The House of Representatives and the Senate

balance of power between two chambers of government

intended to have broadly equal powers

concurrent (both houses) powers of congress

-passing legislation

-proposing constitutional amendments

-overriding presidential vetoes

-launching investigations

-declaring war (hasn’t happened since WW2)

powers only the house of representatives has

-initiating money bills

-initiating the impeachment process

powers only the senate has

-ratifying treaties

-ratifying executive and judicial appointments

-trialling an impeached individual

how senators have greater power than representatives

-only 100 senators

-parties usually have slim majorities

-moderate senators wield extra power (Lisa Murkowski)

-longer tenure

Senate election in Georgia 2022

nearly $300 million spent between the Republican and democrat candidates showing the value parties put into tight senate elections

why the house is often more partisan

representatives want to point to specific achievements like passing or blocking legislation when they seek re-election

Abolition of the filibuster for appointments to the executive (2013) and judiciary (2017)

means appointments only need over half the votes to confirm appointments meaning only one parties support required