint members of other House committees. These powers, however, were curtailed in the "Revolution of 1910" because of the efforts of Democrats and dissatisfied Republicans who opposed Cannon's arguably heavy-handed tactics.

The Democratic Party dominated the House of Representatives during the administration of President ] (1933&ndash;1945), often winning over two-thirds of the seats. Both Democrats and Republicans were in power at various times during the next decade. The Democratic Party maintained control of the House from 1954 until 1995. In the mid-1970s, there were major reforms of the House, strengthening the power of sub-committees at the expense of committee chairmen and allowing party leaders to nominate committee chairs. These actions were taken to undermine the seniority system, and to reduce the ability of a small number of senior members to obstruct legislation they did not favor. There was also a shift from the 1970s to greater control of the legislative program by the majority party; in particular, the power of party leaders (especially the Speaker) grew considerably.

The Republicans ] in 1995, under the leadership of Speaker ]. Gingrich attempted to pass a major legislative program, the ] on which the House Republicans had been elected, and made major reforms of the House, notably reducing the tenure of committee chairs to three two-year terms. Many elements of the Contract did not pass Congress, were vetoed by President ], or were substantially altered in negotiations with Clinton. The Republicans held on to the House until the ], during which the Democrats won back control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. ] was subsequently elected by the House as the first female Speaker.

==Membership and qualifications==
===Apportionment===
{{See|United States congressional apportionment}}

Under ], seats in the House of Representatives are ] among the states by population, as determined by the ] conducted every ten years. Each state, however, is entitled to at least one Representative.

The only constitutional rule relating to the ] says: "The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand."<ref>].</ref> Congress regularly increased the size of the House to account for population growth until it fixed the number of voting House members at 435 in 1911.<ref name="USPL 62-5 "/> The number was temporarily increased to 437 in 1959 upon the admission of ] and ] (seating one representative from each of those states without changing existing apportionment), and returned to 435 four years later, after the reapportionment consequent to the ].

The Constitution does not provide for the representation of the ] or of ]. However, those places elect non-voting ] or, in the case of ] a ]. The ] and the territories of ], ], and the ] are represented by one delegate each. Puerto Rico elects a Resident Commissioner, but other than having a four-year term, the Resident Commissioner's role is identical to the delegates from the other territories. The ] elected their first delegate in November 2008, who took office in January 2009. Delegates and Resident Commissioners may participate in debates and vote in committees. They may vote in the ] when their votes would not be decisive.<ref>See {{USBill|110|H.Res.|78}}, passed January 24, 2007. On April 19, 2007, the House of Representatives passed the DC House Voting Rights Act of 2007, a bill "to provide for the treatment of the District of Columbia as a Congressional district for purposes of representation in the House of Representatives, and for other purposes" by a vote of 241–177. That bill proposes to increase the House membership by two, making 437 members, by converting the District of Columbia delegate into a member, and (until the 2010 census) grant one membership to ], which is the state next in line to receive an additional district based on its population after the ]. The bill was under consideration in the U.S. Senate during the 2007 session.</ref>

===Redistricting===
States that are entitled to more than one Representative are divided into ] ]. This has been a federal statutory requirement since 1967.<ref>{{usc|2|2c}} "no district to elect more than one Representative"</ref> Prior to that law, ] representation was used by some states. Typically, states redraw these district lines (''see'' ]) after each census, though they may do so at other times (''see'' ]). Each state determines its own district boundaries, either through legislation or through non-partisan panels. "]" is unconstitutional and districts must be approximately equal in population ''(see ])''. The ] prohibits states from "]" districts to reduce racial minorities' voting power.

===Qualifications===
Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution sets three qualifications for representatives. Each representative must: (1) be at least twenty-five years old; (2) have been a ] of the United States for the past seven years; and (3) be (at the time of the election) an inhabitant of the state they represent. Members need not live in their districts. The age and citizenship qualifications for representatives are less than those for senators. The constitutional requirements of Article I, Section 2 for election to Congress are the maximum requirements that can be imposed on a candidate.<ref>See ], a U.S. Supreme Court case from 1969</ref> Therefore, Article I, Section 5, which permits each House to be the judge of the qualifications of its own members does not permit either House to establish additional qualifications.

'''Disqualification.''' Under the ], any federal or state officer who takes the requisite oath to support the Constitution, but later engages in rebellion or aids the enemies of the United States, is disqualified from becoming a representative. This post-Civil War provision, was intended to prevent those who sided with the ] from serving. However, disqualified individuals may serve if they gain the consent of two-thirds of both houses of Congress.

