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The Powers of the Legislative Branch
By Phyllis Naegeli
When writing the constitution, the delegates to the
Constitutional Convention ran into a problem. The states were in
fierce disagreement over how to establish the Congress. The smaller
states wanted equal division of representatives. The larger states
wanted representatives based on population. In coming to a
compromise - called The Great Compromise - the delegates divided
the Congress into two houses, the Senate, and the House of
Representatives.
The Senate gives the small states an equal voice in the
government. Each state has two Senators who serve six-year terms.
In order to serve in the Senate, a person must be thirty years old,
have been a U.S. citizen for nine years, and be a resident of the state
where elected. The Senate is the more distinguished house in
Congress. Members are older and usually have more experience in
government. Of the one-hundred members, one-third of the Senate
comes up for election every two years. The rotating elections help to
maintain the stability of this house of Congress.
The Senate has many important jobs of its own. In addition to
working on bills, the Senate is responsible for approving many of the
decisions of the president. Treaties and appointments of judges,
department heads, ambassadors, and agency leaders receive final
approval in the Senate. Treaties are given special consideration and
must be approved by a two-thirds vote to become law.
The leader of the Senate is the vice-president. As leader, the
vice-president decides who will speak to the Senate and casts a
deciding vote when a tie occurs. However, the vice-president is not
a member of the Senate and does not participate in debates about
bills.
When the Senate discusses a bill, they do not have a strict set of
rules to follow. Standard procedures allow debating and amending
a bill to continue indefinitely. However, an agreement called "
unanimous consent" can change the standard procedures followed.
Under "unanimous consent," all of the Senators must agree to
modify the procedures. If one individual Senator disagrees, that
Senator has the power to stop the modification. When this happens,
a bill becomes the victim of a filibuster. In a filibuster, the Senator
in disagreement talks on and on about the bill to delay the final vote.
In order to end this, sixty Senators must call for cloture, which sets a
time limit for debate.
The House of Representatives is called the lower house of
Congress. There are four-hundred and thirty five members in the
House. Every two years the entire House of Representatives is up
for election. Representatives must be careful to be the voice of the
people for their state. The shorter term gives the people the
opportunity to choose someone else when a representative does not
follow their wishes. To serve as a representative, a person must be
twenty-five years old, a U.S. citizen for seven years, and a resident
of the state where elected.
Population determines the number of representatives allotted to a
state. In order to determine allotment, the federal government takes
a census every ten years. State leaders form districts in each state
based on the census results. Each district gets one representative.
Every state receives at least one representative no matter how small
their population may be.
In addition to working on laws with the Senate, the House of
Representatives has other responsibilities. In a presidential election
where a candidate does not receive a majority of the electoral votes,
the House of Representatives meets to choose the next President.
In addition, a bill concerning taxes must start in the House.
The House follows a strict set of rules for debating and amending
bills. The House Rules Committee sets the rules for each bill that
comes before the House. These rules are not usually open to change.
Occasionally, rules are waived to bring a particular bill up for vote
faster. However, the power for this decision lies with the Rules
Committee.
The leader of the House of Representatives is the Speaker of the
House. The person who holds this position is a member of the
majority party in the House. The majority party is the political party
with the most members in the House. Being Speaker of the House
carries a great deal of power. The Speaker makes many important
decisions on what happens in the House. Assigning bills to
committees, appointing committee members, deciding who will
speak to the House, and controlling the course of bills to the floor for
The Powers of the Legislative Branch
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debate are all the responsibility of the Speaker. In addition, the
Speaker is second in the line of succession for the presidency, after
the vice-president.
Both houses of Congress hold hearings on a regular basis. These
hearings allow the Congress to investigate the executive branch and
its departments and agencies. Congress calls the leaders to answer
questions about the job they are doing. Congress may order an audit
to see that money and procedures were followed. Congress also
holds hearings for citizens to speak on issues of public concern,
about a law that is needed, and to recognize current issues of
importance.
Questions
1. What was the name of the agreement reached which divided
the Congress into the Senate and House of Representatives?
A. the Great Compact
B. the Great Congress
C. the Great Compromise
D. the Great Constitutional Convention
2. How many Senators does each state have?
A. two
B. four
C. it varies based on population
D. none of the above
When a bill has passed both houses of Congress, it usually has
been changed in one or both houses. At this point, a joint committee
called a conference committee meets to work out the differences in
the two versions of the bill. Senators and Representatives serve
together on the conference committee. They work hard to reconcile
the differences and reach a compromise. Afterwards, the two houses
vote one last time. Usually, the bill passes easily.
3. How many members are there in The House of
Representatives?
A. 535
B. 435
C. 100
D. 635
Congress is also responsible for printing money, maintaining a
military, regulating trade between states, and controlling foreign
commerce. This branch also declares war and sets aside funds for
the military.
4. What helps to maintain the stability of the Senate?
A. rotating elections
B. setting the age requirement at a higher level
C. keeping the number of Senators stable
D. reelecting the entire Senate every six years
Our Congress is the voice of the people in our government. The
individuals elected to serve in this branch are responsible to the
people of the state they serve. When making decisions in Congress,
they must take into account not only their personal beliefs, but also
the wishes of the people back home. A congressional representative
may not be reelected if the voters in their state become unhappy with
the job they are doing.
The constitutional delegates were careful to form a government
that would represent the people. Their hard work has kept our nation
free for over two-hundred years.
5. Who is the leader of the House of Representatives?
A. there is no leader
B. the oldest member of the House
C. the vice-president
D. the Speaker of the House
10. Cloture limits the time for debating and amending a bill in the
Senate.
A. False
B. True
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6. Which house of Congress has a strict set of rules for debating
bills?
7. What happens in the Senate when "unanimous consent" can
not be reached?
8. What happens to a government official who is accused of a
crime against our nation?
9. The Senate decides the charges against an accused official in
impeachment.
A. True
B. False