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What are the main differences between the Two Houses of Congress?

What are the main differences between the Two Houses of Congress_

The US Congress is one of the three highest authorities, as well as the country’s main legislative body. Its powers are recorded in the US Constitution. The Congress consists of the lower and upper chambers, the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively. Sessions of Congress are held in Washington on Capitol Hill.

Two Houses of Congress

  1. The House of Representatives of the US Congress consists of 435 representatives participating in voting on the issues under discussion. Each of these representatives is elected to the lower House of the Congress in its own electoral district. Re-election of participants takes place once every two years. Armchairs in the House of Representatives are distributed between the states, depending on the population in each of them. Members of this chamber may be re-elected an unlimited number of times. The House of Representatives is headed by the Speaker, who is elected directly inside the House by a vote of its members. Members of the US House of Representatives are involved in passing federal laws, that is, those laws that apply to all states without exception. Bills adopted in the lower House go through the procedure of discussion in Congress and are sent to be signed by the President. Then they acquire the status of laws. Candidates for election to the US House of Representatives must be over 25 years old, be citizens of the United States and live in the state that they will represent for at least the past seven years;
  2. The Senate is composed of 100 members (senators), each of whom, works in the upper house of US parliament for 6 years. Senators are recruited for two people from each state. Initially, members of the Senate were elected by the members of the legislative assemblies formed in each state, but in 1913, the 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution came into effect, according to which the election of senators became direct. Senators are elected simultaneously with members of the House of Representatives. Since each member of the lower House of the US Congress is re-elected once every two years, and the term in the upper house is 6 years, then one-third of the Senate will be reelected on a rotating basis every two years. If during elections to the House of Representatives an electoral district is formed depending on the number of people, then the entire territory of the state becomes an electoral district when electing senators. People who have reached the age of 30 and reside for at least the last nine years in the state may be elected to the US Senate.

Functions of the US Congress

  • impose and levy taxes, duties, duties, and excise taxes in order to pay off debts, ensure joint defense and the general welfare of the United States; and all duties and excise taxes must be uniform throughout the United States;
  • borrow money from the United States;
  • regulate trade with foreign states, between individual states and with Indian tribes;
  • establish uniform rules for naturalization throughout the United States and enact uniform bankruptcy laws;
  • mint a coin, regulate the value thereof and the value of a foreign coin, establish units of weights and measures;
  • impose penalties on counterfeiting securities and the United States coin in circulation;
  • create mail services and mail paths;
  • promote the development of science and useful crafts, fixing for a certain period of time for authors and inventors exclusive rights to their writings and discoveries;
  • establish lower courts in relation to the Supreme Court;
  • identify and punish acts of piracy, grave crimes committed on the high seas, and crimes against the rights of nations;
  • declare war, issue certificates of privateering and reprisals, and establish rules for capturing trophies on land and on water;
  • form and support armies, but allocations for these purposes should not be allocated for more than two years;
  • create and maintain a navy;
  • issue rules for the organization of land and sea forces and their management;
  • provide for measures to call the police to enforce the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions;
  • provide for the organization, arming and training of the police and the leadership of its part that can be used in the service of the United States, while maintaining the states the right to appoint officials and organize training for the police in accordance with the requirements prescribed by the US Congress;
  • exercise exceptional legislative authority with respect to the district (not exceeding ten square miles), which, being ceded by individual states and adopted by Congress, will become the seat of the government of the United States;
  • exercise similar authority over all lands acquired with the consent of the state legislature in which these lands are located, for the construction of forts, building warehouses, arsenals, shipyards and other necessary facilities;
  • enact all laws, which will be necessary and appropriate to give effect to the aforementioned powers and all other powers granted by this Constitution to the government of the United States or to any department or official thereof.

Category: General Issues

Tags: congress, politics, united states congress