===Elections===
Elections for representatives are held in every even-numbered year, on ] early in November. Representatives are elected from ] by means of ].

In most states, candidates for each district are nominated in partisan ]s, typically held in spring to late summer. In some states, the Republican and Democratic parties choose their respective candidates for each district in their ]s in spring or early summer, which often use unanimous voice votes to reflect either confidence in the incumbent or the result of bargaining in earlier private discussions. Exceptions can result in so-called floor fight—convention votes by delegates, with outcomes that can be hard to predict. Especially if a convention is closely divided, a losing candidate may contend further by meeting the conditions for a primary election.

] rules for ] and ] candidates vary greatly from state to state, and may be affected by results of previous years' elections.

Since 1967, Federal law has required that House Members be elected from single-member-districts, thereby not permitting the use of ].<ref>{{usc|2|2c}}</ref>
] was unique in that it held an all-party "primary election" on the general Election Day, with a subsequent ] between the top two finishers (regardless of party) if no candidate received a majority in the primary. The state now has a system similar to most other states, whereby each party nominates candidates in ]. The state of ] now uses a similar (though not identical) system to that previously used by Louisiana. Seats vacated during a term are filled through special elections, unless the vacancy occurs closer to the next general election date than a pre-established deadline. The term of a member chosen in a special election usually begins the next day, or as soon as the results are certified.

===Terms===
Representatives and Delegates serve for two-year terms, while the Resident Commissioner serves for four years. The Constitution permits the House to expel any member with a two-thirds vote. In the history of the United States, only five members have been expelled from the House; in 1861 three were removed for supporting the Confederate states' secession, ] (D-MO), ] (D-MO), and ] (D-KY). ] (D-PA) was expelled after his criminal conviction for accepting bribes in 1980, and ] (D-OH) was expelled in 2002 following his conviction for corruption.<ref>http://www.rules.house.gov/Archives/rl31382.pdf</ref> The House also has the power to formally ] or reprimand its members; censure or reprimand requires only a simple majority, but does not remove a member from office.

==Comparison to the Senate==
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2009}}
Many of the Founding Fathers intended the Senate (whose members were originally chosen by the ]s) to be a check on the popularly elected House, just as the House was to be a check on the Senate. The "]" powers (such as the power to approve ]) were therefore granted to the Senate alone. The House, however, can initiate spending bills and has exclusive authority to impeach officials and choose the ] in an electoral college deadlock. The Senate and its members generally enjoy greater prestige than the House because Senators serve longer terms (six years), are less numerous, and (in all but seven states) represent larger constituencies than Representatives, serving to represent entire states rather than largely-arbitrary districts. Additionally, the Senate has traditionally been considered a less partisan chamber; senators have greater potential to broker compromises and act more unilaterally than Representatives, and hence hold greater national stature.

==Salary and benefits==
===Salaries===
As of January 2009, the annual salary of each Representative is ]174,000.<ref>{{ cite web | title=Salaries and Benefits of U.S. Congress Members| url=http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/aa031200a.htm| accessdate=2009-04-17 }}</ref> The ] and the ] and ]s earn more, $223,500 for the Speaker and $193,400 for their party leaders (the same as ] leaders). A cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) increase takes effect annually unless Congress votes to not accept it. Congress sets members' salaries; however, the ] prohibits a change in salary (but not COLA<ref>''Schaffer v. Clinton''</ref>) from taking effect until after the next general election. Representatives are eligible for lifetime benefits after serving for five years, including a pension, health benefits, and social security benefits.<ref> (accessed 2007-12-14).</ref>

===Titles===
Representatives use the prefix "]" before their names. A member of the House is referred to as a "Representative", "Congressman," or "Congresswoman." While Senators are technically "Congressmen" or "Congresswomen," that term is generally used to refer to Members of the House of Representatives exclusively. The Delegates and the Resident Commissioner use the same styles and titles as Members of the House.

==Officers==
], U.S. Representative from ] who served as Speaker of the House from January 1999 until January 2007, calling the House to order at the beginning of a session of Congress.]]

===Member officials===
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2009}}
The ] with a majority of seats in the House is known as the ]. The next-largest party is the minority party. The ], committee chairmen, and some other officials are generally from the majority party; they have counterparts (for instance, the "ranking members" of committees) in the minority party.

The Constitution provides that the House may choose its own Speaker. Although not explicitly required by the Constitution, every Speaker has been a member of the House. The Constitution does not specify the duties and powers of the Speaker, which are instead regulated by the rules and customs of the House. The Speaker has a role both as a leader of the House and the leader of his or her party (which need not be the majority party; theoretically, a member of the ] could be elected as Speaker with the support of a fraction of members of the majority party). Under the ] (1947), the Speaker is second in the line of ] behind the Vice President.

