House of Representatives is one of the two lawmaking bodies of many legislatures. In many of these legislatures, the other chamber is called a senate, and the house of representatives is the larger of the two.
The national legislatures of such countries as the United States, Australia, Colombia, and Japan have a house of representatives. Most of the 49 two-chamber state legislatures in the United States also have a house of representatives. Nebraska has a one-house legislature. A number of states and many nations use a different name for a lower chamber. This article deals primarily with the U.S. House of Representatives.
The U.S. House of Representatives, usually called simply the House, is one of the two chambers of Congress. The other chamber is the Senate. The two houses of Congress have about the same amount of power. However, the Senate is frequently called the upper house, and the House is known as the lower house. Members of the House are generally called representatives. The House and Senate must approve identical versions of any legislation before it can become law.
The Constitutional Convention established the form of national government in 1787. But it reached a standstill on the problem of representation in Congress. Delegates from states with large populations favored representation according to population. Those from states that had small populations argued for equal representation for every state. Under a compromise, representation in the House was based on population. Each state was given two senators, regardless of population.
Membership of the U.S. House of Representatives
Size.
The Constitution gives Congress the power to determine the size of the House and to distribute representatives among the states. According to the Constitution, each member of the House must represent at least 30,000 persons, but every state must have at least one representative. The Constitution also requires a census of the nation every 10 years to determine how many representatives each state should have.
The first House, which was formed before the initial census had been taken, had 59 members when it originally met and 65 members by the end of the first Congress. The House grew as new states joined the Union and as the nation’s population increased. In 1929, Congress passed legislation that limited the House to 435 members. In 1959, when Alaska and Hawaii became states, the House gained two additional members. However, reapportionment took place after the 1960 census, and the House was again limited to 435 members in 1962. Today, the House has one member per about 572,000 people. In addition, the House has one delegate each from the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands and a resident commissioner from Puerto Rico. These six officials can vote in committees and on some questions in the full House.
Originally, Congress let each state decide how to choose its own representatives. Some of these states established congressional districts for this purpose. Each of the districts elected one representative. Other states chose all their representatives at large, with an entire state serving as one congressional district. In 1842, Congress passed legislation that required every state to create a congressional district for each of its House seats. Under certain conditions, however, one or more of a state’s representatives may be chosen at large.
At first, Congress required the congressional districts of each state to have a compact shape and nearly equal populations. However, these rules were largely ignored, and Congress omitted them from the 1929 law that limited the size of the House. In many cases, the most powerful party in a state legislature created oddly shaped districts that differed greatly in population. This practice, called gerrymandering, concentrated the supporters of other parties into only a few districts. The dominant party then gained an unfair share of seats in the House of Representatives by winning in all the other districts.
The growth of cities widened the differences in population among congressional districts. For example, a state might have had an urban district of 900,000 persons and a rural district of 150,000. Since each district elected one representative, many urban voters were underrepresented in the House.
During the 1960’s, the Supreme Court of the United States issued two major rulings concerning apportionment of House seats. In 1962, it ruled that citizens could ask federal courts to decide cases involving charges of unfair apportionment. In 1964, it ruled that a state’s congressional districts must be as equal in population as possible.
Qualifications and election.
The Constitution requires a representative to be at least 25 years old and to have been a United States citizen for at least seven years. House members must be legal residents of the state from which they are elected. They are not legally required to live in the district they represent, but nearly all voters insist that they do so. Representatives serve two-year terms and are elected in the even-numbered years. There is no limit on the number of times a representative may be reelected.
Salary and privileges.
The basic salary of House members is $174,000. The speaker, who is the leader of the House, receives $223,500. The House’s majority and minority leaders receive $193,400. Each representative also gets a special allowance which covers such expenses as staff salaries, official mail, travel costs, and office expenses, including rental of office space in the representative’s home district. Such factors as distance from the home district and local rent rates determine the exact sum of this allowance. Members of the House of Representatives are also provided with office space in Washington, D.C.
Representatives are given legal immunity (protection) for anything they write or say when conducting official business in the House chamber or in committee meetings. With this immunity, a representative can criticize policies or people without fear of being sued.
Organization of the U.S. House
After a congressional election, House members meet to choose their party leaders for the next two years. The meeting of the House Democrats is called the Democratic Caucus, and that of the Republicans is the Republican Conference. The representatives deal mainly with organizational matters at these meetings, but they also may adopt party positions on bills.
