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United States House of Representatives
118th United States Congress
Seal of the House
Flag of the United States House of Representatives
Type
Type	Lower house of the United States Congress
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 3, 2023
Leadership
Speaker	Kevin McCarthy (R) since January 7, 2023
Majority Leader	Steve Scalise (R) since January 3, 2023
Minority Leader	Hakeem Jeffries (D) since January 3, 2023
Majority Whip	Tom Emmer (R) since January 3, 2023
Minority Whip	Katherine Clark (D) since January 3, 2023
Structure
Seats	435 voting members 6 non-voting members 218 for a majority
Political groups	Majority (222)   Republican (222) Minority (212)   Democratic (212) Vacant (1)   Vacant (1)
Length of term	2 years
Elections
Voting system	Plurality voting in 46 states[a] Varies in 4 states Alaska & Maine: Instant-runoff voting Georgia & Louisiana[b]: Two-round system
Last election	November 8, 2022
Next election	November 5, 2024
Redistricting	State legislatures or redistricting commissions, varies by state
Meeting place
House of Representatives Chamber United States Capitol Washington, D.C. United States of America
Website
www.house.gov
Rules
Rules of the House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together, they comprise the national bicameral legislature of the United States.

The House’s composition was established by Article One of the United States Constitution. The House is composed of representatives who, pursuant to the Uniform Congressional District Act, sit in single member congressional districts allocated to each state on the basis of population as measured by the United States Census, with each district having one representative, provided that each state is entitled to at least one. Since its inception in 1789, all representatives have been directly elected, although universal suffrage did not come to effect until after the passage of the 19th Amendment and the Civil Rights Movement. Since 1913, the number of voting representatives has been at 435 pursuant to the Apportionment Act of 1911.^[1] The Reapportionment Act of 1929 capped the size of the House at 435. However, the number was temporarily increased in 1959 until 1963 to 437 when Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to the Union.^[2]

In addition, five non-voting delegates represent the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories of Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. A non-voting Resident Commissioner, serving a four-year term, represents the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 census, the largest delegation was California, with 52 representatives. Six states have only one representative: Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming.^[3]

The House is charged with the passage of federal legislation, known as bills; those of which that are also passed by the Senate are sent to the president for consideration. The House also has exclusive powers: it initiates all revenue bills, impeaches federal officers, and elects the president if no candidate receives a majority of votes in the Electoral College.^[4][5]

The House meets in the south wing of the United States Capitol. The presiding officer is the Speaker of the House, who is elected by the members thereof. Other floor leaders are chosen by the Democratic Caucus or the Republican Conference, depending on whichever party has more voting members.

History

Under the Articles of Confederation, the Congress of the Confederation was a unicameral body with equal representation for each state, any of which could veto most actions. After eight years of a more limited confederal government under the Articles, numerous political leaders such as James Madison and Alexander Hamilton initiated the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which received the Confederation Congress’s sanction to «amend the Articles of Confederation». All states except Rhode Island agreed to send delegates.

Congress’s structure was a contentious issue among the founders during the convention. Edmund Randolph’s Virginia Plan called for a bicameral Congress: the lower house would be «of the people», elected directly by the people of the United States and representing public opinion, and a more deliberative upper house, elected by the lower house, that would represent the individual states, and would be less susceptible to variations of mass sentiment.^[7]

The House is commonly referred to as the lower house and the Senate the upper house, although the United States Constitution does not use that terminology. Both houses’ approval is necessary for the passage of legislation. The Virginia Plan drew the support of delegates from large states such as Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, as it called for representation based on population. The smaller states, however, favored the New Jersey Plan, which called for a unicameral Congress with equal representation for the states.^[7]

Eventually, the Convention reached the Connecticut Compromise or Great Compromise, under which one house of Congress (the House of Representatives) would provide representation proportional to each state’s population, whereas the other (the Senate) would provide equal representation amongst the states.^[7] The Constitution was ratified by the requisite number of states (nine out of the 13) in 1788, but its implementation was set for March 4, 1789. The House began work on April 1, 1789, when it achieved a quorum for the first time.

During the first half of the 19th century, the House was frequently in conflict with the Senate over regionally divisive issues, including slavery. The North was much more populous than the South, and therefore dominated the House of Representatives. However, the North held no such advantage in the Senate, where the equal representation of states prevailed.

Regional conflict was most pronounced over the issue of slavery. One example of a provision repeatedly supported by the House but blocked by the Senate was the Wilmot Proviso, which sought to ban slavery in the land gained during the Mexican–American War. Conflict over slavery and other issues persisted until the Civil War (1861–1865), which began soon after several southern states attempted to secede from the Union. The war culminated in the South’s defeat and in the abolition of slavery. All southern senators except Andrew Johnson resigned their seats at the beginning of the war, and therefore the Senate did not hold the balance of power between North and South during the war.

The years of Reconstruction that followed witnessed large majorities for the Republican Party, which many Americans associated with the Union’s victory in the Civil War and the ending of slavery. The Reconstruction period ended in about 1877; the ensuing era, known as the Gilded Age, was marked by sharp political divisions in the electorate. The Democratic Party and Republican Party each held majorities in the House at various times.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries also saw a dramatic increase in the power of the speaker of the House. The rise of the speaker’s influence began in the 1890s, during the tenure of Republican Thomas Brackett Reed. «Czar Reed,» as he was nicknamed, attempted to put into effect his view that «The best system is to have one party govern and the other party watch.» The leadership structure of the House also developed during approximately the same period, with the positions of majority leader and minority leader being created in 1899. While the minority leader was the head of the minority party, the majority leader remained subordinate to the speaker. The speakership reached its zenith during the term of Republican Joseph Gurney Cannon, from 1903 to 1911. The speaker’s powers included chairmanship of the influential Rules Committee and the ability to appoint members of other House committees. However, these powers were curtailed in the «Revolution of 1910» because of the efforts of Democrats and dissatisfied Republicans who opposed Cannon’s heavy-handed tactics.

The Democratic Party dominated the House of Representatives during the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945), often winning over two-thirds of the seats. Both Democrats and Republicans were in power at various times during the next decade. The Democratic Party maintained control of the House from 1955 until 1995. In the mid-1970s, members passed major reforms that strengthened the power of sub-committees at the expense of committee chairs and allowed party leaders to nominate committee chairs. These actions were taken to undermine the seniority system, and to reduce the ability of a small number of senior members to obstruct legislation they did not favor. There was also a shift from the 1990s to greater control of the legislative program by the majority party; the power of party leaders (especially the speaker) grew considerably. According to historian Julian E. Zelizer, the majority Democrats minimized the number of staff positions available to the minority Republicans, kept them out of decision-making, and gerrymandered their home districts. Republican Newt Gingrich argued American democracy was being ruined by the Democrats’ tactics and that the GOP had to destroy the system before it could be saved. Cooperation in governance, says Zelizer, would have to be put aside until they deposed Speaker Wright and regained power. Gingrich brought an ethics complaint which led to Wright’s resignation in 1989. Gingrich gained support from the media and good government forces in his crusade to persuade Americans that the system was, in Gingrich’s words, “morally, intellectually and spiritually corrupt”. Gingrich followed Wright’s successor, Democrat Tom Foley, as speaker after the Republican Revolution of 1994 gave his party control of the House.^[8]

Gingrich attempted to pass a major legislative program, the Contract with America and made major reforms of the House, notably reducing the tenure of committee chairs to three two-year terms. Many elements of the Contract did not pass Congress, were vetoed by President Bill Clinton, or were substantially altered in negotiations with Clinton. However, after Republicans held control in the 1996 election, Clinton and the Gingrich-led House agreed on the first balanced federal budget in decades, along with a substantial tax cut.^[9] The Republicans held on to the House until 2006, when the Democrats won control and Nancy Pelosi was subsequently elected by the House as the first female speaker. The Republicans retook the House in 2011, with the largest shift of power since the 1930s.^[10] However, the Democrats retook the house in 2019, which became the largest shift of power to the Democrats since the 1970s. In the 2022 elections, Republicans took back control of the House, winning a slim majority.

Membership, qualifications, and apportionment

Apportionments

Under Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution, seats in the House of Representatives are apportioned among the states by population, as determined by the census conducted every ten years. Each state is entitled to at least one representative, however small its population.

The only constitutional rule relating to the size of the House states: «The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative.»^[11] Congress regularly increased the size of the House to account for population growth until it fixed the number of voting House members at 435 in 1911.^[1] In 1959, upon the admission of Alaska and Hawaii, the number was temporarily increased to 437 (seating one representative from each of those states without changing existing apportionment), and returned to 435 four years later, after the reapportionment consequent to the 1960 census.

The Constitution does not provide for the representation of the District of Columbia or of territories. The District of Columbia and the territories of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are each represented by one non-voting delegate. Puerto Rico elects a resident commissioner, but other than having a four-year term, the resident commissioner’s role is identical to the delegates from the other territories. The five delegates and resident commissioner may participate in debates; before 2011,^[12] they were also allowed to vote in committees and the Committee of the Whole when their votes would not be decisive.^[13]

Redistricting

States entitled to more than one representative are divided into single-member districts. This has been a federal statutory requirement since 1967 pursuant to the act titled An Act For the relief of Doctor Ricardo Vallejo Samala and to provide for congressional redistricting.^[14] Before that law, general ticket representation was used by some states.

States typically redraw district boundaries after each census, though they may do so at other times, such as the 2003 Texas redistricting. Each state determines its own district boundaries, either through legislation or through non-partisan panels. «Malapportionment» is unconstitutional and districts must be approximately equal in population (see Wesberry v. Sanders). Additionally, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits redistricting plans that are intended to, or have the effect of, discriminating against racial or language minority voters.^[15] Aside from malapportionment and discrimination against racial or language minorities, federal courts have allowed state legislatures to engage in gerrymandering to benefit political parties or incumbents.^[16][17] In a 1984 case, Davis v. Bandemer, the Supreme Court held that gerrymandered districts could be struck down based on the Equal Protection Clause, but the Court did not articulate a standard for when districts are impermissibly gerrymandered. However, the Court overruled Davis in 2004 in Vieth v. Jubelirer, and Court precedent currently holds gerrymandering to be a political question. According to calculations made by Burt Neuborne using criteria set forth by the American Political Science Association, about 40 seats, less than 10% of the House membership, are chosen through a genuinely contested electoral process, given partisan gerrymandering.^[18][19]

Qualifications

Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution sets three qualifications for representatives. Each representative must: (1) be at least twenty-five (25) years old; (2) have been a citizen of the United States for the past seven years; and (3) be (at the time of the election) an inhabitant of the state they represent. Members are not required to live in the districts they represent, but they traditionally do.^[20] The age and citizenship qualifications for representatives are less than those for senators. The constitutional requirements of Article I, Section 2 for election to Congress are the maximum requirements that can be imposed on a candidate.^[21] Therefore, Article I, Section 5, which permits each House to be the judge of the qualifications of its own members does not permit either House to establish additional qualifications. Likewise a State could not establish additional qualifications. William C. C. Claiborne served in the House below the minimum age of 25.^[22]

Disqualification: under the Fourteenth Amendment, a 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 representative. This post–Civil War provision was intended to prevent those who sided with the Confederacy from serving. However, disqualified individuals may serve if they gain the consent of two-thirds of both houses of Congress.

Elections

Elections for representatives are held in every even-numbered year, on Election Day the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Pursuant to the Uniform Congressional District Act, representatives must be elected from single-member districts. After a census is taken (in a year ending in 0), the year ending in 2 is the first year in which elections for U.S. House districts are based on that census (with the Congress based on those districts starting its term on the following January 3). As there is no legislation at the federal level mandating one particular system for elections to the House, systems are set at the state level. As of 2022, first-past-the-post or plurality voting is adopted in 46 states, ranked-choice or instant-runoff voting in two states (Alaska and Maine), and two-round system in two states (Georgia and Mississippi). Elected representatives serve a two-year term, with no term limit.

In most states, major party candidates for each district are nominated in partisan primary elections, typically held in spring to late summer. In some states, the Republican and Democratic parties choose their candidates for each district in their political conventions in spring or early summer, which often use unanimous voice votes to reflect either confidence in the incumbent or the result of bargaining in earlier private discussions. Exceptions can result in so-called floor fights—convention votes by delegates, with outcomes that can be hard to predict. Especially if a convention is closely divided, a losing candidate may contend further by meeting the conditions for a primary election. The courts generally do not consider ballot access rules for independent and third party candidates to be additional qualifications for holding office and no federal statutes regulate ballot access. As a result, the process to gain ballot access varies greatly from state to state, and in the case of a third party in the United States may be affected by results of previous years’ elections.

In 1967, Congress passed the Uniform Congressional District Act, which requires all representatives to be elected from single-member-districts.^[23][24] Following the Wesberry v. Sanders decision, Congress was motivated by fears that courts would impose at-large plurality districts on states that did not redistrict to comply with the new mandates for districts roughly equal in population, and Congress also sought to prevent attempts by southern states to use such voting systems to dilute the vote of racial minorities.^[25] Several states have used multi-member districts in the past, although only two states (Hawaii and New Mexico) used multi-member districts in 1967.^[24] Louisiana is unique in that it holds an all-party primary election on the general Election Day with a subsequent runoff election between the top two finishers (regardless of party) if no candidate received a majority in the primary. The states of Washington and California use a similar (though not identical) system to that used by Louisiana.

Seats vacated during a term are filled through special elections, unless the vacancy occurs closer to the next general election date than a pre-established deadline. The term of a member chosen in a special election usually begins the next day, or as soon as the results are certified.