The Speaker is the presiding officer of the House but does not preside over every debate. Instead, he or she delegates the responsibility of presiding to other members in most cases. The presiding officer sits in a chair in the front of the House chamber. The powers of the presiding officer are extensive; one important power is that of controlling the order in which members of the House speak. No member may make a speech or a motion unless he or she has first been recognized by the presiding officer. Moreover, the presiding officer may rule on any "]" (a member's objection that a rule has been breached), but the decision is subject to appeal to the whole House.

The Speaker is the chair of his or her party's steering committee, which chooses the chairmen of standing committees. The Speaker determines which committees consider bills, appoints most of the members of the ], and appoints all members of conference committees. When the Presidency and Senate are controlled by a different party from the one controlling the House, the Speaker can become the '']'' "leader of the opposition." Since the Speaker is a partisan officer with substantial power to control the business of the House, the position is often used for partisan advantage.

Each party elects a ], who is known as the ] or ]. While the Minority Leader is the full leader of his party, the same is not true of the Majority Leader. Instead, the Speaker is the head of the majority party; the Majority Leader is only the second-highest official. Party leaders decide what legislation members of their party should either support or oppose. Each party also elects a ], who works to ensure that the party's members vote as the party leadership desires. The ] in the House of Representatives is ], who is a member of the ]. The ] is ], who is a member of the ]. Representatives are generally less independent of party leaders than senators, and usually vote as the leadership directs. Incentives to cooperate include the leadership's power to select committee chairmen. As a result, the leadership plays a much greater role in the House than in the Senate, an example of why the atmosphere of the House is regarded by many as more partisan.

===Non-member officials===
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2009}}
The House is also served by several officials who are not members. The House's chief officer is the ], who maintains public records, prepares documents, and oversees junior officials, including ]. The Clerk also presides over the House at the beginning of each new Congress pending the election of a Speaker. Another officer is the ], responsible for the day-to-day administrative support to the House of Representatives. This includes everything from payroll to ].

The position of ] (CAO) was created following the 1994 ] and replaced the positions of ] and Director of Non-Legislative and Financial Services (which had been created only two years prior to provide a nonpartisan management body to administer those functions of the House that should not be under partisan control). The CAO also assumed some of the responsibilities of the House Information Services, which previously had been controlled directly by the ], at the time headed by Representative ] of North Carolina, along with the House "Folding Room."

The ] leads the House in ] at the opening of the day. There is also a ], who as the House's chief law enforcement officer, maintains order and security on House premises. Finally, routine police work is handled by the ], which is supervised by the ], a body to which the Sergeant at Arms belongs.

==Procedure==
] building, in ] This photograph shows a rare glimpse of the four vote tallying boards (the blackish squares across the top), which display each member's name and vote while votes are in progress. The screens are notably used by Congressional leaders to identify which members are voting against party lines.]]
{{Main|Procedures of the United States House of Representatives}}

===Daily procedures===
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2009}}
Like the Senate, the House of Representatives meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. At one end of the chamber of the House is a ] from which the ] presides. The lower tier of the rostrum is used by clerks and other officials. Members' seats are arranged in the chamber in a semicircular pattern; the seats are divided by a wide central aisle. By tradition, Democrats sit on the left of the center aisle, while Republicans sit on the right, as viewed from the presiding officer's chair. Sittings are normally held on weekdays; meetings on Saturdays and Sundays are rare. Sittings of the House are generally open to the public and are broadcast live on television by ].

The procedure of the House depends not only on the rules, but also on a variety of customs, precedents, and traditions. In many cases, the House waives some of its stricter rules (including time limits on debates) by ]. Any member may block a unanimous consent agreement, but in practice, objections are rare. The presiding officer enforces the rules of the House, and may warn members who deviate from them. The presiding officer uses a ] to maintain order. The box in which legislation is placed to be considered by the House is called the ].

In one of its first resolutions, the U.S. House of Representatives established the ]. In an American tradition adopted from English custom in 1789 by the first Speaker of the House, ] of ], the House of Representatives’ mace is used both to open all sessions of the House and during the inaugural ceremonies for all Presidents of the United States. For daily sessions of the House, the sergeant at Arms carries the mace in front of the Speaker in procession to the ]. It is placed on a green marble pedestal to the Speaker's right. When the House is in committee, the mace is moved to a pedestal next to the desk of the Sergeant at Arms.

