NUMBER THREE 1. The advantages of having a six year term include: • The Senators get to avoid the pressures of public opinion. • The Senators are elected by the state legislatures rather than by direct popular vote. • Because the Senate is divided into three sections for elections, one-third of the Senate is elected every two years. This means that during elections, two-thirds of the Senate will still be in service. • Six-year terms allow the Senate to serve and operate continually. 2. The state of California did not gain or lose any representatives after the 2010 census. 3. If a Member’s seat is vacated during his/her term, the government must call for a special election within 14 days of vacancy. 4. To become a member of the House, one must: …show more content…
Senators serve 6-year terms while members of the House serve 2-year terms. In terms of structure, the House is more hierarchically organized (which means stronger leadership), while the Senate is less hierarchically organized (which means weaker leadership). Responsibility-wise, the House initiates all revenue bills and articles of impeachment, while the Senate gives advice and consent to all treaties and major presidential appointments as well as tries impeached officials. Lastly, the House and the Senate both have rules on how they conduct debates about bills. Unlike debates in the House, debates in the Senate don’t have time restrictions, but senators are only allowed to speak if they are called upon by the Presiding …show more content…
A filibuster is a plan used to defeat bills in the Senate by dragging out debates indefinitely. Some examples of filibusters include long speeches, lengthy amendments, or any stalling tactics. The Senate can put an end to a filibuster by invoking cloture, which means voting to stop all debates on an issue and putting the issue to vote. These two terms only apply to the Senate because the House has sensible rules that restrict debates, therefore destroying the possibility of filibusters. NUMBER SIX 1. The majority of the House is held by the Republicans who have 242 seats, while the Democrats have 193 seats. The majority of the Senate is held by the Democrats who have 51 seats and two “independents” who side with them, while the Republicans hold 47 seats. 2. The same political parties held the majority in both the House and the Senate during the 10th, 14th, and 77th Congresses. Some advantages to this situation would be that there would be fewer disagreements between the two chambers, and things would probably get done quicker. Some disadvantages to this situation would be that there would be less diversity and less of a variety in opinions. 3. Currently there are two independents in the Senate and none in the House. The two independents that are in the Senate tend to vote along with the Democrats for the majority of the time. NUMBER