Congress
From Encyclopediak
Con'gress, the legislative branch of the Government of the United States, consisting of two houses, or chambers, a Senate and a House of Representatives, officially known as the Congress of the United States of America. Congress is not, however, as is generally presumed to be the case, modeled upon the British Parliament with its House of Lords and House of Commons, but was instituted by the Constitution which prescribes its membership and defines its powers, the two houses being the result of a compromise between the large and small states. The first plan provided for a Congress of only one branch and arranged for representation on the basis of population. The small states objected so vigorously to this that it was to preserve the weight and the dignity of the states among themselves that the Senate was instituted as a counterweight to the other branch of the legislative body. The duties of Congress as a lawmaking body are not only to pass laws but to judge the elections and qualifications of its members, to lay and collect taxes, duties and excises, to pay the debts and to provide for the common defense and general welfare of the people of the United States.
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. The Federal House of Representatives is descended through the state Houses of Representatives from the colonial assemblies and is not a permanent or continuing body, its entire membership being renewed every second year and the numerical strength being determined every ten years by the House itself. The first legislation on the subject was in 1790, when it was declared there should be 120 representatives. The national census was first taken in 1790 and an enumeration has been made every ten years since that time. Immediately after the publication of the census returns the House decides upon the number of members it shall contain for the ensuing ten years. This total is divided into the whole population of the country to determine the number of people who shall be entitled to one representative. The House of Representatives in the present Congress, according to the reapportionment bill passed Aug. 3, 1911, consists of 435 members, Arizona and New Mexico having been admitted to statehood. Representatives must be at least 25 years of age and residents of the states in which they are chosen. They receive an annual salary of $7500. The House of Representatives chooses its own presiding officer, called the speaker, from among its members.
THE SENATE. The Senate is composed of two senators from each state, chosen by the voters of the state for a term of six years. The senators are divided into three classes, so that one-third retire every two years, securing thus a continuing body. A senator must be 30 years of age, have been nine years a resident of the United States and an inhabitant of the state from which he is chosen. The salary is $7500 a year and $1800 a year additional for clerk hire. The vice-president presides over the Senate, which must approve the appointment of the higher officials made by the president. The Senate must also approve by a two-thirds vote treaties negotiated by the president with foreign powers, if they are to go into effect. SESSIONS. The life of each Congress extends over a period of two years,the single term of service of a representative. There are, therefore, two regular sessions, called, by common consent, the long session and the short session The long session beg'vis the first Monday in December following the election and ex¬tends usually into the early summer. The short session begins on the first Monday of the following December and extends until noon on March 4 following, where it expires by limitation, as on that day the terms of all the representatives end. The president may call a special session if deemed necessary.
LAWMAKING. With the exception of bills for raising revenue, which must originate in the House of Representatives, any member of Congress has the right to introduce, in the branch to which he belongs, any measure which he wishes to have enacted into a law. To illustrate, a senator desires the enactment of a law to improve the lighthouse service. He prepares the law and introduces it in the Senate. When introduced the measure is called a bill. The bill is read by the clerk and referred by the presiding officer to the committee having charge of the branch of legislation to which it belongs. The bill is then printed and in due time it is considered by this committee, before whom all arguments for or against its passage by outside parties must be presented. If the committee approves the bill, it is returned to the presiding officer's desk and put upon its passage. Members of the Senate now have opportunity to discuss the bill. If, when the vote is taken, a majority of the senators present approve, it is passed by that body. The bill is then sent to the House, where it is introduced by the proper officer as coming from the Senate. It is then referred to the proper committee in the House and takes the same course as in the Senate. If a majority of the representatives present approve the bill when the vote is taken, it passes that body and is sent to the president. If he approves, he signs the bill and it becomes a law. When the Senate and House fail to agree on an important bill, it is usually referred to a conference committee consisting of members from each body appointed by their respective presiding officers, and the agreement reached by this committee is usually accepted. When the president does not approve a bill, he returns it to the House in which it originated, with his veto, which is a message stating his objections. The bill may again be put upon its passage, and if it receives the approval of two-thirds the members in each house, it becomes a law without the president's signature. The president is required to sign or veto a bill within ten days, or it becomes a law without his signature, unless Congress adjourns before the expiration of the ten days.