The Constitution provides that a majority of the House constitutes a ] to do business. Under the rules and customs of the House, a quorum is always assumed to be present unless a ] explicitly demonstrates otherwise. House rules prevent any member from making a point of order that a quorum is not present unless a question is being voted upon; the presiding officer will not accept a point of order of no quorum during general debate or when a question is not before the House.

During debates, a member may only speak if called upon by the presiding officer. The presiding officer may determine which members to recognize, and may therefore control the course of debate. All speeches must be addressed to the presiding officer, using the words "Mr. Speaker" or "Madam Speaker." Only the presiding officer may be directly addressed in speeches; other members must be referred to in the third person. In most cases, members do not refer to each other by name, but by state, using forms such as "the gentleman from Virginia" or "the gentlewoman from California."

===Passage of legislation===
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2009}}
Before legislation reaches the floor of the House, the ] normally passes a rule to govern debate on that measure. For instance, the committee determines if amendments to the bill are permitted. An "open rule" permits all germane amendments, but a "closed rule" restricts or even prohibits amendment. Debate on a bill is generally restricted to one hour, equally divided between the majority and minority parties. Each side is led during the debate by a "floor manager," who allocates debate time to members who wish to speak. On contentious matters, many members may wish to speak; thus, a member may receive as little as one minute, or even thirty seconds, to make his/her point.

When debate concludes, the motion in question is put to a vote. In many cases, the House votes by voice vote; the presiding officer puts the question, and Members respond either "Yea" (in favor of the motion) or "Nay" (against the motion). The presiding officer then announces the result of the voice vote. Any member, however, may challenge the presiding officer's assessment and "request the yeas and nays" or "request a recorded vote." The request may be granted only if it is seconded by one-fifth of the members present. In practice, however, members of congress second requests for recorded votes as a matter of courtesy. Recorded votes are automatically held in some cases, such as votes on the annual budget.

The House may vote in three manners. First, the House may vote by electronic device; each member uses a personal identification card to record his vote at one of 46 voting stations in the chamber. Votes are almost always held by electronic device. Secondly, the House may conduct a teller vote. Members hand in colored cards to indicate their votes: green for "Yea," red for "Nay," and orange for "Present" (i.e., to abstain). Teller votes are normally held only when the computer system breaks down. Finally, the House may conduct a ]. The Clerk reads the list of members of the House, each of whom announces his vote when his name is called. This procedure is reserved for very formal votes (such as the election of a Speaker) because of the time consumed by calling over four hundred names.

Voting traditionally lasts for fifteen minutes, but it may be extended if the leadership needs to "whip" more Congressmen into alignment. The 2003 vote on the Prescription Drug Benefit was open for three hours, from 3:00 to 6:00 a.m., to receive four additional votes, three of which were necessary to pass the legislation. The 2005 vote on the ] was open for one hour, from 11:00 p.m. to midnight. An October 2005 vote on facilitating refinery construction was kept open for forty minutes.

The presiding officer may vote, like any other member. If a vote is tied, the presiding officer does not have a ] (unless he has not yet cast his vote). Instead, motions are decided in the negative when ties arise.

==Committees==
{{Main|United States Congressional committee|List of United States House committees}}

The House uses committees (as well as their subcommittees) for a variety of purposes, including the review of bills and the oversight of the executive branch. The appointment of committee members is formally made by the whole House, but the choice of members is actually made by the political parties. Generally, each party honors the preferences of individual congressmen and congresswomen, giving priority on the basis of seniority. Historically, membership on committees has been in rough proportion to the party's strength in the House as a whole, with two exceptions: on the Rules Committee, the majority party fills nine of the thirteen seats;<ref></ref> and on the Ethics Committee, each party has an equal number of seats.<ref></ref> However, when party control in the House is closely divided, extra seats on committees are sometimes allocated to the majority party (For example in the 109th Congress, the Republicans controlled about 53% of the House as a whole, but had 54% of the Appropriations Committee members, 55% of the members on the Energy and Commerce Committee, 58% of the members on the Judiciary Committee, and 69% of the members on the Rules Committee).

The largest committee of the House is the ], which, as its name suggests, consists of all members of the House. The Committee meets in the House chamber; it may consider and amend bills, but may not grant them final passage. Generally, the debate procedures of the Committee of the Whole are more flexible than those of the House itself. One advantage of the ] is its ability to include otherwise non-voting members of ].

