THE CONGRESS

CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

2. THE SENATE

3. THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

4. LAW MAKING PROCESS

INTRODUCTION:
All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in Congress of the United States, which
shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives. --- Article-1 of the constitution of
United States.

The American Congress is a bicameral legislature, as the constitution calls on two houses to
perform legislative activates. The upper house is called Senate, while the lower house is called
House of Representatives respectively. The framers of Constitution intended to make the
Congress more powerful organ of government than the Presidency. However, in the 19th
centaury it became least popular body. But by the cause of time the matters improved and the
Congress regained its popularity. It is now considered as the Bulwark of free democracy by
many scholars.

The subsequent history and evolution of the congress has proved that the bicameral structure
was a wise step by the founding fathers. The bicameral system operated without any remarkable
restrains throughout the history. Although some times dead lock between the Senate and House
of Representatives were created, yet no one advocated for the abolition of either house.
Especially the House of Representatives never pursued to eradicate Senate from the
constitution, as posed as wall against many of its bills. At the end of the day, the House of
Representative had to accept the approvals and refusals of the Senate. Indeed, the Senate has
become the more important chamber than the House of Representatives. The Congress today is
not what the founding fathers intended it to be and nor has it become what the feared it would
be.

The congress has legislative powers; which are limited by the veto-power of the President and
by the Supreme Courts power of Judicial Review. The congress has also a great hand in the
development of the constitution. It is its own master. It convenes and adjourns its session
without any interference from the Executive (the President). However it does not have similar
control over the Executive as the legislature in Parliament system has.

To further understand the Congress let us study the Senate and the House of Representatives.

THE SENATE

COMPOSITION:
The Senate is the upper chamber or upper house in the American legislature known as
Congress. It consists of 100 members on the basis of parity or equal representation of all the 50
States. Each State elects 2 Senators irrespective of its size and population. Initially the Senators
were elected by indirect method through State legislatures. This method was provided by the
Constitution, but the 17th amendment empowered people of each State to directly elect 2
senators from their respective States.
TERM:
The term of Each Senator is 6 years. One-third of the members retire after every 2 years. It is a
permanent body and cannot be dissolved by any authority. The Senators who retire after the end
of their terms are eligible for re-election. If a Senate seat is vacant by resignation, death or any
other reason, the governor of the concerned State is empowered to nominate the successor to the
vacant seat until the next Senate elections. The vacant seats cannot be terminated.
REMOVAL:
The majority of members present in the Senate can vote to exclude senator on the basis of
disorderly behavior or for some other grave reason. The voting requires at least two-third
majority to remove the Senator.

Fifteen members have been expelled in the history of the Senate; 14 of them were removed in
1861 and 1862 for supporting the Confederate secession, which led to the American Civil War.
No senator has been expelled since.

Under the 14th Amendment, any federal or state officer who takes the requisite oath to support
the Constitution, but later engages in rebellion or aids the enemies of the United States, is
disqualified from becoming a senator.
QUALIFICATIONS:

According to the Article-1, Section-3 of the constitution a senator must be:

1. Not less than 30 years of age
2. A citizen of US for 9 years
3. An inhabitant of the State from which he is elected
ELECTIONS:
The Article-1 of the constitution states that each state may elect two senators. The Constitution
further stipulates that no constitutional amendment may deprive a state of its equal suffrage in
the Senate without the consent of the state concerned. Originally the constitution provided for
indirect method for the election of the senators, meaning; senators would be elected by the
respective legislature of the States. However, with the passage of time, this method showed
plenty of defects. E.g. there were frequent deadlocks among the members of State Legislature
which mostly resulted in senatorial seats lying vacant for quite a long time. Cases of bribery and
virtual purchase of seats also surfaced. In 1913, the Congress adopted the 17th Amendment in
constitution, which gave liberal orientation to the Senate. The 17th Amendment introduced
direct-popular Senatorial-elections. It called upon people of States to elect their 2 Senators
respectively.

Senators serve for terms of six years each; the terms are staggered so that approximately one-
third of the Senate seats are up for election every two years. The staggering of the terms is
arranged such that both seats from a given state are never contested in the same general
election.

