House of Representatives

There are 435 members in the House of Representatives.  The number of representatives for each state is based on the state’s population, but is never less than one.  The number can be adjusted every 10 years after a new census is taken.  One state cannot add a representative unless another state loses one.  Three requirements to be a member of the House of Representatives are: must be at least 25 years old, be a U.S. citizen for at least 7 years and have a residency in the state where elected.  The term of a member of the House is 2 years.  I like that they serve a short term so that in the event that they are not representing the people satisfactorily they can be replaced.   

Currently our state, California, has 53 members in the House of Representatives.  The current representative from the district that I live in is Lynn C. Woolsey.  She has already served 12 terms.  Party leaders are elected by their respective parties in a closed door caucus.  Currently the Majority Leader is Eric Cantor (Republican) and the Minority Leader is Nancy Pelosi (Democrat).  The current speaker of the House is John Boehner  (Republican). 

Senate

Each state has 2 senators so there are 100 members in the Senate.  The term for a senator is 6 years, but as laid out in the Constitution, only one-third of the senators are up for re-election every 2 years.  Three requirements to be in the Senate are: must be at least 30 years of age, be a U.S. citizen for at least 9 years and be a resident of the state you represent.  Senators from each state are elected by the voters.  This didn’t used to be the case – prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, it was up to the states to decide how they would choose their Senators. Some were directly elected but some were chosen by State Legislatures. 

Currently the two senators from my home state, California, are Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein.  They are both members of the Democratic Party.  Barbara Boxer was in the House of Representatives for 10 years before becoming a senator in 1993.  Dianne Feinstein was first elected to the Senate in 1992 so her term will be up in 2012.

The leader, or President, of the Senate is the Vice President, so currently the President of the Senate is Joseph R. Biden.  He can only vote in the Senate if the senators are equally divided.  If the Vice President is absent, then the Speaker of the House of Representatives takes over.  Currently our Speaker of the House is John Boeher.

  US Senate

It's Alive ...

The U.S. Constitution is referred to as a “living document” because it is always being amended. The Framers of the Constitution knew that the constitution would need to change with the growth of the United States.

“In framing a system which we wish to last for ages, we should not lose sight of changes which ages will produce.”    James Madison, Constitutional Convention

Schoolhouse Rock Preamble

7 Principles

There are 7 principles to the Constitution. They are Popular Sovereignty, Republicanism, Federalism, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances, Limited Government and Individual Rights.

The principle that gives the government its power is Popular Sovereignty … a government in which the people rule. This is stated in the Preamble “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union …establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

The principle of Republicanism allows the people to have a voice in government through their votes.

The principle of Federalism is splitting the power between the federal and state governments. The Constitution assigns certain powers to the national government which are called delegated powers. Powers assigned to the states are called reserved powers and powers shared by both federal and state governments is called concurrent powers.

The Framers of the Constitution, in order to make sure that one group didn’t have too much power, built in the principle of Separation of Powers. They divided the basic government into three branches … the Legislative Branch (Congress), the Executive Branch (President) and the Judicial Branch (Supreme Court).

The principle of Checks and Balances refers to how each branch of the government can check on the other two branches of the government so that no one branch can work independently from the others. An example would be if Congress passed a law but the President doesn’t sign it into action, or if Congress passes a law and the President signs it but the Supreme Court can determine the law violates the Constitution.

Limited Government is the principle that the Framers put into place to make sure no one was above the law. Citizens, powerful leaders, groups must all obey the law. No one can bypass the law to serve their own interests.

The principle of Individual Rights is demonstrated in the first ten amendments to the Constitution, which is called the Bill of Rights. This guarantees personal liberties and privileges such as Freedom of Speech and Religious Freedom.

Who's Got the Power?

In my opinion, the most powerful branch of government would be the Legislative Branch. They are the law makers. They are making laws that we may or may not benefit from.