Non-voting delegates

Historically, many territories have sent non-voting delegates to the House. While their role has fluctuated over the years, today they have many of the same privileges as voting members, have a voice in committees, and can introduce bills on the floor, but cannot vote on the ultimate passage of bills. Presently, the District of Columbia and the five inhabited U.S. territories each elect a delegate. A seventh delegate, representing the Cherokee Nation, has been formally proposed but has not yet been seated.^[26] An eighth delegate, representing the Choctaw Nation is guaranteed by treaty but has not yet been proposed. Additionally, some territories may choose to also elect shadow representatives, though these are not official members of the House and are separate individuals from their official delegates.

Terms

Representatives and delegates serve for two-year terms, while a resident commissioner (a kind of delegate) serves for four years. A term starts on January 3 following the election in November. The U.S. Constitution requires that vacancies in the House be filled with a special election. The term of the replacement member expires on the date that the original member’s would have expired.

The Constitution permits the House to expel a member with a two-thirds vote. In the history of the United States, only five members have been expelled from the House; in 1861, three were removed for supporting the Confederate states’ secession: Democrats John Bullock Clark of Missouri, John William Reid of Missouri, and Henry Cornelius Burnett of Kentucky. Democrat Michael Myers of Pennsylvania was expelled after his criminal conviction for accepting bribes in 1980, and Democrat James Traficant of Ohio was expelled in 2002 following his conviction for corruption.^[27]

The House also has the power to formally censure or reprimand its members; censure or reprimand of a member requires only a simple majority, and does not remove that member from office.

Comparison to the Senate

As a check on the regional, popular, and rapidly changing politics of the House, the Senate has several distinct powers. For example, the «advice and consent» powers (such as the power to approve treaties and confirm members of the Cabinet) are a sole Senate privilege.^[28] The House, however, has the exclusive power to initiate bills for raising revenue, to impeach officials, and to choose the president if a presidential candidate fails to get a majority of the Electoral College votes.^[29] Both House and Senate confirmation is now required to fill a vacancy in the vice presidency is vacant, according to the provisions of the Twenty-fifth Amendment.^[30][31] The Senate and House are further differentiated by term lengths and the number of districts represented: the Senate has longer terms of six years, fewer members (currently one hundred, two for each state), and (in all but seven delegations) larger constituencies per member. The Senate is referred to as the «upper» house, and the House of Representatives as the «lower» house.

Salary and benefits

Salaries

As of December 2014, the annual salary of each representative is $174,000,^[32][33] the same as it is for each member of the Senate.^[34] The speaker of the House and the majority and minority leaders earn more: $223,500 for the speaker and $193,400 for their party leaders (the same as Senate leaders).^[33] A cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) increase takes effect annually unless Congress votes not to accept it. Congress sets members’ salaries; however, the Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits a change in salary (but not COLA^[35]) from taking effect until after the next election of the whole House. Representatives are eligible for retirement benefits after serving for five years.^[36] Outside pay is limited to 15% of congressional pay, and certain types of income involving a fiduciary responsibility or personal endorsement are prohibited. Salaries are not for life, only during active term.^[33]

Titles

Representatives use the prefix «The Honorable» before their names. A member of the House is referred to as a representative, congressman, or congresswoman.

Representatives are usually identified in the media and other sources by party and state, and sometimes by congressional district, or a major city or community within their district. For example, Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi, who represents California’s 12th congressional district within San Francisco, may be identified as «D–California,» «D–California–12» or «D–San Francisco.»

A small number of representatives have elected to use the post nominal «MC» (for «member of Congress») after their names, a reflection of the Westminster system’s usage of «MP».^{[citation needed]}

Pension

All members of Congress are automatically enrolled in the Federal Employees Retirement System, a pension system also used for federal civil servants, except the formula for calculating Congress members’ pension results in a 70% higher pension than other federal employees based on the first 20 years of service.^[37] They become eligible to receive benefits after five years of service (two and one-half terms in the House). The FERS is composed of three elements:

1. Social Security
2. The FERS basic annuity, a monthly pension plan based on the number of years of service and the average of the three highest years of basic pay (70% higher pension than other federal employees based on the first 20 years of service)
3. The Thrift Savings Plan, a 401(k)-like defined contribution plan for retirement account into which participants can deposit up to a maximum of $19,000 in 2019. Their employing agency matches employee contributions up to 5% of pay.

Members of Congress may retire with full benefits at age 62 after five years of service, at age 50 after twenty years of service, and at any age after twenty-five years of service.^[37]

Tax deductions

Members of Congress are permitted to deduct up to $3,000 of living expenses per year incurred while living away from their district or home state.^[38]

Health benefits

Before 2014, members of Congress and their staff had access to essentially the same health benefits as federal civil servants; they could voluntarily enroll in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), an employer-sponsored health insurance program, and were eligible to participate in other programs, such as the Federal Flexible Spending Account Program (FSAFEDS).^[39]

However, Section 1312(d)(3)(D) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) provided that the only health plans that the federal government can make available to members of Congress and certain congressional staff are those created under the ACA or offered through a health care exchange. The Office of Personnel Management promulgated a final rule to comply with Section 1312(d)(3)(D).^[39] Under the rule, effective January 1, 2014, members and designated staff are no longer able to purchase FEHBP plans as active employees.^[39] However, if members enroll in a health plan offered through a Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) exchange, they remain eligible for an employer contribution toward coverage, and members and designated staff eligible for retirement may enroll in a FEHBP plan upon retirement.^[39]

The ACA and the final rule do not affect members’ or staffers’ eligibility for Medicare benefits.^[39] The ACA and the final rule also do not affect members’ and staffers’ eligibility for other health benefits related to federal employment, so current members and staff are eligible to participate in FSAFEDS (which has three options within the program), the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program, and the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program.^[39]

The Office of the Attending Physician at the U.S. Capitol provides current members with health care for an annual fee.^[39] The attending physician provides routine exams, consultations, and certain diagnostics, and may write prescriptions (although the office does not dispense them).^[39] The office does not provide vision or dental care.^[39]

Current members (but not their dependents, and not former members) may also receive medical and emergency dental care at military treatment facilities.^[39] There is no charge for outpatient care if it is provided in the National Capital Region, but members are billed at full reimbursement rates (set by the Department of Defense) for inpatient care.^[39] (Outside the National Capital Region, charges are at full reimbursement rates for both inpatient and outpatient care).^[39]

Personnel, mail and office expenses

House members are eligible for a Member’s Representational Allowance (MRA) to support them in their official and representational duties to their district.^[40] The MRA is calculated based on three components: one for personnel, one for official office expenses and one for official or franked mail. The personnel allowance is the same for all members; the office and mail allowances vary based on the members’ district’s distance from Washington, D.C., the cost of office space in the member’s district, and the number of non-business addresses in their district. These three components are used to calculate a single MRA that can fund any expense—even though each component is calculated individually, the franking allowance can be used to pay for personnel expenses if the member so chooses. In 2011 this allowance averaged $1.4 million per member, and ranged from $1.35 to $1.67 million.^[41]

The Personnel allowance was $944,671 per member in 2010. Each member may employ no more than 18 permanent employees. Members’ employees’ salary is capped at $168,411 as of 2009.^[41]

Travel allowance

Before being sworn into office each member-elect and one staffer can be paid for one round trip between their home in their congressional district and Washington, D.C. for organization caucuses.^[41] Current members are allowed «a sum for travel based on the following formula: 64 times the rate per mile … multiplied by the mileage between Washington, DC, and the furthest point in a Member’s district, plus 10%.»^[41] As of January 2012 the rate ranges from $0.41 to $1.32 per mile ($0.25 to $0.82/km) based on distance ranges between D.C. and the member’s district.^[41]

Officers

Member officials

The party with a majority of seats in the House is known as the majority party. The next-largest party is the minority party. The speaker, committee chairs, and some other officials are generally from the majority party; they have counterparts (for instance, the «ranking members» of committees) in the minority party.

The Constitution provides that the House may choose its own speaker.^[42] Although not explicitly required by the Constitution, every speaker has been a member of the House. The Constitution does not specify the duties and powers of the speaker, which are instead regulated by the rules and customs of the House. Speakers have a role both as a leader of the House and the leader of their party (which need not be the majority party; theoretically, a member of the minority party could be elected as speaker with the support of a fraction of members of the majority party). Under the Presidential Succession Act (1947), the speaker is second in the line of presidential succession after the vice president.

The speaker is the presiding officer of the House but does not preside over every debate. Instead, they delegate the responsibility of presiding to other members in most cases. The presiding officer sits in a chair in the front of the House chamber. The powers of the presiding officer are extensive; one important power is that of controlling the order in which members of the House speak. No member may make a speech or a motion unless they have first been recognized by the presiding officer. Moreover, the presiding officer may rule on a «point of order» (a member’s objection that a rule has been breached); the decision is subject to appeal to the whole House.

Speakers serve as chairs of their party’s steering committee, which is responsible for assigning party members to other House committees. The speaker chooses the chairs of standing committees, appoints most of the members of the Rules Committee, appoints all members of conference committees, and determines which committees consider bills.

Each party elects a floor leader, who is known as the majority leader or minority leader. The minority leader heads their party in the House, and the majority leader is their party’s second-highest-ranking official, behind the speaker. Party leaders decide what legislation members of their party should either support or oppose.

Each party also elects a Whip, who works to ensure that the party’s members vote as the party leadership desires. The current majority whip in the House of Representatives is Tom Emmer, who is a member of the Republican Party. The current minority whip is Katherine Clark, who is a member of the Democratic Party. The whip is supported by chief deputy whips

After the whips, the next ranking official in the House party’s leadership is the party conference chair (styled as the Republican conference chair and Democratic caucus chair).

After the conference chair, there are differences between each party’s subsequent leadership ranks. After the Democratic caucus chair is the campaign committee chair (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee), then the co-chairs of the Steering Committee. For the Republicans it is the chair of the House Republican Policy Committee, followed by the campaign committee chairman (styled as the National Republican Congressional Committee).

The chairs of House committees, particularly influential standing committees such as Appropriations, Ways and Means, and Rules, are powerful but not officially part of the House leadership hierarchy. Until the post of majority leader was created, the chair of Ways and Means was the de facto majority leader.

Leadership and partisanship

When the presidency and Senate are controlled by a different party from the one controlling the House, the speaker can become the de facto «leader of the opposition.» Some notable examples include Tip O’Neill in the 1980s, Newt Gingrich in the 1990s, John Boehner in the early 2010s, and Nancy Pelosi in the late 2000s and again in the late 2010s and early 2020s. Since the speaker is a partisan officer with substantial power to control the business of the House, the position is often used for partisan advantage.

In the instance when the presidency and both Houses of Congress are controlled by one party, the speaker normally takes a low profile and defers to the president. For that situation the House minority leader can play the role of a de facto «leader of the opposition,» often more so than the Senate minority leader, due to the more partisan nature of the House and the greater role of leadership.

Non-member officials

The House is also served by several officials who are not members. The House’s chief such officer is the clerk, who maintains public records, prepares documents, and oversees junior officials, including pages until the discontinuation of House pages in 2011. The clerk also presides over the House at the beginning of each new Congress pending the election of a speaker. Another officer is the chief administrative officer, responsible for the day-to-day administrative support to the House of Representatives. This includes everything from payroll to foodservice.

The position of chief administrative officer (CAO) was created by the 104th Congress following the 1994 mid-term elections, replacing the positions of doorkeeper and director of non-legislative and financial services (created by the previous congress to administer the non-partisan functions of the House). The CAO also assumed some of the responsibilities of the House Information Services, which previously had been controlled directly by the Committee on House Administration, then headed by Representative Charlie Rose of North Carolina, along with the House «Folding Room.»

The chaplain leads the House in prayer at the opening of the day. The sergeant at arms is the House’s chief law enforcement officer and maintains order and security on House premises. Finally, routine police work is handled by the United States Capitol Police, which is supervised by the Capitol Police Board, a body to which the sergeant at arms belongs, and chairs in even-numbered years.

Procedure

Daily procedures

Like the Senate, the House of Representatives meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. At one end of the chamber of the House is a rostrum from which the speaker, Speaker pro tempore, or (when in the Committee of the Whole) the chair presides.^[43] The lower tier of the rostrum is used by clerks and other officials. Members’ seats are arranged in the chamber in a semicircular pattern facing the rostrum and are divided by a wide central aisle.^[44] By tradition, Democrats sit on the left of the center aisle, while Republicans sit on the right, facing the presiding officer’s chair.^[45] Sittings are normally held on weekdays; meetings on Saturdays and Sundays are rare. Sittings of the House are generally open to the public; visitors must obtain a House Gallery pass from a congressional office.^[46] Sittings are broadcast live on television and have been streamed live on C-SPAN since March 19, 1979,^[47] and on HouseLive, the official streaming service operated by the Clerk, since the early 2010s.