Most committee work is performed by twenty standing committees, each of which has jurisdiction over a specific set of issues, such as Agriculture or Foreign Affairs. Each standing committee considers, amends, and reports bills that fall under its jurisdiction. Committees have extensive powers with regard to bills; they may block legislation from reaching the floor of the House. Standing committees also oversee the departments and agencies of the executive branch. In discharging their duties, standing committees have the power to hold hearings and to ] witnesses and evidence.

The House also has one permanent committee that is not a standing committee, the ], and from time to time may establish committees that are temporary and advisory in nature, such as the ]. This latter committee, created in the 110th Congress and reauthorized for the 111th, has no jurisdiction over legislation and must be chartered anew at the start of every Congress. The House also appoints members to serve on joint committees, which include members of both the Senate and the House. Some joint committees oversee independent government bodies; for instance, the Joint Committee on the Library oversees the ]. Other joint committees serve to make advisory reports; for example, there exists a ]. Bills and nominees are not referred to joint committees. Hence, the power of joint committees is considerably lower than those of standing committees.

Each House committee and subcommittee is led by a chairman (always a member of the majority party). From 1910 to the 1970s, committee chairmen were very powerful. ] in his classic study,<ref>Congressional Government: A Study in American Politics (1885, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin)</ref>, suggested:<blockquote>Power is nowhere concentrated; it is rather deliberately and of set policy scattered amongst many small chiefs. It is divided up, as it were, into forty-seven seigniories, in each of which a Standing Committee is the court-baron and its chairman lord-proprietor. These petty barons, some of them not a little powerful, but none of them within the reach of the full powers of rule, may at will exercise almost despotic sway within their own shires, and may sometimes threaten to convulse even the realm itself.</blockquote>

From 1910 to 1975 committee and subcommittee chairmanship was determined purely by seniority; men sometimes had to wait 30 years to get one, but their chairmanship was independent of party leadership. The rules were changed in 1975 to permit party ]es to elect chairmen, shifting power upward to the party leaders. In 1995, Republicans under ] set a limit of three two-year terms for committee chairmen. The Democrats who took over in 2007 have not decided whether to continue the Gingrich rules. The chairman's powers are extensive; they control the committee/subcommittee agenda, and may prevent the committee from dealing with a bill. The senior member of the minority party, is known as the Ranking Member. In some committees like Appropriations, partisan disputes are few.

==Legislative functions==
Most bills may be introduced in either House of Congress. However, the Constitution provides that "All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives." As a result, the Senate does not have the power to initiate bills imposing taxes. Furthermore, the House of Representatives holds that the Senate does not have the power to originate ]s, or bills authorizing the expenditure of federal funds. Historically, the Senate has disputed the interpretation advocated by the House. However, whenever the Senate originates an appropriations bill, the House simply refuses to consider it, thereby settling the dispute in practice. The constitutional provision barring the Senate from introducing revenue bills is based on the practice of the ], in which only the ] may originate such measures.
Although it cannot originate revenue bills, the Senate retains the power to amend or reject them. As ] wrote: he Senate's right to amend has been allowed the widest possible scope. The upper house may add to them what it pleases; may go altogether outside of their original provisions and tack to them entirely new features of legislation, altering not only the amounts but even the objects of expenditure, and making out of the materials sent them by the popular chamber measures of an almost totally new character.

The approval of both the Senate and the House of Representatives is required for any bill, including a revenue bill, to become law. Both Houses must pass the exact same version of the bill; if there are differences, they may be resolved by a ], which includes members of both bodies. For the stages through which bills pass in the Senate, see ].

The President may veto any bill passed by the House and Senate; if he does, the bill cannot become law unless both chambers reconsider the bill and a two-thirds majority in each chamber support re-passage of the bill over the objections of the President. (see ]).

==Checks and balances==
The Constitution provides that the Senate's "]" is necessary for the President to make certain appointments and to ratify treaties, while the House must confirm the nomination of a new Vice President under the ]. Thus, in terms of potential to frustrate Presidential appointments, the powers of the Senate are more extensive than those of the House.
The Constitution empowers the House of Representatives to ] federal officials for "], ], or other high ]s and ]s" and empowers the Senate to try such impeachments. The House may approve "articles of impeachment" by a simple majority vote; however, a two-thirds vote is required for conviction in the Senate. A convicted official is automatically removed from office; in addition, the Senate may stipulate that the defendant be banned from holding office in the future. No further punishment is permitted during the impeachment proceedings; however, the party may face criminal penalties in a normal court of law.
In the history of the United States, the House of Representatives has impeached sixteen officials, of whom seven were convicted. (Another, ], resigned after the ] passed ] but before a formal impeachment vote by the full House.) Only two Presidents of the United States have ever been impeached: ] in 1868 and ] in 1998. Both trials ended in acquittal; in Johnson's case, the Senate fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority required for conviction.
Under the ], the House has the power to elect the President if no presidential candidate receives a majority of votes in the ]. The Twelfth Amendment requires the House to choose from the three candidates with the highest numbers of electoral votes. The Constitution provides that "the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote." Electoral College deadlocks are rare; in the history of the United States, the House has only had to break a deadlock twice. In 1800, it elected ] over ]; in 1824, it elected ] over ] and ]. The power to elect the Vice President in the case of an Electoral College deadlock belongs to the Senate.

