Introduction

branchesThe United states of america spent eight long years of desperate fighting for independence from 1775 to 1783. By 1789, the Founding Fathers had set up about constructing a government "built on the cardinal conviction of revolutionary-era republicanism: that no cardinal dominance empowered to coerce or discipline the citizenry was permissible , since it 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 set of political institutions and traditions that accept stood the test of time."

Co-ordinate to Business firm.gov , "To ensure a separation of powers, the U.Due south. Federal Authorities is made up of 3 branches: legislative, executive and judicial. To ensure the government is constructive 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 office of authorities from wielding too much political power.

Why it Matters

America benefits from a judicial branch positioned to halt executive branch overreach. The President of the U.s.a. cannot stay in power indefinitely and is unable to force the U.South. Congress to pass laws. From the very offset, and still to today, the American people have access to and influence over their elected representatives.

The Business firm of Representatives virtually directly reflects the desires of the American public due to the ratio of American citizens to U.Southward. Representatives and the constant election bike every ii years. Much of the deadlock of the U.Due south. regime that we witness today reflects a divided American people.

This brief focuses on the Legislative branch of the U.S. government, in particular the House of Representatives, including the nuts and bolts of how its inner workings, and how everyday citizens tin influence the legislative process. For a brief on the U.South. Senate, click here .

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What is the Legislative Branch?

The legislative branch is made up of the Firm of Representatives and the Senate , known collectively equally the Congress. Among other powers, the legislative co-operative "makes all laws, declares war, regulates interstate and foreign commerce and controls taxing and spending policies."

CrashCourse U.S. Regime and Politics, produced in collaboration with PBS, explains the Bicameral Congress (9 min):

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

"'If proportional representation takes place, the pocket-sized States fence that their liberties will exist in danger. If an equality of votes is to exist put in its place, the big States say their money will exist in danger,'" explained Benjamin Franklin . What eventually "emerged from weeks of stalemate was chosen the 'Groovy Compromise' and created a bicameral legislature with a Business firm, 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

At that place are 435 representatives in the House , and have been since the number was fixed by law in 1911. Each Business firm representative is elected to a 2-twelvemonth term serving the people of a specific congressional district in a state. "Each state receives representation in the Business firm in proportion to the size of its population just is entitled to at least 1 representative." This ways that states with large populations have more than representatives than small states accept. Representation based on population was "one of the most important components of the Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787," equally one of the founders' greatest concerns was designing a organization of government that would better represent the public than did the British model from which they had won independence.

In addition to the 435 representatives from united states of america, at that place is a Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico and Delegates from Washington D.C., American Samoa, Guam, The Republic of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands. The Resident Commissioner and Delegates are able to serve and vote on committees, but do not have the aforementioned full voting rights every bit the 435 land representatives.

The Office of the Demography

Specifically, seats in the House " are apportioned based on land population according to the constitutionally mandated Census."  The Census, which occurs every ten years and is overseen by the Agency of the Demography, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Tying representation to Demography data allows the number of each state'south representatives to increment or decrease forth with fluctuations in state population. The Demography data is then used to determine congressional districts, areas in the state from which representatives are elected to the House. This process is chosen redistricting. For more on redistricting and the Demography, meet The Policy Circle's Decennial Census Brief.

Elections

Members of the House of Representatives " must stand for election every two years , after which information technology convenes for a new session and essentially reconstitutes itself – electing a Speaker, swearing-in the Members-elect, and approving a slate of officers to administer the establishment." Biennial elections are held in November, and the Congress commences in the post-obit Jan. To be elected, a representative must exist at least 25 years old, a United States citizen for at least seven years, and a resident of the land he or she represents. U.Due south. House candidates are not required to live in the congressional commune they represent.

The Life of a Representative

According to Congressional Direction Foundation's Life in Congress study , when representatives are in Washington, D.C., they report spending their time every bit follows:

  • 35% on "Legislative/Policy Work"
  • 17% on "Constituent Services Piece of work"
  • 17% on "Political/Entrada Work"
  • nine% on "Press/Media Relations"
  • 9% on "Family unit/Friends"
  • 7% on "Authoritative/Managerial Work"
  • half-dozen% 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 Work"
  • 9% with "Family unit/Friends"
  • 8% on "Personal Time"
  • 7% on "Administrative/Managerial Work"

Bounty

Article I, Department 6 of the Constitution requires Congress to decide its own pay. Congress's " electric current automatic aligning formula , which is based on changes in private sector wages," was established by the Ideals Reform Deed of 1989. The terminal pay adjustment was in January 2009. Since, most representatives earn $174,000 annually, while the bulk and minority leaders make $193,400. The Speaker earns the largest bacon at $223,500. Additionally, representatives "are subject to some specific laws and regulations regarding the credence of gifts ," particularly gifts from registered lobbyists or from private entities that retain or employ a lobbyist.