The procedure of the House depends not only on the rules, but also on a variety of customs, precedents, and traditions. In many cases, the House waives some of its stricter rules (including time limits on debates) by unanimous consent.^[48] A member may block a unanimous consent agreement, but objections are rare. The presiding officer, the speaker of the House enforces the rules of the House, and may warn members who deviate from them. The speaker uses a gavel to maintain order.^[49] Legislation to be considered by the House is placed in a box called the hopper.^[50]

In one of its first resolutions, the U.S. House of Representatives established the Office of the Sergeant at Arms. In an American tradition adopted from English custom in 1789 by the first speaker of the House, Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania, the Mace of the United States House of Representatives is used to open all sessions of the House. It is also used during the inaugural ceremonies for all presidents of the United States. For daily sessions of the House, the sergeant at arms carries the mace ahead of the speaker in procession to the rostrum. It is placed on a green marble pedestal to the speaker’s right. When the House is in committee, the mace is moved to a pedestal next to the desk of the Sergeant at Arms.^[51]

The Constitution provides that a majority of the House constitutes a quorum to do business.^[52] Under the rules and customs of the House, a quorum is always assumed present unless a quorum call explicitly demonstrates otherwise. House rules prevent a member from making a point of order that a quorum is not present unless a question is being voted on. The presiding officer does not accept a point of order of no quorum during general debate, or when a question is not before the House.^[53]

During debates, a member may speak only if called upon by the presiding officer. The presiding officer decides which members to recognize, and can therefore control the course of debate.^[54] All speeches must be addressed to the presiding officer, using the words «Mr. Speaker» or «Madam Speaker.» Only the presiding officer may be directly addressed in speeches; other members must be referred to in the third person. In most cases, members do not refer to each other only by name, but also by state, using forms such as «the gentleman from Virginia,» «the distinguished gentlewoman from California,» or «my distinguished friend from Alabama.»

There are 448 permanent seats on the House Floor and four tables, two on each side. These tables are occupied by members of the committee that have brought a bill to the floor for consideration and by the party leadership. Members address the House from microphones at any table or «the well,» the area immediately in front of the rostrum.^[55]

Passage of legislation

Per the Constitution, the House of Representatives determines the rules according to which it passes legislation. Any of the rules can be changed with each new Congress, but in practice each new session amends a standing set of rules built up over the history of the body in an early resolution published for public inspection.^[56] Before legislation reaches the floor of the House, the Rules Committee normally passes a rule to govern debate on that measure (which then must be passed by the full House before it becomes effective). For instance, the committee determines if amendments to the bill are permitted. An «open rule» permits all germane amendments, but a «closed rule» restricts or even prohibits amendment. Debate on a bill is generally restricted to one hour, equally divided between the majority and minority parties. Each side is led during the debate by a «floor manager,» who allocates debate time to members who wish to speak. On contentious matters, many members may wish to speak; thus, a member may receive as little as one minute, or even thirty seconds, to make their point.^[57]

When debate concludes, the motion is put to a vote.^[58] In many cases, the House votes by voice vote; the presiding officer puts the question, and members respond either «yea!» or «aye!» (in favor of the motion) or «nay!» or «no!» (against the motion). The presiding officer then announces the result of the voice vote. A member may, however, challenge the presiding officer’s assessment and «request the yeas and nays» or «request a recorded vote.» The request may be granted only if it is seconded by one-fifth of the members present. Traditionally, however, members of Congress second requests for recorded votes as a matter of courtesy. Some votes are always recorded, such as those on the annual budget.^[59]

A recorded vote may be taken in one of three different ways. One is electronically. Members use a personal identification card to record their votes at 46 voting stations in the chamber. Votes are usually held in this way. A second mode of recorded vote is by teller. Members hand in colored cards to indicate their votes: green for «yea,» red for «nay,» and orange for «present» (i.e., to abstain). Teller votes are normally held only when electronic voting breaks down. Finally, the House may conduct a roll call vote. The Clerk reads the list of members of the House, each of whom announces their vote when their name is called. This procedure is only used rarely (and usually for ceremonial occasions, such as for the election of a speaker) because of the time consumed by calling over four hundred names.^[59]

Voting traditionally lasts for, at most, fifteen minutes, but it may be extended if the leadership needs to «whip» more members into alignment.^[59] The 2003 vote on the prescription drug benefit was open for three hours, from 3:00 to 6:00 a.m., to receive four additional votes, three of which were necessary to pass the legislation.^[60] The 2005 vote on the Central American Free Trade Agreement was open for one hour, from 11:00 p.m. to midnight.^[61] An October 2005 vote on facilitating refinery construction was kept open for forty minutes.^[62]

Presiding officers may vote like other members. They may not, however, vote twice in the event of a tie; rather, a tie vote defeats the motion.^[63]

Committees

The House uses committees and their subcommittees for a variety of purposes, including the review of bills and the oversight of the executive branch. The appointment of committee members is formally made by the whole House, but the choice of members is actually made by the political parties. Generally, each party honors the preferences of individual members, giving priority on the basis of seniority. Historically, membership on committees has been in rough proportion to the party’s strength in the House, with two exceptions: on the Rules Committee, the majority party fills nine of the thirteen seats;^[64] and on the Ethics Committee, each party has an equal number of seats.^[65] However, when party control in the House is closely divided, extra seats on committees are sometimes allocated to the majority party. In the 109th Congress, for example, the Republicans controlled about 53% of the House, but had 54% of the Appropriations Committee members, 55% of the members on the Energy and Commerce Committee, 58% of the members on the Judiciary Committee, and 69% of the members on the Rules Committee.

The largest committee of the House is the Committee of the Whole, which, as its name suggests, consists of all members of the House. The Committee meets in the House chamber; it may consider and amend bills, but may not grant them final passage. Generally, the debate procedures of the Committee of the Whole are more flexible than those of the House itself. One advantage of the Committee of the Whole is its ability to include otherwise non-voting members of Congress.

Most committee work is performed by twenty standing committees, each of which has jurisdiction over a specific set of issues, such as Agriculture or Foreign Affairs. Each standing committee considers, amends, and reports bills that fall under its jurisdiction. Committees have extensive powers with regard to bills; they may block legislation from reaching the floor of the House. 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.

The House also has one permanent committee that is not a standing committee, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and occasionally may establish temporary or advisory committees, such as the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. This latter committee, created in the 110th Congress and reauthorized for the 111th, has no jurisdiction over legislation and must be chartered anew at the start of every Congress. The House also appoints members to serve on joint committees, which include members of the Senate and House. 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.

Each House committee and subcommittee is led by a chairman (always a member of the majority party). From 1910 to the 1970s, committee chairs were powerful. Woodrow Wilson in his classic study,^[66] suggested:

Power is nowhere concentrated; it is rather deliberately and of set policy scattered amongst many small chiefs. It is divided up, as it were, into forty-seven seigniories, in each of which a Standing Committee is the court-baron and its chairman lord-proprietor. These petty barons, some of them not a little powerful, but none of them within the reach of the full powers of rule, may at will exercise almost despotic sway within their own shires, and may sometimes threaten to convulse even the realm itself.

From 1910 to 1975 committee and subcommittee chairmanship was determined purely by seniority; members of Congress sometimes had to wait 30 years to get one, but their chairship was independent of party leadership. The rules were changed in 1975 to permit party caucuses to elect chairs, shifting power upward to the party leaders. In 1995, Republicans under Newt Gingrich set a limit of three two-year terms for committee chairs. The chairman’s powers are extensive; he controls the committee/subcommittee agenda, and may prevent the committee from dealing with a bill. The senior member of the minority party is known as the Ranking Member. In some committees like Appropriations, partisan disputes are few.

Legislative functions

Most bills may be introduced in either House of Congress. However, the Constitution states, «All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives.» Because of the Origination Clause, the Senate cannot initiate bills imposing taxes. This provision barring the Senate from introducing revenue bills is based on the practice of the British Parliament, in which only the House of Commons may originate such measures. Furthermore, congressional tradition holds that the House of Representatives originates appropriation bills.

Although it cannot originate revenue bills, the Senate retains the power to amend or reject them. Woodrow Wilson wrote the following about appropriations bills:^[67]

[T]he constitutional prerogative of the House has been held to apply to all the general appropriations bills, and the Senate’s right to amend these has been allowed the widest possible scope. The upper house may add to them what it pleases; may go altogether outside of their original provisions and tack to them entirely new features of legislation, altering not only the amounts but even the objects of expenditure, and making out of the materials sent them by the popular chamber measures of an almost totally new character.

The approval of the Senate and the House of Representatives is required for a bill to become law. Both Houses must pass the same version of the bill; if there are differences, they may be resolved by a conference committee, which includes members of both bodies. For the stages through which bills pass in the Senate, see Act of Congress.

The president may veto a bill passed by the House and Senate. If they do, the bill does not become law unless each House, by a two-thirds vote, votes to override the veto.

Checks and balances

The Constitution provides that the Senate’s «advice and consent» is necessary for the president to make appointments and to ratify treaties. Thus, with its potential to frustrate presidential appointments, the Senate is more powerful than the House.

The Constitution empowers the House of Representatives to impeach federal officials for «Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors» and empowers the Senate to try such impeachments. The House may approve «articles of impeachment» by a simple majority vote; however, a two-thirds vote is required for conviction in the Senate. A convicted official is automatically removed from office and may be disqualified from holding future office under the United States. No further punishment is permitted during the impeachment proceedings; however, the party may face criminal penalties in a normal court of law.

In the history of the United States, the House of Representatives has impeached seventeen officials, of whom seven were convicted. (Another, Richard Nixon, resigned after the House Judiciary Committee passed articles of impeachment but before a formal impeachment vote by the full House.) Only three presidents of the United States have ever been impeached: Andrew Johnson in 1868, Bill Clinton in 1998, and Donald Trump in 2019 and in 2021. The trials of Johnson, Clinton and Trump all ended in acquittal; in Johnson’s case, the Senate fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority required for conviction.

Under the Twelfth Amendment, the House has the power to elect the president if no presidential candidate receives a majority of votes in the Electoral College. The Twelfth Amendment requires the House to choose from the three candidates with the highest numbers of electoral votes. The Constitution provides that «the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote.» It is rare for no presidential candidate to receive a majority of electoral votes. In the history of the United States, the House has only had to choose a president twice. In 1800, which was before the adoption of the Twelfth Amendment, it elected Thomas Jefferson over Aaron Burr. In 1824, it elected John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson and William H. Crawford. (If no vice-presidential candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes, the Senate elects the vice president from the two candidates with the highest numbers of electoral votes.)

Latest election results and current party standings

Current standing

As of January 2023

↓

222	212
Republican	Democratic

Affiliation	Members	Delegates/resident commissioner (non-voting)	State majorities
	Republican	222	3	29
	Democratic	212	3	25
	Vacant	1
Total	435	6	56
Majority[c]	4

Source:^[68]

See also

• 2022 United States House of Representatives elections
• List of current members of the United States House of Representatives
• Third-party members of the United States House of Representatives
• U.S. representative bibliography (congressional memoirs)
• Women in the United States House of Representatives

References

Footnotes

Citations

Sources and further reading

Surveys

External links

• Official website
  • Clerk of the House of Representatives
  • Chief Administrative Office of the House
  • Office of the majority leader
  • Office of the speaker of the House
  • Official list of current members
  • Rules of the House
• Legislative information and archives for US House and Senate, via Congress.gov
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 to Present
• A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825 Archived July 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
• Complete Downloadable List of U.S. Representative Contact Information, via AggData LLC
• Information about U.S. Congressional Bills and Resolutions

Coordinates: 38°53′20″N 77°0′32″W / 38.88889°N 77.00889°W

United States House of Representatives
118th United States Congress
Seal of the House
Flag of the United States House of Representatives
Type
Type	Lower house of the United States Congress
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 3, 2023
Leadership
Speaker	Kevin McCarthy (R) since January 7, 2023
Majority Leader	Steve Scalise (R) since January 3, 2023
Minority Leader	Hakeem Jeffries (D) since January 3, 2023
Majority Whip	Tom Emmer (R) since January 3, 2023
Minority Whip	Katherine Clark (D) since January 3, 2023
Structure
Seats	435 voting members 6 non-voting members 218 for a majority
Political groups	Majority (222)   Republican (222) Minority (212)   Democratic (212) Vacant (1)   Vacant (1)
Length of term	2 years
Elections
Voting system	Plurality voting in 46 states[a] Varies in 4 states Alaska & Maine: Instant-runoff voting Georgia & Louisiana[b]: Two-round system
Last election	November 8, 2022
Next election	November 5, 2024
Redistricting	State legislatures or redistricting commissions, varies by state
Meeting place
House of Representatives Chamber United States Capitol Washington, D.C. United States of America
Website
www.house.gov
Rules
Rules of the House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together, they comprise the national bicameral legislature of the United States.

The House’s composition was established by Article One of the United States Constitution. The House is composed of representatives who, pursuant to the Uniform Congressional District Act, sit in single member congressional districts allocated to each state on the basis of population as measured by the United States Census, with each district having one representative, provided that each state is entitled to at least one. Since its inception in 1789, all representatives have been directly elected, although universal suffrage did not come to effect until after the passage of the 19th Amendment and the Civil Rights Movement. Since 1913, the number of voting representatives has been at 435 pursuant to the Apportionment Act of 1911.^[1] The Reapportionment Act of 1929 capped the size of the House at 435. However, the number was temporarily increased in 1959 until 1963 to 437 when Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to the Union.^[2]

In addition, five non-voting delegates represent the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories of Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. A non-voting Resident Commissioner, serving a four-year term, represents the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 census, the largest delegation was California, with 52 representatives. Six states have only one representative: Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming.^[3]

The House is charged with the passage of federal legislation, known as bills; those of which that are also passed by the Senate are sent to the president for consideration. The House also has exclusive powers: it initiates all revenue bills, impeaches federal officers, and elects the president if no candidate receives a majority of votes in the Electoral College.^[4][5]

The House meets in the south wing of the United States Capitol. The presiding officer is the Speaker of the House, who is elected by the members thereof. Other floor leaders are chosen by the Democratic Caucus or the Republican Conference, depending on whichever party has more voting members.

History

Under the Articles of Confederation, the Congress of the Confederation was a unicameral body with equal representation for each state, any of which could veto most actions. After eight years of a more limited confederal government under the Articles, numerous political leaders such as James Madison and Alexander Hamilton initiated the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which received the Confederation Congress’s sanction to «amend the Articles of Confederation». All states except Rhode Island agreed to send delegates.

