Senate Is More Powerful Than House of Representatives
- Submitted by: barry99
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- Category: Politics
- Date Submitted: 01/29/2010 01:41 AM
- Pages: 4
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Evaluate the claim that the Senate is far more powerful than the House of
Representatives within Congress.
When the founding fathers set out the powers and limits of the House of Representatives and the Senate, they created a bicameral system with power shared between the two houses. Whilst it would be ideal for the 2 houses to have equal power and status, it is often argued that The Senate is more powerful than the House of Representatives. Is the Senate more prestigious and important in status and are Senators more powerful than Representatives?
Some would argue not, The House of Representatives and Senate whilst each having exclusive powers, also have equal and concurrent powers in the passing of legislature, this makes the two houses equal unlike the bicameral legislative system in the UK. This equal sharing of power as set out by the Framers, shows that Senate isn’t more important than the House of representatives in the passing of legislature.
Another argument for the equality of the House of Representatives and The Senate is the parallelism of the powers each house has in the initiation of constitutional amendments. The process and weighting of the decision of each house is the same, meaning that the two Houses are equal with neither the Senate nor House of Representatives being more powerful. The House of Representatives and Senate are also equal in the pay given to the representatives and senators, a fixed rate of $174,000 per annum, a figure which demonstrates how the senate is not more prestigious or seen as a promotion from the House of Representatives.
Despite these equal powers and pay figures, it is still widely seen that The Senate is more powerful. This stems partly from the significance of the exclusive powers held by The Senate, those of ratifying treaties and confirming appointments made by The President e.g. The Senate judiciary committee who have to approve all federal judges. These powers are seen as more important...
Representatives within Congress.
When the founding fathers set out the powers and limits of the House of Representatives and the Senate, they created a bicameral system with power shared between the two houses. Whilst it would be ideal for the 2 houses to have equal power and status, it is often argued that The Senate is more powerful than the House of Representatives. Is the Senate more prestigious and important in status and are Senators more powerful than Representatives?
Some would argue not, The House of Representatives and Senate whilst each having exclusive powers, also have equal and concurrent powers in the passing of legislature, this makes the two houses equal unlike the bicameral legislative system in the UK. This equal sharing of power as set out by the Framers, shows that Senate isn’t more important than the House of representatives in the passing of legislature.
Another argument for the equality of the House of Representatives and The Senate is the parallelism of the powers each house has in the initiation of constitutional amendments. The process and weighting of the decision of each house is the same, meaning that the two Houses are equal with neither the Senate nor House of Representatives being more powerful. The House of Representatives and Senate are also equal in the pay given to the representatives and senators, a fixed rate of $174,000 per annum, a figure which demonstrates how the senate is not more prestigious or seen as a promotion from the House of Representatives.
Despite these equal powers and pay figures, it is still widely seen that The Senate is more powerful. This stems partly from the significance of the exclusive powers held by The Senate, those of ratifying treaties and confirming appointments made by The President e.g. The Senate judiciary committee who have to approve all federal judges. These powers are seen as more important...