Introduction

branchesThe Us spent eight long years of drastic fighting for independence from 1775 to 1783. Past 1789, the Founding Fathers had set about amalgam a regime "built on the cardinal conviction of revolutionary-era republicanism: that no central say-so empowered to coerce or field of study the citizenry was permissible , since information technology merely duplicated the monarchical and aristocratic principles that the American Revolution had been fought to escape. The U.s.a. is now the oldest enduring republic in globe history, with a set up 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 fabricated up of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. To ensure the authorities is effective and citizens' rights are protected, each branch has its ain powers and responsibilities, including working with the other branches." This is ofttimes referred to as " checks and balances ," and prevents any ane part of authorities from wielding also much political power.

Why it Matters

America benefits from a judicial co-operative positioned to halt executive branch overreach. The President of the The states cannot stay in power indefinitely and is unable to force the U.South. Congress to pass laws. From the very beginning, and withal to today, the American people accept access to and influence over their elected representatives.

The House of Representatives near directly reflects the desires of the American public due to the ratio of American citizens to U.Southward. Representatives and the constant election cycle every 2 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.S. government, in particular the House of Representatives, including the nuts and bolts of how its inner workings, and how everyday citizens tin can influence the legislative process. For a brief on the U.Southward. Senate, click hither .

Salvage Salve

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 state of 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 (9 min):

Of all federal authorities institutions, the House of Representatives is designed to be closest to American voters, well-nigh closely reflecting the individual cares and concerns of American taxpayers. In fact, the House is the only institution that has been straight elected past American voters since its germination in 1789.

"'If proportional representation takes identify, the small States debate 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 eventually "emerged from weeks of stalemate was called the 'Great 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

There are 435 representatives in the House , and have been since the number was fixed by law in 1911. Each House representative is elected to a 2-year term serving the people of a specific congressional commune in a state. "Each state receives representation in the Business firm in proportion to the size of its population but is entitled to at least ane representative." This ways that states with big populations have more representatives than small states have. Representation based on population was "one of the most of import components of the Federal Constitutional Convention of 1787," as ane of the founders' greatest concerns was designing a system of government that would better correspond 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 non have the same full voting rights as 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 Demography, part of the U.Southward. Department of Commerce. Tying representation to Census data allows the number of each state'southward representatives to increase or decrease along with fluctuations in land population. The Demography data is then used to determine 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, meet The Policy Circumvolve's Decennial Census Brief.

Elections

Members of the House of Representatives " must correspond ballot every two years , after which it convenes for a new session and essentially reconstitutes itself – electing a Speaker, swearing-in the Members-elect, and approval a slate of officers to administer the institution." Biennial elections are held in November, and the Congress commences in the following Jan. To exist elected, a representative must be at to the lowest degree 25 years onetime, a The states denizen for at least seven years, and a resident of the state he or she represents. U.S. Firm candidates are not required to live in the congressional district they represent.

The Life of a Representative

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

  • 35% on "Legislative/Policy Work"
  • 17% on "Elective Services Work"
  • 17% on "Political/Entrada Work"
  • nine% on "Press/Media Relations"
  • 9% on "Family/Friends"
  • 7% on "Administrative/Managerial Piece of work"
  • 6% on "Personal Time"

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

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

Compensation

Article I, Section six of the Constitution requires Congress to determine its ain pay. Congress's " current automatic adjustment formula , which is based on changes in private sector wages," was established past the Ideals Reform Act of 1989. The final 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 salary at $223,500. Additionally, representatives "are discipline to some specific laws and regulations regarding the acceptance of gifts ," specially gifts from registered lobbyists or from private entities that retain or employ a lobbyist.

What does the House of Representatives do?

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 knowledge on the matters under that committee's jurisdiction. Though both make upwardly Congress, in that location are a few distinctions between the two. In item, the Constitution "provides that just the House of Representatives may originate revenue bills, " and past tradition it also originates appropriation bills.

Additionally, while the Constitution does non specifically mention investigations and oversight , "the authority to conduct investigations is implied since Congress possesses 'all legislative powers'." The Business firm initiates impeachment proceedings and passes articles of impeachment (the Senate sits equally 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 state delegation has one vote to choose the President from amidst the tiptop three candidates with the largest number of electoral votes.

Leadership in the House

After each election, the political political party that wins the well-nigh representatives is designated the " Majority ." The other party is the " Minority. " The majority party holds central leadership positions, such as Speaker of the House. The same political party can have the majority in both the Business firm of Representatives and the Senate, or the chambers tin can exist dissever. Third 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 Firm is run by majority rule.  When a majority of members vote to do something in the Business firm, information technology gets done. Majority rule makes passing legislation relatively efficient, and that means that the party in the minority has less ability to gear up the agenda or pass its proposals. This contrasts with the Senate, where a single senator – in the bulk or the minority – can by and large force a vote or cease a nib in its tracks.

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

The Speaker of the Business firm is the presiding officer of the House, and is elected past 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 Firm Administration Committee and the Rules Committee ), and appoints members of diverse committees and House staff. After 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 flooring. Each is elected past his or her respective party. The bulk leader is second to the Speaker and schedules legislative business, planning legislative agendas rather than serving on committees. The minority leader serves as the minority party's spokesperson, essentially the minority party's counterpart to the Speaker. He or she also chairs the minority party's committee consignment console.

