The Two Houses of Congress: the Senate

The work of the legislative branch is carried out by the Congress of the United States. Congress is the lawmaking body of the national government. The Constitution provides that Congress shall be composed of houses. There are two of them - the Senate and the House of Representatives.

There were two main reasons for creating a lawmaking body of two houses, or a bicameral legislature. First, a lawmaking body of two houses would help to “check and balance” the work of this branch of the government. Having two houses to share the responsibility of making the nation’s laws allows each house to check the actions of the other. As a result, there is less danger that Congress will pass laws in haste or pass laws that are not needed or wanted by the people. Second, the writers of the Constitution established a bicameral Congress in order to settle a dispute between the large and the small states.

The Senate is the smaller of the two houses of Congress. The Constitution provides that each state, regardless of size, be represented in the Senate by two members. These members are known as senators.

The first Senate consisted of 22 senators, representing 11 states. Today there are 100 members in the Senate - two senators elected from each of the 50 states. Each senator represents his or her whole state.

Senators are elected for six-year terms and may be re-elected any number of times. Elections for senators are held in November of each even-numbered year. Only one third of the Senate’s membership comes up for election every two years. Therefore, a new Senate begins its work with at least two thirds of the members having had experience in the Senate.

The senator from each state who has served the longest period of time is called the state’s senior senator. If a senator dies or resigns before the end of his or her term of office, the governor of the state may appoint someone to fill the vacancy until the next regular election or until a special state election is held.

There are slightly different qualifications for members of the Senate and for the representatives. The Constitution lists these qualifications for senators:

1. A senator must be at least 30 years old.

2. A senator must have been a citizen of the United States for at least nine years.

3. A senator must be a legal resident of the state he or she represents.

In addition to these qualifications, members of Congress traditionally have shared a number of other characteristics. Most have attended college. A majority are lawyers. There are many business people or bankers among them. Their average age is about 50.

Throughout the history most members of Congress have been men. Only a small percentage of representatives today are women, and only a few women have served in the Senate. However, the number of women is slowly increasing.

Members of Congress usually have had previous political experience, often in their state legislature. Most members of Congress also have been active members of community and voluntary organizations.

 

Exercise 2. Decide whether the following statements are true or false.

1. Members of Congress traditionally have had previous medical experience.

2. The woman, who is in the Senate, is called senior senator.

3. The work of the legislative branch is carried out by the President of the U.S.

4. “Check and balance” is the name of the Senate.

5. The Congress shall be composed of three houses.

 

Exercise 3. Answer the following questions.

1. What are the two houses of Congress? Why was a bicameral legislature created in the USA?

2. Who represents each state in the Senate?

3. How many members are there in the Senate today?

4. How are senators elected?

5. What qualifications must the members of the Senate meet?

 

Exercise 4. Make your own questions to the text.

 

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