United States House of Representatives

Table of contents

1 Members 2 Activities 3 History 4 Composition of the 108th Congress (2003-2005) 5 A cable TV viewer's guide to the House 5.1 Voting 5.2 A typical day's proceedings 6 Committees 6.3 Committees of the United States House of Representatives 6.4 Joint House and Senate Committees 6.5 Special Committees 7 See Also 8 Related links 9 External links

Members

Members of the House are elected for a term of two years. Elections alternately coincide with the presidential election; when they do not, they are called mid-term elections.

The 435 seats in the House are apportioned among the fifty states by population, as determined by a decennial census. Members are elected from districts through a first past the post method. Consequently, disputes over the boundaries of the districts, which must be redrawn after each census, can be particularly contentious. Subject to constitutional requirements established by case law, and in some states to review by the United States Department of Justice to ensure compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act, the government of each state draws the boundaries for the House districts within the state's borders.

If a vacancy occurs in a House seat between elections, it may be filled only by a special election.

Presently the state delegations in the House range from fifty-three members for California, to one each for Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming. There are also five members without voting rights on the floor (but who may vote in committee proceedings): these non-voting "delegates" are from the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands and serve two-year terms just as ordinary Members do. A fifth delegate, known as a "Resident Commissioner" from Puerto Rico serves a four-year term. Apportionment of House seats among the states changed slightly with the 108th Congress elected on November 5, 2002, which took office in January, 2003. That Congress, and the four that follow, have been reapportioned on the basis of the April 1, 2000, United States Census. (See complete apportionment numbers in United States Congress.)

See also List of members of the U.S. House of Representatives

Activities

The powers and duties of the House are described in the United States Constitution, Article I, Section 2. The House is presided over by the Speaker of the House, who is elected by the House; although historically every Speaker has been a Member of the House, this is not a constitutional requirement (Art. I, s. 2. merely specifies that the House "shall chuse ["sic"] their Speaker and other Officers"). In matters of legislation it is essentially co-equal with the Senate, with the exception of the rule provided by the Constitution that all bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives. While the House has the power of impeachment over federal officials, the Senate has the duty to try these officials. The Senate also has exclusive power to ratify treaties and approve presidential appointments.

Because of the large size of the House of Representatives, much of the power of the House is in the committees. The House Committee on Rules is particularly powerful because each bill submitted to the floor of the house must have a rule assigned by the committee which limits the amount of debate and more importantly specifies what amendments can or cannot be allowed in the course of the debate. The rule approved by the Rules Committee is subject to acceptance or rejection by a vote of the full House.

Another important committee is the House Committee on Ways and Means which is responsible for taxation and is particularly powerful because of the constitutional requirement (in Article 1, Section 7) that bills raising revenue shall originate in the House. The House Committee on Appropriations is another important committee whose power derives from its ability to consider funding for government projects.

Unlike senators, most House members have little individual power, and typically will ally themselves in informal caucuses with other members from similar districts.

The House chamber is located in the south wing of the United States Capitol, in Washington, DC.

History

On August 8, 1911, Public Law 62-5 set the number of representatives in the House of Representatives at 435 but the law didn't take effect until 1913.

In 1917 Jeannette Rankin became the first female elected representative.

Composition of the 108th Congress (2003-2005)

+	Republicans: 228	-	Independent: 1 (Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) is not affiliated with any party, but caucuses with Democrats for organizational purposes.)
*	Democrats: 205		Vacant Seat: 1 (Frank Ballance (D-NC) resigned on June 8, 2004 due to health issues.

Speaker: J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) Majority Leader: Thomas D. DeLay (R-Texas) Minority Leader: Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)

A cable TV viewer's guide to the House

Minding the House can be a rewarding experience for those with time to spare.

Since 1979, C-SPAN, the cable television network, has televised the House proceedings live. Also, the Official Reporters of Debates take down every word spoken on the House floor, and the heavily redacted transcripts of the proceedings can be found in the Congressional Record. (The Congressional Record is also printed daily.)

The House, when in session, generally convenes at 12:00 Noon (Eastern Time) and continues until adjournment late in the day. The first thing one notices about the House chamber is that most of the seats in the chamber are empty most of the time. Most Members of Congress ("members") are usually busy attending committee meetings, working in their offices, or doing other things while the House is in session. If there is a floor vote, or a quorum call, the electronic voting system is activated and a sequence of bells rings throughout the House side of the Capitol and in the House office building complex. When the bells ring, members flock to the House floor, typically travelling the one-block distance from their offices by foot or by electric trolley. During the last few minutes of the 15 minutes usually allotted for an electronically recorded vote, the chamber fills with members and just as quickly empties again after the vote. It can be politically damaging at home if a member misses too many votes, and the political leadership therefore tries to schedule votes during times when members are likely to be around. Sometimes several votes are held all at once at the end of the day. Fridays usually mean short sessions, no sessions, and/or no votes. This is so that members who live on the other side of the country can fly home for the weekend. Members also have to punch in for quorum calls, which can be demanded by any member if (as is usually the case) fewer members than a quorum are present on the floor.

Voting

Members vote by inserting a plastic voting card, which doubles as a photo ID, into terminals located on the backs of seats in the House chamber. The member presses a red button to vote "No" or "Nay," a green button to vote "Aye" or "Yea," and a yellow button to vote "Present" (i.e. the member abstains from voting) or to register his or her presence at a quorum call. Members' names are displayed on a blue, backlit panel above the Speaker's chair, and when a member votes, a red, green, or yellow light appears adjacent to his or her name. Displays on the side walls of the chamber display a running vote total.

If the voting system is down, either the clerk calls the roll and members enunciate their votes, or a "teller" vote is held in which the members fill our red or green or yellow voting cards and give them to the clerk. For more information, Recorded vote.

A typical day's proceedings

Every two years at the beginning of a session of Congress, the House adopts the same Rules of the House as was in force during the preceding Congress. But most of the rules in the book are hopelessly antiquated and are ignored.

At 12:00 Noon, the Speaker walks into the chamber and gavels the House to order. The Chaplain, or some guest clergy member from someone's home district, offers a prayer. After the prayer, a period for "one-minute speeches" takes place. A member who wishes to give a one-minute speech is recognized by the Speaker: "For what purpose does the gentleman [gentlewoman] from [state] arise?" "I ask unanimous consent to address the House for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks." "Without objection, it is so ordered. The gentleman is recognized."

(If the Speaker of the House does not feel like presiding for whatever reason, he appoints a member of his party as Speaker Pro Tempore.)

Two things of note:

1. Much House business is conducted by "unanimous consent." Any member may object, but nobody usually does.
2. To "revise and extend" one's remarks means that the member may submit remarks in written form to be printed in the Congressional Record. What the member puts in the Congressional Record may be longer or shorter or completely different from what was actually said on the floor -- the only verbatim account of the proceedings would be a videotape recorded from C-SPAN.