Difference between revisions of "United States House of Representatives"

Revision as of 03:31, November 9, 2009

Seal of the United States House of Representatives.

The House of Representatives, often referred to as just "The House", is the lower chamber of Congress in which representatives of each state in the union gather. There are 435 voting members of the House, and each serves two year terms. Representatives can be re-elected an unlimited number of times, and indeed, most incumbents who seek re-election are continually successful. ^[1] Every state has at least one Representative, and are allocated more based on population. For example, California has 53 Representatives. The House of Representatives meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

The House's presiding officer is a Representative from the party with the most members currently in the House, and is known as the Speaker of the House. The current Speaker of the House is Democrat Nancy Pelosi, who is from California. The majority leader is Steny Hoyer and the minority leader is John Boehner.

Powers of the House

The House has the power to impeach the president and other federal officials. The House is also responsible for dealing with revenue bills.^[2]

Current Composition

• Democratic Party (Majority): 258 (+6)
• Republican Party (Minority): 177 (+0)

Numbers in brackets are non-voting members from US territories such as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

See also

• Congress
• The Budget Process
• Glossary of Budget Terms

Chamber of the United States House of Representatives.

References

1. ↑ http://www.thirty-thousand.org/pages/QHA-08.htm
2. ↑ US Government and Politics