==Latest election results and current party ratio ==
]
{{Main|United States House of Representatives elections, 2008|Current members of the United States Congress|111th Congress}}
{| class=wikitable
|- valign=bottom
! colspan=2 | Affiliation
! Members
! Delegates<br>/ Resident<br>Commissioner<br><font size="-2">(non-voting)</font>
! States with<br>majority of<br>Members
{{American politics/party colours/Democratic/row}}
| ]
| align=center | 256 <!-- Democrat won Gillibrand's vacant seat; numbers adjusted accordingly; they add up; Judy Chu won CA-32 special election of July 14,2009; Dems won CA-10 and NY-23 on Nov. 4, 2009) -->
| align=center | 6
| align=center | 33
{{American politics/party colours/Republican/row}}
| ]
| align=center | 178
| align=center | 0
| align=center | 16
|-
| &nbsp;
| Vacancy
| align=center | 1</sup>
| align=center | 0
|-
! colspan=2 | Total
! 435
! 6
|-
| colspan=2 | Majority
| align=center | 78
|}

<li>
Republican ] (NY-23) resigned September 21, 2009, to become ]. His seat was filled by Democrat ] in a ] held November 3, 2009.</li> <li>On December 22, 2009, ] (AL-05) changed his affiliation from the Democratic to the Republican party.</li>

==See also==
* ]
* ]

==References==
{{More footnotes|date=February 2009}}
===Surveys===
* {{cite book |title=Forge of Democracy: The House of Representatives |last=MacNeil |first=Neil |authorlinks= |year=1963 |publisher=D. McKay |location=], ] |isbn= }}
* {{cite book |title=The American Speakership: The Office in Historical Perspective |last=Peters |first=Ronald M., Jr |authorlinks= |year=1997|edition=2nd edition |publisher=] |location=], ] |isbn=0-8018-5758-9 }}
* {{cite book |title=How Congress Evolves: Social Bases of Institutional Change |last=Polsby |first=Nelson W. |authorlinks=] |year=2004 |publisher=] |location=New York, NY |isbn=0-19-516195-5 }}
* {{cite book |title=Congress: A Political-Economic History of Roll Call Voting |last=Poole |first=Keith T. |authorlinks= |coauthors= Howard Rosenthal|year=1997 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=0-19-514-242-X }}
* {{cite book |title=The House: The History of the House of Representatives |last=Remini |first=Robert V. |authorlinks=] |year=2006 |publisher=] |location=New York, NY |isbn=0-06-088434-7 }}
* {{cite book |title=Majority Leadership in the U.S. House |last=Sinclair |first=Barbara |authorlinks= |year=1983 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |location=Baltimore, MD |isbn=080182933X }}
* {{cite book |title=The American Congress: The Building of Democracy |editor=Julian E. Zelizer |authorlinks= |year=2004 |publisher=] |location=New York, NY |isbn=0-618-17906-2 }}