The speaker and other leaders.
The speaker of the House presides over House sessions and gives representatives permission to debate. The speaker also appoints most House members of joint committees, which consist of members of both houses of Congress. The speaker is officially elected by the full House but actually has already been chosen at the meeting of the majority party. The House election simply confirms the majority party’s choice because representatives support their party’s candidates for leadership positions.
The members of the majority party also select the majority leader of the House at their meeting. The candidate for speaker chosen by the minority party becomes the minority leader. Each party also elects an assistant leader called a whip. The whips work to persuade representatives of their party to support party policies.
Committees
do most of the House’s work. Each party has members on these committees. Representatives may serve on four types of committees: (1) standing (permanent), (2) select and special, (3) joint, and (4) conference.
Standing committees are the most important type. They consider bills that have been introduced in the House. The House has 20 standing committees, each of which handles a particular field of legislation. The most powerful of these committees include Appropriations; Judiciary; Rules; and Ways and Means, which deals with tax bills. Each standing committee may be divided into several subcommittees. The heads of committees and subcommittees are members of the majority party. They are elected at the party conference or caucus by secret ballot. In many cases, the person elected is the majority party representative who has the longest continuous service with the committee or subcommittee. Committee and subcommittee heads may hold their positions for no more than three consecutive two-year terms.
The proportion of Democrats and Republicans on the standing committees reflects that of each party’s membership in the House. The Democratic Caucus and the Republican Conference make the committee assignments, which are then confirmed by the entire House. The speaker nominates the majority party’s members of the Rules Committee. Any bill opposed by the Rules Committee has little chance of reaching the entire House for consideration.
Select and special committees are formed for investigations or other special purposes. These committees may be temporary or permanent. Joint and conference committees have senators and representatives. A joint committee deals with topics that concern both chambers, such as economic matters. Conference committees resolve differences between versions of certain bills that have passed in both chambers.
The work of the House
Considering legislation
is the principal activity of the House. Representatives introduce thousands of bills during each session of Congress, and the House passes hundreds of them. All legislation that deals with taxes or spending must originate in the House.
After a bill has been introduced in the House, the speaker assigns it to a standing committee. Most bills die because the committee tables them—that is, lays them aside. Other bills are studied, released by the committee, and placed on a legislative calendar for consideration by the entire House. House leaders and the Rules Committee bring some bills out of calendar order to give them immediate consideration. A bill dies if Congress does not pass it before adjourning.
Most bills approved by the House are passed without debate. The House approves them under a unanimous consent agreement, a method of speeding legislative action. A bill that arouses disagreement among many representatives is likely to be debated. Under House rules, a representative may speak about a bill for one hour. However, representatives seldom get that much time. In most cases, the Rules Committee sets the amount of time for debate and divides it between the supporters and opponents of the legislation. Most bills require the support of only a simple majority—that is, more than half the representatives present—to pass.
Both houses of Congress must pass a bill in identical form for it to become law. A conference committee works out any differences between the House and Senate versions of many major bills. This committee then submits its version to each house for approval.
Bills passed by Congress are sent to the president. The president may sign a bill—and thus make it law—or veto it. If the president fails to act on a bill for 10 days—not including Sundays—while Congress is in session, it becomes law. A bill that reaches the president fewer than 10 days—not including Sundays—before Congress adjourns must be signed to become law. A vetoed bill is returned to Congress. If at least two-thirds of the members present in each house vote to override (reverse) the veto, the bill becomes law.
Other powers and duties
of the House of Representatives include impeaching United States government officials and, under extraordinary conditions, electing the president of the United States. Impeachment is a charge of misconduct in office. The Senate conducts a trial to decide if the impeached official is guilty. The House elects the president if no candidate receives a majority of the votes in the Electoral College. The Electoral College is a group of officials chosen by the voters to elect the president and vice president.
Lower houses in other countries
About half of all nations have a two-house legislature. The names of the lower houses include Chamber of Deputies, House of Commons, and National Assembly. The lower houses in most countries with two-house legislatures have representation according to population. Some countries with such lower houses, including France, the United Kingdom, and Italy, have fewer people than the United States but have larger lower chambers. The lower chamber of most legislatures has more power than the upper chamber.
Members of lower chambers serve terms that range from two to six years. The members of the U.S. House receive a higher salary and more benefits than those of any other lower chamber. The United States House of Representatives website at http://www.house.gov presents additional information on House activities.
