Posts tagged ‘House of Representatives’

A Guide to Voting on the House Floor

There are four types of votes that occur in the House of Representatives. They are voice, division, yea and nay, and record votes. A voice vote refers to members calling out ‘yea’ or ‘nay’ whenever a question is put in the House. The Speaker will determine the outcome of the vote by the volume of each response. In some instances, the Speaker can say a variation on a voice vote, which means that the question is adopted.

Floor Tiles | Flisegulv | Bodenfliesen
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A division vote may be demanded by any member after a voice vote has been taken. First, the members in favor will stand and be counted. Next, those opposed will stand and be counted. A division vote will show only vote total and will not provide a record of how individual members voted on the question.

Under automatic yea and nay votes, a member may choose to “object on the ground that a quorum is not present and make a point of order that a quorum is not present.” The actual vote can then be determined for the presence of a quorum as well as the outcome of that particular pending question.

A record vote will be taken if 1/5 of quorum, which is 44 members, stand and support the request. Just as in the case with a yea and nay vote, a record vote will be taken by the electronic voting system.

Both voice votes and division votes Congressional Deskbook, by Michael L. Koempel and Judy Schneiderwill be taken in the Committee of the Whole. In order to obtain a record vote, 25 members must support the request of a member for a record vote. If there are fewer than 100 members present, which is the minimum number required for a quorum of the Committee of the Whole, a member may choose to demand a record vote.

The minimum amount of time for a record vote or quorum call is 15 minutes. This applies to both the House and the Committee of the Whole. The Speaker does have the authority to postpone and then cluster certain votes as well as to reduce the time to five minutes after an initial 15 minute vote. Cluster voting allows for sequential recorded votes on a series of measures or amendments that the House has completed debating at an earlier time. The Speaker retains the option of reducing the minimum amount of time for the second and subsequent votes in series of five minutes each.

To learn more about how Congress works, consider these courses sponsored by TheCapitol.Net: Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process, Advanced Legislative Strategies, or Capitol Hill Workshop.

Reference: Congressional Deskbook, by Michael L. Koempel and Judy Schneider, Section 8.130 House Floor: Voting

For detailed information about the legislative process, see these resources from TheCapitol.Net:

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Posted 2011/03/01, 5:57 am  ·  Category: Government ·  Comments Off on A Guide to Voting on the House Floor

Differences between the House and the Senate

In preparing to work with members of Congress, it is important to understand the differences between the House and the Senate. The more you understand about each chamber of Congress, the better prepared you will be to gain support for your issue.

Difference, Acton, W3
Creative Commons License photo credit: Ewan-M

At 435 members, the House is the larger chamber. The Senate has 100 members with two senators from each state. Representatives serve shorter terms, two years, while Senators serve longer terms of six years. There are four calendars for the House: Union, House, Private and Discharge. The Senate has two calendars: Legislative and Executive.

In terms of procedure, the House has less procedural flexibility and more rule restraints than the Senate. In the House, power is more concentrated in the leadership and less evenly distributed among Lobbying and Advocacy, by Deanna Gelakmembers. Leadership in the House is much stronger than in the Senate, where power is usually more evenly distributed.

Debate within the House is always restricted, while debate within the Senate is rarely restricted. Debate ending motions within the House occur by majority vote of 218 members. In the Senate, cloture is invoked by a vote of 60 Senators.

In the House, constituency is much narrower than in the Senate. In the House, the constituency is limited to each House District. In the Senate, the constituency is larger and involves an entire state.

In communicating with members of Congress, keep in mind that representatives are less reliant on staff. On the other hand, Senators are often more reliant on staff.

Finally, the House adjourns at the end of the day while the Senate recesses at the end of most days.

To learn more about the differences between the House and the Senate, see CongressByTheNumbers.com and Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process.

Reference: Lobbying and Advocacy, by Deanna Gelak, Section 4.9 Differences between the House and the Senate at a Glance, and the Congressional Deskbook, §§ 8.150-8.151.

For more information about congressional operations and effective advocacy in Washington, see these resources from TheCapitol.Net

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Posted 2010/12/01, 5:57 am  ·  Category: Government ·  Comments Off on Differences between the House and the Senate