Congress’s structure was a contentious issue among the founders during the convention. Edmund Randolph’s Virginia Plan called for a bicameral Congress: the lower house would be «of the people», elected directly by the people of the United States and representing public opinion, and a more deliberative upper house, elected by the lower house, that would represent the individual states, and would be less susceptible to variations of mass sentiment.^[7]

The House is commonly referred to as the lower house and the Senate the upper house, although the United States Constitution does not use that terminology. Both houses’ approval is necessary for the passage of legislation. The Virginia Plan drew the support of delegates from large states such as Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, as it called for representation based on population. The smaller states, however, favored the New Jersey Plan, which called for a unicameral Congress with equal representation for the states.^[7]

Eventually, the Convention reached the Connecticut Compromise or Great Compromise, under which one house of Congress (the House of Representatives) would provide representation proportional to each state’s population, whereas the other (the Senate) would provide equal representation amongst the states.^[7] The Constitution was ratified by the requisite number of states (nine out of the 13) in 1788, but its implementation was set for March 4, 1789. The House began work on April 1, 1789, when it achieved a quorum for the first time.

During the first half of the 19th century, the House was frequently in conflict with the Senate over regionally divisive issues, including slavery. The North was much more populous than the South, and therefore dominated the House of Representatives. However, the North held no such advantage in the Senate, where the equal representation of states prevailed.

Regional conflict was most pronounced over the issue of slavery. One example of a provision repeatedly supported by the House but blocked by the Senate was the Wilmot Proviso, which sought to ban slavery in the land gained during the Mexican–American War. Conflict over slavery and other issues persisted until the Civil War (1861–1865), which began soon after several southern states attempted to secede from the Union. The war culminated in the South’s defeat and in the abolition of slavery. All southern senators except Andrew Johnson resigned their seats at the beginning of the war, and therefore the Senate did not hold the balance of power between North and South during the war.

The years of Reconstruction that followed witnessed large majorities for the Republican Party, which many Americans associated with the Union’s victory in the Civil War and the ending of slavery. The Reconstruction period ended in about 1877; the ensuing era, known as the Gilded Age, was marked by sharp political divisions in the electorate. The Democratic Party and Republican Party each held majorities in the House at various times.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries also saw a dramatic increase in the power of the speaker of the House. The rise of the speaker’s influence began in the 1890s, during the tenure of Republican Thomas Brackett Reed. «Czar Reed,» as he was nicknamed, attempted to put into effect his view that «The best system is to have one party govern and the other party watch.» The leadership structure of the House also developed during approximately the same period, with the positions of majority leader and minority leader being created in 1899. While the minority leader was the head of the minority party, the majority leader remained subordinate to the speaker. The speakership reached its zenith during the term of Republican Joseph Gurney Cannon, from 1903 to 1911. The speaker’s powers included chairmanship of the influential Rules Committee and the ability to appoint members of other House committees. However, these powers were curtailed in the «Revolution of 1910» because of the efforts of Democrats and dissatisfied Republicans who opposed Cannon’s heavy-handed tactics.

The Democratic Party dominated the House of Representatives during the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945), often winning over two-thirds of the seats. Both Democrats and Republicans were in power at various times during the next decade. The Democratic Party maintained control of the House from 1955 until 1995. In the mid-1970s, members passed major reforms that strengthened the power of sub-committees at the expense of committee chairs and allowed party leaders to nominate committee chairs. These actions were taken to undermine the seniority system, and to reduce the ability of a small number of senior members to obstruct legislation they did not favor. There was also a shift from the 1990s to greater control of the legislative program by the majority party; the power of party leaders (especially the speaker) grew considerably. According to historian Julian E. Zelizer, the majority Democrats minimized the number of staff positions available to the minority Republicans, kept them out of decision-making, and gerrymandered their home districts. Republican Newt Gingrich argued American democracy was being ruined by the Democrats’ tactics and that the GOP had to destroy the system before it could be saved. Cooperation in governance, says Zelizer, would have to be put aside until they deposed Speaker Wright and regained power. Gingrich brought an ethics complaint which led to Wright’s resignation in 1989. Gingrich gained support from the media and good government forces in his crusade to persuade Americans that the system was, in Gingrich’s words, “morally, intellectually and spiritually corrupt”. Gingrich followed Wright’s successor, Democrat Tom Foley, as speaker after the Republican Revolution of 1994 gave his party control of the House.^[8]

Gingrich attempted to pass a major legislative program, the Contract with America and made major reforms of the House, notably reducing the tenure of committee chairs to three two-year terms. Many elements of the Contract did not pass Congress, were vetoed by President Bill Clinton, or were substantially altered in negotiations with Clinton. However, after Republicans held control in the 1996 election, Clinton and the Gingrich-led House agreed on the first balanced federal budget in decades, along with a substantial tax cut.^[9] The Republicans held on to the House until 2006, when the Democrats won control and Nancy Pelosi was subsequently elected by the House as the first female speaker. The Republicans retook the House in 2011, with the largest shift of power since the 1930s.^[10] However, the Democrats retook the house in 2019, which became the largest shift of power to the Democrats since the 1970s. In the 2022 elections, Republicans took back control of the House, winning a slim majority.

Membership, qualifications, and apportionment

Apportionments

Under Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution, seats in the House of Representatives are apportioned among the states by population, as determined by the census conducted every ten years. Each state is entitled to at least one representative, however small its population.

The only constitutional rule relating to the size of the House states: «The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative.»^[11] Congress regularly increased the size of the House to account for population growth until it fixed the number of voting House members at 435 in 1911.^[1] In 1959, upon the admission of Alaska and Hawaii, the number was temporarily increased to 437 (seating one representative from each of those states without changing existing apportionment), and returned to 435 four years later, after the reapportionment consequent to the 1960 census.

The Constitution does not provide for the representation of the District of Columbia or of territories. The District of Columbia and the territories of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are each represented by one non-voting delegate. Puerto Rico elects a resident commissioner, but other than having a four-year term, the resident commissioner’s role is identical to the delegates from the other territories. The five delegates and resident commissioner may participate in debates; before 2011,^[12] they were also allowed to vote in committees and the Committee of the Whole when their votes would not be decisive.^[13]

Redistricting

States entitled to more than one representative are divided into single-member districts. This has been a federal statutory requirement since 1967 pursuant to the act titled An Act For the relief of Doctor Ricardo Vallejo Samala and to provide for congressional redistricting.^[14] Before that law, general ticket representation was used by some states.

States typically redraw district boundaries after each census, though they may do so at other times, such as the 2003 Texas redistricting. Each state determines its own district boundaries, either through legislation or through non-partisan panels. «Malapportionment» is unconstitutional and districts must be approximately equal in population (see Wesberry v. Sanders). Additionally, Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits redistricting plans that are intended to, or have the effect of, discriminating against racial or language minority voters.^[15] Aside from malapportionment and discrimination against racial or language minorities, federal courts have allowed state legislatures to engage in gerrymandering to benefit political parties or incumbents.^[16][17] In a 1984 case, Davis v. Bandemer, the Supreme Court held that gerrymandered districts could be struck down based on the Equal Protection Clause, but the Court did not articulate a standard for when districts are impermissibly gerrymandered. However, the Court overruled Davis in 2004 in Vieth v. Jubelirer, and Court precedent currently holds gerrymandering to be a political question. According to calculations made by Burt Neuborne using criteria set forth by the American Political Science Association, about 40 seats, less than 10% of the House membership, are chosen through a genuinely contested electoral process, given partisan gerrymandering.^[18][19]

Qualifications

Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution sets three qualifications for representatives. Each representative must: (1) be at least twenty-five (25) years old; (2) have been a citizen of the United States for the past seven years; and (3) be (at the time of the election) an inhabitant of the state they represent. Members are not required to live in the districts they represent, but they traditionally do.^[20] The age and citizenship qualifications for representatives are less than those for senators. The constitutional requirements of Article I, Section 2 for election to Congress are the maximum requirements that can be imposed on a candidate.^[21] Therefore, Article I, Section 5, which permits each House to be the judge of the qualifications of its own members does not permit either House to establish additional qualifications. Likewise a State could not establish additional qualifications. William C. C. Claiborne served in the House below the minimum age of 25.^[22]

Disqualification: under the Fourteenth Amendment, a 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 representative. This post–Civil War provision was intended to prevent those who sided with the Confederacy from serving. However, disqualified individuals may serve if they gain the consent of two-thirds of both houses of Congress.

Elections

Elections for representatives are held in every even-numbered year, on Election Day the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Pursuant to the Uniform Congressional District Act, representatives must be elected from single-member districts. After a census is taken (in a year ending in 0), the year ending in 2 is the first year in which elections for U.S. House districts are based on that census (with the Congress based on those districts starting its term on the following January 3). As there is no legislation at the federal level mandating one particular system for elections to the House, systems are set at the state level. As of 2022, first-past-the-post or plurality voting is adopted in 46 states, ranked-choice or instant-runoff voting in two states (Alaska and Maine), and two-round system in two states (Georgia and Mississippi). Elected representatives serve a two-year term, with no term limit.

In most states, major party candidates for each district are nominated in partisan primary elections, typically held in spring to late summer. In some states, the Republican and Democratic parties choose their candidates for each district in their political conventions in spring or early summer, which often use unanimous voice votes to reflect either confidence in the incumbent or the result of bargaining in earlier private discussions. Exceptions can result in so-called floor fights—convention votes by delegates, with outcomes that can be hard to predict. Especially if a convention is closely divided, a losing candidate may contend further by meeting the conditions for a primary election. The courts generally do not consider ballot access rules for independent and third party candidates to be additional qualifications for holding office and no federal statutes regulate ballot access. As a result, the process to gain ballot access varies greatly from state to state, and in the case of a third party in the United States may be affected by results of previous years’ elections.

In 1967, Congress passed the Uniform Congressional District Act, which requires all representatives to be elected from single-member-districts.^[23][24] Following the Wesberry v. Sanders decision, Congress was motivated by fears that courts would impose at-large plurality districts on states that did not redistrict to comply with the new mandates for districts roughly equal in population, and Congress also sought to prevent attempts by southern states to use such voting systems to dilute the vote of racial minorities.^[25] Several states have used multi-member districts in the past, although only two states (Hawaii and New Mexico) used multi-member districts in 1967.^[24] Louisiana is unique in that it holds an all-party primary election on the general Election Day with a subsequent runoff election between the top two finishers (regardless of party) if no candidate received a majority in the primary. The states of Washington and California use a similar (though not identical) system to that used by Louisiana.

Seats vacated during a term are filled through special elections, unless the vacancy occurs closer to the next general election date than a pre-established deadline. The term of a member chosen in a special election usually begins the next day, or as soon as the results are certified.

Non-voting delegates

Historically, many territories have sent non-voting delegates to the House. While their role has fluctuated over the years, today they have many of the same privileges as voting members, have a voice in committees, and can introduce bills on the floor, but cannot vote on the ultimate passage of bills. Presently, the District of Columbia and the five inhabited U.S. territories each elect a delegate. A seventh delegate, representing the Cherokee Nation, has been formally proposed but has not yet been seated.^[26] An eighth delegate, representing the Choctaw Nation is guaranteed by treaty but has not yet been proposed. Additionally, some territories may choose to also elect shadow representatives, though these are not official members of the House and are separate individuals from their official delegates.

Terms

Representatives and delegates serve for two-year terms, while a resident commissioner (a kind of delegate) serves for four years. A term starts on January 3 following the election in November. The U.S. Constitution requires that vacancies in the House be filled with a special election. The term of the replacement member expires on the date that the original member’s would have expired.

The Constitution permits the House to expel a member with a two-thirds vote. In the history of the United States, only five members have been expelled from the House; in 1861, three were removed for supporting the Confederate states’ secession: Democrats John Bullock Clark of Missouri, John William Reid of Missouri, and Henry Cornelius Burnett of Kentucky. Democrat Michael Myers of Pennsylvania was expelled after his criminal conviction for accepting bribes in 1980, and Democrat James Traficant of Ohio was expelled in 2002 following his conviction for corruption.^[27]

The House also has the power to formally censure or reprimand its members; censure or reprimand of a member requires only a simple majority, and does not remove that member from office.

Comparison to the Senate

As a check on the regional, popular, and rapidly changing politics of the House, the Senate has several distinct powers. For example, the «advice and consent» powers (such as the power to approve treaties and confirm members of the Cabinet) are a sole Senate privilege.^[28] The House, however, has the exclusive power to initiate bills for raising revenue, to impeach officials, and to choose the president if a presidential candidate fails to get a majority of the Electoral College votes.^[29] Both House and Senate confirmation is now required to fill a vacancy in the vice presidency is vacant, according to the provisions of the Twenty-fifth Amendment.^[30][31] The Senate and House are further differentiated by term lengths and the number of districts represented: the Senate has longer terms of six years, fewer members (currently one hundred, two for each state), and (in all but seven delegations) larger constituencies per member. The Senate is referred to as the «upper» house, and the House of Representatives as the «lower» house.

Salary and benefits

Salaries

As of December 2014, the annual salary of each representative is $174,000,^[32][33] the same as it is for each member of the Senate.^[34] The speaker of the House and the majority and minority leaders earn more: $223,500 for the speaker and $193,400 for their party leaders (the same as Senate leaders).^[33] A cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) increase takes effect annually unless Congress votes not to accept it. Congress sets members’ salaries; however, the Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits a change in salary (but not COLA^[35]) from taking effect until after the next election of the whole House. Representatives are eligible for retirement benefits after serving for five years.^[36] Outside pay is limited to 15% of congressional pay, and certain types of income involving a fiduciary responsibility or personal endorsement are prohibited. Salaries are not for life, only during active term.^[33]

Titles

Representatives use the prefix «The Honorable» before their names. A member of the House is referred to as a representative, congressman, or congresswoman.