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

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

Run across current House Leadership positions here.

The Part of Committees

Committees " are permanent panels governed by Business firm chamber rules, with responsibleness to consider bills and issues and to take general oversight relating to their areas of jurisdiction." Committees have dissimilar legislative jurisdictions, merely 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 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 do (viii min):

Some of the virtually well-known committees include:

  • The House Committee on Ways and Means , which oversees all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures.
  • The Business firm Commission on Appropriations , which has jurisdiction over setting specific authorities expenditures.
  • The House Committee on Strange Affairs , which has jurisdiction over foreign 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 keep from one Congress to the next. There are as well select committees, special committees formed for a brusque catamenia of fourth dimension for a specific purpose such as an investigation, and there are several joint committees with the Senate. Encounter a full list of all House Committees here .

Legislation in the House

Legislation begins with an idea . Information technology may come from a Congressman, a staffer, a constituent, or a thought leader or expert on a given subject. You may recall the School House Stone video , which walks through the legislative process in an accessible way and is nifty to share with your kids (iii min):

Drafting Legislation

Working with Firm parliamentarians —  lawyers and clerks who provide nonpartisan guidance on rules and procedures — and other Congressional staff on Capitol Hill, the Congressional representative'southward staff drafts the bill. The parliamentarians take specific expertise; they work closely with staff in a non-partisan way to draft the specific language of the beak. Staff works to build sponsors and cosponsors before the nib is introduced.

Introducing a Nib

Any Fellow member, Consul, or Resident Commissioner can innovate a bill when the house is in session by " placing it in the 'hopper, '" a box on the Business firm Clerk's desk in the Capitol building. The Member who introduces the bill is known as the principal sponsor. The bill is then formally assigned a number by the Clerk. A pecker originating in the House will commencement with "H.R." (for the Firm of Representatives, as opposed to "Southward." for the Senate). The Speaker's role then assigns that bill to its committee(s) of jurisdiction, which then assigns the pecker to a subcommittee(due south).

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 item and at the conclusion of deliberation a vote is taken to determine" whether or not the subcommittee recommends the bill to the full commission. In the full commission, the subcommittee reports on the bill; this meeting provides an opportunity for Members to ameliorate the legislation. There is too the possibility that the committee tables the bill or fails to take action , which prevents the bill from reaching the total House. You lot 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 bill, why the bill is recommended, and an analysis of each part of the bill and how the bill may impact existing police force. A total commission marker-up and the decision of what legislation makes it to the House floor is tightly controlled past the Committee Chairman's function and leadership. When the legislation is reported favorably out of the full committee it awaits a decision past leadership to schedule time for it to be debated on the Business firm floor. This decision is a negotiation based on priorities of the committee and of leadership.

Later on a committee has reported a nib, the bill is placed on the calendar . This means the bill is eligible for floor consideration, merely not that it will necessarily make it to the floor. In the Firm, it is up to the majority party leadership to decide which bills the House volition consider on the floor, and in what guild.

Commission on Rules

Once leadership has decided that a specific piece of legislation will receive floor time, the House Majority Leader alerts the committee of jurisdiction that the bill will exist considered on the House Floor, and this kicks off the Rules Commission process.

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

Most bills are considered nether a procedure known equally interruption of the rules , "which limits debate to 40 minutes and does not allow amendments to exist offered past members on the floor." Otherwise, the pecker is considered under terms tailored for the particular bill. In this case, the House adopts a resolution called a special rule from the Rules Committee. After the Rules Committee reports the dominion for because the neb and the House votes to adopt the rule, the House tin can then proceed to the floor fence.

Floor Debate

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

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

See The Policy Circle's Senate Brief to see how the procedure continues.

Additional Resources

Glossary of terms

Different types of legislation

Culling legislative procedures in the House

Ways to Get Involved/What Yous Tin can Do

Measure & Identify : Who are the influencers in your country, county, or community? Larn about 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 .

Reach out: Yous are a catalyst. Finding a mutual cause is a great opportunity to develop relationships with people who may be exterior of your immediate network. All it takes is a small-scale team of 2 or iii people to set up a path for real improvement. The Policy Circumvolve is your platform to convene with experts you want to hear from.

  • Detect allies in your customs 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 result to your local Congressional office. As well accomplish out to community leaders to educate them and asking their appointment on the issue.

Plan: Fix some milestones based on your state's legislative calendar .

  • You 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 equally a borough leader.

Execute: Give it your best shot. You can:

  • Research: Brand sure yous know the facts about the issue you lot are raising. Government agencies, call back tanks, and media outlets can all be good resource. Remember to inquiry all sides of the issue to make sure you understand various angles. You lot tin too talk with people who are affected past the event with which you are concerned; anecdotal data combined with measured data can be powerful.
  • Write: Although we may be more inclined to email in the digital age, writing an quondam-fashioned alphabetic character to your local elected representatives or to members of Congress is still one of the most effective ways to influence lawmakers.
      • Encounter these tips for stride-by-stride 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 phone call in, follow-up on written textile, and attain out to other community members to educate them on the effect. Demonstrating broad support can be very constructive 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 larn how to contact your representatives and write an op-ed .