KEY DIFFERENCES

The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S.

Senate

SENATEArticle I, Sec. 3: “No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.”

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESArticle I, Sec. 2: “No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.”

Constitutional Qualifications

ARTICLE I, SEC. 2

“The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative...” (REAPPORTIONMENT and REDISTRICTING)

HOUSE OF REPS. in 1789… 65 Reps. (13 states)

HOUSE OF REPS. in 2013 (since 1913)… 435 Reps.

If original standards were still upheld today, the House of Representatives would have 10,400 Reps.!

Washington D.C., American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico each have 1 non-voting “DELEGATE”435 Congressional Districts spread throughout the 50 states + 6

Delegates = 441 TOTAL REPRESENTATIVES

The U.S. CENSUS! (every 10 years) dictates a State’s rep. in the House… THE TOTAL U.S. NUMBER IS SET AT 435!

U.S. HOUSE: SIZE

ONE REPRESENTATIVE represents ONE CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT…

…which equals about 715,000 CONSTITUENTS!

ARTICLE I, SEC. 3“The Senate of the United States shall be composed of TWO SENATORS FROM EACH STATE chosen by the Legislature thereof…” SENATE in 1789… 26 Senators (13 states)

SENATE in 2013… 100 Senators (since 1959)

17th Amendment“The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE THEREOF…”

DRASTIC change!

U.S. SENATE: SIZE

* EACH SENATOR represents AN ENTIRE STATE!

ARTICLE I, SEC. 2 “The House of Representatives shall be composed of Members CHOSEN EVERY SECOND YEAR by the People of the several States…” Terms for members of the House are

TWO YEARS – and coincide with a term of Congress… (the House dissolves every two years) This means that the House re-elects LEADERS and OFFICERS; comes up with NEW RULES and PROCEDURES; and BASICALLY STARTS FROM SCRATCH EVERY TWO YEARS!

U.S. HOUSE: TERMS

Senate elections are STAGGERED; approximately 1/3 of the Senate is up for re-election every two years, but the entire body is never up for re-election in the same year! (the Senate is a CONTINUOUS BODY)

ARTICLE I, SEC. 3 “The Senate of the United States… Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, THEY SHALL BE DIVIDED AS EQUALLY AS MAY BE INTO THREE CLASSES. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year…”

U.S. SENATE: TERMS

Article I, Section 3:

SENATE CLASS STRUCTURE

CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP

IMPEACHMENT: The House and Senate…“is an expressed power of the Congress that allows for formal charges against a civil officer of the federal government for crimes committed while in office.”

The actual trial on those charges, and subsequent removal of an official on conviction on those charges, is separate from the act of impeachment itself!The HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES has the sole power of impeaching……while the SENATE has the sole power to try all impeachments. The removal of impeached officials is automatic upon conviction in the Senate!

THE PRESIDENT… “ADVICE AND CONSENT” “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, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law…” – Article II, Sec. 2, Clause 2

POTUS nominations take effect only when confirmed by the Senate…

…and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote!

LEGISLATION CONCERNING TAXES…

“All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.” – Article I, Sec. 7, Clause 1