Introduction

branchesThe U.s. spent viii long years of drastic fighting for independence from 1775 to 1783. By 1789, the Founding Fathers had set virtually constructing a authorities "built on the cardinal conviction of revolutionary-era republicanism: that no central authority empowered to coerce or subject the citizenry was permissible , since information technology merely duplicated the monarchical and aristocratic principles that the American Revolution had been fought to escape. The United States is at present the oldest enduring republic in world history, with a fix of political institutions and traditions that have stood the test of time."

According to House.gov , "To ensure a separation of powers, the U.S. Federal Government is made upwards of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. To ensure the government is constructive and citizens' rights are protected, each branch has its own powers and responsibilities, including working with the other branches." This is often referred to as " checks and balances ," and prevents any ane part of authorities from wielding as well much political power.

Why it Matters

America benefits from a judicial branch positioned to halt executive co-operative overreach. The President of the United states of america cannot stay in power indefinitely and is unable to force the U.Due south. Congress to pass laws. From the very starting time, and notwithstanding to today, the American people have access to and influence over their elected representatives.

The House of Representatives nigh directly reflects the desires of the American public due to the ratio of American citizens to U.S. Representatives and the abiding election cycle every two years. Much of the deadlock of the U.Southward. government that we witness today reflects a divided American people.

This brief focuses on the Legislative co-operative of the U.South. government, in particular the House of Representatives, including the nuts and bolts of how its inner workings, and how everyday citizens can influence the legislative procedure. For a cursory on the U.S. Senate, click here .

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What is the Legislative Branch?

The legislative branch is fabricated up of the House of Representatives and the Senate , known collectively as the Congress. Among other powers, the legislative branch "makes all laws, declares war, regulates interstate and foreign commerce and controls taxing and spending policies."

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

Of all federal government institutions, the House of Representatives is designed to be closest to American voters, about closely reflecting the private cares and concerns of American taxpayers. In fact, the Business firm is the simply establishment that has been straight elected by American voters since its germination in 1789.

"'If proportional representation takes place, the pocket-sized States contend that their liberties will exist in danger. If an equality of votes is to be put in its place, the large States say their money will be in danger,'" explained Benjamin Franklin . What somewhen "emerged from weeks of stalemate was chosen the 'Slap-up Compromise' and created a bicameral legislature with a House, where membership was determined past state population, and a Senate, where each country had two seats regardless of population."

Size and Construction of the Firm

There are 435 representatives in the House , and have been since the number was stock-still past law in 1911. Each House representative is elected to a two-year term serving the people of a specific congressional commune in a land. "Each state receives representation in the Business firm in proportion to the size of its population but is entitled to at least one representative." This means that states with large populations have more than representatives than small-scale states have. Representation based on population was "one of the most important components of the Federal Ramble Convention of 1787," equally i of the founders' greatest concerns was designing a system of regime that would better stand for the public than did the British model from which they had won independence.

In addition to the 435 representatives from the states, there is a Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico and Delegates from Washington D.C., American Samoa, Guam, The Commonwealth 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 state representatives.

The Role of the Census

Specifically, seats in the House " are apportioned based on state population according to the constitutionally mandated Census."  The Census, which occurs every ten years and is overseen by the Bureau of the Census, office of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Tying representation to Demography data allows the number of each state's representatives to increment or decrease along with fluctuations in land population. The Census 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 Census, see The Policy Circle's Decennial Census Brief.

Elections

Members of the Firm of Representatives " must represent ballot every two years , after which information technology convenes for a new session and substantially reconstitutes itself – electing a Speaker, swearing-in the Members-elect, and approving a slate of officers to administer the institution." Biennial elections are held in Nov, and the Congress commences in the following January. To be elected, a representative must be at to the lowest degree 25 years old, a United States citizen for at least seven years, and a resident of the land he or she represents. U.S. House candidates are not required to live in the congressional district 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 fourth dimension equally follows:

  • 35% on "Legislative/Policy Work"
  • 17% on "Constituent Services Work"
  • 17% on "Political/Campaign Work"
  • 9% on "Press/Media Relations"
  • 9% on "Family/Friends"
  • seven% on "Authoritative/Managerial Work"
  • 6% on "Personal Time"

When in their home district, they reported spending time as follows:

  • 32% on "Constituent Services Piece of work"
  • 18%  on "Political/Campaign Work"
  • 14% on "Press/Media Relations"
  • 12%  on "Legislative/Policy Work"
  • 9% with "Family/Friends"
  • viii% on "Personal Time"
  • 7% on "Administrative/Managerial Piece of work"

Compensation

Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution requires Congress to determine its ain pay. Congress's " current automated adjustment formula , which is based on changes in private sector wages," was established by the Ideals Reform Human activity of 1989. The last pay adjustment was in January 2009. Since, most representatives earn $174,000 annually, while the majority and minority leaders brand $193,400. The Speaker earns the largest salary at $223,500. Additionally, representatives "are subject area to some specific laws and regulations regarding the acceptance of gifts ," especially gifts from registered lobbyists or from private entities that retain or utilize a lobbyist.