The Seventeenth Amendment also provides that vacancies in the Senate, however they arise,
may be filled by special elections. A special election for a Senate seat need not be held
immediately after the vacancy arises; instead, it is typically conducted at the same time as the
next biennial congressional election. If a special election for one seat happens to coincide with a
general election for the States other seat, then the two elections are not combined, but are
instead contested separately. A senator elected in a special election serves until the original six-
year term expires, and not for a full term of his own. Furthermore, the Seventeenth Amendment
provides that any state legislature may empower the Governor to temporarily fill vacancies. The
interim appointee remains in office until the special election can be held. All states, with the
sole exception of Arizona, have passed laws authorizing the Governor to make temporary
appointments.
PRESIDING & OTHER OFFICERS:
As said before, the Vice-President of the United States is the Ex-Officio Chairman of the
Senate. He presides over the meetings of the Senate but does not cast his vote unless there is a
tie. He cannot appoint the committees of the Senate nor can he control the States through his
powers of recognition. The constitution has limited the powers of Vice-President in Senate as
he is not an elected member of the Senate and only acts as a watchdog or a mouthpiece,
performing duties such as announcing the results of votes.

Incase of the absence of the Vice-President, the presiding authority is handed over to the
President pro-tempore (Latin for temporary President). Unlike the Vice-President, the
President pro-tempore is elected from the Senators. But he plays no active role in the
deliberation of the House. He is the nominee of the majority party in the Senate. He can vote on
all issues and can participate in its debates. Incase the vice-President becomes the President, the
President Pro-Tempore takes permanent place as the Chairman of the Senate.

The Senate is also served by several officials who are not members. The Senate's chief
administrative officer is the Secretary of the Senate, who maintains public records, disburses
salaries, monitors the acquisition of stationery and supplies, and oversees clerks. The Secretary
is aided in his work by the Assistant Secretary of the Senate. Another official is the Sergeant-at-
Arms, who, as the Senate's chief law enforcement officer, maintains order and security on the
Senate premises. The Capitol Police handles routine police work, with the Sergeant-at-Arms
primarily responsible for general oversight. Other employees include the Chaplain and Pages.



PROCEDURE:
Senate procedure depends not only on the rules, but also on a variety of customs and traditions.
In many cases, the Senate waives some of its stricter rules by unanimous consent. Unanimous
consent agreements are typically negotiated beforehand by party leaders. Any senator may
block such an agreement, but, in practice, objections are rare. The presiding officer enforces the
rules of the Senate, and may warn members who deviate from them. The presiding officer often
uses the gavel of the Senate to maintain order.

The Constitution provides that a majority of the Senate constitutes a quorum to do business.
Under the rules and customs of the Senate, a quorum is always assumed to be present unless a
quorum call explicitly demonstrates otherwise. Any senator may request a quorum call by
"suggesting the absence of a quorum"; a clerk then calls the roll of the Senate and notes which
members are present. In practice, senators almost always request quorum calls not to establish
the presence of a quorum, but to temporarily delay proceedings. Such a delay may serve one of
many purposes; often, it allows Senate leaders to negotiate compromises off the floor. Once the
need for a delay has ended, any senator may request unanimous consent to rescind the Quorum
Call.

During debates, senators may only speak if called upon by the presiding officer. The presiding
officer is, however, required to recognize the first senator who rises to speak. Thus, the
presiding officer has little control over the course of debate. Customarily, the Majority Leader
and Minority Leader are accorded priority during debates, even if another senator rises first. All
speeches must be addressed to the presiding officer, using the words "Mr. President" or
"Madam President." Only the presiding officer may be directly addressed in speeches; other
Members must be referred to in the third person. In most cases, senators do not refer to each
other by name, but by state, using forms such as "the senior senator from Virginia" or "the
junior senator from California."

The rules of the Senate provide that no senator may make more than two speeches on a motion
or bill on the same legislative day. (A legislative day begins when the Senate convenes and ends
with adjournment; hence, it does not necessarily coincide with the calendar day.) The length of
these speeches is not limited by the rules; thus, in most cases, senators may speak for as long as
they please. Often, the Senate adopts unanimous consent agreements imposing time limits. In
other cases (for example, for the Budget process), limits are imposed by statute. In general,
however, the right to unlimited debate is preserved.

When debate concludes, the motion in question is put to a vote. In many cases, the Senate votes
by voice vote; the presiding officer puts the question, and Members respond either "Aye" (in
favor of the motion) or "No" (against the motion). The presiding officer then announces the
result of the voice vote. Any senator, however, may challenge the presiding officer's assessment
and request a recorded vote. The request may be granted only if it is seconded by one-fifth of
the senators present. In practice, however, senators second requests for recorded votes as a
matter of courtesy. When a recorded vote is held, the clerk calls the roll of the Senate in
alphabetical order; each senator responds when his or her name is called. Senators who miss the
roll call may still cast a vote as long as the recorded vote remains open. The vote is closed at the
discretion of the presiding officer, but must remain open for a minimum of 15 minutes. If the
vote is tied, the Vice President, if present, is entitled to a tie-breaking vote. If the Vice President
is not present, the motion fails.

