Examine:Analyse The Similarities Between The Powers Of The US House of Representatives and the UK House of Commons.

Paragraph Focus

• Para 1 =

• Para 2 = Legislative Power

• Para 3 = Scrutiny/Oversight Powers

Para 1 = House of Representatives

Para 1 = House of Commons

Para 2 = House of Representatives

• in the legislative process, a bill must be passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate before it can be sent to the President for approval

• this bicameral requirement ensure that the house has influence of legislative agenda

• eg. in 2019, the Republican controlled Senate passed a resolution under the War Powers Act, but was blocked in the Democrat controlled House of Representatives

• the ability for the house to pass or reject legislation is an important part of checking the President’s power and ensuring that all laws passed have widespread support

Para 2 = House of Commons

• a bill must receive the approval of the House of Commons to became a law

• this gives the chamber power to amend or reject legislation

• eg. the House of Commons repeatedly rejected amendments proposed by the House of Lords for the Employment Rights Bill (2025) until the Lords eventually backed down

• this limits the executive’s control over policy, ensuring all laws are supported by a majority in Parliament’s

Comparative Theory

• this can be explained by the structural theory

• in both Constitution, significant legislative power is granted to the legislature, with the intention that the executive shouldn’t be able to pass laws without majority support

Para 3 = House of Representatives

• House of Representatives exercises oversight over the executive through committees which have the power to investigate snd hold hearings

• eg. in 2023, the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Reform held a high profile hearing on whether the US government was covering up the existence of aliens

• this ensures detailed scrutiny of the Presidency, which holds them to account and keeps them in line

Para 3 = House of Commons

• the House of Commons holds the government to account through select committees which scrutinise the work of government departments