What does the House of Representatives exercise?

Responsibilities of the House

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 cognition on the matters nether that committee'due south jurisdiction. Though both brand upwardly Congress, there are a few distinctions betwixt the two. In item, the Constitution "provides that only the House of Representatives may originate revenue bills, " and by tradition it also originates cribbing bills.

Additionally, while the Constitution does non specifically mention investigations and oversight , "the authority to acquit investigations is implied since Congress possesses 'all legislative powers'." The House initiates impeachment proceedings and passes articles of impeachment (the Senate sits as a courtroom to try the impeachment).

Finally, during a presidential election, the House of Representatives steps in if no candidate receives a majority of the total balloter votes. Each state delegation has 1 vote to choose the President from amongst the top three candidates with the largest number of electoral votes.

Leadership in the Firm

After each ballot, the political party that wins the most representatives is designated the " Bulk ." The other party is the " Minority. " The majority party holds fundamental 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 tin be separate. Third parties rarely have enough members to elect their own leadership, so independents mostly bring together one of the larger political party organizations to receive committee assignments.

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

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

The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the House, and is elected by the members of the House. The Speaker administers the Oath of Part to House members, chairs certain committees or nominates committee chairs (namely the chairs of the House Administration Committee and the Rules Committee ), and appoints members of diverse committees and Business firm staff. After the Vice President, the Speaker is 2d in line to succeed the Vice President.

Majority and Minority Leaders represent their respective parties on the Firm flooring. Each is elected by his or her respective party. The majority leader is 2nd to the Speaker and schedules legislative business, planning legislative agendas rather than serving on committees. The minority leader serves as the minority party'south spokesperson, essentially the minority party's counterpart to the Speaker. He or she also chairs the minority political party's committee assignment panel.

Majority and Minority Whips serve equally middlemen to between their political party leaders and members. They "maintain advice betwixt the leadership of the party and its members, marshal support for party positions on the floor, count votes on central legislation, and persuade wavering Members to vote for the party position."

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

See current Business firm Leadership positions here.

The Function of Committees

Committees " are permanent panels governed by House chamber rules, with responsibility to consider bills and issues and to take general oversight relating to their areas of jurisdiction." Committees accept different legislative jurisdictions, just 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 full committee, and a ranking member who leads the minority members of the committee. Committee consignment directly affects a representative's piece of work in Congress. After a Congressional election, political parties assign newly elected representatives to standing committees

Crash Grade U.Southward. Regime & Politics explains what Congressional committees practice (eight min):

Some of the most well-known committees include:

  • The House Committee on Means and Ways , which oversees all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures.
  • The Firm Committee on Appropriations , which has jurisdiction over setting specific regime expenditures.
  • The Firm Commission on Strange Affairs , which has jurisdiction over strange assistance and oversees national security developments affecting strange policy.
  • The House Commission on the Judiciary, which oversees the judiciary and ceremonious and criminal proceedings.

Most committees are regular standing committees, which continue from one Congress to the next. In that location are likewise select committees, special committees formed for a short period of time for a specific purpose such every bit an investigation, and there are several joint committees with the Senate. Come across a full list of all Business firm Committees here .

Legislation in the House

Legislation begins with an thought . It may come up from a Congressman, a staffer, a constituent, or a thought leader or expert on a given subject. You may remember the School House Rock video , which walks through the legislative process in an attainable 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 Hill, the Congressional representative's staff drafts the bill. The parliamentarians take specific expertise; they piece of work closely with staff in a non-partisan manner to draft the specific language of the beak. Staff works to build sponsors and cosponsors before the bill is introduced.

Introducing a Beak

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

Committee Process

The Subcommittee seeks input from relevant departments and agencies and holds public hearings. Later on hearings, there is a markup on the legislation , in which "views of both sides are studied in detail and at the determination of deliberation a vote is taken to determine" whether or not the subcommittee recommends the pecker to the total committee. In the full committee, the subcommittee reports on the pecker; this meeting provides an opportunity for Members to better the legislation. There is too the possibility that the committee tables the nib or fails to take activeness , which prevents the bill from reaching the full House. You tin can watch House Committee hearing videos here .