===Before 1945===
* David W. Brady and Mathew D. McCubbins. ''Party, Process, and Political Change in Congress: New Perspectives on the History of Congress'' (2002)
* Brady, David W. ''Congressional Voting in a Partisan Era: A Study of the McKinley Houses and a Comparison to the Modern House of Representatives.'' U. Pr. of Kansas, 1973. 273 pp.
* Cooper, Joseph. ''The Origins of the Standing Committees and the Development of the Modern House.'' Rice U. Press, 1970. 167 pp.
* Linda Grant de Pauw, Charlene Bangs Bickford, and Kenneth R. Bowling, eds. ''Documentary History of the First Federal Congress of the United States of America, March 4, 1789-March 3, 1791'' (1992–2006) 14 volumes of primary documents
* Ronald L. Hatzenbuehler, "Party Unity and the Decision for War in the House of Representatives in 1812," ''William and Mary Quarterly'' 29 (1972): 367–90;
* Henig, Gerald S. ''Henry Winter Davis: Antebellum and Civil War Congressman from Maryland.'' 1973. 332 pp. Radical leader in Civil War era
* Klingman, Peter D. ''Josiah Walls: Florida's Black Congressman of Reconstruction.'' U. Press of Florida, 1976. 157 pp.
* Lowitt, Richard. ''George W. Norris: The Making of a Progressive, 1861-1912 Vol. 1.'' Syracuse U. Press, 1963. leader of Republican insurgents in 1910
* Margulies, Herbert F. ''Reconciliation and Revival: James R. Mann and the House Republicans in the Wilson Era''. Greenwood, 1996. 242 pp.
* Patterson, James. ''Congressional Conservatism and the New Deal: The Growth of the Conservative Coalition in Congress, 1933-39'' (1967)
* Robert V. Remini. ''Henry Clay: Statesman for the Union'' (1992) . Speaker for most of 1811–1825
* Strahan, Randall; Moscardelli, Vincent G.; Haspel, Moshe; and Wike, Richard S. "The Clay Speakership Revisited" ''Polity'' 2000 32(4): 561–593. ISSN 0032-3497 uses roll call analysis
* Stewart, Charles H., III. ''Budget Reform Politics: The Design of the Appropriations Process in the House of Representatives, 1865-1921.'' Cambridge U. Press, 1989. 254 pp.
* ]. (1891). ''Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States.'' (2 vols). Boston: Brown & Little. <!--Used for history and constitutional information-->
* Trefousse, Hans L. ''Thaddeus Stevens: Nineteenth-Century Egalitarian'' (1997) majority leader in 1860s
* Waller, Robert A. ''Rainey of Illinois: A Political Biography, 1903-34.'' U. of Illinois Press, 1977. 260 pp. Democratic Speaker 1932–34
* ]. (1885). ''Congressional Government.'' New York: Houghton Mifflin. <!--Used for history, constitutional information, and procedure-->

