What makes the house of representatives different from the senate

The Library of Congress summarizes the operating rules of the House of Representatives: Only a numerical majority is required to pass legislation in the House, which allows bills to be processed quickly. By contrast, Senate votes typically require a three-fifths majority, or 60 votes in favor.

Majority party leaders in the House control the priority of various policies and determine which bills make their way to the House floor for debate. In the Senate, minority party leaders have more influence over such procedures, so the majority leaders must work more closely with them. Age, citizenship, term duration, and residency requirements The Constitution requires that senators be at least 30 years old, U. Allotment of Senators: Two per State As the Senate website indicates, the reason the framers decided to allow each state to be represented by two senators was to prevent the large states from overpowering their smaller counterparts.

Power to devise its own rules of operation The Senate has the constitutional authority to set its own rules, just as the House does. This is intended to encourage deliberation, or the careful discussion and consideration, of issues.

Majority party leaders in the Senate propose the priority of items to be debated, but they must work with minority party leaders — and often all senators — to determine the floor agenda: the order in which items are brought before the Senate. Vice president as president of the Senate The Constitution makes the vice president the president of the Senate, but the vice president is allowed to vote only to break a tie.

The S. Capitol Visitor Center features a study guide that explains the difference between the House and Senate. It poses six questions about the constitutional basis for the two houses of Congress and provides sample answers. Back To Top U. The Legal Information Institute gives as an example the power to acquire territory, which results from the enumerated powers to make war and treaties.

Inherent powers are also called implied powers, as the Constitution Annotated notes. An example would be the power to tax internet service providers.

Only congress may declare war, levy taxes, and regulate commerce The power to declare war, levy taxes, and regulate commerce are among the congressional powers enumerated in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. The House originates all revenue legislation Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution states that bills intended to raise revenue must originate in the House. Bills require only a numerical majority vote The decision of the framers to allow bills to pass the House after getting a simple majority of votes was motivated by the desire to allow legislation to be enacted quickly.

Majority party powers and prerogatives The important role of political parties in the organization and functioning of the House is described by the House of Representatives Archive. Set policy agenda The speaker of the house usually selects the House majority leader. Decide which legislation reaches the House floor Among the duties of the speaker of the house are presiding over all House proceedings, determining which bills go to which committees, influencing committee assignments for new House members, and deciding the priorities for bills to be debated and voted upon by the entire body of representatives.

Chair all committees While majority party members are chosen to chair all House committees, they must work with the ranking member of the minority party to prepare bills for deliberation by all House members. The House of Representatives Archives describes the three types of House committees : Standing committees are permanent; their jurisdiction is defined in the House rules. Joint committees include members from the House and Senate, usually to study specific matters rather than to consider a piece of legislation.

Resources on House of Representatives roles and responsibilities The legal site Justia details the powers that the House derives from the taxing and spending clause of Article I, Section 8, including the types of taxes permitted and limits imposed on the power to tax and spend. The House of Representatives website explains the composition and functions of the House , including its leadership, committees, commissions, schedule, rules, and history.

Senate: Roles and Responsibilities Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution describes the basic composition, operation, and duties of the Senate, although the Constitution grants the Senate leeway in determining how it will conduct its business. Powers The Senate receives all its authority from the Constitution.

Proposes items for consideration The duties of the Senate majority leader include handling all procedural matters that arise on the Senate floor and informing members of the majority party about the content, implications, and status of all pending legislation. Negotiates with the minority party to conduct Senate floor action Most Senate actions require greater than a simple majority to pass.

Chairs all committees Similarly, members of the Senate majority party are chosen to chair all committees. The site links to active legislation and floor activity, as well as specific committees, leadership, and officers. Step 2: The bill is debated and put to a vote Once the bill is released by the committee, representatives or senators debate it and propose amendments or other changes prior to putting the bill to a vote.

Step 3: The president considers the bill The president has 10 days to sign or veto bills that Congress sends to the White House for approval. Resources on how a bill becomes law The House of Representatives website explains the legislative process , including how bills and resolutions are proposed, introduced, amended, debated, voted on, and enacted.

