Outline the differences between the House and the Senate
(15 marks)

House of Representatives is the lower house of the US Congress and other legislatures, including most US state governments and the Senate is the smaller upper assembly in the US together they make up the United States Congress.

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In the Senate there are 100 members whereas there are about 435 in the House making it more difficult to gain a position of leadership in the House e.g. in January 2003, Senator Bill became majority party leader after 8 years in senate while Ms. Pelosi became minority leader after being in the house since 1987. In the House each state has a certain number of members proportional to the population of the state. Each member represents a district. By the time of 2002 elections, California had 53 representatives, while Wyoming had just one. Members of the House are elected for 2 year terms and the constitution states that to be a member of the House you must: be at least 25, have been a US citizen for at least 7 years and are a resident of the state in which your district is situated. whereby the in the Senate the constitution states that to be a senator you must be at least 30, they have been a US citizen for at least 9 years and they have be a resident of the State you represent. Each state has 2 senators, each senator represents the entire state; they are elected for 6 year terms. One-third of the senate is up for re-election every 2 years. Senators are also more recognized – known state wide and nationwide whilst house members are not. The senate is seen as a launching pad for a presidential campaign – Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, Barack Obama, and John McCain. The senate is also seen as a requirement pool for vice-presidential candidates – either formal or serving members on the senate

The House has three exclusive powers such as the power to initiate money bills – only the House was directly elected so some people believed that because of this, the House should have first say in spending the people’s money. Perhaps most significant power has to be the power of impeachment where the House can formally accuse any member of the executive and judicial branches of the federal government which has been used this power 17 times since 1789. Another exclusive power would be the Electoral College deadlock this is used when/if no candidate wins an absolute majority of Electoral College Votes, the House elects the president, and this was used in 1800 & 1824. Similarly The Senate also has exclusive powers however these are seen as more prestigious compared to those of the House, such as the power to confirm the senate confirms many appointments made by the president, including appointments to the federal judiciary and many others. The Senate also has the power to ratify – by a 2/3rds majority; senate can ratify all treaties negotiated by the President, the President has to keep the senate fully informed throughout treaty negotiations. Although the House has the power to accuse, the Senate has the power to try that case of impeachment – if found guilty, the person is removed from office for example President Clinton was acquitted by the Senate in 1999.

Another difference between the House and the Senate is leadership. The House has a Speaker who is elected by the entire House membership at the beginning of each new congress (every 2 years) Recent examples include; Democrat Tip O'Neill and Republican Newt Gingrich (from 1994-1999). The speaker is usually the nominee of the majority party in the House at the time and is not required by the Constitution to be a serving member of the House, though all speakers have been. They’re next in line to the presidency after the vice-president, but this is less significant with the passage of the 25th Amendment requiring the vice-presidency to be filled if a vacancy should occur there. The speaker is seen as the leader of majority party in the House and, if of a different party from the President, may act as the major spokesperson for the party, a kind of 'leader of the opposition'. In the Senate however the Vice President is the leader but delegates the actual presiding to someone else - the President Pro Tempore who is the highest-ranking member of the Senate. By custom, this is also the senior senator in the majority party. In the absence of the Vice President, the President Pro Tempore may preside over Senate sessions. Normally, however, neither the Vice President nor the President Pro Tempore presides over the Senate. Instead, junior senators of the majority party preside over Senate sessions. The current President Pro Tempore of the Senate is Senator Patrick Leahy who has been a senator since 1975.
Overall the difference between the House and the Senate include the constitutional differences such as the number of members and how long they are in congress for, there is also the exclusive power that comes with the job and finally there is a difference in leadership in the House and Senate.

What factors affect members of congress decisions on how to vote? (15 arks)

When it comes to voting in Congress the House and Senate members are called upon to cast a large number of votes each year - in 2008, 690 recorded votes in the House and 215 in the Senate. They might be voting on budgets, amendments to bills, second or third readings, bills from conference committees, constitutional amendments, or in the Senate on treaties or appointments made by the president.

In the US Congress, Political party are one of a number of determinants factors which determine how congress votes. A party vote is a vote in which the majority of one party votes against the majority of the other party. E.g. A vote on the 9/11 recommendations implementation bill was taken in 2004; the majority of republicans voted yes; 213-8, and the majority of Democrats voted no; 69-125. In recent years only around 50-60% of votes in each chamber have been party votes. A more typical vote in the House or the senate is one in which the majority of members of both parties vote the same way e.g. A vote was taken in the House in 2004 on the Intelligence reform and terrorism prevention bill; Republicans voted 152-67 and Democrats voted 183-8.

As well as parties Interest groups can influence the vote of congress. Senators and House members are out to please the population and take the opinions of the public very seriously. So interest groups will use a number of different ways to try to influence the way House and Senate members cast their votes. These include contacts with members and staff in Congress, as well as attempts to generate public support favourable to their position. They will make visits and phone calls, provide evidence to support their position, organise rallies, demonstrations and petition drives both in Washington and around the country, as well as engage in significant fundraising. Money raised will be used to fund politicians who support their cause and to seek to defeat those who do not. Certain policy areas have seen significant pressure group activity, including the environment, abortion, gun control, health care, welfare reform and international.

Another factor is the Constituents; the House and Senate members use a variety of methods to find out what their constituents want whilst working from Washington DC, such as visits, phone calls, letters, faxes and e-mails from their constituents, keeping in constant touch with their offices back in the state/district. House and senate members also conduct 'surgeries' with individual constituents and they address various groups such as chambers of commerce, professional groups, Round table lunches etc. A member of Congress is meant to be more than just a 'delegate' of their constituents and may need to balance other factors, as well as the national good, against what is perceived as being just locally popular. In 2008 Senator Elizabeth Dole lost her re-election bid for failing to be attentive enough to the wishes of the voters of North Carolina and paying too few visits to the state. Her opponents reminded voters that she had only visited North Carolina 13 times in 2006. This goes to show how not staying in contact with your constituent and not voting in its favour can lose you re-election.

Another factor is the administration this means member of the executive branch. Members of the administration from the departments and agencies, as well as the white house itself, will keep in contact with members of Congress and will attempt to persuade them to cast their votes in certain ways. They will do this through phones calls as well as visits. They will talk with member of the relevant committees, with staff members working in the Washington offices of House and Senate members. Often, the White House itself will get involved. This will be done either by the congressional Liaison office or directly by the President himself. Such persuasion will need to be regular and bipartisan (of two parts). It is important that members of congress are approached regularly and not only just before an important vote is coming up. It is also important that those from departments and the White House are willing to do favors in return, offering a two-way street of mutual cooperation and this will need to be done with members from both parties. But for an administration to talk only with members of their party is usually a recipe for disaster. Things tend to happen in Congress when they are supported by a bipartisan coalition.
Finally personal beliefs, on certain votes, a House or Senate member may vote in a certain way because of their own personal beliefs. Issues upon which this factor is likely to be votes regarding such matters as abortion, capital punishment, tax increases (or tax cuts), federal subsidies or defense spending. There are, for example, members of congress who, because of their own personal beliefs, will never vote for federal subsidies to an industry or group, even if that means going against a party line, the administration's views or their own constituents.

The importance of these will vary from one politician to another and from one vote to another but they still do influence the way in which congress vote.