On occasion, the Senate may go into what is called a secret, or closed session. During a closed
session, the chamber doors are closed, and the galleries are completely cleared of anyone not
sworn to secrecy, not instructed in the rules of the closed session, or not essential to the session.
Closed sessions are quite rare, and usually held only under very certain circumstances where the
senate is discussing sensitive subject-matter such as information critical to national security,
private communications from the President, or even to discuss Senate deliberations during
impeachment trials. Any Senator may call a closed session as long as the motion is seconded by
at least one other member.

Budget bills are governed under a special rule process called "Reconciliation". Under
Reconciliation, the senators right to speak for unlimited duration is abrogated. Reconciliation
was devised in 1974 but came into use in the early 1980s.
COMMITTEES:
The most significant aspect of the Senate is its committees, each of which performs a particular
function; for which it was constituted. The committees; gathers facts, examine witnesses, set a
date for public hearings in the bill, study in details all the views and prepare the reports and
legislative drafts on which the House finally acts.

The important committees are based on; finance, appropriation, foreign relations, judiciary and
inner-State commerce. All the issues before the senate are referred to the relevant committee for
option and advice. An individual senator may be a member of more than two committees
simultaneously.
There are four types of committees:
a. STANDING COMMITTEES:
There are 16 Standing Committees; which are permanent. They have fixed membership and
deal with particular subject. Each standing committee has jurisdiction over a specific field such
as Finance or Foreign Relations. Each standing committee may consider, amend, and report
bills that fall under its jurisdiction. Furthermore, each standing committee considers presidential
nominations to offices related to its jurisdiction. (For instance, the Judiciary Committee
considers nominees for judgeships, and the Foreign Relations Committee considers nominees
for positions in the Department of State.) Committees have extensive powers with regard to
bills and nominees; they may block nominees and impede bills from reaching the floor of the
Senate. Finally, standing committees also oversee the departments and agencies of the executive
branch. In discharging their duties, standing committees have the power to hold hearings and to
subpoena witnesses and evidence.
b. JOINT COMMITTEES:
The joint committees include members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
They have been created for the purpose of exercising supervisory control over atomic energy,
budgeting, congressional operations and literacy. Some joint committees oversee independent
government bodies; for instance, the Joint Committee on the Library oversees the Library of
Congress. Other joint committees serve to make advisory reports; for example, there exists a
Joint Committee on Taxation. Bills and nominees are not referred to joint committees. Hence,
the power of joint committees is considerably lower than those of standing committees.
c. SELECT COMMITTEES:
They are created occasionally to make some specific investigation with restricted jurisdiction.
The select committees are also known as special committees. The examples of select
committees include; Select Committee on Ethics and the Special Committee on Aging.
Legislation is referred to some of these committees, though the bulk of legislative work is
performed by the standing committees. Committees may be established on an ad hoc basis for
specific purposes; for instance, the Senate Watergate Committee was a special committee
created to investigate the Watergate scandal. Such temporary committees cease to exist after
fulfilling their tasks.
d. CONFERENCE COMMITTEES:
Like joint committees, they also consist of members from both Houses of Congress. They are
established to make compromises between two chambers in the case of conflict on a particular
matter.