Vote Smart examines each step in the process of a bill becoming law in both the House and Senate, including committee action, floor action, conference committees, and presidential review. Conclusion: How Their Differences Make the House and Senate Stronger The framers of the Constitution worked carefully to ensure that the powers wielded by the three branches of government — legislative, executive, and judicial — were carefully balanced so that the duties of each branch were clear and no one branch would overpower the other two.

Learn more about the online history bachelor's program. Get Program Details. This will only take a moment. Do you have transfer credits? Next Step We value your privacy. Who is this guide for? We value your privacy. To qualify for election as a Senator, you also have to be a natural-born Filipino citizen, a registered voter, a resident of the Philippines for at least two 2 years before the day of the election and at least thirty-five 35 years old.

Our Constitution provides that our Congress convenes for its regular session every year beginning on the 4th Monday of July. A regular session can last until thirty days before the opening of its next regular session in the succeeding year. The President may, however, call special sessions which are usually held between regular sessions to handle emergencies or urgent matters. A majority of all the Members of the House elects the Speaker.

Those who voted for the Speaker belong to the Majority while those who voted for the Speaker's opponent belong to the Minority. The other officers of the House of Representatives are the thirty-two 32 Deputy Speakers , the Secretary-General and the Sergeant-at-Arms who are also elected by a majority of all the Representatives.

Committees, or small groups of Representatives, headed by committee chairpersons, study proposed laws called bills, and other measures relating to issues and concerns affecting our lives, our communities and our society.

They conduct hearings that give us, citizens, opportunities to express our views on proposed laws or measures. Employees of the House constituting Committee Secretariats provide the committees with legislative support services such as research, report preparation, policy studies and the like.

When you visit the House of Representatives, you may see your Representatives in action during sessions or committee hearings. If you wish to speak with any one of them during sessions or hearings, the Pages who assist and run errands for our representatives in the Session Hall and in our conference rooms, can bring your notes and messages to the Representative you wish to speak with.

You may also send an email to your Representatives, attend or testify at committee hearings, or ask for information about the legislative process or a specific bill. Your Representatives will appreciate hearing from you because they know how important your views are in making good laws that effectively address the welfare of our people. This bicameral legislature was inaugurated in October, In , the Jones Law changed the legislative system.

The Philippine Commission was abolished, and a new bicameral Philippine Legislature consisting of a House of Representatives and a Senate was established. The legislative system was changed again in The Constitution established a unicameral National Assembly. But in , through an amendment to the Constitution, a bicameral Congress of the Philippines consisting of a House of Representatives and a Senate was created. The Constitution abolished the bicameral Congress and created a unicameral Batasang Pambansa in a parliamentary system of government.

The Constitution restored the presidential system of government together with a bicameral Congress of the Philippines. The National Coat of Arms. The national coat-of-arms of the Republic was approved by Commonwealth Act No. It was designed by then Captain Galo B.

Congress deals with a broad variety of different policy issues and it is more efficient to have work done at the committee level than on the House or Senate floor.

In addition, this system allows members to gain expertise in specific issue areas they are interested in. Throughout history, committees have been created to address particular issues before Congress. The House has 23 committees while the Senate has a total of 20 committees. How does a bill become a law? Passing legislation into law is a complicated and lengthy process between the House and Senate before the bill is presented before the President to be signed into law.

For a thorough explanation of the legislation process, please see the How a Bill Becomes a Law section on the House website. Do Members of Congress pay into the social security system? Since January 1, , all Members of Congress participate in the Social Security system and are required to pay Social Security taxes. What kind of retirement plan do Members of Congress have?

What kind of health care do Members of Congress receive? Skip to main content. You are here. How Congress Works. The required qualifications are found in Article 1 of the Constitution: House of Representatives 25 years of age A citizen of the United States for at least 7 years At the time of election, be a resident of the state U.