Legislative Branch

Delegates to the Constitutional Convention came from different backgrounds and held different political views. For example, they argued about how many representatives each state should be allowed. The larger states favored the Virginia Plan. According to the Virginia Plan, each state would have a different number of representatives based on the state's population. The smaller states favored the New Jersey Plan. According to the New Jersey Plan the number of representatives would be the same for each state. A delegate from Connecticut, Roger Sherman, proposed a two-house legislature, consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Senate would have an equal number of representatives from each state. This would satisfy the states with smaller populations. The House of Representatives would include one representative for each 30,000 individuals in a state.

This pleased states with larger populations. This two-house legislature plan worked for all states and became known as the Great Compromise. Established by Article I of the Constitution, the Legislative Branch consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which together form the United States Congress. The Constitution grants Congress the sole authority to enact legislation and declare war, the right to confirm or reject many Presidential appointments, and substantial investigative powers.

Make-Up:
The Senate is composed of 100 Senators, 2 for each state. Until the ratification of the 17th Amendment in 1913, Senators were chosen by state legislatures, not by popular vote. Since then, they have been elected to six-year terms by the people of each state. Senator's terms are staggered so that about one-third of the Senate is up for reelection every two years.

The House of Representatives is made up of 435 elected members, divided among the 50 states in proportion to their total population. In addition, there are 6 non-voting members, representing the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and four other territories of the United States. The presiding officer of the chamber is the Speaker of the House, elected by the Representatives. He or she is third in the line of succession to the Presidency.

Senate Requirements:
Senators must be 30 years of age, U.S. citizens for at least nine years, and residents of the state they represent.

The Vice President of the United States serves as President of the Senate and may cast the decisive vote in the event of a tie in the Senate.

House of Representatives Requirements:
Members of the House are elected every two years and must be 25 years of age, a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and a resident of the state (but not necessarily the district) they represent.

The House has several powers assigned exclusively to it, including the power to initiate revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President in the case of an electoral college tie.

Powers of the Senate:

• Under the Constitution, the House of Representatives has the power to impeach a government official, in effect serving as prosecutor. The Senate has the sole power to conduct impeachment trials, essentially serving as jury and judge. Since 1789 the Senate has tried seventeen federal officials, including two presidents.
• The Constitution provides that the president "shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States.
• The Constitution gives the Senate the power to approve, by a two-thirds vote, treaties made by the executive branch. The Senate has rejected relatively few of the hundreds of treaties it has considered, although many have died in committee or been withdrawn by the president. The Senate may also amend a treaty or adopt changes to a treaty. The president may also enter into executive agreements with foreign nations that are not subject to Senate approval.
• Article I, Section 5, of the U.S. Constitution provides that each house of Congress may ". . .punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member." Since 1789, the Senate has expelled only fifteen of its entire membership.
• Article I, Section 5, of the U.S. Constitution provides that "Each House [of Congress] may determine the Rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member." Censure is a form of discipline used by the Senate against its members (sometimes referred to as condemnation or denouncement). A formal statement of disapproval, a censure does not remove a senator from office. Since 1789 the Senate has censured nine of its members.
• The Senate has a long history of using the filibuster--a term dating back to the 1850s in the United States--to delay debate or block legislation. Unlimited debate remained in place in the Senate until 1917, when the Senate adopted Rule 22 that allowed the Senate to end a debate with a two-thirds majority vote--a tactic known as "cloture." In 1975, the Senate reduced the number of votes required for cloture from two-thirds (67) to three-fifths (60) of the 100-member Senate.
• Congress has conducted investigations of malfeasance in the executive branch--and elsewhere in American society--since 1792. The need for congressional investigation remains a critical ingredient for restraining government and educating the public.
• The United States Constitution gives each house of Congress the power to be the judge of the “elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members” (Article I, Section 5). Since 1789, the Senate has carefully guarded this prerogative, and has developed its own procedures for judging the qualifications of its members and settling contested elections.

Powers of the House of Representatives:

• Power to set in motion impeachment proceedings (it is up to the Senate to bring those proceedings into a trial setting). For example, had Richard Nixon not resigned his position as president for his role in Watergate, the House would likely have voted (a majority) to impeach him, at which point any formal proceedings would have moved to the Senate.
• Power to elect the President of the United States. This would only happen if electoral votes were tied. The Senate has the power to do the same with the office of Vice President. Of course it cannot choose randomly, but must select from candidates with the most electoral votes.
• Power to introduce laws and legislation that specifically deal with revenue and taxes. Because revenue and taxes are issues closely related to their constituents or the people that voted for them, the House is granted the power to introduce these.
• Power to introduce laws and legislation other than revenue-related, but this is also a power shared with the Senate.
• Power to participate in Joint Committees alongside senate members, such as the Joint Committee on Taxation or Joint Economic Committee.

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