Introduction

branchesThe U.s.a. spent eight long years of desperate fighting for independence from 1775 to 1783. By 1789, the Founding Fathers had set about constructing a authorities "congenital on the cardinal conviction of revolutionary-era republicanism: that no central authority empowered to coerce or bailiwick the citizenry was permissible , since information technology merely duplicated the monarchical and aristocratic principles that the American Revolution had been fought to escape. The Us is at present the oldest enduring democracy in world history, with a set of political institutions and traditions that have stood the exam of fourth dimension."

According to House.gov , "To ensure a separation of powers, the U.Southward. Federal Government is made upwards of iii branches: legislative, executive and judicial. To ensure the regime 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 one part of government from wielding likewise 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 cannot stay in power indefinitely and is unable to strength the U.S. Congress to pass laws. From the very start, 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 abiding ballot cycle every ii years. Much of the deadlock of the U.S. regime that we witness today reflects a divided American people.

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

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What is the Legislative Branch?

The legislative co-operative is made upwards of the House of Representatives and the Senate , known collectively every bit the Congress. Among other powers, the legislative branch "makes all laws, declares state of war, regulates interstate and strange commerce and controls taxing and spending policies."

CrashCourse U.S. Government 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 private cares and concerns of American taxpayers. In fact, the House is the only institution that has been direct elected by American voters since its formation in 1789.

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

Size and Structure of the House

At that place are 435 representatives in the House , and have been since the number was stock-still by 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 House in proportion to the size of its population but is entitled to at least one representative." This means that states with large populations take more representatives than small states have. Representation based on population was "i of the nigh important components of the Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787," as one of the founders' greatest concerns was designing a system of government that would better represent the public than did the British model from which they had won independence.

In improver 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 practice not accept the same full voting rights as the 435 land representatives.

The Role of the Census

Specifically, seats in the Firm " are apportioned based on state population co-ordinate to the constitutionally mandated Census."  The Census, which occurs every ten years and is overseen by the Bureau of the Census, part of the U.Due south. Department of Commerce. Tying representation to Census data allows the number of each land'due south representatives to increase or subtract forth with fluctuations in state population. The Census information is then used to decide congressional districts, areas in the state from which representatives are elected to the Business firm. This process is chosen redistricting. For more on redistricting and the Census, see The Policy Circle's Decennial Census Brief.

Elections

Members of the House of Representatives " must correspond election every 2 years , later on which it convenes for a new session and substantially reconstitutes itself – electing a Speaker, swearing-in the Members-elect, and blessing a slate of officers to administer the institution." Biennial elections are held in November, 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 country he or she represents. U.Southward. House candidates are non required to alive in the congressional commune they stand for.

The Life of a Representative

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

  • 35% on "Legislative/Policy Work"
  • 17% on "Elective Services Piece of work"
  • 17% on "Political/Campaign Work"
  • nine% on "Printing/Media Relations"
  • 9% on "Family/Friends"
  • vii% on "Authoritative/Managerial Piece of work"
  • six% on "Personal Fourth dimension"

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

  • 32% on "Elective Services Piece of work"
  • 18%  on "Political/Entrada Work"
  • 14% on "Press/Media Relations"
  • 12%  on "Legislative/Policy Work"
  • nine% with "Family/Friends"
  • 8% on "Personal Time"
  • 7% on "Administrative/Managerial Work"

Compensation

Commodity I, Department 6 of the Constitution requires Congress to determine its own pay. Congress'due south " electric current automatic adjustment formula , which is based on changes in private sector wages," was established by the Ethics Reform Act of 1989. The last pay adjustment was in Jan 2009. Since, most representatives earn $174,000 annually, while the majority and minority leaders make $193,400. The Speaker earns the largest salary at $223,500. Additionally, representatives "are field of study to some specific laws and regulations regarding the acceptance of gifts ," peculiarly gifts from registered lobbyists or from individual entities that retain or employ a lobbyist.

What does the Business firm of Representatives do?

Responsibilities of the House

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

Additionally, while the Constitution does not specifically mention investigations and oversight , "the authority to conduct investigations is implied since Congress possesses 'all legislative powers'." The House initiates impeachment proceedings and passes manufactures 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 full balloter votes. Each land delegation has one vote to cull the President from among the top 3 candidates with the largest number of balloter votes.

Leadership in the Business firm

After each election, the political party that wins the nearly representatives is designated the " Majority ." The other political party is the " Minority. " The majority political party holds primal leadership positions, such as Speaker of the House. The same party can have the majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, or the chambers can be dissever. Third parties rarely have enough members to elect their ain leadership, so independents generally join 1 of the larger party organizations to receive committee assignments.

The Business firm is run by bulk rule.  When a majority of members vote to do something in the Business firm, it gets washed. Majority rule makes passing legislation relatively efficient, and that means that the political 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 generally forcefulness a vote or end a bill in its tracks.

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

The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the House, and is elected by the members of the Business firm. The Speaker administers the Oath of Office 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 various committees and Firm staff. After the Vice President, the Speaker is second in line to succeed the Vice President.

Bulk and Minority Leaders correspond their respective parties on the Business firm floor. Each is elected by his or her respective 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'south spokesperson, substantially the minority political party'due south counterpart to the Speaker. He or she also chairs the minority political party's committee consignment panel.

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

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

See current House Leadership positions here.

The Role of Committees

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

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

Some of the most well-known committees include:

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

Most committees are regular standing committees, which continue from one Congress to the next. There are likewise select committees, special committees formed for a short catamenia of time for a specific purpose such as an investigation, and there are several articulation committees with the Senate. Come across a total listing of all House Committees hither .

