Congress - Introduction to Congress's Power & Composition


Differences Between HOR & Senate:
Representatives:
Senate:
Lower house
Upper house
435 members
100 members
Represent a congressional district
Represent entire state
Serve two-year terms
Serve six-year terms
Must be at least 25 years old
Must be at least 30 years old
Must be US citizens for at least seven years
Must be a US citizen for at least nine years
Must be a resident of the state they represent
Bicameral system: made up of two houses


Does Congress Mirror America In Terms Of Gender, Ethnicity, Religion and Background:
  • Women have been significantly under-represented in Congress. The Democrats tried to focus on this issue in 1992 by declaring it the year of the woman however in 2018, a record amount of women were in Congress – 104. In this sense Congress does not look like America.
  • There were little to none ethnic minorities in Congress but all this changed when Obama became POTUS and a huge swing in these numbers flew. After the 2018 mid-terms, there are 123 ethnic minorities in Congress, which is more than the number of women in Congress. Around 12% of Congress is made up of ethnic minorities but 17% of America is made up of ethnic minorities.
The Powers Of Congress:
  • Law Making: Article I of the Constitution states that all legislative power is granted to Congress. They have a say in tax bills and the first say in money bills. Both houses must agree to the proposed law.
  • Overseeing The Executive Branch (Investigation): Congress establishes and votes on the budgets of all executive departments and agencies of the federal government, done through select committee.
  • Overriding The POTUS Veto: They can override the POTUS’s veto of a bill. Congress don’t often veto bills, Obama only got vetoed 12 times.
  • Confirming Appointments: Must confirm all appointments made to the federal judiciary and many of the appointments to the executive branch. The POTUS must seek the approval of Senate for replacement appointments.
  • Ratifying Treaties: Senate can ratify treaties negotiated by the POTUS. The POTUS should keep Senate fully informed on any treaties.
  • Initiating Constitutional Amendments: A constitutional amendment must be approved by 2/3rds majority in both houses before it can be sent to the states for their ratification.
  • Impeaching And Removing Public Officials: Representatives has the sole power of Impeachment. Congress cannot be impeached
  • Confirming An Appointed VPOTUS: Can confirm a VPOTUS who has been elected.
  • Declaring War: Both houses must agree on the declaration of war in order for it to happen
  • Electing The POTUS (if Gridlock): If no POTUs candidate wins a majority in the election, HOR will elect the POTUS whilst Senate appoint the VPOTUS.
Joint Powers of Both Houses:
Sole Powers of the Senate:
Sole Powers of the House:
Law making
Confirming appointments
Beginning consideration of money bills
Overseeing the executive branch
Ratifying treaties
Overriding POTUS veto
Initiating Constitutional amendments
Impeaching and removing public officials
Confirming an appointed VPOTUS
Declaring war
Electing POTUS & VPOTUS if EC deadlock


Is The Senate More Prestigious Than The House:
Yes:
No:
Senate represent the entire state
Both houses have equal power in passage of legislation – Congress’s key function
Senators serve longer terms
Both approve the initiation of Constitutional amendments
Senators are only 1 of 100
Both houses conduct oversight of the executive branch
Senators are likely to chair a committee or sub-committee or hold some other leadership position
Both fulfil a representative function
Senate is seen as a recruiting pool for POTUS & VPOTUS.
Both receive equal salaries.
Senators possess significant exclusive powers
House members seek election to the Senate, but not the other way round.

Standing Committees:
  • A permanent policy specialist committee of Congress playing key roles in both legislation and investigation.
  • Typical Senate committee has 18 members whilst the House has 30-40 members. They work according to the majority basis in both houses. Right now in the House, the majority will be Democrat therefore the committee will have a Democrat majority.
  • Seek assignments on committees that are closest to the interests of their district or state e.g agriculture.
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