To get to the full House, the committee staff writes a report describing the purpose of the beak, why the bill is recommended, and an assay of each part of the bill and how the neb may affect existing law. A full committee mark-up and the conclusion of what legislation makes information technology to the Firm floor is tightly controlled by the Committee Chairman's part and leadership. When the legislation is reported favorably out of the full committee it awaits a decision by leadership to schedule time for it to exist debated on the Business firm floor. This decision is a negotiation based on priorities of the committee and of leadership.

Later a commission has reported a bill, the beak is placed on the calendar . This means the bill is eligible for floor consideration, but not that it will necessarily get in to the floor. In the House, information technology is up to the majority party leadership to decide which bills the House will consider on the floor, and in what lodge.

Commission on Rules

Once leadership has decided that a specific piece of legislation will receive floortime, the House Bulk Leader alerts the commission 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 Firm. The Committee is usually known every bit "The Speaker'south Committee" – prior to 1910, the Speaker chaired the Rules Commission, and today it is the mechanism past which the Speaker maintains control of the Firm Flooring. The Rules Commission is sometimes also referred to as " the traffic cop of the House ," equally information technology determines how much fourth dimension volition exist allowed for debate on each piece of legislation considered on the House flooring, and if whatsoever (and which) amendments will be immune to be considered during the debate.

Most bills are considered nether a procedure known as suspension of the rules , "which limits debate to 40 minutes and does not permit amendments to exist offered by members on the floor." Otherwise, the pecker is considered under terms tailored for the item neb. In this case, the House adopts a resolution chosen a special rule from the Rules Committee. After the Rules Committee reports the dominion for considering the beak and the Firm votes to adopt the dominion, the Business firm can so proceed to the flooring debate.

Floor Argue

In one case the rule has been adopted, the Business firm commonly considers the bill "in a procedural setting chosen the Committee of the Whole , which is essentially "the Firm assembled in a different class; it is a committee of the House equanimous of every Representative that meets in the Business firm chamber." This process "allows members an efficient manner to consider and vote on amendments."

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

Run into The Policy Circle'south Senate Brief to see how the procedure continues.

Additional Resource

Glossary of terms

Different types of legislation

Culling legislative procedures in the House

Ways to Get Involved/What You Can Do

Measure & Identify : Who are the influencers in your land, canton, or community? Learn most their priorities and consider how to contact them

  • Do you lot know who your Congressional Representative is ? What well-nigh your country elected officials ?
  • Track your representatives' votes with GovTrack .

Accomplish out: You are a catalyst. Finding a mutual cause is a great opportunity to develop relationships with people who may be outside of your immediate network. All information technology takes is a small team of two or three people to fix a path for real improvement. The Policy Circle is your platform to convene with experts you want to hear from.

  • Find allies in your community or in nearby towns and elsewhere in the country.
  • Foster collaborative relationships with colleagues, neighbors, friends, and local organizations to mobilize an endeavour to bring attention to your issue to your local Congressional function. Also accomplish out to community leaders to educate them and request their engagement on the consequence.

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

  • Y'all can find the legislative calendar for the House of Representatives hither .
  • Don't hesitate to contact The Policy Circumvolve 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: Give it your all-time shot. You can:

  • Research: Brand certain y'all know the facts almost the upshot y'all are raising. Government agencies, think tanks, and media outlets can all be good resources. Recall to research all sides of the result to make sure you lot understand various angles. You can also talk with people who are afflicted past the event with which yous are concerned; anecdotal information combined with measured information can be powerful.
  • Write: Although we may be more than inclined to email in the digital age, writing an old-fashioned letter to your local elected representatives or to members of Congress is nevertheless ane of the most effective ways to influence lawmakers.
      • Encounter these tips for footstep-by-step instructions to write letters to elected officials, including how to address your representative, reference specific legislation, and properly ship your correspondence.
  • Organize: Organize people to call in, follow-upward on written material, and reach out to other community members to educate them on the upshot. Demonstrating wide support tin can be very effective in influencing a legislator to support your position.

Working with others, you lot may create something keen for your customs. Here are some tools to learn how to contact your representatives and write an op-ed .