Houses of Congress
... one gets reelected. One term in the house is only two years, but there is not a term limitation. A representative can get reelected every year, as long as that is what the people want. In the House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House is the most powerful member of the house. They are always a member of the majority (the party that dominates Congress). The Speaker of the House presides over the house meetings, and schedules legislation for floor action. He/she also interprets the rules for running the house. J. Dennis Hastert currently holds the position. Also in the House of Representatives, there is the minority leader. This person is responsible for making sure that the laws passed by Congress serve in the best interest of their own party (the party that has the least number of members in Congress). The house is given many powers, such as the power to investigate, the power to propose amendments, and the power to impeach. The House of Representatives has the power to investigate research for proposing amendments or to check the Executive branch. Although they have the power to propose amendments, they must have a 2/3 majority to propose. The house also has the power to bring charges against an official for impeachment. Appropriation bills (bills involving money) start in the House of Representatives. Basically, the house controls the purse strings. They also pick the President if there is no winner in the Electoral College. The House of Representatives have their requirements and duties, but so does the Senate. There are only 100 members in the Senate (two per state), so each state is equally represented. Each senator has a six-year term, and there are no term limitations, just like the house. However, only 1/3 of the Senate is elected every two years, as opposed to the whole House of Representatives being elected at the end of every term. In order to be a senator, one must be at least 30 years old, and a citizen of the United States for at least nine years. Also, one must live in the state that they represent. The Vice President (currently Dick Cheney) is the official leader of the Senate. However, for security reasons, and sometimes health reasons, the Vice President is only present in the Senate during special ceremonies, or to break a tie in a vote. Because of this, there is a President Pro-Tempore. This person acts as the Senate President in the absence of the Vice President. It is an honorary position given to the senior leader of the majority party. Currently, that position is held by Ted Stevens. There is also a majority leader for the Senate. H...