THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Basis of Representation. The House of Representatives has been organised on popular basis. According
to the Constitution, the Congress determines its total strength, subject to two conditions: "Each state
shall have at least one representative irrespective of its population", and 'the electors in each state shall
have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branches of the state legislatures'. In
addition to it there must be at least one representative for at least 30,000 population. At present, the
total membership of this House is 435, under Re-Apportionment Act of 1949. Congress issues orders for
holding of census for redistribution of seats after every ten years.

Method of Election. At present, electoral districts are formed in every state for the return of deputies to
the House. The practice of gerrymandering is very common in this respect, viz., demarcation of the
boundaries of electoral districts in a way as to favour the ruling group. Moreover, the electoral method
carries all the defects implicit in single member constituencies. There is a possibility that a political party
may get the majority of votes in the electoral districts while the other party may get majority within the
House. Legislature of every state is authorised to decide about the time, place and method of election.
The Congress however is empowered to make alterations in these laws.

Qualifications for voters and method of elections are determined under the state laws. But the
Constitution has made it obligatory not to deprive any person from the right to vote on the basis of such
discriminations as colour, cast, creed, religion or sex. Under 26th amendment of the Constitution, the
minimum age requirement for voters has been prescribed eighteen years for all local and federal
elections. The other rules relating to the method of election differ from state to state. Rigging in
elections has been, declared as an offence to be tried under the federal laws.

Qualifications for Membership. The Constitution prescribes the following qualifications for the
membership of the House:

1. A person must be at least 25 years of age.

2. He must be a citizen and resident of America for at least seven years.

3. He cannot hold any office of profit in the government during his membership of the House.

4. The candidate must be an inhabitant of the state from where he intends to contest the election
for seat of the House of Representatives. According to a convention developed over the years, he must
also be a resident of the district from where he intends to contest the election.

Duration. The members of the House are elected for a period of two years, which is, of course, too short
a period to get full knowledge of the procedural rules of the House. Moreover, the members have to
start thinking and preparing for new elections very soon. That accounts for the comparatively low
quality of its membership. The members try to get maximum benefits for their constituencies within
short time so as to make the chances of their success bright in the next elections, Nevertheless, the
short term of this House has the benefit that the trends of public opinion are let known during the mid
of Presidential term. It helps in the adjustment of administrative policies according to the needs of time.
Sessions. The Constitution requires that both Houses of the Congress must meet at least once a year.
The President can summon extra-ordinary sessions. The sessions of both the Houses begin and end
simultaneously.

The Quorum: According to section 5 of Article 1, a majority of members constitutes the quorum. In other
words, it means not less then 219 members are present in the House of Representatives to perform its
business. When compared with practice in India (10 per cent of the membership), Great Britain (40
members), Canada (20 members In order to make the quorum, some members attend the House
unwillingly or under compulsion and who are not interested in ihe proceedings and even disturb the
proceedings. It has been suggested that the quorum should be reduced. A smaller quorum, it is said,
would lead to an improvement in the debate.

Privileges. The members of the House are entitled to the following privileges:

1. Section 6 of Article 3 stipulates that the Representatives enjoys immunity from arrest and
freedom of speech. They enjoy freedom of expression on the floor of the House and cannot
be questioned in a court of law for anything said in the House.

2. They are exempted from imprisonment during the sessions (except on the allegation of gross
misconduct, treason or threat to public peace).

3. They are exempted from the impeachment.

4. The House as a collective entity has certain powers. It adopts rules and regulations in respect of
procedural matters and maintenance of discipline. It can punish any member for disorderly behaviour
and with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member and also pass a vote of censure.

Salary and Allowances. Every member is paid regular salary which is free from income tax. They are also
entitled to travelling allowance to attend the sessions in, addition to other allowances permissible under
the rules.

Organisation. During its first meeting, the newly elected House elects and appoints a number of office
bearers, such as Speaker, Clerk, Sergeant at Arms, Religious guide etc. With the exception of the
Speaker, all others are nominated. The most senior member of the House takes the oath of office from
the Speaker, while the latter administers oath from all other members collectively. It is then followed by
the framing of rules to control the business of the House. Generally, the rules of the previous House are
adopted, but these can be amended. Another important task of the House is to constitute committees
and members are elected to different committees. At this stage, a committee is formed which looks into
the matters relating to the election of those members whose election has been legally challenged.

Committees. Most of the work of the House is done by its committees which are formed in the very first
session of a newly elected House. Committees are named after the subjects they have to deal with. At
present, there are about 20 Standing Committees of which important ones are, Rules Committee,
Committee on Ways and Means, Committee in Supply, Judicial Committee etc. Each committee consists
of 25 to 40 members. Both parties get representation in the committees according to their numerical
strength in the House. Although members to committees are elected in the House, actual decision in this
regard is taken in the Party Caucus. The functions of the committees are not limited merely to the
revision of bills, they also perform important role in the drafting of the bills. They enjoy virtually power
of life and death over the fate of a bill.

POWERS AND FUNCTIONS

The House shares with the Senate the power to enact laws on all federal subjects. It can initiate a bill
and its concurrence is required over the bills passed by the upper chamber. It enjoys somewhat superior
position over the Senate in respect of financial legislation, as all the money bills originate in the House.

The House can also initiate impeachment for the removal of the President, Vice-President and other
higher federal officials. For this purpose the House prepares a list of allegations against the concerned
persons and plead the case before the Senate. The House brings charges of misconduct by voting a bill
of impeachment. The accused official is then tried in the Senate. It can propose amendment to the
Constitution in collaboration with the Senate. Similarly, both Houses of the Congress can admit new
states in the Union. It also performs certain selective functions. In case, no Presidential candidate gets a
clear-cut majority of the Electors vote during Presidential election, the House elects the President from
amongst three contesting candidates on the top of the list.

When the election of any member of the House is challenged on legal grounds, the House is the final
decision-making authority in this context. The House makes its own rules of procedure and maintains
discipline in its meetings.

An Appraisal. The position of the House, as already explained, is comparatively inferior to that of the
Senate on the following grounds:

1. The term of the House is too short to attract seasoned and reputed politicians and they prefer to
get the membership of the Senate. The superior quality of its membership makes the Senate
comparatively more powerful.

2. The main reason of the supremacy of British House of Common lies in the fact that the Cabinet
is accountable to it. The presence of Cabinet in the House of Commons accounts for its supremacy in the
governmental system. But the House of Representative, on the other hand, has least powers regarding
administrative control.

3. On a closer study of the working of the House, one finds that parochial thinking and regionalism
signify the role behaviour of its members. They generally keep into consideration the interest of their
constituency and that of their voters even at the cost of collective interest. Secondly, gerrymandering is
a common practice in the delimitations of the electoral districts. As a result, it rarely reflects true shades
of public opinion. Senate, on the other hand, is comparatively broad-based in its representation and
comprises superior membership. Parochial thinking is rarely reflected in the working of the Senate.
4. Party leadership is more domineering in the House and it cripples the freedom of action and
thought of ordinary members. The Senators, on the other hand, enjoy some unique privileges regarding
expressing their views. They can also vote in an independent manner and may not strictly adhere to
party line on the floor of the chamber. All these aspects account for the supremacy of the upper
chamber over the lower one. Consequently, the Senate overshadows the House both in legislation and
in administration.