Representatives are usually identified in the media and other sources by party and state, and sometimes by congressional district, or a major city or community within their district. For example, Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi, who represents California’s 12th congressional district within San Francisco, may be identified as «D–California,» «D–California–12» or «D–San Francisco.»

A small number of representatives have elected to use the post nominal «MC» (for «member of Congress») after their names, a reflection of the Westminster system’s usage of «MP».^{[citation needed]}

Pension

All members of Congress are automatically enrolled in the Federal Employees Retirement System, a pension system also used for federal civil servants, except the formula for calculating Congress members’ pension results in a 70% higher pension than other federal employees based on the first 20 years of service.^[37] They become eligible to receive benefits after five years of service (two and one-half terms in the House). The FERS is composed of three elements:

1. Social Security
2. The FERS basic annuity, a monthly pension plan based on the number of years of service and the average of the three highest years of basic pay (70% higher pension than other federal employees based on the first 20 years of service)
3. The Thrift Savings Plan, a 401(k)-like defined contribution plan for retirement account into which participants can deposit up to a maximum of $19,000 in 2019. Their employing agency matches employee contributions up to 5% of pay.

Members of Congress may retire with full benefits at age 62 after five years of service, at age 50 after twenty years of service, and at any age after twenty-five years of service.^[37]

Tax deductions

Members of Congress are permitted to deduct up to $3,000 of living expenses per year incurred while living away from their district or home state.^[38]

Health benefits

Before 2014, members of Congress and their staff had access to essentially the same health benefits as federal civil servants; they could voluntarily enroll in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), an employer-sponsored health insurance program, and were eligible to participate in other programs, such as the Federal Flexible Spending Account Program (FSAFEDS).^[39]

However, Section 1312(d)(3)(D) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) provided that the only health plans that the federal government can make available to members of Congress and certain congressional staff are those created under the ACA or offered through a health care exchange. The Office of Personnel Management promulgated a final rule to comply with Section 1312(d)(3)(D).^[39] Under the rule, effective January 1, 2014, members and designated staff are no longer able to purchase FEHBP plans as active employees.^[39] However, if members enroll in a health plan offered through a Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) exchange, they remain eligible for an employer contribution toward coverage, and members and designated staff eligible for retirement may enroll in a FEHBP plan upon retirement.^[39]

The ACA and the final rule do not affect members’ or staffers’ eligibility for Medicare benefits.^[39] The ACA and the final rule also do not affect members’ and staffers’ eligibility for other health benefits related to federal employment, so current members and staff are eligible to participate in FSAFEDS (which has three options within the program), the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program, and the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program.^[39]

The Office of the Attending Physician at the U.S. Capitol provides current members with health care for an annual fee.^[39] The attending physician provides routine exams, consultations, and certain diagnostics, and may write prescriptions (although the office does not dispense them).^[39] The office does not provide vision or dental care.^[39]

Current members (but not their dependents, and not former members) may also receive medical and emergency dental care at military treatment facilities.^[39] There is no charge for outpatient care if it is provided in the National Capital Region, but members are billed at full reimbursement rates (set by the Department of Defense) for inpatient care.^[39] (Outside the National Capital Region, charges are at full reimbursement rates for both inpatient and outpatient care).^[39]

Personnel, mail and office expenses

House members are eligible for a Member’s Representational Allowance (MRA) to support them in their official and representational duties to their district.^[40] The MRA is calculated based on three components: one for personnel, one for official office expenses and one for official or franked mail. The personnel allowance is the same for all members; the office and mail allowances vary based on the members’ district’s distance from Washington, D.C., the cost of office space in the member’s district, and the number of non-business addresses in their district. These three components are used to calculate a single MRA that can fund any expense—even though each component is calculated individually, the franking allowance can be used to pay for personnel expenses if the member so chooses. In 2011 this allowance averaged $1.4 million per member, and ranged from $1.35 to $1.67 million.^[41]

The Personnel allowance was $944,671 per member in 2010. Each member may employ no more than 18 permanent employees. Members’ employees’ salary is capped at $168,411 as of 2009.^[41]

Travel allowance

Before being sworn into office each member-elect and one staffer can be paid for one round trip between their home in their congressional district and Washington, D.C. for organization caucuses.^[41] Current members are allowed «a sum for travel based on the following formula: 64 times the rate per mile … multiplied by the mileage between Washington, DC, and the furthest point in a Member’s district, plus 10%.»^[41] As of January 2012 the rate ranges from $0.41 to $1.32 per mile ($0.25 to $0.82/km) based on distance ranges between D.C. and the member’s district.^[41]

Officers

Member officials

The party with a majority of seats in the House is known as the majority party. The next-largest party is the minority party. The speaker, committee chairs, and some other officials are generally from the majority party; they have counterparts (for instance, the «ranking members» of committees) in the minority party.

The Constitution provides that the House may choose its own speaker.^[42] Although not explicitly required by the Constitution, every speaker has been a member of the House. The Constitution does not specify the duties and powers of the speaker, which are instead regulated by the rules and customs of the House. Speakers have a role both as a leader of the House and the leader of their party (which need not be the majority party; theoretically, a member of the minority party could be elected as speaker with the support of a fraction of members of the majority party). Under the Presidential Succession Act (1947), the speaker is second in the line of presidential succession after the vice president.

The speaker is the presiding officer of the House but does not preside over every debate. Instead, they delegate the responsibility of presiding to other members in most cases. The presiding officer sits in a chair in the front of the House chamber. The powers of the presiding officer are extensive; one important power is that of controlling the order in which members of the House speak. No member may make a speech or a motion unless they have first been recognized by the presiding officer. Moreover, the presiding officer may rule on a «point of order» (a member’s objection that a rule has been breached); the decision is subject to appeal to the whole House.

Speakers serve as chairs of their party’s steering committee, which is responsible for assigning party members to other House committees. The speaker chooses the chairs of standing committees, appoints most of the members of the Rules Committee, appoints all members of conference committees, and determines which committees consider bills.

Each party elects a floor leader, who is known as the majority leader or minority leader. The minority leader heads their party in the House, and the majority leader is their party’s second-highest-ranking official, behind the speaker. Party leaders decide what legislation members of their party should either support or oppose.

Each party also elects a Whip, who works to ensure that the party’s members vote as the party leadership desires. The current majority whip in the House of Representatives is Tom Emmer, who is a member of the Republican Party. The current minority whip is Katherine Clark, who is a member of the Democratic Party. The whip is supported by chief deputy whips

After the whips, the next ranking official in the House party’s leadership is the party conference chair (styled as the Republican conference chair and Democratic caucus chair).

After the conference chair, there are differences between each party’s subsequent leadership ranks. After the Democratic caucus chair is the campaign committee chair (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee), then the co-chairs of the Steering Committee. For the Republicans it is the chair of the House Republican Policy Committee, followed by the campaign committee chairman (styled as the National Republican Congressional Committee).

The chairs of House committees, particularly influential standing committees such as Appropriations, Ways and Means, and Rules, are powerful but not officially part of the House leadership hierarchy. Until the post of majority leader was created, the chair of Ways and Means was the de facto majority leader.

Leadership and partisanship

When the presidency and Senate are controlled by a different party from the one controlling the House, the speaker can become the de facto «leader of the opposition.» Some notable examples include Tip O’Neill in the 1980s, Newt Gingrich in the 1990s, John Boehner in the early 2010s, and Nancy Pelosi in the late 2000s and again in the late 2010s and early 2020s. Since the speaker is a partisan officer with substantial power to control the business of the House, the position is often used for partisan advantage.

In the instance when the presidency and both Houses of Congress are controlled by one party, the speaker normally takes a low profile and defers to the president. For that situation the House minority leader can play the role of a de facto «leader of the opposition,» often more so than the Senate minority leader, due to the more partisan nature of the House and the greater role of leadership.

Non-member officials

The House is also served by several officials who are not members. The House’s chief such officer is the clerk, who maintains public records, prepares documents, and oversees junior officials, including pages until the discontinuation of House pages in 2011. The clerk also presides over the House at the beginning of each new Congress pending the election of a speaker. Another officer is the chief administrative officer, responsible for the day-to-day administrative support to the House of Representatives. This includes everything from payroll to foodservice.

The position of chief administrative officer (CAO) was created by the 104th Congress following the 1994 mid-term elections, replacing the positions of doorkeeper and director of non-legislative and financial services (created by the previous congress to administer the non-partisan functions of the House). The CAO also assumed some of the responsibilities of the House Information Services, which previously had been controlled directly by the Committee on House Administration, then headed by Representative Charlie Rose of North Carolina, along with the House «Folding Room.»

The chaplain leads the House in prayer at the opening of the day. The sergeant at arms is the House’s chief law enforcement officer and maintains order and security on House premises. Finally, routine police work is handled by the United States Capitol Police, which is supervised by the Capitol Police Board, a body to which the sergeant at arms belongs, and chairs in even-numbered years.

Procedure

Daily procedures

Like the Senate, the House of Representatives meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. At one end of the chamber of the House is a rostrum from which the speaker, Speaker pro tempore, or (when in the Committee of the Whole) the chair presides.^[43] The lower tier of the rostrum is used by clerks and other officials. Members’ seats are arranged in the chamber in a semicircular pattern facing the rostrum and are divided by a wide central aisle.^[44] By tradition, Democrats sit on the left of the center aisle, while Republicans sit on the right, facing the presiding officer’s chair.^[45] Sittings are normally held on weekdays; meetings on Saturdays and Sundays are rare. Sittings of the House are generally open to the public; visitors must obtain a House Gallery pass from a congressional office.^[46] Sittings are broadcast live on television and have been streamed live on C-SPAN since March 19, 1979,^[47] and on HouseLive, the official streaming service operated by the Clerk, since the early 2010s.

The procedure of the House depends not only on the rules, but also on a variety of customs, precedents, and traditions. In many cases, the House waives some of its stricter rules (including time limits on debates) by unanimous consent.^[48] A member may block a unanimous consent agreement, but objections are rare. The presiding officer, the speaker of the House enforces the rules of the House, and may warn members who deviate from them. The speaker uses a gavel to maintain order.^[49] Legislation to be considered by the House is placed in a box called the hopper.^[50]

In one of its first resolutions, the U.S. House of Representatives established the Office of the Sergeant at Arms. In an American tradition adopted from English custom in 1789 by the first speaker of the House, Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania, the Mace of the United States House of Representatives is used to open all sessions of the House. It is also used during the inaugural ceremonies for all presidents of the United States. For daily sessions of the House, the sergeant at arms carries the mace ahead of the speaker in procession to the rostrum. It is placed on a green marble pedestal to the speaker’s right. When the House is in committee, the mace is moved to a pedestal next to the desk of the Sergeant at Arms.^[51]

The Constitution provides that a majority of the House constitutes a quorum to do business.^[52] Under the rules and customs of the House, a quorum is always assumed present unless a quorum call explicitly demonstrates otherwise. House rules prevent a member from making a point of order that a quorum is not present unless a question is being voted on. The presiding officer does not accept a point of order of no quorum during general debate, or when a question is not before the House.^[53]

During debates, a member may speak only if called upon by the presiding officer. The presiding officer decides which members to recognize, and can therefore control the course of debate.^[54] All speeches must be addressed to the presiding officer, using the words «Mr. Speaker» or «Madam Speaker.» Only the presiding officer may be directly addressed in speeches; other members must be referred to in the third person. In most cases, members do not refer to each other only by name, but also by state, using forms such as «the gentleman from Virginia,» «the distinguished gentlewoman from California,» or «my distinguished friend from Alabama.»

There are 448 permanent seats on the House Floor and four tables, two on each side. These tables are occupied by members of the committee that have brought a bill to the floor for consideration and by the party leadership. Members address the House from microphones at any table or «the well,» the area immediately in front of the rostrum.^[55]

Passage of legislation

Per the Constitution, the House of Representatives determines the rules according to which it passes legislation. Any of the rules can be changed with each new Congress, but in practice each new session amends a standing set of rules built up over the history of the body in an early resolution published for public inspection.^[56] Before legislation reaches the floor of the House, the Rules Committee normally passes a rule to govern debate on that measure (which then must be passed by the full House before it becomes effective). For instance, the committee determines if amendments to the bill are permitted. An «open rule» permits all germane amendments, but a «closed rule» restricts or even prohibits amendment. Debate on a bill is generally restricted to one hour, equally divided between the majority and minority parties. Each side is led during the debate by a «floor manager,» who allocates debate time to members who wish to speak. On contentious matters, many members may wish to speak; thus, a member may receive as little as one minute, or even thirty seconds, to make their point.^[57]

When debate concludes, the motion is put to a vote.^[58] In many cases, the House votes by voice vote; the presiding officer puts the question, and members respond either «yea!» or «aye!» (in favor of the motion) or «nay!» or «no!» (against the motion). The presiding officer then announces the result of the voice vote. A member may, however, challenge the presiding officer’s assessment and «request the yeas and nays» or «request a recorded vote.» The request may be granted only if it is seconded by one-fifth of the members present. Traditionally, however, members of Congress second requests for recorded votes as a matter of courtesy. Some votes are always recorded, such as those on the annual budget.^[59]

A recorded vote may be taken in one of three different ways. One is electronically. Members use a personal identification card to record their votes at 46 voting stations in the chamber. Votes are usually held in this way. A second mode of recorded vote is by teller. Members hand in colored cards to indicate their votes: green for «yea,» red for «nay,» and orange for «present» (i.e., to abstain). Teller votes are normally held only when electronic voting breaks down. Finally, the House may conduct a roll call vote. The Clerk reads the list of members of the House, each of whom announces their vote when their name is called. This procedure is only used rarely (and usually for ceremonial occasions, such as for the election of a speaker) because of the time consumed by calling over four hundred names.^[59]

Voting traditionally lasts for, at most, fifteen minutes, but it may be extended if the leadership needs to «whip» more members into alignment.^[59] The 2003 vote on the prescription drug benefit was open for three hours, from 3:00 to 6:00 a.m., to receive four additional votes, three of which were necessary to pass the legislation.^[60] The 2005 vote on the Central American Free Trade Agreement was open for one hour, from 11:00 p.m. to midnight.^[61] An October 2005 vote on facilitating refinery construction was kept open for forty minutes.^[62]

Presiding officers may vote like other members. They may not, however, vote twice in the event of a tie; rather, a tie vote defeats the motion.^[63]

Committees

The House uses committees and their subcommittees for a variety of purposes, including the review of bills and the oversight of the executive branch. The appointment of committee members is formally made by the whole House, but the choice of members is actually made by the political parties. Generally, each party honors the preferences of individual members, giving priority on the basis of seniority. Historically, membership on committees has been in rough proportion to the party’s strength in the House, with two exceptions: on the Rules Committee, the majority party fills nine of the thirteen seats;^[64] and on the Ethics Committee, each party has an equal number of seats.^[65] However, when party control in the House is closely divided, extra seats on committees are sometimes allocated to the majority party. In the 109th Congress, for example, the Republicans controlled about 53% of the House, but had 54% of the Appropriations Committee members, 55% of the members on the Energy and Commerce Committee, 58% of the members on the Judiciary Committee, and 69% of the members on the Rules Committee.