Each Senate committee and subcommittee is led by a chairman (always a member of the
majority party). Formerly, committee chairmanship was determined purely by seniority; as a
result, several elderly senators continued to serve as chairmen despite severe physical infirmity
or even senility. Now, committee chairmen are in theory elected, but in practice, seniority is
very rarely bypassed. The chairman's powers are extensive; he controls the committee's agenda,
and may prevent the committee from approving a bill or presidential nomination. Modern
committee chairmen are typically not forceful in exerting their influence, although there have
been some exceptions. The second-highest member, the spokesperson on the committee for the
minority party, is known in most cases as the Ranking Member. In the Select Committee on
Intelligence and the Select Committee on Ethics, however, the senior minority member is
known as the Vice Chairman.
POWERS OF SENATE:
The senate enjoys extensive legislative, financial, executive, judicial and miscellaneous powers.
These may be discussed as followed:
1. LEGISLATIVE POWERS:
The Senate enjoys equal and coordinate legislative authority with the House of Representatives.
Ordinary bills may be initiated by either House, but the money bill is only passed by the House
of Representatives. But this privilege of the House of Representative is not much of
significance because of Senates vast powers of amending. The senate may strike out every thing
except for the title of a money-bill. The senate can also even substitute an entirely new bill and
may send the same back to the House. However, the legislative history of US Congress shows
that the Senate enjoys predominant position over the lower-house.
2. EXECUTIVE POWERS:
The framers of the constitution wished the Senate to be a sort of advisory council for the
President is discharge of his executive functions. Since, initially, it was a body of 26 members
from 13 States; it could perform the job advisory board. But since its growth in size it has also
gained tremendous number of powers. By the constitutional doctrine of Checks & Balances it
has gained some Executive Powers as well, in order to check the Presidents authority. All
appointments made by the Senate are subject to the consent and advice of the senate. All the
treaties made by the Senate are subject to the ratification of Senate.
3. CONTROL OVER FOREIGN AFAIRS:
All treaties are negotiated and concluded in the name of the President, but all international
treaties are subject to ratification by two-third majority of the Senate. The foreign-affairs
committee enjoys a considerable influence over the foreign policy of US. It is therefore that the
President keeps himself in close touch with this committee and regularly acquaints it with the
latest developments in foreign policy.
4. JUDICIAL POWERS:
As said before that all appointments made by President are subject to the approval of Senate.
This includes the appointment of Supreme Court Judges. In addition, the Senate it self performs
as a court for impeachment of the President, Vice-President and other high ranking officials of
US. The charges are to be referred by the House of Representatives and the impeachment is to
be conducted by the Senate. The senate turns into regular judicial tribunal when it sits as a
court. Prosecution is conducted by the committee of members of House of Representatives
especially appoint for this purpose. The proceedings of impeachment are heard by the
committee of judiciary of the Senate, which is than presided over by the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court.
5. MISCELLANEOUS POWERS:
a. The senate shares with the house of representatives the power to propose amendments to the
constitution
b. The senate decides Vice-Presidential election when no candidate gets an absolute majority of
votes in the elections and elects the one out of the two candidates securing the highest votes.
c. The senate appoints committees to investigate and report on the administration of the federal
government. The committees expose scandals and inefficiency of the administration, if any.
These committees are politically very vigorous. This way the senators dominate the politics of
the country. The administration is generally afraid of the senatorial committees. Thus the senate
exercises an effective control over the administration through these committees.
The multiplicity of powers of senate has proved beyond any doubt that it is not only the more
powerful than the House of Representative but also the most powerful Senate/Second Chamber
in the whole world.

THE AMERICAN SENATE IS THE MOST POWERFUL 2ND CHAMBER IN THE
WORLD

1. EXECUTIVE POWERS:

The American Senate is the only legislative body in the world which enjoys some direct
executive powers. It shares with the president the powers to make appointment of top-ranking
officials and through this it controls the internal administration of the federal government. No
treaties or agreements, concluded by the State-Department or President, are valid until ratified
by the Senate. Through this power the Senate controls the foreign policy of the country. In
addition, the Senate has powers to impeach the President, Vice-President and other high ranking
officials. It should be noted that these powers are exclusively exercised by the Senate. This
raises the prestige of and dignity of the Senate.

2. ABSENCE OF PARLIMENTARY SYSTM OF GOVERNMENT:

In countries with parliamentary form of government, the lower house attains a higher status
than the upper house. In many countries the lower house has control over the executive; i.e. In
England & Pakistan. In US, however, the position is reverse. It is the Upper House or Senate
which has sufficient control over the executive as well as over the Lower House or the House of
Representatives. However; the Lower House in US is completely devoid of such power. The
constitution has made the Senate a coordinate chamber to the House of Representatives in the
legislative matters, while in parliamentary form of system, the lower house has more power in
legislative matters.

3. SMALL MEMBERSHIP AND LONG TENURE:

The membership of the Senate is small but its tenure is longer than the House of
Representatives. On the other hand the membership of the House of Representatives is large but
the tenure is short. The Senate consists of 100 members and its members are elected for a term
of 6 years. While the membership of the House Representatives is 437 but it is only elected for
2 years term. Because of this fact, the Senators are not worried about their re-election after
every two years. By staying longer on the legislative seat, the Senate also acquires greater
experience, more credibility and exerts greater influence than the House of Representatives. By
staying longer, the Senate can also fulfill its long term policies and programs. It is because of
these reasons that the House of Representatives is forced to concur with the Senate in order to
expedite business.

4. SENATORS ARE SENIOR POLITITIONS:

Senior politicians and men with legislative experience with wider knowledge of public affairs,
usually opt for the membership of the Senate, because of its longer term and greater prestige
than the House of Representatives. The result is that the Senate becomes superior to the House
of Representatives in terms of ineffectual quality, legal talents, intellect and political wisdom.
The media gives greater coverage to the Senatorial speeches and sessions than to the House of
Representatives. The public attention is more focused on Senate as well.

In other countries the Senators may be men of legislative experience with wider knowledge of
public affairs, but the fact that their Senate it self is not Superior to their Lower House
diminishes their prestige. In these countries the attention of media and public is on the lower
houses.

