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Introduction House of Representatives The Senate Making Laws The Veto

  

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Books & Reading

Books & Reading

What is the role of the Internet in our legislative process?

The House of Representatives is a diverse body of individuals. There have been a few "celebrity" Members of the House throughout the course of its history. Can you cite a few examples and provide some brief background on them?

How and when did the House cap it’s membership to 435 and has there ever been an instance when the House had more than 435 Members and why? 

Does the Speaker of the House need to be a Member of the House? If not, has there ever been a Speaker who was not a Representative?


Kids in the House

House of Representatives The Senate Making Laws The Veto

House of Representatives

The House of Representatives was established as a result of the Great Compromise. The House is larger than the Senate.

The Constitution gave Congress the power to determine the size of the House and to divide representation according to state population. States with large populations have more representatives than small states.

The Constitution provided for at least one representative for each state. Originally, there was one representative for every 30,000 people. Today, there is one representative per several hundred thousand people. There are six states with just one representative per state. They are Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming. California has the most representatives, a total of 53.

U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands) and the District of Columbia have more limited representation.

The Constitution requires a census to be taken every 10 years. If a state's population increases, that state's number of representatives can increase too. There were 59 members at the first session of the House of Representatives. Today there are 435 members. Representatives are elected to serve for a period of 2 years.

Only the House can introduce spending bills.

The Constitution states the qualifications for being a Representative. To be a Representative a person must be at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for at least 7 years, and when elected, must be an inhabitant of that state in which he shall be chosen.

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In 1866, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was the first woman to run for the U.S. House of Representatives, even though she was not eligible to vote. She ran as an Independent from New York State, receiving 24 votes of 12,000 that were cast.

Surf with Uncle Sam
Surf with Uncle Sam

Word Spy
Word Spy

Projects You Can Do

Gather a group of friends or classmates. Choose one friend or classmate to be the President and separate him or her from the group of your friends or classmates. Give that friend or classmate the sign that says "President." Choose another friend or classmate to be the bill and stick a post-it note that says "bill" on him or her. Divide the remainder of your friends or classmates into two groups, one larger group (give that group the "House" sign) and a proportionately smaller group (give that group the "Senate" sign). You will also be creating subgroups for the committees, either up front or after the bill is introduced.

Walk (literally make "the bill" friend or classmate walk) through the process of becoming a law. It may be helpful to use a current real-life example. Demonstrate the process of the bill being introduced, going through a committee, passing one House, going to the next House, committee, and then to the President. Explain the actions the President can take.
          
Redo the process, but this time change the bill in the first House (i.e. take off a shoe or something) and explain how a joint committee works. In this scenario, have your friends or classmates from both the House and the Senate gather for a few moments to emphasize the joint committee.

 

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The Dirksen Congressional CenterCopyright 2008