===Since 1945===
* Abramowitz, Alan I. and Kyle L. Saunders. 1998. ''Ideological Realignment in the US Electorate.'' Journal of Politics 60(3):634–652.
* Adler, E. Scott. ''Why Congressional Reforms Fail: Reelection and the House Committee System''. Univ. of Chicago Press, 2002.
* Albert, Carl and Goble, Danney. ''Little Giant: The Life and Times of Speaker Carl Albert.'' U. of Oklahoma Press, 1990. 388 pp. Speaker in 1970s
* Barone, Michael, and Grant Ujifusa, ''The Almanac of American Politics 2006: The Senators, the Representatives and the Governors: Their Records and Election Results, Their States and Districts'' (2005). Published every two years since 1975; enormous detail on every state and district and member.
* Barry, John M. ''The Ambition and the Power: The Fall of Jim Wright. A True Story of Washington.'' Viking, 1989. 768 pp. Speaker in 1980s
* Berard, Stanley P. ''Southern Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives.'' U. of Oklahoma Press, 2001. 250 pp.
* Berman, Daniel M. (1964). ''In Congress Assembled: The Legislative Process in the National Government.'' London: The Macmillan Company. <!--Used for the legislative process, procedure-->
* "Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005." Washington: Government Printing Office, 2005. Prepared by the Office of the Clerk, Office of History and Preservation, United States House of Representatives. Contains biographical entries for every Member of Congress. Also online at .
* Congressional Quarterly ''Congress and the Nation: 2001-2004: A Review of Government and Politics: 107th and 108th Congresses'' (2005); massive, highly detailed summary of Congressional activity, as well as major executive and judicial decisions; based on ''Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report'' and the annual CQ almanac.
** Congressional Quarterly, ''Congress and the Nation: 1997-2001 '' (2002)
** Congressional Quarterly, ''Congress and the Nation: 1993-1996 '' (1998)
** Congressional Quarterly, ''Congress and the Nation: 1989-1992 '' (1993)
** Congressional Quarterly, ''Congress and the Nation: 1985-1988 '' (1989)
** Congressional Quarterly, ''Congress and the Nation: 1981-1984 '' (1985)
** Congressional Quarterly, ''Congress and the Nation: 1977-1980 '' (1981)
** Congressional Quarterly, ''Congress and the Nation: 1973-1976 '' (1977)
** Congressional Quarterly, ''Congress and the Nation: 1969-1972 '' (1973)
** Congressional Quarterly, ''Congress and the Nation: 1965-1968 '' (1969)
** Congressional Quarterly, ''Congress and the Nation: 1945-1964 '' (1965), the first of the series
* '']'s Guide to Congress'', 5th ed. (2000). Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press. <!--Used for the legislative process, procedure, general information-->
* Cox, Gary W. and McCubbins, Mathew D. ''Legislative Leviathan: Party Government in the House.'' U. of California Press, 1993. 324 pp.
* <!--Used for procedure, membership, and history-->
* Currie, James T. ''The United States House of Representatives.'' Krieger, 1988. 239 pp short survey
* DeGregorio, Christine A. ''Networks of Champions: Leadership, Access, and Advocacy in the U.S. House of Representatives.'' U. of Michigan Press, 1997. 185 pp.
* Dierenfield, Bruce J. ''Keeper of the Rules: Congressman Howard W. Smith of Virginia'' U. Press of Virginia, 1987. 306 pp. leader of ] 1940–66
* Farrell, John A. ''Tip O'Neill and the Democratic Century'' Little, Brown, 2001. 776 pp. Democratic Speaker in 1980s
* Gertzog, Irwin J. ''Congressional Women: Their Recruitment, Treatment, and Behavior'' Praeger, 1984. 291 pp.
* Hardeman, D. B. and Bacon, Donald C. ''Rayburn: A Biography.'' Texas Monthly Press, 1987. 554 pp.
* Hechler, Ken. ''Toward the Endless Frontier: History of the Committee on Science and Technology, 1959-79.'' Washington: Government Printing Office, 1980. 1073 pp.
* Hibbing, John R. ''Congressional Careers: Contours of Life in the U.S. House of Representatives.'' U. of North Carolina Press, 1991. 213 pp.
* Jacobs, John. ''A Rage for Justice: The Passion and Politics of Phillip Burton.'' U. of California Press., 1995. 578 pp. leader of liberal Democrats in 1970s
* Jacobson, Gary C. ''The Electoral Origins of Divided Government: Competition in U.S. House Elections, 1946-1988.'' Westview, 1990. 152 pp.
* Kiewiet, D. Roderick and McCubbins, Mathew D. ''The Logic of Delegation: Congressional Parties and the Appropriations Process.'' U. of Chicago Press, 1991. 286 pp.
* Merriner, James L. ''Mr. Chairman: Power in Dan Rostenkowski's America.'' Southern Illinois U. Pr., 1999. 333 pp.
* Price, David E. ''The Congressional Experience: A View from the Hill.'' Westview, 1992. 194 pp. Political scientist who served in House.
* Rohde, David W. ''Parties and Leaders in the Postreform House.'' U. of Chicago Press, 1991. 232 pp.
* Rohde, David W. and Kenneth A. Shepsle, "Leaders and Followers in the House of Representatives: Reflections on Woodrow Wilson's Congressional Government," ''Congress & the Presidency'' 14 (1987): 111–33
* Schooley, C. Herschel. ''Missouri's Cannon in the House.'' Marceline, Mo.: Walsworth, 1977. 282 pp.&nbsp;Chaired Appropriations in 1960s
* Schickler, Eric. ''Disjointed Pluralism: Institutional Innovation and the Development of the U.S. Congress'' (2001)
* Shelley II, Mack C. ''The Permanent Majority: The Conservative Coalition in the United States Congress'' (1983)
* Sinclair, Barbara. ''Legislators, Leaders, and Lawmaking: The U.S. House of Representatives in the Postreform Era.'' Johns Hopkins U. Press, 1995. 329 pp.
* Sinclair, Barbara. ''Congressional Realignment, 1925-1978.'' U. of Texas Press, 1982. 201 pp.
* Steinberg, Alfred. ''Sam Rayburn: A Biography.'' Hawthorn, 1975. 391 pp. popular biography
* Strahan, Randall. ''New Ways and Means: Reform and Change in a Congressional Committee. '' U. of North Carolina Press, 1990. 218 pp.
* VanBeek, Stephen D. ''Post-Passage Politics: Bicameral Resolution in Congress.'' U. of Pittsburgh Press, 1995. 227 pp.
* Zelizer, Julian E. ''On Capitol Hill : The Struggle to Reform Congress and its Consequences, 1948-2000'' (2006)

==Notes==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
{{Spoken Misplaced Pages|United States House of Representatives.ogg|2006-08-04}}
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** Educational site
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* , via ]
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* , via AggData LLC
* , via University of North Texas Libraries

{{USCongress}}
{{USCongressCommittees}}
{{U.S. House elections|state=autocollapse}}
{{US Congress by State}}
{{USLegislatures}}
{{United States topics}}
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Revision as of 05:10, 21 January 2010

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