5. DIRECT ELECTIONS OF SENATORS:

Unlike the Senators or members of the upper house in countries like England, Pakistan or
Canada, the US senators are directly elected by the people. It is a common democratic
experience that an indirectly elected upper house finds it difficult to resist the will of the lower
house which is elected directly by the people. However; in US the Senate can claim equally
representative character with the House of Representatives. It is therefore the House of
Representative is not capable of dominating the Senate.


6. EQUAL LEGISLATIVE AND FINANCIAL POWERS:

The Senate in US enjoys equal powers in legislative and financial spheres with the House of
Representative, both in theory and practice. In England, the Upper House of House of Lords is
given lesser authority than the Lower House or the House of Commons. The Upper
House/Senate in Pakistan shares the same position as it does in England. Since the Senate and
House of Representatives in US share equal powers in legislative matters there are frequent
deadlocks. To resolve the deadlock Conference Committees are formed. However, the
legislative history of US shows that the Senates viewpoint ultimately prevails over the House
of Representatives.

7. GREATER FREEDOM OF SPEECH:

The senators enjoy greater freedom of speech than the members of House of Representatives. A
Senator can speak for as long as he desires. This enables a full length, simple and flexible
debate on every matter and discusses every measure to solve the issues. Upper Houses in other
countries do not enjoy such freedom of speech. In countries like Pakistan many senators are
refused to talk on different matters by the chairman.

8. COURT OF IMPEACHMENT:

The Senate in US has sole right to impeach the President, Vice-President and other high ranking
officials. The US senate has powers to investigate into all affairs whether public or private. This
fact enhances the prestige of the Senate and enables it to over shadow the House of
Representatives. No senate or upper house in the world has similar power.

9. SOLIDARITY OF THE SENATE:

The US Senate is the one legislative organ in the world, the members of which have solidarity
and unity irrespective of their political affiliations. In 1938, when President Roosevelt tried to
bypass the senatorial courtesy, the Senators of his own party stood against him along with the
opposing members of the Senate. The entire Senate stands as one unit, whenever any attack on
its authority is made.

10. THE SENATORS REPRESENT THE STATES:

The members of the Senate are directly elected by the entire population of a State, whereas the
members of House of Representatives are elected by a fraction of population from their
respective States. The Senators therefore have proud privilege of having greater representative
character and greater popular support against the members of House of Representatives. The
Senators represent the States as political units and regard them selves as representatives of the
Nation as a whole. The local interest which dominates the House of Representatives hardly
exists in the Senate. This gives to the Senate a natural precedence over the Lower House and
adds to its majesty and dignity.



CONCLUSION:

The US Senate is indeed a unique House. It partakes in all three functions of State; Executive,
Legislative and Judicial.

In words of F.J. Haskin: there are things which the President and the Senate may do without
the assent of the House of Representatives, and things which the Senate and House of
Representatives may do without the assent of the President, yet the President and the House or
Representatives can do comparatively little without the assent of Senate.

It is thus manifest that while upper chambers in the other countries of the world have been
declining in power and importance, the US Senate is adding to its strength and importance. All
these facts prove that no other Upper Chamber such as the British House of Lords, Pakistani or
Canadian Senate enjoys such powers as are enjoyed by the Senate of US. The House of Lords
of England is described as the weakest upper chamber of the world. The nominated Senate of
Canada has no prestige compared to the Lower House. The Senate of Pakistan also has lesser
prestige than the National Assembly with regards to the legislative and fiscal administration, as
it is indirectly elected. We may, therefore, conclude that the US Senate is one of the great
success of the American Constitution, a worth monument of the wisdom and foresight of its
fathers. It can easily be said, without much of a debate, that the US Senate is the most powerful
Senate or Second Chamber or Upper House in the world.

THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the American Congress. It is a legislative
body sharing powers with the Senate. Even though it is weaker in power compared to Senate,
no legislative measures are possible without the House of Representatives. It is the popular
body representing the US citizens on national principle based on population. Citizens of all sex
and race but of at least 18 years of age can participate in electing a member of House of
Representative.


COMPOSITION:

Initially the House of Representatives consisted of 65 members but now its membership is
permanently fixed to 437 unless changed by a making an amendment to the constitution. The
number of representatives for each State is fixed by the Congress in proportion to its population.

TERM:

The term of House of Representatives is two years. It cannot be dissolved earlier.

SESSION:

The House meets every year on 3rd of January according to the 20th amendment of the
constitution and remains in session until its members vote to adjourn. However, the President
can convene its special session. It than confine it self strictly to the task, for which it is
summoned and does not discuss any other matter.

