Is the house of representatives bicameral?

Answer 1

Bicameralism is the principle that describes the division of power in the U.S. legislative branch between the House of Representatives and the Senate. Bicameralism is provided for in Article I of the U.S. Constitution and is one of the many checks placed upon legislative power.

Bicameralism describes any legislature composed of two distinct chambers. The chambers, or houses, are often differentiated on the basis of their constituencies or method(s) of election or selection. A so-called lower house is normally directly elected by the general voting-age population, while the upper house may be appointed, directly elected, or indirectly elected. Bicameralism, in the U.S. Constitution, provides for CHECKS AND BALANCES of legislative authority by dividing its powers between the two houses, requiring concurrence in the passage of legislation while assigning unique authority to one chamber or the other, for example, ratification of treaties, confirmation of appointments, and origination of REVENUE BILLS. The governments of many countries utilize bicameral parliaments, though some democratic nations operate under a unicameral (single chamber) parliament, an example being the Knesset in Israel. The lengths of members' terms differ by chamber, with lower-house delegates serving shorter terms (normally two years) and upper-house delegates serving longer ones (normally four to six years).

When applied to governments in the United States, the U.S. Congress and 49 of the 50 states operate with bicameral legislatures. Only Nebraska maintains a unicameral legislature, a feature it implemented in 1937, championed by U.S. senator George W. Norris. The vast majority of local governments in the United States cities, towns, boroughs, school districts, etc., employ unicameral bodies, such as city councils, boards, or commissions.

Dividing a parliament into two chambers establishes an internal check on legislative powers. To pass a law, both chambers must agree on exactly the same language, which requires compromise between the houses, thereby greatly reducing extremist legislation. Critics of bicameral legislatures argue that they are inefficient and easily stalemated by partisan politics.

The bicameral tradition in the United States may be traced to the British Parliament, which itself is a bicameral institution. As each of the thirteen colonies in America established its government, many adopted the English model, although several, such as Pennsylvania, opted for a unicameral body. The first U.S. constitution the Articles of Confederation created a unicameral legislature in which each state, regardless of the size of its population or delegation to the congress, received one vote.

The Convention of 1787 drafted a new constitution, one that included, out of political necessity, a bicameral legislature. One of the most contentious issues faced by the CONSTITUTIONAL Convention's delegates was the matter of representation, in particular, whether states or citizens or both should be reflected in a new legislature. Those states with small populations favored a unicameral body similar to that under the Articles of Confederation, while heavily populated states argued for parliamentary representation based on population. The convention assigned the problem to a committee, and from that group emerged the Great Compromise, which struck a balance between the demands of the large and small states, finally settling the matter. The U.S. Congress consists of the House of Representatives, in which representation is based on a state's population, and the Senate, in which each state is treated equally, receiving two votes.

Who should be counted in the population of a state divided the convention's delegates as well. The framers reached another compromise in the matter, the odious Three-fifths Compromise, which counted each slave as three-fifths of a person.

Recently, the question of how to count the population was brought before the Supreme Court. At issue was the use of statistical sampling to predict more accurately the census of the United States as opposed to the traditional, actual head count. In Department of Commerce v. U.S. House of Representatives, 525 U.S. 316 (1999), the majority, in a 5-4 vote, ruled that the U.S. Census Bureau must use an actual enumeration for the purpose of determining the total population to be used for apportioning representatives in the House. However, in Utah v. Evans, 535 U.S. 452 (2002), with another 5-4 vote, the Court approved the U.S. Census Bureau's use of "hot-deck imputation," a statistical technique that Congress had earlier approved, which estimates how many people the actual count is missing.

Answer 2

It was a bicameral legislature based on the model of the United States Congress. It was transformed into the Texas Legislature upon annexation of Texas by the United States in 1846.

Read more: What_is_the_name_of_texas_legislature

Answer 3

No, the House of Representatives is part of the lower chamber of the bicameral legislative branch in the United States Congress. The other chamber is the Senate, making the entire Congress bicameral.

Answer 4

The House of Representatives is just a part of congress. The Senate is the other part of congress. The two make up the entire congress.

Answer 5

Yes. The bicameral legislature of the US is divided into the House and the Senate.

Answer 6

Yes.