What does the House of Representatives do?

Responsibilities of the House

Per the Constitution , the House and Senate together brand and pass federal laws, introduce bills and resolutions, offer amendments, and serve on committees that enable members to develop specialized knowledge on the matters under that commission'due south jurisdiction. Though both make up Congress, there are a few distinctions between the ii. In particular, the Constitution "provides that only the House of Representatives may originate revenue bills, " and by tradition it also originates appropriation bills.

Additionally, while the Constitution does non specifically mention investigations and oversight , "the dominance to conduct 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 endeavour the impeachment).

Finally, during a presidential election, the House of Representatives steps in if no candidate receives a majority of the total electoral votes. Each land delegation has one vote to choose the President from among the acme three candidates with the largest number of electoral votes.

Leadership in the House

After each ballot, the party that wins the most representatives is designated the " Bulk ." The other party is the " Minority. " The bulk party holds key leadership positions, such as Speaker of the Firm. The aforementioned party can accept the majority in both the Firm of Representatives and the Senate, or the chambers can be split. 3rd parties rarely have enough members to elect their own leadership, so independents generally join one of the larger party organizations to receive committee assignments.

The House is run by majority rule.  When a majority of members vote to practice 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 – tin generally force a vote or stop a nib in its tracks.

House Leadership includes the Speaker of the House, Majority 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 Office to House members, chairs certain committees or nominates commission chairs (namely the chairs of the Business firm Administration Committee and the Rules Committee ), and appoints members of various committees and Business firm staff. Later the Vice President, the Speaker is second in line to succeed the Vice President.

Majority and Minority Leaders represent their respective parties on the House floor. Each is elected by his or her corresponding party. The majority leader is second to the Speaker and schedules legislative business, planning legislative agendas rather than serving on committees. The minority leader serves every bit the minority party's spokesperson, essentially the minority party'due south counterpart to the Speaker. He or she too chairs the minority political party'southward commission assignment panel.

Bulk and Minority Whips serve as middlemen to between their party leaders and members. They "maintain communication betwixt the leadership of the party and its members, marshal support for party positions on the floor, count votes on key legislation, and persuade wavering Members to vote for the party position."

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

See current House Leadership positions hither.

The Office of Committees

Committees " are permanent panels governed past House chamber rules, with responsibility to consider bills and bug and to take general oversight relating to their areas of jurisdiction." Committees have different legislative jurisdictions, but each considers, shapes, and passes laws related to its jurisdiction, and monitors agencies, programs, and activities within their jurisdiction. Each commission has a chair that leads the full committee, and a ranking member who leads the minority members of the committee. Committee assignment directly affects a representative's work in Congress. Later on a Congressional election, political parties assign newly elected representatives to standing committees

Crash Course U.S. Government & Politics explains what Congressional committees do (eight min):

Some of the well-nigh well-known committees include:

  • The House Commission on Ways and Ways , which oversees all tax, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures.
  • The Business firm Committee on Appropriations , which has jurisdiction over setting specific government expenditures.
  • The House Committee on Foreign Affairs , which has jurisdiction over foreign help and oversees national security developments affecting strange policy.
  • The House Committee on the Judiciary, which oversees the judiciary and civil and criminal proceedings.

Nearly committees are regular continuing committees, which continue from ane Congress to the side by side. In that location are also select committees, special committees formed for a short period of time for a specific purpose such as an investigation, and there are several joint committees with the Senate. See a full listing of all Firm Committees hither .

Legislation in the House

Legislation begins with an idea . Information technology may come from a Congressman, a staffer, a elective, or a idea leader or expert on a given subject area. You may remember the School Firm Rock video , which walks through the legislative procedure in an accessible style and is peachy 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 Loma, the Congressional representative'due south staff drafts the beak. The parliamentarians accept specific expertise; they work closely with staff in a not-partisan manner to typhoon the specific language of the bill. Staff works to build sponsors and cosponsors before the bill is introduced.

Introducing a Bill

Whatever Fellow member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner tin can innovate a bill when the house is in session by " placing information technology in the 'hopper, '" a box on the Business firm Clerk's desk in the Capitol edifice. The Fellow member who introduces the bill is known as the primary sponsor. The bill is so formally assigned a number past the Clerk. A bill originating in the House volition start with "H.R." (for the Firm of Representatives, as opposed to "Southward." for the Senate). The Speaker'due south part then assigns that pecker to its committee(s) of jurisdiction, which and then assigns the bill to a subcommittee(s).