QUALIFICATIONS:

The constitution calls for a candidate for the House of Representatives to posses the following
qualifications:

a.) Must be at least 25 years of age
b.) Must be citizen of US for at least 7 years
c.) Must be citizen of State from which he wants to contest election
d.) Must not hold any office or profit under the government of US


PRIVILEGES:

a.) The member gets annual salary of $22,500 plus $2,500 expense money.

b.) Members are free from arrest except for treason, felony and breach of peace, during the
session of the house.

c.) Members enjoy the freedom of speech on floor of the House.


THE SPEAKER:

Unlike the Senate, the Vie-President does not preside over the House of Representatives.
Instead the House elects its own speaker. The elections for the House speaker are held purely on
party-lines. The candidate for the House Speaker is member of the majority party, he is partisan
and openly favors the party to which he belongs, even after he elected as the Speaker. He is
virtually the leader of the majority party and the legislative leadership devolves around him.
FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE


a.) Presides over the session of the House and maintains order and decorum in the House.

b.) Recognizes members on the floor of the House and allows members to speak.

c.) Decided points of order passed by the members of the House.

d.) Puts question to the vote of the House and declares the result.

e.) Interprets and applies the rules of procedure of the House, when any question on procedure
is raised. His decision cannot be questioned.

f.) Refers the bills to an appropriate standing committee for consideration and action

g.) Selects the chairman of the committee of the whole House and appoints his deputy. Also
appoints members of the special committee

h.) Signs all the bills passed by the House


POWERS OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:

a.) LESGISLATIVE POWERS:

The House of Representatives enjoys co-equal and coordinate authority with Senate in the
domain of legislation. However, Senate has authority to amend or reject any bill passed by the
House of Representatives.

b.) FINANCIAL POWERS:

According to the Clause-1, Section-7, Article-1 of the constitution all financial bills must
originate in the House of Representatives. This is an adoption from the British Constitution.
According to this doctrine, all national finances must be controlled by the House directly
responsible to the people. The financial matters mean all legislations involving appropriation.
All appropriation bills originate in House of Representatives. This means that the annual Budget
Bill must be formed by the House of Representatives.

(Note: In British Constitution the House of commons is directly responsible to the people as it is
elected by the people, hence the financial powers are vested the House of Commons. House of
Lords, which passes for Senate, has no say in financial affairs. However, in US the Senate is
equally responsible to the people as like the House of Representatives it is directly elected by
the people. Yet it has no say in financial bill. The clause that House of Representatives alone
should control the finances was established by the original constitution, but even after the
amendment which switched senatorial elections from indirect method to direct method, the
clause were not amended)

However, Senate has power to tame revenue legislations and this can increase or decrease any
given appropriation. Senate can also amend or reject the money bill.

c.) EXECUTIVE POWERS:

Unlike Senate, the House of Representatives does not posses much of a control over the
executive. The only executive power it possesses is that along with Senate it can declare war
and conclude peace. Unlike in parliamentary form of government, the executive neither holds
responsibility nor can be removed by the House of Representatives. However, it has exclusive
right to initiate impeachment proceeding by preparing charges against the executive, which in
this case is President. House or Representatives can also initiate impeachment for Vice-
President, Supreme Court judges and other high ranking officials.

d.) AMENDING POWERS:

The House of Representatives participates in the process of amending the constitution of US. It
shares with Senate to propose amendments in the constitution by two-third majority in both
chambers.


e.) ELECTORAL POWERS:

Unlike parliamentary form of government, the House of Representatives does not posses
powers to participate in electoral process of the Executive. It can only elect a President if no
candidate has secured the majority. In this case the House will elect President from top 3
candidates.


In all the democracies of the world the Lower Chamber enjoys greater power than the Upper
Chamber. However, the situation is reverse in US, even though the framers of the constitution
intended to make the House of Representatives more powerful.

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING FOR THE WEAKNESS OF THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES

1. MORE TO SENATE:

The senate possesses equal powers in legislative and financial sphere (except for producing
money bill). The Senate also has powers to reject any legislation passed by House of
Representatives. This weakens the powers of House of Representatives.

The Senate is also a directly elected body like the House, but unlike the House it has longer
tenure and is a permanent body. This also weakens the powers of House of Representatives.

In other democracies of the World, the Senate lacks in power. US senate at least has powers to
amend and reject money bill, while other Senates around the world dont even come across the
money bill. Unlike the US Senate the Senates around the world are indirectly elected. This
gives more powers to Lower Chambers in other democracies, which makes Lower Chambers in
other countries more powerful than the Lower Chamber in US.

2. NO POWER OVER EXECUTIVE:

Unlike in the parliamentary form of government, the executive is neither responsible to the
House nor does he spring from it. He cant even be removed by the House. Even the ministers
are not elected from the House. In place of ministers, there are secretaries in US which are
appointed by the President and ratified by the Senate. The house has no power in this process.

