Evaluate the extent to which the Senate is more powerful than the House of Representatives. Flashcards
Introduction - Themes
- Impeachment
- Legislative
- Oversight
Introduction - Argument
The House of Representatives and Senate share many powers which makes them appear more equal, however, as laid out in the Constitution, the Senate possess certain powers which make them more powerful
House - Impeachment - Point
Both the House and the Senate play an important role in the impeachment of a president or Supreme Court justice. Article II, Section IV grants the House ‘the sole power of impeachment’
House - Impeachment - Examples
- The House has used this power over 60 times since 1789. Federal judge Thomas Porteous was impeached on charges of corruption and perjury in 2010
- President Trump was impeached twice in his 4 year term - first in 2019 for abuse of powers and obstruction of Congress and again in 2021 for incitement of insurrection
Senate - Impeachment - Point
The Constitution grants the Senate ‘the sole power to try all impeachments.’ This determines whether someone is acutally charged or not, which is much more influential than the House
Senate - Impeachment - Examples
- The House has initiated impeachment more than 60 times, only 1/3 of all proceedings have led to full impeachments. Just 8 individuals have been impeached by the Senate
- The House voted 232-197 in favour of impeaching Trump after the events of January 6th. After a 5 day trial, 57 Senators voted ‘guilty’ and 43 ‘not guilty’ this fell 10 votes short of the 2/3 majority
House - Legislative - Point
Technically Equal
All legislative bills in the US have to pass in both the Senate and the House of Representatives before they can get signed by the president. This means both are powerful in the legislative process
House - Legislative - Examples
Technically Equal
- After the mass school shooting in Uvalde where 19 children were killed, Biden was able to secure a Bipartisan bill to prevent the sale of firearms to ‘dangerous people’ with mental health issues
- The Constitution grants one special legislative power to the House - it can begin the consideration of Money bills. This has been particularly prominent in the debt ceiling crisis
Senate - Legislative - Point
In reality, the Senate has far more control and influence. They are able to stop many more bills
Senate - Legislative - Examples
- The Senate has the power of the filibuster which means senators exercise their rights of unlimited debate to delay bills. As a result of this, and other factors, there are currently 300 bills passed by the House awaiting Senate approval
- The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act is a bill to fend off attempts accross the country by US Republicans to erode easy access to the vote. This has passed in the House, however, Republican Senators have blocked the bill
House - Oversight - Point
Both the House and the Senate work to perform the function of oversign. However, it could be argued that the House is more powerful as it has many prevelant oversight committees
House - Oversight - Examples
- It was the House Select Committee which investigated the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol, After a final vote in December 2022, the Committee found that Trump had provoked the attacks
- The House Judiciary Committee has investigated classified files found in Biden’s home and questions are being asked as to whether they were actively concealed
Senate - Oversight - Point
The Constitution grants some incredibly important oversight powers to the Senate and their select committees are equally as important and influential as the Houses’
Senate - Oversight - Examples
- The Senate is given the sole power to confirm appointments - The Republican Senate refused to even hear Obama’s nomination, Merrick Garland, citing the reason it being an election year
- Anthony Blinken, Biden’s Secretary of State, had to appear in front of the Senate Armed Service Committee over the withdrawal in Afghanistan