Committee Procedure

The Subcommittee seeks input from relevant departments and agencies and holds public hearings. After 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 bill to the full committee. In the full commission, the subcommittee reports on the bill; this meeting provides an opportunity for Members to meliorate the legislation. There is also the possibility that the committee tables the pecker or fails to take activity , which prevents the neb from reaching the full Business firm. Y'all can watch House Committee hearing videos here .

To get to the total Firm, the committee staff writes a study describing the purpose of the nib, why the neb is recommended, and an assay of each part of the neb and how the bill may affect existing police. A full committee marking-up and the decision of what legislation makes it to the Firm floor is tightly controlled by the Committee Chairman's role and leadership. When the legislation is reported favorably out of the full committee it awaits a decision by leadership to schedule fourth dimension for it to be debated on the House floor. This decision is a negotiation based on priorities of the committee and of leadership.

After a commission has reported a pecker, the neb is placed on the calendar . This means the beak is eligible for floor consideration, but not that it volition necessarily make information technology to the floor. In the House, it is upwards to the majority party leadership to decide which bills the House will consider on the flooring, and in what order.

Committee on Rules

Once leadership has decided that a specific piece of legislation will receive floortime, the House Majority Leader alerts the committee of jurisdiction that the neb will be considered on the House Floor, and this kicks off the Rules Committee procedure.

The Commission on Rules , or Rules Commission, is one of the oldest standing committees in the Firm. The Committee is commonly known equally "The Speaker's Committee" – prior to 1910, the Speaker chaired the Rules Commission, and today it is the mechanism by which the Speaker maintains command of the House Flooring. The Rules Commission is sometimes also referred to as " the traffic cop of the House ," equally it determines how much time volition be allowed for debate on each piece of legislation considered on the House floor, and if any (and which) amendments will be allowed to be considered during the debate.

Most bills are considered under a procedure known as suspension of the rules , "which limits argue to 40 minutes and does not let amendments to be offered past members on the floor." Otherwise, the bill is considered under terms tailored for the item bill. In this example, the Business firm adopts a resolution called a special rule from the Rules Committee. Later the Rules Committee reports the rule for because the bill and the House votes to adopt the rule, the House can then proceed to the floor debate.

Flooring Debate

Once the rule has been adopted, the House usually considers the bill "in a procedural setting called the Committee of the Whole , which is essentially "the House assembled in a unlike form; it is a committee of the House composed of every Representative that meets in the House chamber." This procedure "allows members an efficient way to consider and vote on amendments."

Later the floor debate on amendments and the underlying legislation, the Commission of the Whole reports to the full House, which then votes on the beak. The bill passes the House by a simple bulk , 218 votes of the 435 full. It so goes to the Senate and waits to be scheduled for floor time.

Run into The Policy Circle's Senate Cursory to run across how the process continues.

Additional Resources

Glossary of terms

Different types of legislation

Alternative legislative procedures in the House

Means to Get Involved/What You Can Do

Mensurate & Place : Who are the influencers in your state, canton, or community? Larn well-nigh their priorities and consider how to contact them

  • Exercise y'all know who your Congressional Representative is ? What about your state elected officials ?
  • Track your representatives' votes with GovTrack .

Reach out: Yous are a catalyst. Finding a mutual crusade is a swell 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 set a path for existent improvement. The Policy Circle is your platform to convene with experts you want to hear from.

  • Observe 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 attempt to bring attention to your event to your local Congressional function. Also reach out to community leaders to educate them and request their engagement on the issue.

Plan: Set some milestones based on your land's legislative agenda .

  • Y'all tin can discover the legislative calendar for the House of Representatives hither .
  • Don't hesitate to contact The Policy Circumvolve team, communications@thepolicycircle.org , for connections to the broader network, communication, insights on how to build rapport with policy makers and establish yourself every bit a borough leader.

Execute: Give information technology your best shot. You tin can:

  • Research: Make certain you know the facts most the issue y'all are raising. Authorities agencies, think tanks, and media outlets can all exist adept resources. Remember to research all sides of the consequence to make sure you understand various angles. You can also talk with people who are affected by the event with which y'all are concerned; anecdotal information combined with measured information can be powerful.
  • Write: Although we may be more inclined to email in the digital historic period, writing an old-fashioned alphabetic character to your local elected representatives or to members of Congress is still one of the most constructive means to influence lawmakers.
      • See these tips for step-by-step instructions to write messages to elected officials, including how to accost your representative, reference specific legislation, and properly ship your correspondence.
  • Organize: Organize people to call in, follow-upwardly on written material, and reach out to other community members to educate them on the event. Demonstrating wide support can be very effective in influencing a legislator to back up your position.

Working with others, you may create something great for your community. Here are some tools to acquire how to contact your representatives and write an op-ed .