In other democracies in the world, the Lower chambers elect the Executive and his ministers.
This makes other Lower chambers around the world more powerful than the House of
Representatives in US.


3. TREATIES AND APPOINTMENTS:

Unlike other Lower-Chambers around the world, the House has no power or participation in
appointment of high ranking official like the secretaries. The house can not even participate in
treaties concluded by the President.


4. SHORT TENURE:

The tenure of the House is very short. It is elected for only two years. This discourages the
senior and talented personal from joining the House. Instead they opt for Senate, which in turn
makes Senate more intellect and powerful. Because of this short tenure the members of the
House are busier in election process than in legislation process. As soon as they are elected,
they start working on their next election.

5. LARGE MEMBERSHIP LIMITATIONS:

Unlike the Senate, the House has larger membership. This possesses some limitations. Time
limit is imposed during the speech. This does not enable the speaker to make the debate lively.

6. LACK OF LEADERSHIP:

Unlike parliamentary of government, like in England, there is no leader of the House or
spokesman of the government. The speaker of the House is the leader but he is too busy
presiding meetings and regulating debates.

7. LOYALTY TO POLITICAL PARTIES:

Unlike the Senators, the House members pay more loyalty to their parties rather than creating a
political unity like in the Senate. This hampers the influence of the House.

8. UNDER THE CHECK OF JUDICIAL REVIEW:

The powers of judicial review in the hands of Supreme Court dampen the initiative of the House
in legislative sphere. The members are too worried that their legislative bill may be passed as
void by the Supreme Court.


All these factors contribute in making the House a weak chamber. It is probably the weakest
Lower Chamber when compared to the Lower Chambers of other democracies.

LAW-MAKING PROCESS

The Law determines the policy of the country. The main function of the congress is to make
laws or to amend or repel the existing ones. The process of law making and amending it is
known as Legislative Process. Before going through the Law making process it is important to
have some knowledge about bills and resolution that play important role in Law making. All
legislative proposals are of two kinds; Bills and Resolutions.
(a.) BILLS:
Bills are of three kinds: Public bills, Private bills and money bills.
A PUBLIC BILL:
It deals with general matters of public importance and embodies a major program of
government policy.
A PRIVATE BILLS:
It deals with a person or place and is of private importance.
A MONEY BILL:
It deals with money matters such as taxes and is originated in the House of Representatives.
(b.) RESOLUTIONS:
There are three kinds of resolutions namely; Joint Resolution, Concurrent Resolution and
Simple House or Senate Resolution.
A JOINT RESOLUTION:
It is passed by both Houses of Congress and is submitted to President for his assent.
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION:
It is employed to express an attitude, opinion or objective of both Houses; which correct errors
in the bills already passed by the Congress and it needs no verifications by the President.
SIMPLE HOUSE OR SENATE RESOLUTION:
It expresses the opinion and purpose of the concerned House and does not require any
endorsement.
STAGES OF LAW MAKING OR LEGISLATIVE PROCESS
The following stages are adopted in Law-Making process in the Congress:
1. FIRST READING:
Normally all Bills are introduced by a member of either house. That member is known as the
Sponsor of the Bill. The sponsor of the bill from the House, endorses the copy of the bill with
his name and drops it in the House or the Secretarys table in the Senate. The bill is
immediately numbered in order of its representation and is sent to government printing press.
The copies of Bill are than made available to all members of the House next morning. This
process is called introduction or the First Reading.
2. COMMITTEE STAGE:
The presiding officer refers these bills to the appropriate standing committees. In the case of
private bill the sponsor himself writes the name of the committee while in the case of public
bills, the subject matter of a bill would indicate to which committee it should be referred to.

This stage is one of the important steps in law making process. In the committees, bills are first
given preliminary examination and a decision is taken, whether the proposal has any mint or
not. Important matters are sorted out for further consideration, while unimportant and irrelevant
matters are dropped or Pigeon-Hold as it is called in official terms.

The important matters are studied by the concerned committee, which gives it a thorough
consideration either by it self or by sub-committee. The committee or sub-committee collects
information and data on the subject matter through public hearings and Congress Library in
order to arrive at a decision. The lobbyists or Pressure-groups who are interested in the Bill also
provide information to the committee.

After collecting the information through various sources, the committees meet in the executive
session. It may take following courses:

a.) It may approve the bill, as it stands

b.) It may amend the bill and send the same to the concerned house for approval

c.) It may re-write the bill keeping only its name and send it to the house for adoption

d.) It may condemn the bill and may substitute it with the new one

e.) It may kill or reject or Pigeon-Hold the bill by keeping it on its files.

