House Vs House Of Representatives Essay

Improved Essays
The United States Senate and House of Representatives make up the legislative branch. Both the House and the Senate create and pass pieces of legislation. The House is made up of over 400 members and the Senate is made up of 100 members. The House has to have more structured than the Senate, because of the number of members. The Senate is more relax and it is harder to control.

The reason it is harder to control the Senate is because the Senate is as partisan as the House and is not hierarchical. The House members are more partisan than Senate members. One reason the House is more partisan is because not everyone is about to talk. There are over four hundred members in the House of Representatives and it would take a very long time to get these done if everyone was able to talk. In the Senate, everyone is able to speak on a
…show more content…
In the past filibusters were not common. Strom Thurmond set the record for the longest filibuster. Thurmond was trying to stop Civil Rights Legislation to pass in the 1950s. Filibusters were only used for important issues like civil rights and other pressing issues. Now filibusters are very common and the threat of the filibuster is used even more. In today's time, Senators threaten to filibuster in order to get the piece of legislation changed, amended, or deleted altogether. It takes sixty votes of cloture to stop a filibuster. This is why the majority leader and minority leader tries to get everyone in agree with the terms of debate so a filibuster will not happen.

Overall, the Senate is harder to control because it is not as hierarchical than the House. The Senate is less partisan than the House, but its partisan has been groaning since the 1990s. Also, filibusters have changed over time. Filibuster were not used often in the pass, but Thurmond changed it. After Thurmond filibusters were used more frequently and the threat of using one is used even

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The first time I had ever seen a filibuster was Rand Paul’s filibuster on the Patriot Act. A filibuster is when a member of the Senate uses prolonged speech to obstruct progress in a legislative assembly. During the filibuster of the Patriot Act earlier this year Rand Paul stood on the Senate floor for 12 hours or more and talked without eating, using the bathroom, or even sitting down. Now this is true passion for a topic. A lot of people though are against the filibuster because it halts a lot of progress on many different items, and some even blame the filibuster for the reason Congress is having some many issues at the moment.…

    • 320 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    A decentralized Congress protects and enhances individual interest, although quick decision making is sacrificed and delays and discussion must be allowed. However, the delays in time can lead to more thoughtful decision making. The people do not favor Congress because they feel it doesn't represent the viewpoint of the people and they are slow in their decision making. 7.…

    • 272 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    William E. Hudson's "American Democracy in Peril" points out different flows in the America's government system. Chapter 2 "The First Challenge: Separation of Power" gives a insight on how the separation of power system is cause government to be unaccountable and unresponsive. It also talks about how a parliamentarian system is more efficient. First how does Separation of Powers prevent control, responsiveness, and accountability? Separation-of-power makes it so that no one branch has compete power and they all work independently as well as together.…

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The legislative branch is an essential part of Texas Government because it is the only branch of government responsible for proposing and passing laws. Although Texas has a very limited government, many view the legislative branch as the least limited in Texas. The Texas state legislature is extremely important because of the way its structure limits it’s power, the ability of legislature to completely determine budget, and also the procedure that a bill must go through to become a law in Texas. All of these factors (and many more) have helped create the limited but effective Texas government we know and love today.…

    • 1217 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    In the 19th century, the Senate was a focal point of the looming sectional crisis in the United States. In the Senate, where the Constitution established an equality of states, there was a delicate balance between North and South, slave and free states. Senators skillfully crafted legislation designed to resolve sectional conflicts and avoid secession. Through reasoned discourse, the Senate was able to pass key policies that helped the country prosper despite these rising tensions. This period between 1820 and 1850 is known as the Senate’s Golden Age.…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    United States congress is a bicameral legislature with a lower chamber known as the House of Representatives and the higher being known as the Senate. Congress men and women have various rights and privileges to help them serve the nation the best way possible. Congress checks on the courts and on the President. The constitution gives very broad powers to the congress “All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a congress of the United States” (Politics in America) The founding fathers envisioned congress being the most powerful branch of government.…

    • 1144 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The minority party in the Senate has very similar tasks as the House of Representatives, they have a minority leader who also works very close to the majority leader, and then they elect a whip…

    • 429 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Often, the campaign process reveals the fault within America’s electoral system, which is now relevant in light of the 2016 presidential election. The political leaders in America, (specifically congressmen) often use tactics that marginalize minority groups and encourage undue voter representation in order to secure their political position and increase their party’s power. Political leaders using tactic such as these are difficult to remove from power, despite public opinion. The elections and campaigns in America do not provide a good system for choosing the best political leaders, nor should they be admired and emulated, because the political leaders are often able to manipulate the elections using tactics such as gerrymandering.…

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Limits Of Congress Essay

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Did you know that the average age of the senate is 63 and the House at 50. This is the 111th congress and it is the oldest in history. Congress men and women are growing old and have no term limit which means that they could run until they get elected out. This means that all the congressmen and women are trying to do from the day they step in, is try to get reelected and not focus on bigger issues. This is where term limits comes in and limits congressmen and women to a certain amount of years in office.…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Careerism In Congress

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Also the congress generally exercises its negative powers to keep the status quo rather than create new policies that possibly could benefit the collective good. Correspondingly, constituents of the minority party are less likely to see policy they agree with and because voters can only vote for a change of the congress members, but not a change in the institution a cycle begins to form. This cycle benefits the majority party because the majority party constituents will most likely be satisfied because more legislation in their favor will be passed. Therefore, congress does not represent the nation as a whole under strong party…

    • 994 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Furthermore, Senators provide counsel on treaties with other nations and keep the other two branches of the Federal Government in check. The other part of the Congress—the House of Representatives consists of 435 people, each divided based on the State’s population. The House of Representatives, with the help of the Senate, passes federal laws. However, the House does have some special powers. For instance, the House has the power to initiate revenue bills and impeach members, whom they believe were in violation of law.…

    • 1224 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Members Of Congress Essay

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The United States and most Latin American nations have congress, Great Britain and most Western European nations have parliaments. A person becomes a member of a parliament such as the British House of Commons by being nominated by party leaders, voters generally choose between parties and parliaments tend to be made up of people loyal to the national party leadership who meet to debate and vote on party issues. A person becomes a member of the United States Congress by winning both a primary and a general election, elections in which personalities are usually most important to voters. A congress tends to be made up of people who think of themselves as independent representatives of their districts or states and who while willing to support…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Initially the filibuster was conceived as a way to prevent majorities from ignoring the minority which means that they would have a chance to argue and discuss their side of the argument before the passing of a bill.…

    • 771 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Republican Party is moving in a more conservative direction and the Democratic Party staying consistently liberal on major issues of public policy (Jones 2001). Particularly in congress empirical research shows the parties in our government are becoming more homogenous in their political positions, while the differences among the party’s on policy issues continues to magnify (Jones 2001). In congress alone, polarization is visible by that fact that “since 1990 more than half of the congressional votes have featured a majority of one party opposing a majority of another” (Jones 2001). This intense polarization has had major effects on the relationship between congress and the president in particular. Looking at the theory of divided government it explains that legislation is less likely to get passed when the…

    • 1004 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Both the House of Representatives and the Senate make up the Congress. The House of Representatives have specific powers assigned just for them. Some of these powers are if there is a tie within the Electoral College for President the House can pick the President and the House also has the power to impeach (throw out of office) any federal official. The senate also has its own powers.…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays