Senators were originally considered to be ambassadors of their states rather than representatives of the people in the states. That all changed in 1913 with the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment

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Today we contrast the speaker of the House of Commons with that of the House of Representatives.

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The House of Representatives and Senate have different leadership structures. The House chooses its own Speaker, but the Constitution mandates that the vice president is the president of the Senate. The Senate has a majority and a minority leader.

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The Speaker of the House of Representatives is a powerful position. The House selects its own Speaker, which explains why the Speaker is of the same political party as the majority party in the House.

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Political parties have considerable influence in Congress. Party control traditionally has been stronger in the House than in the Senate.

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The Senate has rules, including the filibuster. Senate rules are treated more informally than in the House.

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Rules, rules, rules. Your mom has them, your school has them, even the House of Representatives has them.

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The careful, deliberative work of Congress often occurs during committee meetings.

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Both the House and Senate form committees that carefully examine proposed legislation and hear a variety of perspectives. Congress also holds oversight hearings to examine how the executive branch carries out laws enacted by Congress. This is the first episode in our series on how Congress performs its functions in the American constitutional system.

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Members of Congress and their staffers help the public in a variety of ways. Casework, for example, involves helping constituents solve problems that they have encountered with the federal government.

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