3. REPORTING THE BILL:
Usually the chairman of the committee or someone designated by him may report the verdict of
the committee, to the concerned chamber. In important matters the reporting is extensive and in
ordinary matters the reporting is little more than a simple affirmative. The killing of the Bill is
not reported in the House. The majority of the House can also discharge a petition for reporting
back or calling back of the Bill from the Committee. This has to be done within 30 days of the
submitting of Bill to the committee. This petition rule is rarely applied.
4. SECOND READING:
After the reporting of the bill, the Second Reading is resumed. Every clause of the Bill is
discussed and debated upon. Amendments and counter amendments are proposed and passed by
voting. When the bill is finally shaped in second reading it generally re-printed and place is
again placed before the House for Third Reading. It is not necessary to re-print the Bill for
Third Reading. But before the third reading, the house may it self turn into a Committee to
discuss the Bill put forward by the other standing committee.
5. COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE:
When the House goes into the committee of the whole; the speaker leaves the chair, the rules of
the House are temporarily suspended. The quorum is reduced to 110 members in the committee
of the whole. This reduction allows greater freedom of speech to the members and gets more
time to speak as well. Than the members propose large number of amendments, give
explanations and may be even dispose of various elements of the bill.
6. THIRD READING:
At this stage only the title of the Bill is read without proposing any amendment and is voted
upon by the House. If the Bill is passed by the House successfully, it is certified by the clerk
and is sent to the Senate.
7. THE BILL IN THE SENATE:
The senate deals with the bill in the similar procedure. A senator announces that he is
introducing. Reading the title of the bill constitute the first-reading. Second-Reading is
considered completed if there is no objection and the bill is sent to the committee requested by
the instructor.

The committees in the Senate are like that of the House. After the committee reports the bill
favorable, it is placed on Senate calendar at least a day before being taken up. The senate holds
its meeting and voting is done. If the bill gets majority it passes, if it can not get required
majority it is rejected.

KILLING THE BILL IN THE SENATE
If the Bill is rejected out right it is than considered as killed.

Another method to kill the bill in senate is by using the device of Filibustering and cloture.

a.) FILIBUSTERING:
During the filibustering, a senator holds the floor for ours delivering relevant and irrelevant
remarks, primarily intended to obstruct until some concessions are obtained.

b.) CLOTURE:
The cloture is also known as Closure. It requires a petition to end a debate, signed by one-sixth
of the senators. If this petition gets two-third majority, the cloture is in effect.


Incase the Senate proposes some amendments to the bill, it is sent back to the House of
Representatives. If the House agrees the amendments are made. If the House does not agree
with the Senate, an effort is made to come to an agreement through give and take policy or
through compromise. If this attempt also fails, the bill is referred to the joint-conference
committee consisting of members from both the houses (9 members each). If the conference
does not reach a compromise, the bill is than Killed.

If there is an agreement between the two houses on the bill, it is than referred to the President.

8. APPROVAL BY THE PRESIDENT:
After the bill is passed by both the Houses, it is brought forward the President for approval
before it could become a Law. If the President approves of the bill he will sign it and it will than
become a Law. If he disapproves of the Bill, he will return the Bill to the House where it was
originated and send his objections along with it. The President can also veto the Bill in an
attempt to kill it. In such case, two-third majority of both houses can vote against the
Presidential veto. If the Houses successfully vote against Presidential Veto, the Bill becomes a
Law without Presidential approval. If the President does not return the Bill within 10 days
(Excluding Sundays), the bill becomes a Law without his signatures this is valid if the
Congress is still in session. If the Congress session has been adjourned before 10 days have
elapsed, the President may easily kill the bill by abstaining over it. This is called Presidents
Pocket-Veto.


PROCEDURE OF LAW MAKING ON FINANCIAL BILL
As discussed before, the money bill can only be originated in the House of Representatives. The
Bureau of budget prepares the budget of the country under the direction and the control of the
President. The President makes the major fiscal policies with the help of the Bureau of Budget.
The budget is planned for annual expenditure and is renewed after every year from July 1st to
30th.

The Budget is than introduced in the House of Representatives and passed by it. After the
introduction of the budget, it is sent to appropriate committee. I.e. the Revenue bill is sent to the
committee of Ways and Means, while the appropriation bill is sent to the committee on
Appropriation.

The committee of Ways & Means holds public hearings of interested parties, which may be
effective in one way or another. The bill is than reported back to the House with or without
amendments. The House holds debates over the bill. After the Bill is passed by the House, it is
referred to the Senate. The Senate can amend the Bill with concurrence of the House. If there is
disagreement between two houses, the joint-conference committees are called in. If there is
agreement the bill is reported to the President for signature and it becomes the Law for finance
for the fiscal year.