Legislation in the House

Legislation begins with an idea . Information technology may come up from a Congressman, a staffer, a constituent, or a thought leader or skilful on a given subject field. You may recall the School House Stone video , which walks through the legislative process in an accessible 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'due south staff drafts the bill. The parliamentarians accept specific expertise; they piece of work closely with staff in a non-partisan manner to typhoon the specific linguistic communication of the bill. Staff works to build sponsors and cosponsors before the beak is introduced.

Introducing a Bill

Whatsoever Member, Consul, or Resident Commissioner tin can introduce a pecker when the house is in session by " placing information technology in the 'hopper, '" a box on the House Clerk's desk in the Capitol edifice. The Member who introduces the bill is known as the primary sponsor. The bill is then formally assigned a number by the Clerk. A bill originating in the House volition start with "H.R." (for the House of Representatives, every bit opposed to "Southward." for the Senate). The Speaker's office then assigns that pecker to its committee(s) of jurisdiction, which and so assigns the nib to a subcommittee(due south).

Committee Process

The Subcommittee seeks input from relevant departments and agencies and holds public hearings. Afterward 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 decide" whether or not the subcommittee recommends the neb to the full committee. In the full committee, the subcommittee reports on the nib; this coming together provides an opportunity for Members to meliorate the legislation. There is also the possibility that the committee tables the bill or fails to take action , which prevents the bill from reaching the full Firm. You can watch Firm Commission hearing videos hither .

To get to the full House, the committee staff writes a report describing the purpose of the pecker, why the pecker is recommended, and an analysis of each part of the bill and how the bill may affect existing law. A full committee marking-upwardly and the decision of what legislation makes it to the House 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 fourth dimension for it to be debated on the House flooring. This determination is a negotiation based on priorities of the commission and of leadership.

After a committee has reported a pecker, the bill is placed on the calendar . This means the neb is eligible for flooring consideration, simply not that information technology will necessarily make it to the flooring. In the House, it is up to the majority party leadership to decide which bills the House will consider on the floor, and in what lodge.

Committee on Rules

Once leadership has decided that a specific piece of legislation will receive floortime, the Firm Majority Leader alerts the committee of jurisdiction that the pecker 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 House. The Committee is commonly known equally "The Speaker's Committee" – prior to 1910, the Speaker chaired the Rules Committee, and today it is the machinery past which the Speaker maintains control of the Business firm Floor. The Rules Commission is sometimes also referred to as " the traffic cop of the House ," as it determines how much fourth dimension will be allowed for contend on each piece of legislation considered on the House flooring, and if any (and which) amendments will be allowed to exist considered during the fence.

Most bills are considered under a procedure known as break of the rules , "which limits debate to 40 minutes and does non permit amendments to exist offered by members on the floor." Otherwise, the bill is considered under terms tailored for the particular beak. In this instance, the House adopts a resolution called a special rule from the Rules Committee. After the Rules Committee reports the dominion for considering the bill and the Business firm votes to adopt the dominion, the House can so keep to the floor debate.

Floor Debate

One time the dominion has been adopted, the House commonly considers the nib "in a procedural setting chosen the Committee of the Whole , which is essentially "the Firm assembled in a different form; it is a committee of the House composed of every Representative that meets in the House bedchamber." This procedure "allows members an efficient way to consider and vote on amendments."

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

See The Policy Circle'due south Senate Cursory to see how the process continues.

Boosted Resources

Glossary of terms

Different types of legislation

Alternative legislative procedures in the Business firm

Ways to Get Involved/What You Can Do

Mensurate & Identify : Who are the influencers in your state, county, or customs? Learn nearly their priorities and consider how to contact them

  • Do you know who your Congressional Representative is ? What nearly your state elected officials ?
  • Track your representatives' votes with GovTrack .

Attain out: Y'all are a goad. Finding a common cause is a great opportunity to develop relationships with people who may be outside of your firsthand network. All it takes is a minor squad of two or three people to set a path for existent improvement. The Policy Circle is your platform to convene with experts y'all desire to hear from.

  • Find allies in your community or in nearby towns and elsewhere in the state.
  • Foster collaborative relationships with colleagues, neighbors, friends, and local organizations to mobilize an effort to bring attention to your issue to your local Congressional role. Besides attain out to community leaders to educate them and request their engagement on the issue.

Plan: Prepare some milestones based on your state's legislative agenda .

  • You tin can observe the legislative calendar for the House of Representatives here .
  • Don't hesitate to contact The Policy Circle team, communications@thepolicycircle.org , for connections to the broader network, communication, insights on how to build rapport with policy makers and establish yourself as a civic leader.

Execute: Give it your best shot. Y'all can:

  • Research: Brand certain you know the facts about the outcome you are raising. Government agencies, recollect tanks, and media outlets can all be proficient resource. Think to enquiry all sides of the issue to make sure you understand various angles. Yous can too talk with people who are affected past the result with which you are concerned; anecdotal information combined with measured data can be powerful.
  • Write: Although we may be more inclined to email in the digital age, writing an old-fashioned letter to your local elected representatives or to members of Congress is even so one of the most constructive ways to influence lawmakers.
      • Run into these tips for footstep-past-step instructions to write letters to elected officials, including how to address your representative, reference specific legislation, and properly send 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 event. Demonstrating wide support can exist very effective in influencing a legislator to support your position.

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