The largest committee of the House is the Committee of the Whole, which, as its name suggests, consists of all members of the House. The Committee meets in the House chamber; it may consider and amend bills, but may not grant them final passage. Generally, the debate procedures of the Committee of the Whole are more flexible than those of the House itself. One advantage of the Committee of the Whole is its ability to include otherwise non-voting members of Congress.

Most committee work is performed by twenty standing committees, each of which has jurisdiction over a specific set of issues, such as Agriculture or Foreign Affairs. Each standing committee considers, amends, and reports bills that fall under its jurisdiction. Committees have extensive powers with regard to bills; they may block legislation from reaching the floor of the House. 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.

The House also has one permanent committee that is not a standing committee, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and occasionally may establish temporary or advisory committees, such as the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. This latter committee, created in the 110th Congress and reauthorized for the 111th, has no jurisdiction over legislation and must be chartered anew at the start of every Congress. The House also appoints members to serve on joint committees, which include members of the Senate and House. 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.

Each House committee and subcommittee is led by a chairman (always a member of the majority party). From 1910 to the 1970s, committee chairs were powerful. Woodrow Wilson in his classic study,^[66] suggested:

Power is nowhere concentrated; it is rather deliberately and of set policy scattered amongst many small chiefs. It is divided up, as it were, into forty-seven seigniories, in each of which a Standing Committee is the court-baron and its chairman lord-proprietor. These petty barons, some of them not a little powerful, but none of them within the reach of the full powers of rule, may at will exercise almost despotic sway within their own shires, and may sometimes threaten to convulse even the realm itself.

From 1910 to 1975 committee and subcommittee chairmanship was determined purely by seniority; members of Congress sometimes had to wait 30 years to get one, but their chairship was independent of party leadership. The rules were changed in 1975 to permit party caucuses to elect chairs, shifting power upward to the party leaders. In 1995, Republicans under Newt Gingrich set a limit of three two-year terms for committee chairs. The chairman’s powers are extensive; he controls the committee/subcommittee agenda, and may prevent the committee from dealing with a bill. The senior member of the minority party is known as the Ranking Member. In some committees like Appropriations, partisan disputes are few.

Legislative functions

Most bills may be introduced in either House of Congress. However, the Constitution states, «All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives.» Because of the Origination Clause, the Senate cannot initiate bills imposing taxes. This provision barring the Senate from introducing revenue bills is based on the practice of the British Parliament, in which only the House of Commons may originate such measures. Furthermore, congressional tradition holds that the House of Representatives originates appropriation bills.

Although it cannot originate revenue bills, the Senate retains the power to amend or reject them. Woodrow Wilson wrote the following about appropriations bills:^[67]

[T]he constitutional prerogative of the House has been held to apply to all the general appropriations bills, and the Senate’s right to amend these has been allowed the widest possible scope. The upper house may add to them what it pleases; may go altogether outside of their original provisions and tack to them entirely new features of legislation, altering not only the amounts but even the objects of expenditure, and making out of the materials sent them by the popular chamber measures of an almost totally new character.

The approval of the Senate and the House of Representatives is required for a bill to become law. Both Houses must pass the same version of the bill; if there are differences, they may be resolved by a conference committee, which includes members of both bodies. For the stages through which bills pass in the Senate, see Act of Congress.

The president may veto a bill passed by the House and Senate. If they do, the bill does not become law unless each House, by a two-thirds vote, votes to override the veto.

Checks and balances

The Constitution provides that the Senate’s «advice and consent» is necessary for the president to make appointments and to ratify treaties. Thus, with its potential to frustrate presidential appointments, the Senate is more powerful than the House.

The Constitution empowers the House of Representatives to impeach federal officials for «Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors» and empowers the Senate to try such impeachments. The House may approve «articles of impeachment» by a simple majority vote; however, a two-thirds vote is required for conviction in the Senate. A convicted official is automatically removed from office and may be disqualified from holding future office under the United States. No further punishment is permitted during the impeachment proceedings; however, the party may face criminal penalties in a normal court of law.

In the history of the United States, the House of Representatives has impeached seventeen officials, of whom seven were convicted. (Another, Richard Nixon, resigned after the House Judiciary Committee passed articles of impeachment but before a formal impeachment vote by the full House.) Only three presidents of the United States have ever been impeached: Andrew Johnson in 1868, Bill Clinton in 1998, and Donald Trump in 2019 and in 2021. The trials of Johnson, Clinton and Trump all ended in acquittal; in Johnson’s case, the Senate fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority required for conviction.

Under the Twelfth Amendment, the House has the power to elect the president if no presidential candidate receives a majority of votes in the Electoral College. The Twelfth Amendment requires the House to choose from the three candidates with the highest numbers of electoral votes. The Constitution provides that «the votes shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote.» It is rare for no presidential candidate to receive a majority of electoral votes. In the history of the United States, the House has only had to choose a president twice. In 1800, which was before the adoption of the Twelfth Amendment, it elected Thomas Jefferson over Aaron Burr. In 1824, it elected John Quincy Adams over Andrew Jackson and William H. Crawford. (If no vice-presidential candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes, the Senate elects the vice president from the two candidates with the highest numbers of electoral votes.)

Latest election results and current party standings

Current standing

As of January 2023

↓

222	212
Republican	Democratic

Affiliation	Members	Delegates/resident commissioner (non-voting)	State majorities
	Republican	222	3	29
	Democratic	212	3	25
	Vacant	1
Total	435	6	56
Majority[c]	4

Source:^[68]

See also

• 2022 United States House of Representatives elections
• List of current members of the United States House of Representatives
• Third-party members of the United States House of Representatives
• U.S. representative bibliography (congressional memoirs)
• Women in the United States House of Representatives

References

Footnotes

Citations

Sources and further reading

Surveys

External links

• Official website
  • Clerk of the House of Representatives
  • Chief Administrative Office of the House
  • Office of the majority leader
  • Office of the speaker of the House
  • Official list of current members
  • Rules of the House
• Legislative information and archives for US House and Senate, via Congress.gov
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 to Present
• A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787–1825 Archived July 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
• Complete Downloadable List of U.S. Representative Contact Information, via AggData LLC
• Information about U.S. Congressional Bills and Resolutions

Coordinates: 38°53′20″N 77°0′32″W / 38.88889°N 77.00889°W

Палата представителей США (The United States House of Representatives) Конгресс США Нижняя палата
Спикер	Джон Бейнер
— из партии	Республиканская партия
— избран	5 января 2011
Депутатов	435 плюс 6 неголосующих членов
Политические группы (фракции)	Республиканская партия (234 члена), Демократическая партия (201 член),
Последние выборы	6 ноября 2012 года
Веб-сайт	http://www.house.gov

Палата представителей США (англ. The United States House of Representatives) — нижняя палата Конгресса США. В ней представлен каждый штат пропорционально численности населения. Количество мест в палате постоянно и составляет 435, хотя Конгресс имеет право менять число мест. Каждый представитель штата занимает своё место в течение двухгодичной каденции и может быть переизбран неограниченное количество раз. Главой палаты является спикер, избираемый членами палаты.

Составление и полномочия конгресса установлены в первой статье конституции США. При этом не используются понятия верхняя и нижняя палаты. Основной функцией Палаты является принятие федеральных законов, то есть таких законов, которые действуют на территории всех штатов. Билли, принятые в Палате, также проходят обсуждение в Сенате и визирование Президентом, прежде чем станут законом.

История

Членство

Кандидат в члены Палаты представителей должен быть не моложе 25 лет, быть гражданином США по крайней мере последние семь лет, и жить в том штате, который он будет представлять.

Члены палаты могут использовать обращение «The Honorable» (The Hon., «уважаемый») перед именем.

Сравнение с Сенатом

Основное полномочие Палаты представителей — принятие законов, а Сената — кадровые назначения и контроль

Зарплаты

На январь 2010, годовая зарплата каждого Представителя устанавливалась в 174 тыс. долл (то есть 14.5 тыс. долл в месяц) без учета налогов.

Согласно Двадцать седьмой поправке в Конституцию США, закон об изменении зарплаты членов Палаты представителей и Сенаторов США вступает в силу только после нового созыва нижней палаты.

Процедуры

Комитеты

• Комитет по сельскому хозяйству
• Комитет по ассигнованиям
• Комитет по делам вооруженных сил
• Комитет по бюджету
• Комитет по вопросам образования и труда
• Комитет по энергетике и торговле
• Комитет по финансовым услугам
• Комитет по иностранным делам
• Комитет по национальной безопасности
• Комитет по жилищному администрированию
• Комитет по вопросам судопроизводства
• Комитет по природным ресурсам
• Комитет по надзору и правительственной реформе
• Комитет по регламенту
• Комитет по науке и технике
• Комитет по малому бизнесу
• Комитет по стандартам официального поведения
• Комитет по транспорту и инфраструктуре
• Комитет по делам ветеранов
• Комитет по методам и средствам
• Совместный экономический комитет
• Совместный комитет Конгресса по церемонии инаугурации
• Совместный комитет по вопросам налогообложения
• Постоянный специальный Палаты комитет по разведке
• Специальный комитет Палаты по энергетической независимости и глобальному потеплению

См. также

• Сенат США

Законодательные собрания штатов США
Конгресс США	Палата представителей • Сенат
Штаты	Айдахо • Айова • Алабама • Аляска • Аризона • Арканзас • Вайоминг • Вашингтон • Вермонт • Виргиния • Висконсин • Гавайи • Делавэр • Джорджия • Западная Виргиния • Иллинойс • Индиана • Калифорния • Канзас • Кентукки • Колорадо • Коннектикут • Луизиана • Массачусетс • Миннесота • Миссисипи • Миссури • Мичиган • Монтана • Мэн • Мэриленд • Небраска • Невада • Нью-Гэмпшир • Нью-Джерси • Нью-Йорк • Нью-Мексико • Огайо • Оклахома • Орегон • Пенсильвания • Род-Айленд • Северная Дакота • Северная Каролина • Теннесси • Техас • Флорида • Южная Дакота • Южная Каролина • Юта
Территории	Американское Самоа • Гуам • Северные Марианские острова • Пуэрто-Рико • Американские Виргинские острова

Штаты Дом Соединенных представителей (в английском языке  : Палата представители США ) выступили с сенатом , в Конгрессе Соединенных Штатов и формах как таковые одного из двух органов законодательной власти американской . Он представляет граждан в Союзе и составляет нижнюю палату Федерального парламента. Штаб-квартира находится в южном крыле Капитолия США в Вашингтоне .

Состав и полномочия Палаты устанавливаются статьей 1 в Конституции Соединенных Штатов .

История

Этот Дом возник на основании Конституции 1787 года, составленной Александром Гамильтоном и другими делегатами 13 штатов. Она и Сенат вместе сформируют Конгресс .

В 4 марта 1789 г.Американский Конгресс, состоящий из избранных представителей 13 штатов нового штата, впервые встречается в Нью-Йорке , временной столице, на этой первой сессии представители решают, что законодательная власть будет состоять из Палаты представителей и Сенат. Концепция двухпалатной законодательной власти, как в Соединенном Королевстве, где заседают верхняя палата или палата лордов и нижняя палата или палата общин . Эта двухпалатная архитектура основана на идее, что ни одна палата не может иметь полную власть над законодательным органом, причем две палаты уравновешивают друг друга, даже если у них разные структуры и роли.

Роль

Помимо принятия федеральных законов, Палата представителей:

• является инициатором голосования по бюджету. Сенат все еще может изменить или отклонить свои предложения;
• может избрать президента Соединенных Штатов , если среди большого числа избирателей нет большинства . В этом случае делегация каждого государства имеет только один голос;
• голосует за обвинение высокопоставленного правительственного чиновника, суд над которым впоследствии проводится в Сенате.

Состав

Текущее количество представителей составляет 435 человек с момента принятия закона 1911 года .

