2. Rules for Lawmaking
Both houses make laws
Each house has different
rules for how they make
laws
Rules are printed every
two years
3. In the House…
Rules are focused on the
actions of individual reps
EX: Reps can only speak for
5 min or less during a
debate
Legislation moves quickly
Most debates do not last
for more than a day
4. Committee Work
Committees do most of the work
b/c the house has so many people
Committees = more organization
= more efficiency!
Each committee focuses on
different topics
More time to study and shape
bills
Individual reps focus on specific
issues that are important to their
constituents (the people they
represent).
5. Political Parties
Reps sit with their party
Republicans sit on right side, Democrats sit on left
The party with the majority
Selects leaders
Controls flow of legislative work
Appoints committee chairs
Some reps switch parties to whoever has the majority
so they can play a part in making these decisions
6. Leadership in the House
6 purposes:
Organizing party members
Scheduling
Attendance
Distributing/collecting info
House-President relations
Influencing lawmakers
7. The Speaker of the House
Most powerful leader in the
House
Think of he/she like the
president of the House of
Representatives
Chosen by a caucus (closed
meeting) of the majority
party
Entire senate votes to
approve
Current Speaker of the
House: John Boehner (R)
8. House Floor Leaders
Majority Leader- Speaker’s top
assistant
Elected by the majority party
Other party does not have to
approve
Plan legislative program
Steer bills through the House
Manage chairpersons of
committees
Assisted by whips
Persuades party members to vote a
certain way
Makes sure they are present for
important votes
9. What about the other party?
They have a minority
leader and minority
whips
Responsibilities are similar
to those in the majority
party
Except, the y have no
power of scheduling
legislation
