Lindsay Bulls Differences Between the House and the Senate
Congress is a bicameral legislature that consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Although they are both legislatures there are many constitutional and operational differences and institutional changes between the two. Constitutionally the House varies from the Senate because it is larger with 435 voting members based on the population of each state, unlike the Senate, which has 100 voting members with two representatives elected from each state. The House members are also elected every two years while the Senate’s members run very six years. Each branch is gives a difference power for the procedure of impeachment. The Senate is the only group authorized to trial officials to be impeached, while the House can only initiate impeachment procedures and pass articles of impeachment. The branches operate very differently in that the House is a more centralized and has stronger leadership, while the Senate is more flexible and less formal. The Senate has a more personal feel without a ruling committee to control them and has an even distribution of power among the members. The House is more specialized, with a Committee of Rules and a more impersonal feel since there is a larger stricter atmosphere. The Senate also focuses on foreign policy while the House leans more toward issues of taxation and revenue policies. They differ on institutional changes because the House now has given centralized power to the Speaker of House, have made procedures more efficient, and has had in increase in turnovers. Meanwhile the Senate is becoming more formal with more threats of filibusters, having trouble passing legislatures, and unlike the House has only had moderate amounts of turnovers. While the two branches have many specific examples of why they so greatly differ, the biggest difference is that the House is larger therefore having more rules to follow while the Senate is smaller and relaxed but has a harder time passing legislature.
Even though both the Senate and the House hold a very critical part in the national government in lawmaking, there are stark differences between them. One of these differences is their demographic and make-up. There are 100 Senators, two from each state, and 435 Congressmen, appointed by population. The terms of the two different houses differs in that the Senate has 6 year terms while Congress has 2 year terms. The requirements to be a Senator or Congressmen is that a Senator must be 30 years of age and a citizen for 9 years compared to the 25 year old age requirement for Congressmen and 7 years of citizenship to be eligible for election. However, the major difference between the Senate and House is their separate exclusive powers in Congress as outlined by Article I. For example, only the House has the power to initiate revenue bills while only the Senate has the power to confirm presidential appointments, which allows neither chamber to overpower the other and prevent any rash lawmaking. Another example would be how the House has the power to initiate impeachment on high officers and pass the articles of impeachment while the Senate conducts the trials for impeachment, continuing the theory of checks and balances. Also, the power to approve treaties is an exclusive power given to the Senate. Finally, the separate powers between the House and Senate are visible in choosing the president and vice president if no candidate reaches a majority in the Electoral College. The House chooses the president if no candidate reaches a majority in the Electoral College while the Senate chooses the vice president. Although both the House and Senate make up the legislative branch of the national government, there are many differences between them including their roles in the legislation process and their powers in Congress.
Lindsay Bulls
ReplyDeleteDifferences Between the House and the Senate
Congress is a bicameral legislature that consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Although they are both legislatures there are many constitutional and operational differences and institutional changes between the two. Constitutionally the House varies from the Senate because it is larger with 435 voting members based on the population of each state, unlike the Senate, which has 100 voting members with two representatives elected from each state. The House members are also elected every two years while the Senate’s members run very six years. Each branch is gives a difference power for the procedure of impeachment. The Senate is the only group authorized to trial officials to be impeached, while the House can only initiate impeachment procedures and pass articles of impeachment. The branches operate very differently in that the House is a more centralized and has stronger leadership, while the Senate is more flexible and less formal. The Senate has a more personal feel without a ruling committee to control them and has an even distribution of power among the members. The House is more specialized, with a Committee of Rules and a more impersonal feel since there is a larger stricter atmosphere. The Senate also focuses on foreign policy while the House leans more toward issues of taxation and revenue policies. They differ on institutional changes because the House now has given centralized power to the Speaker of House, have made procedures more efficient, and has had in increase in turnovers. Meanwhile the Senate is becoming more formal with more threats of filibusters, having trouble passing legislatures, and unlike the House has only had moderate amounts of turnovers. While the two branches have many specific examples of why they so greatly differ, the biggest difference is that the House is larger therefore having more rules to follow while the Senate is smaller and relaxed but has a harder time passing legislature.
Even though both the Senate and the House hold a very critical part in the national government in lawmaking, there are stark differences between them. One of these differences is their demographic and make-up. There are 100 Senators, two from each state, and 435 Congressmen, appointed by population. The terms of the two different houses differs in that the Senate has 6 year terms while Congress has 2 year terms. The requirements to be a Senator or Congressmen is that a Senator must be 30 years of age and a citizen for 9 years compared to the 25 year old age requirement for Congressmen and 7 years of citizenship to be eligible for election. However, the major difference between the Senate and House is their separate exclusive powers in Congress as outlined by Article I. For example, only the House has the power to initiate revenue bills while only the Senate has the power to confirm presidential appointments, which allows neither chamber to overpower the other and prevent any rash lawmaking. Another example would be how the House has the power to initiate impeachment on high officers and pass the articles of impeachment while the Senate conducts the trials for impeachment, continuing the theory of checks and balances. Also, the power to approve treaties is an exclusive power given to the Senate. Finally, the separate powers between the House and Senate are visible in choosing the president and vice president if no candidate reaches a majority in the Electoral College. The House chooses the president if no candidate reaches a majority in the Electoral College while the Senate chooses the vice president. Although both the House and Senate make up the legislative branch of the national government, there are many differences between them including their roles in the legislation process and their powers in Congress.
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