Раньше это число неуклонно росло. В соответствии с разделом 2 статьи I Конституции США количество мест пропорционально численности населения штатов, как это определено десятилетней переписью Соединенных Штатов , при этом каждый штат направляет по крайней мере одного представителя. Единственное конституционное правило относительно размера Палаты представителей гласит, что «число представителей не должно превышать одного из тридцати тысяч». Таким образом, Палата представителей неуклонно увеличивалась в размерах по мере роста американского населения (в отличие от Сената, количество сенаторов которого составляет два сенатора от штата, независимо от численности населения каждого штата). Поэтому в 1911 году Конгресс решил установить максимальное количество представителей на уровне 435. Это число временно выросло до 437 с принятием Аляски и Гавайев в качестве новых штатов Союза в 1959 году (в каждом из которых был один представитель, без изменения существующей пропорциональной базы Палаты представителей. ), прежде чем вернуться к 435 четыре года спустя, в 1963 году, после корректировки с учетом федеральной переписи 1960 года .

Конституция не предусматривает представительства в Палате представителей округа Колумбия ( Вашингтон, округ Колумбия ) и на американских территориях  : Пуэрто-Рико , Американском Самоа , Гуаме , Виргинских островах Соединенных Штатов и Северных Марианских островах . Однако каждый из них избирает в Палату делегата (только с 2008 года для Марианских островов), но не имеет права голоса. Они участвуют только в дебатах и ​​комитетах. Обратите внимание, что от Пуэрто-Рико делегат, называемый комиссаром-резидентом , избирается на 4 года. Это недопредставленность в Конгрессе (отсутствие сенатора, делегат без права голоса в Палате представителей) обсуждается, особенно в Вашингтоне и Пуэрто-Рико с учетом их соответственного населения (553 000 и 4 миллиона жителей).

Количество представителей от штата

Количество представителей пропорционально демографическому весу государства. По переписи 2010 года средняя численность населения в 435 округах составляла 646 946 человек. В Аляске , Делавэре , Монтане , Северной Дакоте , Южной Дакоте , Вермонте и Вайоминге был только один округ, охватывающий весь штат ( округ в целом ), поэтому был избран представитель. Штат Калифорнии с 53 округами имел наибольшее значение. Из-за того, что в каждом штате есть хотя бы один представитель, это может вызвать демографические различия, таким образом, наиболее густонаселенным районом является Монтана (весь штат) с 905 316 жителями, наименее густонаселенным является Вайоминг (весь штат) с 495 304 жителями .

Количество представителей от штата в 2016 г.

государственный	Сиденья
Калифорния	53
Техас	36
Флорида	27
Нью-Йорк	27
Иллинойс	18
Пенсильвания	18
Огайо	16
Грузия	14
Мичиган	14
Северная Каролина	13
Нью-Джерси	12
Вирджиния	11
Вашингтон	10
Аризона	9
Массачусетс	9
Индиана	9
Теннесси	9
Мэриленд	8
Миссури	8
Миннесота	8
Висконсин	8
Алабама	7
Кэролайн с юга	7
Колорадо	7
Кентукки	6
Луизиана	6
Коннектикут	5
Оклахома	5
Орегон	5
Айова	4
Канзас	4
Арканзас	4
Миссисипи	4
Невада	4
Юта	4
Небраска	3
Нью-Мексико	3
Западная Виргиния	3
Гавайи	2
Айдахо	2
Мэн	2
Род-Айленд	2
Нью-Гемпшир	2
Аляска	1
Северная Дакота	1
южная Дакота	1
Делавэр	1
Монтана	1
Вермонт	1
Вайоминг	1
Общее	435

Избирательные округа

Штаты, в которых есть более одного представителя, сами подразделяют свое государство на избирательные округа, называемые избирательными округами (избирательные округа, в которых избирается представитель). Обычно штаты меняют границы каждого округа после каждой переписи, но они могут делать это в другое время (например, в Техасе в 2003 году). Эта электоральная карта составляется законодательным собранием каждого штата (следовательно, выборными должностными лицами) или беспристрастной исследовательской группой. Плохое распределение («неправильная  отчетность  ») является неконституционным, и в округах должно быть примерно одинаковое население. Закон об избирательных правах запрещает штатам « подтасовывать » округа, чтобы уменьшить количество голосов меньшинств. Но использование перетасовки избирательных округов для политической выгоды не запрещено, даже если эти перетасовки случайно приводят к созданию социологически или расово (в демографическом смысле этого термина, который используется в Соединенных Штатах ) однородных округов. По этой причине менее 10% всех мест в Палате представителей серьезно оспариваются на каждых выборах. Таким образом, более 90% членов Палаты почти гарантированно переизбираются каждые два года из-за отсутствия электоральной конкуренции. Эта система критикуется как противоречащая одному из демократических принципов, который подразумевает здоровую и прозрачную конкуренцию.

Выборы

Представители избираются на два года прямым всеобщим голосованием первым прошедшим пост , за исключением Луизианы, где они избираются первым прошедшим пост . Выборы проходят в «  день выборов  », во вторник после первого понедельника ноября. Все представители обновляются, в то время как выборы в Сенат, которые состоятся в тот же день, обновляют только треть сенаторов.

В половине случаев выборы также совпадают с президентскими выборами, а в половине случаев — в середине президентского срока ( промежуточные выборы , промежуточные выборы ).

Чтобы быть кандидатом на должность представителя, лицо должно соответствовать следующим условиям, продиктованным пунктом 2 статьи 1 Конституции Соединенных Штатов  :

• быть не моложе 25 лет
• были гражданином США как минимум последние 7 лет
• быть резидентом (на момент избрания) государства, которое они представляют

Эти условия описаны как максимальные, что означает, что любое лицо, отвечающее этим критериям, может объявить себя кандидатом, если оно не признано непригодным Четырнадцатой поправкой . Примечательно, что эти условия менее строгие, чем те, которые применяются к кандидатам в президенты. Таким образом, теоретически возможно, что спикер палаты исключен из линии президентской преемственности из- за невыполнения всех критериев.

Важные члены Дома

Один из представителей избирается спикером палаты ( спикером палаты ), он обычно принадлежит партии большинства в палате представителей. Он является третьей фигурой в штате после президента и вице-президента и второй в порядке преемственности президента США . Тока Спикер является Нэнси Пелоси ( демократ из Калифорнии).

Есть и другие важные члены: лидер большинства , лидер представителей партии большинства, кнут большинства , заместитель лидера представителей партии большинства. Симметрично, есть лидер меньшинства и кнут меньшинства . Нынешние должностные лица — это, с одной стороны, Стени Хойер ( лидер большинства ) и Джим Клайберн ( кнут большинства ), а с другой стороны — Кевин Маккарти ( лидер меньшинства ) и Стив Скализ ( кнут меньшинства ).

Сравнение с сенатом

Многие отцы-основатели Соединенных Штатов хотели, чтобы Сенат (члены которого изначально избирались законодательным собранием каждого штата) служил противовесом Палате представителей на всенародных выборах, поскольку последняя служила противовесом Сенату. Полномочия «совет и согласие» («  совет и согласие  »), такие как утверждение договоров или назначение исполнительной власти, принадлежат только Сенату. Однако Палата представителей может быть у истоков законов о бюджете и является единственной, кто может инициировать  процедуру «  импичмента » против членов исполнительной власти (включая президента Соединенных Штатов) и судей.

Сенат и его члены обычно имеют больший престиж, чем Палата представителей и ее представители, потому что сенаторы имеют более длительный срок полномочий (шесть лет против двух) в меньшем собрании (100 членов против 435) и избираются в более крупных округах, всего одного штата ( случай всего семи районов).

Названия и преимущества

В качестве представителей перед именами используется приставка «The Honorable» ( Достопочтенный ). Мы часто обращаемся к ним, говоря о «представителе» ( представителе ), «члене Конгресса» ( член Конгресса , конгрессмен или конгрессмен ). Хотя сенаторы также являются «членами Конгресса», этот термин обычно используется только для обозначения члена Палаты представителей. Делегаты и Постоянный комиссар имеют одинаковые титулы и наименования.

В 2014 году годовая зарплата каждого представителя составляла 174 000  долларов США . Спикер Палаты представителей и лидеры большинства и меньшинства зарабатывают больше: $ 400 000  для президента и  $ 193400 для партийных лидеров (руководителей сената платить то же самое). Заработная плата ежегодно корректируется в соответствии с прожиточным минимумом, если Конгресс не примет иного решения. Конституция запрещает Конгресс от голосования увеличения вознаграждения членов , которые сидят на нем в момент голосования.

Представители, проработавшие в Палате представителей в течение пяти лет, имеют право на пожизненную пенсию, а также на социальное обеспечение и возмещение расходов на здравоохранение.

В художественной литературе

• 2006: Idiocracy от Майк Джадж
• с 2012  : Вице- президент Армандо Яннуччи .
• 2013  : Карточный домик на Уиллимон .
• 2016  : Места Survivor от David Guggenheim

Примечания и ссылки

Заметки

Рекомендации

Смотрите также

Библиография

• Мари-Поль Массиани-Файоль, Американская политика и общество , Париж, Presses Universitaires de France , колл.  «Что я знаю? «,1999 г., 127  с. ( ISBN  2-13-050447-7 )

Статьи по Теме

• 117- ^й  Конгресс США
• Сенат США
• Постоянный комитет (Конгресс США)
• Комитет по науке, космосу и технологиям Палаты представителей США
• Президентский режим

Внешние ссылки

Пала́та представи́телей США (англ. The United States House of Representatives) — нижняя палата Конгресса США. В ней представлен каждый штат пропорционально численности населения.

Количество мест в палате постоянно с 1963 года и составляет 435, это число не установлено Конституцией и может быть изменено законом. Каждый представитель штата занимает своё место в течение двухгодичной каденции и может быть переизбран неограниченное количество раз. Главой палаты является спикер, избираемый её членами. Формирование и полномочия Конгресса установлены в первой статье конституции США. При этом не используются понятия верхней и нижней палаты. Основной функцией Палаты представителей является принятие федеральных законов, то есть таких законов, которые действуют на территории всех штатов. Билли, принятые в палате, также проходят обсуждение в Сенате и визирование президентом, прежде чем станут законом.

Первый афроамериканец, служивший в Палате представителей США — Джо́зеф Хейн Ре́йни (англ. Joseph Hayne Rainey; 1832—1887).

Членство

Кандидат в члены Палаты представителей должен быть не моложе 25 лет на момент вступления в должность, пробыть гражданином США не менее семи лет и жить в том штате, который будет представлять, во время проведения
выборов^[2].

Члены палаты могут использовать обращение «The Honorable» (The Hon., «достопочтенный») перед именем.

Выборы

Палата представителей переизбирается раз в 2 года. В неё избирают 435 представителей, имеющих право голоса. По закону все 435 представителей, имеющих право голоса, должны избираться от одномандатных округов. Кроме них в Палату представителей избирают 6 представителей без права голоса. Таким образом общее число членов палаты равно 441 (по состоянию на 2020 год).

Выборы представителей проводятся каждый чётный год в один и тот же день выборов, установленный для всей страны — это первый вторник после первого понедельника ноября (в зависимости от года этот день выпадает на дату со 2 по 8 ноября). В високосные годы эти выборы совпадают с выборами Президента США.

Все 435 избирательных округа, где избирают представителей, имеющих право голоса, распределены между различными штатами страны. Каждый штат должен включать как минимум один избирательный округ, то есть совсем маленький штат должен иметь как минимум одного члена Палаты представителей вне зависимости от численности его населения. Более крупные штаты имеют несколько избирательных округов (от 2, как, например, штат Мэн, и до 53, как Калифорния в 2020 году). Избирательные округа должны быть примерно с равной численностью избирателей — как округа внутри штата (для крупных штатов это примерно по 600 тыс. избирателей), так и, по возможности, округа разных штатов (при малом числе округов в штате, равном 2, 3, 4, это сделать труднее).

Количество избирательных округов в каждом штате, а также границы между ними уточняются по результатам переписи населения, которая проводится в США раз в 10 лет в год, оканчивающийся на 0 (например, 2010, 2020). Голосования по перераспределённым новым избирательным округам (их общее число сохраняется и равно 435) производится начиная с года, оканчивающегося на 2 (например, с 2012, 2022 года).

Кроме 435 представителей, имеющих право голоса, в Палату представителей могут избираться представители без права голоса. На 2020 год их 6 (вопрос об увеличении их числа в стадии рассмотрения) и они представляют: округ Колумбия — столицу страны Вашингтон (1), Пуэрто-Рико (1), территории США (4). Эти представители избираются по законам соответствующих территорий. 5 из них избираются на два года. Представитель Пуэрто-Рико избирается на четыре года. Они могут вносить проекты законодательных положений и принимать участие в голосованиях в комитетах, но не в самой Палате представителей. C 2019 также племя Чероки послало своего представителя (избранного советом племени), однако ПП предлагает избирать его всеми членами племени.

Зарплаты

По данным на январь 2010 года, годовая зарплата каждого представителя устанавливалась в 174 тыс. долл. (то есть 14,5 тыс. долл. в месяц).

Согласно Двадцать седьмой поправке к Конституции США закон об изменении зарплаты членов Палаты представителей и Сенаторов Соединённых Штатов вступает в силу не ранее проведения следующих выборов в Палату представителей.

