House vs Senate

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CONGRESS: HOUSE VS SENATE House of Representatives Senate The United States House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the United States Congress. It is frequently referred to as the House. The other house is the Senate. The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives makes up the United States Congress. Type Lower house-to respond to the needs of the people faster since they only have a two year term. Laws dealing with revenue must start in the House. Upper house--The six year term means the Senate can be slower and consider the long term effects of laws. Term limits None None New session started January 3, 2013 January 3, 2013 Majority Leader Eric Cantor, (R), since January 5, 2011 Harry Reid, (D), since January 4, 2007 Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, (D), since January 5, 2011 Mitch McConnell, (R), since January 4, 2007 Seats 435 voting members, 6 non-voting members: 5 delegates, 1 resident commissioner 100 Political groups Democratic (200), Republican (233), vacant (2) Democratic (53), Independent (caucus with Democrats) (2), Republican (45) Next election November 4, 2014 November 4, 2014 Voting system First-past-the-post First-past-the-post Length of term 2 years--all 435 seats are up for reelection every two years. 6 years--Here there is a continuous body idea. Only 1/3 of the senate seats are elected every two years. So only 34 or 33 senators are up for election at one time. Seats apportioned Based on the population of each state. Two for each state History Based on Virginia Plan Based on New Jersey Plan Speaker Elected by the House of Representatives. The current Speaker of the House is John Boehner (R-Ohio) Vice President Joe Biden is President of the Senate. He only votes in case of a tie. When the
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