Комитеты

• Комитет по сельскому хозяйству
• Комитет по ассигнованиям
• Комитет по делам вооружённых сил
• Комитет по бюджету
• Комитет по вопросам образования и труда
• Комитет по энергетике и торговле
• Комитет по финансовым услугам
• Комитет по иностранным делам
• Комитет по национальной безопасности
• Комитет по жилищному администрированию
• Комитет по вопросам судопроизводства
• Комитет по природным ресурсам
• Комитет по надзору и правительственной реформе
• Комитет по регламенту
• Комитет по науке и технике
• Комитет по малому бизнесу
• Комитет по стандартам официального поведения
• Комитет по транспорту и инфраструктуре
• Комитет по делам ветеранов
• Комитет по методам и средствам
• Совместный экономический комитет
• Совместный комитет Конгресса по церемонии инаугурации
• Совместный комитет по вопросам налогообложения
• Постоянный специальный Палаты комитет по разведке
• Специальный комитет Палаты по энергетической независимости и глобальному потеплению

Примечания

Ссылки

• Directory of Representatives / House.gov (англ.)
• The U.S. House of Representatives / House.gov (англ.)

Эта страница в последний раз была отредактирована 11 февраля 2023 в 16:34.

Как только страница обновилась в Википедии она обновляется в Вики 2.
Обычно почти сразу, изредка в течении часа.

В Палата представителей США, широко известный как нижняя палата из Конгресс США, вместе с Сенат США, обычно называемые верхней палатой, являются двумя частями законодательной ветви власти федеральное правительство США. Как и его коллега, Дом был основан Конституция Соединенных Штатов и созван на свое первое заседание 4 марта 1789 г. Федеральный зал в Нью-Йорк. История этого учреждения начинается за несколько лет до этой даты, на заре Американская революционная война.

Континентальные конгрессы

Эта статья является частью набор на
Дом Соединенных Штатов представителей
История Соединенных Штатов палата представителей
Члены
Текущие члены (по старшинству по возрасту без права голоса ) Бывшие члены Комитеты холма (DCCC NRCC ) Избирательные округа Спикер палаты (список выступающих список выборов ) Партийные лидеры Демократическое собрание Республиканская конференция
Политика и процедура
Комитет полного состава Закрытая сессия (список ) Саксбе исправить Комитеты (список ) Процедуры Оговорка о происхождении Звонок кворума Единодушное согласие Зарплаты Распределение (Метод Хантингтона – Хилла ) Изменение границ Джерримандеринг Статьи об импичменте Самостоятельно выполняющееся правило Приостановление правил Общий билет Множественный округ
Места
Капитолий США Дом офисных зданий (Пушка Форд Longworth Rayburn )

В Первый континентальный конгресс Осенью 1774 года состоялась встреча представителей двенадцати из семнадцати североамериканских колоний Великобритании. Континентальный Конгресс направил Королю список жалоб. Георгий III. Когда король не ответил, и Американская революционная война началось в апреле 1775 г. Второй континентальный конгресс был созван — на этот раз с участием тринадцати колоний. Год спустя, 4 июля 1776 года, Континентальный конгресс объявил тринадцать колоний свободными и независимыми государствами, назвав их «Соединенными Штатами Америки». Однако это не было официальное имя, поэтому слово «объединенный» не использовалось в Декларация независимости, «Штаты» пишутся с заглавной буквы только потому, что все существительные в английском языке были заглавными до Индустриальная революция. Второй Континентальный Конгресс продолжал исполнять свои обязанности, в то время как война за независимость продолжалась, в результате чего Статьи Конфедерации — первая конституция страны — 1777 г., ратифицированная всеми штатами к 1781 г.

Статьи Конфедерации и новая Конституция

Под Статьи Конфедерации, то Конгресс Конфедерации был однопалатный орган, в котором все государства были представлены в равной степени и в котором каждое государство имело право вето на большинство действий. Государства могли и сделали, игнорировать что прошло. Неэффективность федерального правительства в соответствии со статьями заставила Конгресс призвать Конвенция 1787 г..

Одним из самых спорных вопросов, стоящих перед Конвентом, была структура Конгресса. Джеймс Мэдисон с План Вирджинии призвал к двухпалатному Конгрессу; нижняя палата избиралась бы народом напрямую, а верхняя палата избиралась бы нижней палатой. План получил поддержку делегатов из крупных штатов, таких как Вирджиния, Массачусетс и Пенсильвания, поскольку он призывал к представительству на основе численности населения. Меньшие государства, однако, предпочитали План Нью-Джерси, который призвал к однопалатному Конгрессу с равным представительством штатов. В конце концов, компромисс, известный как Компромисс Коннектикута или был достигнут Великий Компромисс; одна палата Конгресса (Палата представителей) обеспечит пропорциональное представительство, тогда как другая (Сенат) обеспечит равное представительство. Конституция была ратифицирована к концу 1788 года, а ее полное выполнение было назначено на 4 марта 1789 года.

18-ый век

Палата представителей начала работу 1 апреля 1789 года, когда впервые собрала кворум.^[1] с 59 членами, избранными из 11 штатов. В 1790 году Северная Каролина и Род-Айленд избрали своих представителей (см .: 1788 и 1789 выборы в Палату представителей США ), в результате чего общее количество представителей достигло 65.^[2][3][4]

в 1-й Конгресс США, Фредерик Мюленберг, лютеранский министр и политик Пенсильвании, был первым Спикер палаты.

19 век

Начало 19 века ознаменовалось утверждением постепенной независимости Конгресса от Президентство начиная с президентство Джеймса Мэдисона и далее. Палата представителей стала ведущим учреждением в Конгрессе, первоначально затмевая Сенат. На протяжении большей части первой половины XIX века баланс между бесплатными к северу и рабовладельческий Юг существовали в Сенате, поскольку числа свободных и раб государства были равны. Однако, поскольку Север был гораздо более густонаселенным, чем Юг, он доминировал в Палате представителей. В 1825 году новый спикер Палаты представителей Генри Клей также официально объявил, что он и его последователи отделятся от Эндрю Джексона и сформируют Национальная республиканская партия. Клей проиграл Джексону на президентских выборах 1832 года и перешел в сенат.

^[5]

В течение гражданская война, ключевым политиком в Конгрессе был Таддеус Стивенс, как председатель Комитет путей и средств и как лидер республиканского пола. Он руководил основным законодательством, которое финансировало военные усилия и произвело революцию в экономической политике страны в отношении тарифов, облигаций, подоходных и акцизных налогов, национальных банков, подавления выпуска денег государственными банками, валюты в долларах и грантов на землю западных железных дорог.^[6]

Стивенс также был одним из главных политиков в отношении Реконструкции и получил голосование Палаты представителей об импичменте против президента Эндрю Джонсона (который был оправдан Сенатом в 1868 году). Ханс Трефусс, его ведущий биограф, заключает, что Стивенс «был одним из самых влиятельных представителей, когда-либо служивших в Конгрессе. [Он доминировал] в Палате представителей с его остроумием, знанием парламентского законодательства и чистой силой воли, хотя он часто был неспособен к этому. преобладают «.^[7] Историографические взгляды на Стивенса за прошедшие годы резко изменились: от взглядов начала 20-го века на Стивенса и радикальных республиканцев как на инструменты большого бизнеса, движимые ненавистью к белому Югу, к точке зрения неоаболиционисты 1950-х годов и позже, которые приветствовали их усилия по предоставлению равных прав освобожденным рабам.

Демократы были слабым меньшинством с 1861 по 1874 год, а затем главное возвращение в 1874 году выиграв 93 места, принадлежащие Республиканской партии, и став большинством. В Позолоченный век был отмечен близким балансом в палате, когда стороны чередовали контроль.

Между 1860 и 1920 годами средний срок пребывания в должности членов палаты удвоился с четырех до восьми лет. Это число отражает рост «конгрессменного карьеризма». В Доме стала развиваться более устойчивая культура, сессии Дома стали длиннее, и члены Дома стали специализироваться в определенных областях политики. Власть была децентрализована от Спикер палаты, а старшинство почти гарантировало продвижение по палате. Растущее значение федерального правительства, растущее признание продолжительной службы в Конгрессе и (после 1896 ) снижение партийной конкурентоспособности избирательных округов — все это способствовало увеличению средней продолжительности срока полномочий членов палаты представителей.^[8]

20 и 21 века

В начале 20 века в обеих палатах Конгресса выросло партийное руководство. В Палате представителей офис Оратор стал чрезвычайно мощным, достигнув зенита при республиканских Джозеф Герни Кэннон. Особенно, комитет председатели в обеих палатах оставались особенно сильными до реформы правил 1970-х годов.

7 ноября 1916 г. Жаннетт Ранкин была избрана на место в Палате представителей штата Монтана, став первой женщиной-членом Конгресса.^[9] В 1973 году спикер палаты Карл Альберт назначил Фельду Лупер первой женской страницей в Палате представителей.^[10]

После начала Великая депрессия и Новая сделка, демократы контролировали Дом с 1931 по 1994 год, за двумя исключениями (1946 и 1952 ), поскольку Коалиция Нового курса Был успешен. Однако с точки зрения законодательства Консервативная коалиция обычно блокировал либеральные законодательные предложения, за исключением 1964-65 гг., когда президент Линдон Джонсон имел большинство, чтобы передать его Великое общество предложения. Самым важным лидером был давний спикер-демократ. Сэм Рейберн. Республиканцы под Ньют Гингрич вернулся к большинству в выборы 1994 г., как часть Республиканская революция это дало партии обе палаты и большинство губернаторских должностей в том году.

Демократы получили 30 мест в Выборы 2006 г., восстановление контроля и избрание Нэнси Пелоси как первая женщина-спикер. Они усилили свой контроль во время Выборы 2008 г., получив дополнительно 21 место. Однако республиканцы вскоре свели на нет эти достижения, получив 63 места в Выборы 2010 г., крупнейшее изменение места на выборах с 1948 года. Республиканский контроль над домом оставался до Выборы 2018.

Количество представителей

Конгресс имеет право регулировать размер Палаты представителей, и размер Палаты менялся на протяжении многих лет в ответ на принятие новых штатов, перераспределение после переписи населения и Гражданскую войну.^[11]

Год	1789	1791	1793	1803	1813	1815	1817	1819	1821	1833	1835	1843	1845	1847	1851	1853	1857
Представители	65	69	105	141	182	183	185	187	213	240	242	223	225	227	233	234	237

Год	1861	1863	1865	1867	1869	1873	1883	1889	1891	1893	1901	1911	1913	1959	1961	1963
Представители	178	183	191	193	243	293	325	330	333	357	386	391	435	436	437	435

В 1911 году Конгресс принял Закон о разделе 1911 года, также известный как «Публичный закон 62-5», который ограничивал размер Палаты представителей Соединенных Штатов в 435 мест.^[12][13] Аризона, Нью-Мексико, Аляска и Гавайи получили по одному представителю, когда они впервые вступили в профсоюз. Во время следующего перераспределения размер Палаты снова был ограничен 435 местами, при этом места были разделены между штатами по численности населения, причем каждый штат получил как минимум одно место.

Посредством 2000-е население США увеличилось более чем в три раза после расширения Палаты представителей до 435 мест в 1911 году; соответственно, предложения стали вносить такие комментаторы, как Джордж Ф. Уилл, Роберт Новак, и Пол Джейкоб для дальнейшего увеличения размер дома.^[14] Одно из таких предложений — Правило Вайоминга, призывает добавить в Конгресс достаточное количество членов, чтобы сократить население среднего округа Конгресса до населения самого маленького округа штата с наименьшей численностью населения; в 1990 году это привело бы к общему размеру Дома 547.

использованная литература

дальнейшее чтение

• Американская национальная биография (1999), содержит биографии всех политиков, которых уже нет в живых.
• Александр, Де Альва Стэнвуд. История и процедура Палаты представителей (1916) Альва Стэнвуд Александр & dcontributors = De% 20Альва% 20Стэнвуд% 20Александр онлайн-издание
• Бароне, Майкл и Грант Уджифуса, Альманах американской политики 1976: Сенаторы, представители и губернаторы: их отчеты и результаты выборов, их штаты и округа (1975).
• Дэвидсон, Роджер Х. и Уолтер Дж. Олешек, ред. (1998). Конгресс и его члены, 6 изд. Вашингтон: Ежеквартально в Конгрессе. (Законодательная процедура, неформальная практика и информация для участников)
• Роджер Х. Дэвидсон, Сьюзен Уэбб Хэммонд, Раймонд В. Смок, редакторы; Хозяева дома: лидерство в Конгрессе на протяжении двух веков Westview Press, 1998 г. онлайн-издание
• Галлоуэй; Джордж Б. История Палаты представителей (1962) онлайн-издание
• Грин, Мэтью Н. Спикер палаты представителей: исследование лидерства (Издательство Йельского университета; 2010) 292 страницы; Исследует партийное давление и другие факторы, сформировавшие руководство спикера Палаты представителей США; фокусируется на периоде с 1940 года.
• Охота, Ричард. (1998). «Использование отчетов Конгресса в классе», Журнал истории OAH, 12 (Лето): 34–37.
• Макнил, Нил. Кузница демократии: Палата представителей (1963) популярная история журналиста
• Ремини, Роберт В. Дом: история Палаты представителей (2006) стандартная научная история
• Ричи, Дональд А. (1997). «Что делает расследование Конгресса успешным». Журнал истории OAH, 11 (Весна): 6–8.
• Уилсон, Вудроу. (1885). Правительство Конгресса.
• Зелизер, Джулиан Э. На Капитолийском холме: борьба за реформу Конгресса и ее последствия, 1948-2000 гг. (2004)
• Зелизер, Джулиан Э. изд. Американский конгресс: построение демократии (2004), очерки ведущих ученых
• Зелизер, Джулиан Э. «Сжигание дома: Ньют Гингрич, падение спикера и подъем Новой республиканской партии» (Пингвин, 2020), сосредоточьтесь на Джим Райт и Ньют Гингрич в 1990-е гг.

Смотрите также

• История Сената США
• Партийные подразделения Конгрессов США